Piano/Keyboard lessons in Celbridge or anywhere in the world
I like the song Never Enough from the movie The Greatest Showman a lot. In fact, it’s on my bucket list. Here’s me playing it. It’s not perfect. I learnt it mostly by ear. The melody by ear and the chords partly by guitar chord sheets. I like the song so much that it’s actually …
Continue reading “Why I’m Against Teaching Western Classical Music”
Imagine saying this to a child: “No, you can’t open your mouth and talk unless you are reading from a book.” This would be extremely odd, isn’t it? Surely a child or anyone should be able to open their mouth and say something – how they are feeling, describe the weather, objects, their lives, etc. …
Continue reading “No, you can’t talk unless you read a book”
I was having a chat with a dad who’s training to be a tennis coach. He said that he had to ‘force’ his son to pick up tennis and his son didn’t like it at first. However, his son started to like the game when he developed some skill in it and started going for …
Continue reading “He Didn’t Like Tennis When he First Started it”
Sometimes a student asks to learn a certain piece and I would say no. Sometimes a student asks to perform a piece for a student concert and I would say no. Why? It is something like: a runner has completed a 5k and has never done more than 5k. Now s/he wants to run a …
I often get asked by parents how much should their child practise each day? This is obviously a very subjective question and you are likely to get different responses depending on who you ask. Here’s my response: it depends. If the student is motivated to practise the piano without having someone or something to urge …
When I was a teenager, I would listen to the soothing piano music that’s played in the heart-wrenching drama serials on the telly. I love the music. The music spoke to me. I felt connected with the music. So, I decided that I wanted to learn to play the piano. My mum and I went …
Continue reading “What Type of Music Can You Play on the Piano?”
I am uncovering better ways of teaching piano by doing it and helping others do it.Through this work I have come to value: Playing by ear over reading notes at all times Creating your own music over executing other people’s works at all times Performing frequently over taking graded exams Improvising using scales and arpeggios …
Scenario A student who is taught the traditional way A student who is taught by Joseph What instrument does the student need? An acoustic piano is required. Annual tuning is required. Takes 2-3 persons to move the piano. A keyboard with full sized keys and a sustaining pedal is the minimum. Most students upgrade to …
Continue reading “Music Students Taught the Traditional Way Versus How Joseph Teaches”
When I taught piano many years ago, maybe it was 20 years ago, I taught students the way I was taught – focus on passing exams by learning three exam pieces per year. As part of the exams, I will practise all my scales and arpeggios diligently. Needless to say, the focus during lessons is …
Continue reading “Why I Stopped Teaching Piano the ‘Traditional’ Way”
