"How to Master Piano Practice and Performance: Five Essential Tips for Success"

Needless to say, piano practice and performance is an incredible personal journey. However, there are some things that I think are absolutely indispensable.

You've got your piano.

You've got your music.

You've got your drive to learn.

Is that all?

Ye...NO!

Here is a short blog post in which I explore five things that I not only love having, but NEED to help me get through a session of practice (and sometimes performing!)

Disclaimer - as a starting point, I have linked to various websites. I have nothing but praise for the ones I have linked to, and am not in any way sponsored by them. They are merely starting points for you to explore the products yourself!

Metronome

I can almost hear the collective groan of pianists - novice and expert - around the world as they read that title! However, metronome we must!

Though it does encourage a rather static performance from us, it teaches us a lot about discipline. Rhythmic discipline i.e. keeping notes nice and even where needed, and tempo discipline i.e. resisting the urge to speed up or slow down.

Yes, you can download metronomes to your phone or tablet. Yes, you can purchase digital metronomes. However, being of the old fashioned persuasion, my essential for piano practice is a real, mechanical metronome.

The minute you set that pendulum swinging you hear it brightly - almost harshly. Horrible, right? Well...maybe. But unlike digital metronomes and especially unlike little smartphone speakers, the clockwork metronomes of old (and new) are designed to be audible above what is already a very loud instrument (and the piano is an extremely loud instrument!).

Therefore, I recommend the old fashioned clockwork metronomes above all else - especially if you are using an acoustic piano.

NB I have never tried the fairly new concept of the wrist metronome - they vibrate rather than making a sound - but this is supposed to be a revolutionary approach to practising with a metronome too. Why not look into these as an alternative if you're not a fan of the ticking sort?

Earplugs

Perhaps this is another one that is written from the point of view of somebody who uses an acoustic piano to practice and play at home, but as musicians our ears are extremely precious and we must protect them!

Of course, earplugs are known for their usefulness in helping to preserve our hearing in the long run (something worth considering if you're practising a lot - especially if like me your acoustic piano is in a small room with lots of reflection), but you'll be surprised at how much better you feel after a session of practice with vs. without earplugs.

The reason for this is all to do with a scientific phenomenon called 'Listener Fatigue' or 'Ear Fatigue', and when it comes to the piano in particular it can be triggered not just by volume, but by excessive exposure to certain frequencies (remember that the piano - at 88 keys - has the largest range of most any acoustic instrument).

Earplugs not only prevent too much excess noise from getting in, but they are able to cap the frequency of what is coming in without compromising much at all on the quality of the sound so that you still get enjoyment from practice and playing. Technological minds, think of it like compressing WAV to MP3 - we take out all those frequencies we don't want but it still sounds as good to us!

I use Loop Earplugs, and those of you who follow me on TikTok and YouTube may have noticed I have started to wear them more in my videos. But if not, this is testament to the fact that they are fairly discreet. And just in case you were wondering - they are comfortable. Barely noticeable, in fact!

Power-Ball

This is my personal choice, but it's worth thinking about ways in which you can exercise any problem areas (or keep general movability and health around the hands) by investing in a gadget that is designed for this purpose.

A power-ball is a ball that you hold in the hand and spin with your wrist and - using the magic of kinetic energy - you can create additional weight by moving faster or slower. Thus, you are building up and / or exercising the strength in your wrist.

I chose this because it helps me keep a fluid, agile wrist motion, but if you're struggling with other things - such as moving the fingers - consider finger exercisers or stress balls. Anything really that you can turn to during practice if you start to feel a little fatigue or weakness in the area to just help give it a boost.

Pencil (and Rubber!)

This one is a fantastic one because you probably already have this classic duo in your house. Maybe you've even got a pencil with a rubber on the top - two for one!

But why? We don't play piano with pencils, do we?

We don't. But we often learn using sheet music and sheet music is almost crying out to be written all over! The second that something is a little unclear on a score, write on the answer. Or a helpful hint for when you're playing. Or circle or underline any dynamic or tempo markings you keep skimming over!

But most crucially, do it in pencil. For if you end up writing a lot, it becomes a mess. If you no longer need the marking, rub it out! This means that when you start to play through the piece again using the music, you will begin to more instinctively reference what's written as opposed to referencing your pencil markings as they no longer exist - something that will help your sight reading.

Plus - playing a piece really well that has no pencil markings on it at all just looks more impressive!

iPad

How times have changed since I was learning to those who learn now!

Laptop computers were barely accessible when I was learning piano, let alone something that could actually literally fit more naturally onto a music stand than most sheet music publications ever! Plus they're always well lit because they're on a digitally lit screen!

But my iPad argument on this particular occasion isn't for the use of reading music off them. Granted, this is of enormous benefit and - if you have the luxury of a page turner - even better for helping you perform fluidly.

However, from a practising point of view, let's not forget that iPads - or any other tablet - as well as smartphones if you don't have a tablet - or computers if you don't have either of those - are usually connected to the Internet these days. And if you know anything about the Internet then you'll know - it has everything you could possibly need on it.

Don't understand an exercise? YouTube it!

Forgotten how to find a note? Google it!

Want to hear how a piece should be played? Spotify it!

It's almost unthinkable that ten years ago this was still quite new technology that was hardly being used to its full potential by musicians.

But we now proudly have it, so we may as well use it!

Bonus Entry - Money

This one's a bit sad, as we'd all much rather put our money towards a trip to the Caribbean rather than a formal piano necessity. But if you do budget it in at a time that you don't miss it, you won't feel you do miss it when the time actually comes to part with it.

If you have an acoustic piano, it will need maintenance. The one essential maintenance that will have to be done at least once a year (more if you use it a lot) is tuning. How much to put aside is really the length of a piece of string. Is your piano quite badly out of tune or is it just on the point of detuning (where one or more strings that make up a single note aren't on the exact same frequency. creating a 'chorus' type effect).

Some piano tuners will charge the same regardless, whereas some will charge more for a piano that needs a lot of tuning. In addition to this, do you play a lot? If so, maybe you need to put aside twice as much per year so you can keep it better tuned as the more you play, the faster it will go out of tune (remember the advice of annually is just an average!).

Sadly, it is an expensive game and - whilst it is worth shopping around - it certainly isn't worth skimping on. Remember that a good tuner will probably perform a standard annual piano tuning in an hour or so, but add on that they need to get to you. Plus any commission if you are booking their service through a company (and if they are self employed - don't even get me started on how they can be mistreated financially by those not in the know!).

I've seen some people offer services for £50. I've seen some for £200. Ultimately, you need to know that you will get a tuned piano by the end of it, but maybe the £50 would be there all day using tuning forks and more, whereas the £200 could do it in an hour just by using ear. When you think you have settled on a budget, try to either make the effort to save or - if you already have the money available and are in a position to not miss it right now - put it aside ready.

Other maintenance that you may need to consider may include restringing, lubricating sticky / stuck keys or replacing keys that have completely lost leverage, replacing damaged pedalboards and voicing (softening the hammers). Piano tuners can often advise on anything they feel needs to be addressed, so it is worth asking. Some of them may even be qualified and able to do it at the same time. Regardless, keep putting money aside for your piano just to be on the safe side and when it comes time to invest or pay anybody it won't feel so tragic.

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#piano #pianist #pianolesson #pianoteacher #pianokit #beginnerpiano #learnpiano #macclesfield #congleton #cheshire

Setting up Your Piano Room

If you have a brand new piano, congratulations!

I have no doubt you have done your research and are well on the way to setting up a space in which your piano is the focus, will be well loved and maintained and you can breathe out every ti...

Oh...

You're shoved it in the corner of the dining room?...

...the dining table is 2 foot behind it, meaning you have to squeeze in to sit down?...

...you're keeping all your paperwork on top of the piano??

This is - I hope - an extreme example. Yet it is the perfect setup to make sure that you never enjoy practising or playing.

I respect very much the fact that we have to make compromises - houses can't always be accommodating of our dream music room, and often the piano does become a fixture in a room for which it isn't its sole purpose - such as the dining room (or even the office!).

But let's work on the assumption that every single thing is possible as I encourage you to work down the list and adjust anything you can to get the creativity flowing...

My piano on moving in day - in an empty room that was, at least, correctly carpeted and painted!

The Logistics

Before I explore the delights of the inspirational elements of setting up your music space / room, let's just check a few logistics:

Space

As we well know, you need to be able to sit at the piano at such a distance that you can fully outstretch your arms and only just be touching the fall-board. This means that it isn't enough to settle for being squashed into a corner - even if it feels only a minor inconvenience. You need to be able to move quite freely, with space behind your arms so that if you were to 'jump' off the keys neither they 'nor your elbows would not be in danger of hitting anything. If this isn't the case, this is one of the most essential changes you need to make. If you're really serious about learning piano properly, you might just need to rearrange that room to allow the piano to be moved somewhere more open.

Sound

As a general rule, upright pianos should be up against the wall and grand / baby grand pianos work best with some breathing space around the entire instrument. Whereas this is not always the easiest to apply to the home, it is worth making sure that you follow the rule at least for the upright piano (see my next point). As well as being set in a position to absorb some of the sound, it's worth pointing out that - unlike their grand counterparts which are 360 full degrees of beauty - the back of most upright pianos (even the top end ones) are seldom anything to write home about. This crosses over somewhat into the next main heading - the Inspiration - but worth a consideration.

Furthermore, it's worth choosing carefully which wall you do put your upright piano against. If you have neighbours backed onto a wall, remember it is easier to assume that they will complain - so avoid that wall in the first instance and save the need to move it somewhere else later on. Outside walls are good - internal walls are better still. Don't forget - sound interference is a two way stream! If your piano is in your living room on a busy street, are you going to be irritated by the sound of traffic constantly flowing? Or people walking past the house every couple of minutes?

If you have the wall space to spare, grand and baby grand pianos can certainly be pushed up against them to protect precious floorspace in a room, but these are instruments that really do benefit from the acoustics. If you don't have the space to make them a centrepiece it's unlikely you'll have invested in one in the first place - but if you do, make sure you respect it as a piano first. Treating it as a display table when not in use (putting over a tablecloth and displaying ornaments) is OK. Serving dinner off it...is not!

Heat

Another one that may be harder to put into practice but it is one to consider regardless;

Pianos don't like excess heat.

You certainly want to avoid backing pianos onto radiators, but you don't really want pianos near radiators if you can avoid it. Anything that gives off heat can warp the strings faster.

In addition to this, you need to be mindful of direct sunlight. Your two options that are doable by most every household are:

• put the piano against a wall that you know doesn't get any sunlight or
  

• use blinds instead of curtains and control how much sunlight is shining onto your piano (keep the blinds closed if going away for long periods of time).

The Inspiration

If you have the luxury of being able to designate a room to your piano, this is the section for you. But even if not - here are some tips to help maximise your output by keeping you inspired!

Colour Scheme

Even if you need to reconsider the colour scheme of an existing room - such as the dining room - it may be worth it. But definitely consider this as your push to think colour scheme!

You won't have chosen a piano that you don't like. So your piano will be an inspirational instrument for you to begin with. However, your room needs to be an extension of that.

For me personally, I love the idea of 'blank' canvas as this feels like something I can almost physically project my ideas onto. So wallpaper would be out of the question for me, leaving a plain painted wall - all one colour - as the way to go.

For me, keep it light! Regardless of how much natural light may be coming into the room anyway, lightness inspires! I have cream walls and a lovely, dark red carpet to contrast.

It all has to match, though. My black piano against cream walls works beautifully, however a white piano against those same walls may get a little lost. We still want to encourage light, however, so maybe a light shade of blue could be the ticket.

Anything goes, really - but it has to work for you!

Organisation

My first full size piano was actually an electric piano, and it lay in the hallway of our house where I remember chanting on many occasions phrases such as 'this is not a dumping ground!'.

This is especially true in a room that's not just designated for piano. In an office it may be tempting to leave papers on top, or you might find in a dining room that things get stored on it. Remember that as you sit at an upright piano, all of that is on an eye level with you so...if that's a mess...you get the idea (tidy desk, tidy mind etc. etc.).

Consider a more formal storage solution if you wish to keep your scores handily accessible. If you only have a few, lots of piano stools can store music. Otherwise, you can install cupboards or open units (such as Kallax) at a height above the piano (or next to if there is enough space between you and a wall to your side) so that it is easy reach but not in your face whilst playing.

If you absolutely insist on displaying things on top of the piano (such as ornaments), keep it classy by putting down a nice cloth. But bear in mind any inconveniences you may come across by doing so - no matter how small (for example, if you record a lot using the open lid, you'll have to take this display off and put it back on...every...single...time!)

Keep it Clean!

For an extension on keeping your space organised, we now discuss keeping it clean!

Who knows truly if dirt and dust is black or white? It shows up remarkably well on a black piano. It shows up remarkably well on a white piano. Either way, it's ugly. Therefore, keep your piano looking as fresh as can be with a good dusting every now and then. Once you see the shininess of a piano come back, it's amazing how much more motivating it is to play it!

Artwork and Progress

You have everything else in place now. A nice colour scheme, organisation and cleanliness. Now we can personalise.

If there is any picture art that you like that fits the aesthetic but most importantly inspires you, consider it for the wall. Imagine how it could influence your playing and your desire to play if it were the one directly facing you as you sit at the instrument!

And why stop there?

Avoiding cluttering, consider other motivational things that can go round your room to help.

Are there any pictures of you playing a special performance? Perhaps you have your latest grade certificates? In my case - directly facing me as I sit on the piano is a waveform of my first composition - 'The Butterfly' - taken from Spotify.

Investing in a piano is a big step. Heck, even accepting a free one is a big step!

But regardless of this, you can't rely on your instrument alone to bring you the maximum enjoyment. You can extend the influence into the piano room and ultimately create a circle of inspiration that is always guaranteed to capture your imagination and make you work as hard as possible towards playing piano!

Note the cream walls and Grade certificates by my side. I don't keep things on top of the piano to allow for easy opening of the lid when recording.

Behind the piano is my 'Butterfly' waveform, and notice at the top, my scores are kept out of eyeshot whilst playing, but easy reach when I need them!

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#piano #pianist #musicroom #pianoroom #pianoteacher #macclesfield #Cheshire #congleton

'Head over Heels' - Two Years Later

Today marks the two year anniversary of the release of 'Head Over Heels' - my two disc musical album that was initially an outlet for my burning desire to write something, only to develop into a project that showcased the best of local talent.

Original Cover Art, designed by Samantha Oates

Featuring no less than 22 singers from around the Macclesfield and Congleton area, I'd love to take this opportunity to share with you what it is, how it came to be and more!

The Story

There is no narrative throughout 'Head Over Heels' as an album, so to call it a concept album may be quite misleading. However, the story behind the album might be brought more into question:

Music was and always has been a passion for me, but back in the year of 2017 I wasn't particularly feeling it. The idea of writing something such as a variety album was always in the back of my mind but it would take too much commitment for me - then in full time employment - to want to do.

Over the years I had done a handful of shows with the local amateur musical society - Macclesfield Majestic Theatre Group - and in doing so I had come across a wealth of people who had voices that I just wanted to explore, but my time was taken up by either working or - if I did have time to devote to music - somebody else's project (such as musically directing pantomimes for MMTG).

Perhaps it was the eventual tiredness of music that led me to turn down their very kind offer for me to musically direct their 2018 pantomime, but I did and I felt immediate relief.

I did, however, go and support them by booking a ticket.

Ordinarily the excitement of a pantomime is the crowning glory of a lot of hard work, but because I hadn't done any hard work towards this one the excitement I felt actually became the push to do something! And what was that to be?

An album. Featuring some of them and plenty of other people I knew from the area who weren't involved in that particular production.

By now it was 2018 and what followed was a series of contacting friends and asking them to come down to the Majestic's rehearsal rooms - which they very kindly lent me keys for - to teach them a song and to record a basic piano and vocal demo. By the time I had started seeing people, all of the songs were written...

The Songs

I had opted to write lyrics that were to be publicly available for the first time in my life. I never considered myself a lyricist and approached the job from a much more tongue in cheek way than many others might have done.

'Head Over Heels' was the first brand new composition that I came up with music and lyrics for after seeing the pantomime, but many others followed and underwent several rewrites.

'A New Life' and 'The Midnight Hour' were ones I had already composed, so I just set lyrics to them.

'Dismissive' became an incredibly wordy piece as I just needed to keep adding to it to be able to resolve the narrative!

'The Man with No Identity' was written with so much abstractness that when I reread the words I had no clue what I had been writing about. And, despite this - or maybe because of it - I actually kept these lyrics!

But most of the songs were quite easy to divide between people who I already knew:

For the purpose of both original demo and final release, Eddie Melling sang 'A New Life', Sidney Smith sang 'Take a Walk', Rebecca Clulow sang 'Back to Reality', Pete Munro sang 'The Midnight Hour', Sarah Powell sang 'Head Over Heels', Nickie Simms sang 'Thank You for the Call', Alex Bingle sang 'Dreams', Luke Stevenson sang 'Notice Me', Fleur Evangeline sang 'It's True', Calum Hogan sang 'The Man with No Identity', and Tom Blackwell sang 'My Dying Day'.

Luckily, these people collectively knew lots of people, and I was pleased to be introduced to Simon Hoffman ('Rulebook'), Giles Hardwick ('One Wonder') and Emily Redwood ('I'll Be There') who demo'd and went on to record their songs on the final album.

And by being introduced to somebody completely new for whom I did not have a song - Simon Waring - his voice alone inspired a brand new song - 'Mister Illusion'.

With all of this and some provisional demos of 'More than a Word', 'Closer', 'Kids Play', 'Judgement Day' and 'Dismissive' - all performed brilliantly but by people who sadly couldn't commit to the final project - I was armed with my 20 songs!

Phase two...

The Tracks

In order to create the tracks, I used my then notation software - Myriad's 'Harmony Assistant' - to create the most basic scores to pass along to a drummer, bassist and guitarist. The drum parts consisted of mere hits and the word 'fill' when I wanted a fill. Occasionally I would notate a specific bassline (such as in 'Notice Me') or guitar part, but generally these parts were based around chord symbols and I gave free rein to the guitarists.

Have a browse through the slideshow to see some example scores that were sent to musicians:

Using an exported MIDI file from Harmony Assistant, I uploaded this into Logic Pro and was able to alter the click track to account for all rises and falls of tempo, on top of which I recorded a dummy piano part so that the instrumentalists had something to play along to that was more interesting than just the click! (I did keep bouncing updated tracks as new musicians came along).

'Head Over Heels' - final Logic Project (unmastered)

First to the table, Glenn Charles put down his drum tracks.

And then two bassists - Liv Baker-Mendoza and Chris Thompson.

Then a guitarist - Ryszard Kolendo - who put down both electric and acoustic guitar parts.

I did a little bit of orchestration and sent this off to Michael Kearley (who had provided bassoons towards the recording of 'Morella' and played flute in 'Spectroscopy') to lay down a few flute parts, and for the title track itself I scored out a very basic violin part which was recorded by Sarah Jackson. Colin Jones - another player on 'Morella' (trumpets) gave me some more trumpet tracks for a few songs on this project and even did some trombone (on the song 'Dismissive').

Whilst the orchestration was being done, I recorded piano and keyboard parts.

Recording

It was time to bring the original cast back together!

Well, most of them.

But it was OK - most of them came back and they all did a fabulous job!

Sarah Powell recording the title track - 'Head Over Heels'

But to finish the project I had to reach out again.

I was introduced to a few people - Becka Gill who would record 'Closer' alongside Kate Darlington, who I had met in 2020 (after I'd recorded initial demo), Alicia Whittaker and Danny Gilman who recorded 'Judgement Day' and Louise Colohan who recorded 'Dismissive'.

The only vocal that was recorded remotely belonged to an old schoolfriend - Joe Ryan - who recorded 'Kids Play' from Dubai!

Meanwhile, advertising had begun with little teaser snippets - such as this one featuring Alex Bingle:

Once everything was recorded, it took a while to be mixed and mastered but what followed was the release!

Showtime!

Showtime for the album was 22nd April 2022 - the official release date of 'Head Over Heels'. Initially released under West Kingston Productions - my company at the time - it proved a success.

But there had been a showtime prior to this!

On Saturday 9th April 2022, we showcased some of the songs from the show!

And what a show it was!

Whilst we did miss Sarah Powell for the title track (Louise Colohan stepped in expertly - below), the night was a resounding success and we managed to shift a few CDs prior to their official release - and give away some download codes (again prior to their official release!).

Louise Colohan sings 'Head Over Heels' in Sarah Powell's absence

Where To Get It

That's right - it's still available!

Whilst you won't find it anymore on the commercial MP3 download or streaming services, it is very much available to download from my website.

So give it a download and give it a listen - it's great fun and I know you'll love it!

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#macclesfield #congleton #headoverheels #Cheshire #music #musical #musicaltheatre #album #popmusic #rockmusic #soundtrack