piano practice
blog posts

Teach music confidently without the stress

Best Student Duets with Just 5-fingers from Diabelli

by Tim Topham

If you haven’t yet introduced the duets of Anton Diabelli to your teaching studio, you are missing out on some of the best student duets for beginner and intermediate students. In fact, as long as students can read a 5-finger position in C Major, they can at least play the first couple of these pieces. Diabelli ... Best Student Duets with Just 5-fingers from Diabelli

08/29/2022 Read more

Amplify and Elevate New Student Practice Routines in Your Piano Studio

by Nicola Cantan

For most piano teachers, September brings a whole slew of new piano students through the doors. This is both an exciting and a super busy time in a piano teacher’s calendar. It’s also an opportunity to start fresh – to make practice happen from the get-go. In my experience, students that practise regularly in the ... Amplify and Elevate New Student Practice Routines in Your Piano Studio

09/18/2018 Read more

6 Creative and Engaging Lesson Ideas to Help Increase Summer Piano Practice

by Chris Owenby

Just because it's summer doesn't mean your students need to stop playing the piano.

06/25/2018 Read more

How I Got off the Piano Exam Express

by Sean Wales

This month has been all about Exploring Exams and Recitals and one phrase has popped up a few times: exam express. I’m Sean and you may have seen a few articles written by me recently featured on Tim’s blog. I learnt piano with Tim at high school for four years and during this time, Tim transformed ... How I Got off the Piano Exam Express

04/17/2017 Read more

Piano Practice Guides for Motivating Students [Free Resources]

by Roberta Wolff

Have you ever wondered how a student’s practice diary or assignment book can best support their development as a musician or if there’s even any point in writing things down each week? Have you ever wondered if there are better ways that you can guide your students to practise effectively during the week? Many of us ... Piano Practice Guides for Motivating Students [Free Resources]

02/23/2016 Read more

Bribery should not be used as motivation to practise – The Strad

by Tim Topham

Intrinsic v Extrinsic Motivation in Music Students Building on the ideas of one of my previous articles: Why extrinsic rewards are so bad for motivation, you might have missed this great article from string teaching magazine, The Strad. In it, a parent delves into some research about bribes, motivation and practice to come up with ... Bribery should not be used as motivation to practise – The Strad

01/28/2015 Read more
 

Join the the preeminent professional development, learning and networking community for instrumental music teachers.

 
topmusic topmusic
 

How to get addicted to practising piano

by Tim Topham

If you want to be really, really good at something, you have to be addicted to it. You need to be in a state where you are thinking about it all the time, even when you’re not doing it. You talk about it, you have friends that do it, you dream about it. Imagine having ... How to get addicted to practising piano

08/27/2011 Read more

Are scales irrelevant?

by Tim Topham

Last Sunday I had the pleasure of attending the VMTA’s “Clifford Lecture” given by Professor Gary McPherson from the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, a brilliant speaker who never fails to engage, enthrall and challenge his listeners. The 2-hour presentation was based on some of his research into musical talent in adolescents, which he has been ... Are scales irrelevant?

08/13/2011 Read more

The hardest thing about practice is…not playing on!

by Tim Topham

One of the hardest things about effective, deliberate practice is knowing when to stop! Have you ever experienced this situation: You decide to work on a small phrase of your music, perhaps just a bar or hand position change to a tricky chord, only to find a few seconds later, you’ve already gone on and ... The hardest thing about practice is…not playing on!

08/06/2011 Read more

Focused Piano Practice: How to improve the value of your practising

by Tim Topham

What is focused piano practice? If you’re not exhausted after practising, you could probably focus harder and achieve more in less time. What do you think? How long do your students practise for? Sure, there are times when just playing through pieces is all you might have the time or energy to do, but if ... Focused Piano Practice: How to improve the value of your practising

07/31/2011 Read more

How to practice away from the piano

by Tim Topham

In an attempt to keep my teaching current and to learn from what the masters did in the past and consider how this affects modern playing and teaching, I am forever reading articles and books by noted pianists and teachers. If there is one thing that they all have in common, right back to the ... How to practice away from the piano

07/26/2011 Read more

Do you make these mistakes in your piano practice?

by Tim Topham

Practising music is something we need to learn how to do and until we do, we will probably make some mistakes. This article highlights some of the most common errors made in music practice and tells you how to amend them. The result will be that you can begin to progress on your instrument with ... Do you make these mistakes in your piano practice?

06/22/2011 Read more