Monthly Archives: December 2016

92/100 Another Christmas Collection for piano

I follow the website www.pianodao.com run by Andrew Earles. He has recently reviewed this collection of Christmas Carols for piano solo;                   by Barbara Arens and Alison Mathews published by Editions Musica … Continue reading

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91/100 The Christmas Nativity – The Big Day

And it all went splendidly! It felt like a proper, informal, on-the-edge of chaos performance, and all the more enchanting for that. It had its “moments”, but whispered instructions from strategically placed staff at crucial moments prevented any major crises. … Continue reading

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90/100 Singing Hinny

Singing means just that – singing.  Hinny is a term of endearment for a young girl, from the North East of England where these  griddle cakes originate. They get the name from the sound of the fat sizzling on the griddle … Continue reading

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89/100 Teach the fingers ‘cos they don’t know what to do

I had a hilarious keyboard lesson last week with a beginner, a lad of about ten who has been learning for a couple of terms but not making great progress. He has been absolutely determined to be able to hack … Continue reading

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88/100 The Nativity Rehearsal; part 1

It’s all a bit hectic at the moment. Our School Nativity is due to take place in the village church at the end of this week, and we are only now getting stuck into the “Real Rehearsals”. We’ve been learning … Continue reading

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87/100 Angels from the Realms of Glory

One of my favourite carols, and here’s my favourite version, by Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band   Actually, this is one of my favourite Christmas Carols CDs. I’ve had a lot of fun with primary school classes getting them … Continue reading

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86/100 Nee Nah Nee Nah; Strings and Semitones

On the piano, tones and semitones really aren’t an issue – there they are, all laid out in black and white. The physical relationship isn’t a big deal on wind instruments either – you just use the fingering for the … Continue reading

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85/100 Intentional Learning

That sounds a bit serious… But I mean that kind of practising when you first work out, and then work at, exactly what has to happen to manage to play the right notes. Let’s take this extract from the A2 … Continue reading

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