A Wedding Pianist at Colshaw Hall - That's Me!

Yesterday was a very special day for two people who I have known for quite some years now: Luke Clayton and Liv (Olivia) Riseley.

Despite my "busy" schedule (stop laughing), I do still find the time now and then to be an events pianist, and so I was delighted to be asked to play for the wedding breakfast at Colshaw Hall, Over Peover.

So, up I showed - armed with my trusty digital piano and speaker and an iPad loaded with a score playlist of pop songs including 'A Thousand Years', 'Can't Help Falling in Love', 'My Girl' and 'I'm Yours' and - of course - songs from the musicals, such as 'For Forever', 'All I Ask of You', 'Helpless' (Hamilton is a very interesting score to piano-fy!), 'Shallow' and 'As Long As You're Mine' (it's an important month to be a Wicked fan!)

The latter category of songs from the shows was especially important for the happy couple, given that they met during the rehearsals for the Macclesfield Majestic Theatre Group's 2016 pantomime 'Aladdin' - of which I was musical director (in fact, it was here I met Liv. I had already known Luke for a few years by that point!)

So, it mustn't come as a shock to you to know that the two of them are enormously talented when it comes to singing, dancing and acting!

Therefore, it didn't come as much of a shock to me when Luke asked if I could accompany a 'spontaneous' performance of him singing 'Amazed' by Lonestar. We had previously rehearsed it, of course, but despite his self confessed nerves (enormously understandable) he gave one of the most perfect performances of his life! It was truly an honour to be the accompanist here, and it isn't just because I already knew Luke that I agreed to this: I always like to go the extra mile for people when playing at an event for them, whether that be playing a special song at a certain point or - as in this case - accompanying.

Huge congratulations to Luke and Liv and thank you for allowing me to be part of your special day!

If you need inspiration as to whether or not you would like to book me as your own wedding pianist, try the video below of me playing 'Perfect' by Ed Sheeran:

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Jack Mitchell Smith is a piano teacher based in Congleton, Cheshire. Click here to find out more.

Weekly blogs are posted that may help you with your musical or piano journey. Click here to sign up to the mailing list so you never miss a post!

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#piano #wedding #weddingpianist #weddingmusic #congleton #knutsford

Remembering Warwick Nixon

It’s not often that I would write following on from having performed at a funeral. Perhaps a wedding, given that the occasion might be somewhat happier.

However, yesterday - Monday 2nd December - saw myself and my writing partner in crime - lyricist Lesley Creasser Guymer - bidding a very important character in our lives his final farewell at Birches Crematorium in Northwich.

For those who need a little background, myself and Lesley have been working on a musical adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story ‘Morella’ - and have been for well over a decade.

Having staged a successful condensed production (that in additional to having been fleshed out, has been rewritten several times!) back in 2014 at King Edward Street Chapel as part of Macclesfield’s Barnaby Arts Festival, we decided that the way to go ‘fully fledged’ was actually to record the entire concept album! No mean feat.

Thanks to some people who we already knew as well as the Internet, we managed to cast almost all of the parts, calling once again on the services of Micheal Daws as our male lead and welcoming back Eddie Melling, Tom Blackwell, Rosie Carlisle and Patsy Phillips to the cast. The Internet was on our side too, as we welcomed Rosanne Priest and Alex Allison.

A name familiar to me yet unfamiliar to ‘Morella’ - Nicky Evans - was gladly welcomed, whereas Lesley had her own similar input; a friend of hers who she didn’t realise had such as good baritone. Warwick Nixon.

Of course, back then we were recording at the Old Saw Mill in Congleton and we leaped at the chance to bring Warwick down and try him out in the role of Lead Sailor - a very important part as - whilst only small - sings perhaps one of Lesley’s most personal works: “Song o’ the Sea”.

He already did justice as not only was he cast, but we demoed all of his parts. He appears in just five songs - one of which is a mere cameo line! Yet he was enthusiastic about it right through.

Towards the end of 2023 we were glad to welcome Warwick back to put down his final recordings, though evidently as a result of his then newfound enthusiasm to sing (courtesy of us, I am led to believe!) his much more recent experience at singing in a choir plus singing lessons surprised both of us at how much his voice had come on. Much more confident and altogether richer.

Warwick recording the final tracks in 2023

Whilst it’s fair to say that Warwick himself was keen to do them all again as he wasn’t 100% happy - Lesley and I felt a similar way (though we felt much more of it was usable than he did!).

And that was the last time I personally saw him, however his mark was very much left.

Cycling back round to yesterday, I was called upon to accompany the Biddulph Male Voice Choir - with whom he sang - to perform two pieces: “Mansions of the Lord” (from ‘We Were Soldiers’, I believe) and “African Prayer”. Whilst the first piece is much more inkeeping with what you may expect at a typical funeral - even a non-religious one such as Warwick’s, “African Prayer” brought a tremendous energy to the room that was contrasting and brilliant in its own right. The choir did him proud, and I can only imagine the sense of completion that they would have found had Warwick been there with them delivering his low - but very powerful - tones.

As I have been sat over the last couple of weeks listening and re listening to the songs that were recorded by Warwick for ‘Morella’, it is clear that he cannot be replaced. His voice will be used on the final album and will be cherished by us and all those who loved him.

Thank you Warwick for all you did for us, and thank you for believing in the project.

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Reflecting on Piano Practice and Progress in 2024

Today is 30th November, which means that Advent begins tomorrow. The countdown to Christmas!

And with Christmas in full swing, it’s natural that for many of us our practice sessions may go out of the window!

Even when they are ‘in the window’, we can become distracted by excitement at what’s to come.

Maybe next Saturday you’re going out for a Christmas work’s do and that’ll be on your mind for your whole practice session.

The week after that you’re going to the Christmas markets the day after and you’re just super excited!

Maybe the week after that your practice session is a little…worse for wear…thanks to the…Mulled Wine or the...Bailey’s Hot Chocolate.

Not to mention Christmas week itself - notoriously a laaaaaaazy week, and one in which barely anything gets done. Aside from cooking Christmas Dinner and one mammoth washing up chore  on the big day (and then relying on heaps of leftovers to sustain yourself for the rest of the week), everything from practice to homework to housework to exercise becomes kind of…seconded!

But that’s fine, because we’re going to get ahead of the game.

If you’ve been learning since last year or prior then you’ve already got the entirety of 2024 under your belt up to now anyway, and if not you’ll still have plenty to be going off.

So step one into reassuring yourself in a few week’s time when the climax - and anticlimax - of Christmas hits is…

Write Down Five Piano Practice Wins You Have Achieved in 2024

The term ‘win’ is, of course, subjective. One person’s development of a fluid scale might be another person’s walk in the park, so they may consider an extremely intricate passage from a specific piece of music as a win. You will find, however, that there will be much progress in your piano practice in 2024 as you write them down.

Don’t be afraid of getting into the nitty gritty, either.

For example, you could write:

“I am very pleased that I can now perform a confident D major arpeggio”,

…but why write something generic like that when you could also write:

“I can now descend my arpeggios as confidently as I can ascend, and my evenness and tempo has dramatically increased and improved”.

If you’re not already keeping a homework or practice diary, this may be a good sign to start one as looking back, you’ll realise how far you really have come!

If you love learning the piano regardless of the external influences of life, then practising may not be an issue for you going forward. However, if you’re struggling to focus amid the excitement of the festivities, consider a rethink. Rather than neglecting practice, try to

Make Your Piano Practice All About Christmas

It’s a similar principle to doing a jigsaw puzzle: if you’re doing a jigsaw of a picture you don’t actually like, you’ll be less motivated to do it.

Obviously the theory is you like the things you are learning when it comes to piano, but if you’ve a jigsaw puzzle on the go and somebody buys you a nice, shiny new one then that immediately becomes more interesting and your motivation goes away from what you’re working on and towards the more ‘current’ one.

This is also true of practice: If you feel that the music you are learning isn’t fully honouring the feel that you wish to feel in your current situation, make it work!

Think how exciting it is when you switch on a radio station in December and all the Christmas songs start being played! It’s such a refreshing change, even if the stations are usually quite good at playing a mix.

What songs would get you in the mood?

Perhaps a traditional song or a carol?

Maybe a Christmas pop song? (A dying breed, I know…)

Maybe some classical Christmas, such as Bach’s ‘Christmas Oratorio’.

Maybe just a non-festive but seasonal piece, such as ‘Let It Snow’ or Chopin’s ‘Winter Wind’ Etude (not for the faint hearted, mind…)

The point is, music is incredibly powerful at depicting just about any feeling, emotion, sensation, thought or idea that you can throw at it, so whatever you’re feeling excited about outside of the practice room…music has your back and there will be something to reflect this inside the room too.

If you need some inspiration to get you in the mood for something festive or - in this case - wintery, here’s me performing Debussy’s Prelude No. VI: Des Pas Sur La Neige - which translates as ‘Footprints in the Snow’. Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for piano tips, tricks and more videos of me showing off like this! ;

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Jack Mitchell Smith is a piano teacher based in Macclesfield, Cheshire. Click here to find out more.

Weekly blogs are posted that may help you with your musical or piano journey. Click here to sign up to the mailing list so you never miss a post!

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#musiclesson #pianolesson #pianoteacher #musicteacher #pianopractice #christmas #christmaspiano