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24 Préludes (Books I & II)
Debussy’s 24 Prélude are often cited as the apotheosis of impressionism, as the composer experimented with compositional and pianistic elements to portray a wide array of landscapes, atmospheres, historical references, and ancient themes in miniature form. Debussy placed titles at the conclusion of each Prélude rather than at the beginning,... Read >>
There’s Even More to Playing the Piano
A practical introduction to advanced music theory
Following on from There's More to Playing the Piano, this course delves into advanced theory beyond Grade 5, covering topics such as harmony, counterpoint, form and even an introduction to jazz!... Read >>
Repertoire Ideas (Part 1)
Graham Fitch and Fred Karpoff present a selection of repertoire ideas, including both popular works and hidden gems.... Read >>
Getting to Grips with Octaves
Having great octave technique is an essential hallmark of virtuosity, but what’s the secret to developing it? In this module Graham Fitch provides a comprehensive guide to developing octave technique using numerous examples from the repertoire, video demonstrations and exercises.... Read >>
A Guide to the ABRSM Syllabus (2023 - 2024)
This series provides a detailed guide to the ABRSM piano examination syllabus for 2023 - 2024, including video walk-throughs with practice suggestions, tips on style and interpretation and other ideas for a selection of pieces (from initial to Grade 8).... Read >>
Carl Czerny - Eight-Measure Exercises (Op. 821)
A guided tour of selected exercises
Carl Czerny’s works are often thought of as a ‘necessary evil’ that will magically further a pianist’s technique. As with all repertoire, outstanding results can only be achieved by working better, not harder. Fred Karpoff shows how Czerny’s Eight-Measure Exercises, in particular, are an excellent vehicle for quickly addressing specific... Read >>
A Guide to the Trinity College Piano Syllabus (2021 - 2023)
This series features video walk-throughs of a selection of pieces from Trinity College London’s 2021 - 2023 piano examination syllabus, giving plenty of tips for practice, as well as suggestions for piano teachers, and guidance on matters relating to style and interpretation.... Read >>
Jailbreaking Hanon
Should the exercises of Charles-Louis Hanon be consigned to the dustbins of history or can they be useful if done mindfully, with choreography based on modern thinking about piano technique? In this lecture series, Graham Fitch shows many applications for Hanon's exercises, including how they can be used as a... Read >>
A Guide to the Trinity College Piano Syllabus (2018 - 2020)
This series features video demonstrations of a selection of pieces from Trinity College London’s 2018 - 2020 piano examination syllabus, with examples from each grade from Initial to 8. You will find plenty of tips for practice, as well as suggestions for piano teachers, and guidance on matters relating to... Read >>
How to Learn a New Piece
In this video series Graham Fitch shows how to lay strong foundations from the outset when learning a new piece. The videos feature numerous examples from the ABRSM syllabus covering such topics as background research, analysis, fingering, interpretation and practice methods.... Read >>
Etudes & Studies – Czerny (Part 1)
Practical Method for Beginners (Op. 599)
In this lecture series, Ilga Pitkevica gives a tour of Czerny’s Practical Method for Beginners (Op. 599), explaining how and why these etudes should be used for developing and teaching both musical and technical skills. Ilga provides detailed suggestions for each of her favourite etudes from the collection practising, avoiding... Read >>
ABRSM Grade 6 - Piano Exam Pieces
This collection of video walk-throughs from our guide to the ABRSM 2021 & 2022 piano examination syllabus provides practice suggestions, tips on style and interpretation and other ideas for each of the Grade 6 pieces.... Read >>
ABRSM Grade 5 - Piano Exam Pieces
This collection of video walk-throughs from our guide to the ABRSM 2021 & 2022 piano examination syllabus provides practice suggestions, tips on style and interpretation and other ideas for each of the Grade 5 pieces.... Read >>
ABRSM Grade 4 - Piano Exam Pieces
This collection of video walk-throughs from our guide to the ABRSM 2021 & 2022 piano examination syllabus provides practice suggestions, tips on style and interpretation and other ideas for each of the Grade 4 pieces.... Read >>
Prelude in C minor (BWV 999)
ABRSM Grade 4 – A1
Built from a harmonic progression and originally written for lute we can recreate some of the resonance of that instrument either by short touches of pedal, or by overholding some notes of the broken chords.... Read >>
Mazurka in G minor (Op. 67 No. 2)
ABRSM Grade 6 – B1
The mazurka is based on the Polish folk dance that originated in Mazovia, near Warsaw. Chopin wrote more than 50 mazurkas and listening to a variety of them will help develop a sense of the characteristic style. This example, in G minor, was written in the last year of Chopin’s... Read >>
25 Easy and Progressive Etudes (Op. 100)
Walkthroughs
Burgmüller’s 25 Easy and Progressive Etudes, Op. 100 have been a mainstay of elementary étude repertoire for many generations - and deservedly so. I cannot imagine any young pianist or elementary player who would not immediately engage with, or benefit from learning them. This series of videos provides walkthroughs of... Read >>
The Exercises of Peter Feuchtwanger
Peter Feuchtwanger was an important teacher who created a series of exercises designed to encourage healthy, natural and relaxed movements at the piano. In this module, Graham Fitch and Daniel Grimwood give their takes on Peter's exercises and share anecdotes from their experience in working with him.... Read >>
Jacques Ibert - Little White Donkey
Le petit âne blanc (The Little White Donkey) is the second piece from Jacquest Ibert’s set of ten pieces entitled Histoires and requires plenty of imagination to play it with the necessary colour and vibrancy. This video walkthrough and article shows how to use quarantining and other practice tools to... Read >>
Quarantine-Spots
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. If you have spots in your pieces that regularly break down you’re going to need to identify them and isolate these sections so you can do some quality, systematic practice on them. This process I call quarantining, and each extract... Read >>
Developing a Balanced Technique
Strategies and approaches for achieving "pianistic fitness"
Mastering core piano techniques is essential for the freedom to successfully express musical ideas. Based on her personal experience and the traditions of the Russian School, Ilga Pitkevica shares insights into approaches and strategies for achieving “pianistic fitness” and developing a balanced piano technique.... Read >>
Tarantella (No. 4 from Musiques d’enfants, Op. 65)
ABRSM Grade 5 – C3
Prokoviev’s Music for Children was composed in 1935 and contains 12 pieces with descriptive titles. The Tarantella is one of the best examples of this type of dance piece, featuring spinning patterns in both hands and plenty of quirky harmonic and rhythmic features that make Prokoviev’s style so engaging.... Read >>
A Guide to the ABRSM Syllabus (2018 - 2020)
This series contains resources and further links to other resources featuring the ABRSM syllabus (until 2020) and is designed for elementary level players, young musicians and their teachers. Articles in this series provide step-by-step (or phrase-by-phrase) approaches to learning a pieces thoroughly and securely, offer practice exercises to help solve... Read >>
Sonata in C# Minor (Sonata quasi una fantasia)
Op. 27 No. 2 (1st Movement)
This collection of nine videos gives a step-by-step guide to playing the first movement of Beethoven’s Sonata in C# Minor (Sonata quasi una fantasia) or "Moonlight" (Op. 27 No. 2) with detailed advice on style, tempo, pedalling, fingering, practice method and technique - especially on how to avoid tension when... Read >>
25 Easy and Progressive Etudes (Op. 100)
Study Edition Annotations
Burgmüller’s 25 Easy and Progressive Etudes, Op. 100 have been a mainstay of elementary étude repertoire for many generations - and deservedly so. I cannot imagine any young pianist or elementary player who would not immediately engage with, or benefit from learning them. This series of articles provides annotations and... Read >>
Playing Together - Etiquette and Tips for Duet Playing
These videos, based on content from the Piano Teachers’ Course UK, provide a demonstration of the “do’s and don’ts” of duet playing. Using Mozart’s Five Variations K501 as a practical example, the videos illustrate the various challenges that arise, including pedalling, page turning and getting in each other’s way in... Read >>
A Practical Guide to Forearm Rotation
Forearm rotation is a way of coordinating the arm with the fingers in very specific and controlled ways. Tiny movements in the forearm share with the fingers the job of putting down the keys and can yield significant benefits, including improved coordination, reduced tension and a feeling of greater strength... Read >>
Knight Rupert (Album for the Young No. 12)
Knight Rupert, No. 12 from Schumann’s Album for the Young, Op. 68, is a favourite recital piece for the intermediate player, and great fun to play. The rousing A section contrasts beautifully with the more lyrical B section. This video walkthrough and article shows how to use quarantining and other... Read >>
Slow Practice
If you’re serious about playing the piano, there’s no getting away from slow practice. It is a cornerstone of our work from the beginner stages right through to the advanced level, and a practice tool also used by professional pianists and seasoned virtuosos all the time. In this section, ... Read >>
Für Elise
(Bagatelle No. 25 in A Minor)
This evergreen miniature of Beethoven scarcely needs any introduction at all, since Für Elise is known to the world at large. What beginning piano student does not itch to play it, pestering their teacher long before they are ready? This video walkthrough and article shows how to use quarantining and... Read >>
Read Ahead - Level 3
Sightreading for the Modern Musician
Read Ahead is an exciting new program that helps piano students to improve their sight-reading ability. This unique curriculum is based on an extensive collection of carefully ordered compositions with related exercises and quizzes that help students develop the mental and tactile skills necessary for fluent sight-reading. This section features Level... Read >>
Healthy Piano Playing
Piano playing is a deeply satisfying artistic activity, but it can also be very demanding physically on our arms and hands. Just as elite athletes understand and care for their bodies, so should pianists think carefully about their approach to playing and practising. A healthy piano technique not only avoids... Read >>
Arietta
Lyric Pieces, Op. 12, No. 1
Edvard Grieg’s Arietta, the first of his many Lyric Pieces, is a miniature gem of great refinement and poetry. This video walkthrough and From the Ground Up edition will help intermediate to advanced students to understand and communicate its expression, while learning some practice methods that can be applied to... Read >>
Yoga for Musicians
In this collection of videos, Penelope Roskell demonstrates clearly and concisely how yoga principles can be applied directly to instrumental playing, and how playing can be more fluid, powerful and emotionally expressive. Suitable for musicians of any age; from beginner to professional; Classical, jazz, folk and pop, the exercises demonstrated... Read >>
Invention in D Minor No. 4 (BWV 775)
Bach's Inventions (in two parts) and the Sinfonias (in three parts) were written for the Bach’s eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann and are played throughout the world by intermediate players and concert artists alike. This video walkthrough and article shows how to use quarantining and other practice tools to approach two... Read >>
The Art of Piano Fingering
A thorough understanding of the principles of good fingering is a vital basis for good piano playing. Without comfortable, musically appropriate fingerings, we can waste hours of practice time trying to remedy a problem which could have been averted much earlier. In this series of articles, author Penelope Roskell... Read >>
Teaching & Developing Sight-Reading Skills
Sight-reading an interesting piece of music is like meeting an interesting person. We enjoy the pleasure of a new encounter, sense perhaps a mutual affinity, and look forward to a deeper acquaintance. This series of articles provides exercises and music aimed at developing confidence in playing at sight and enhancing... Read >>
Spread Chords
Spread (or rolled, ripped, broken or arpeggiated) chords are simply chords where we play one note after the other, rather than playing all the notes simultaneously. Although this sounds relatively straightforward, there are questions and problems associated with spreading chords which this series of articles will seek to address.... Read >>
Separate Practice
Learning a complex piece each hand alone before putting the hands together is a strategy favoured by the majority of piano teachers. While it is of course possible to practise a fugue hands separately, this misses the point. Rather than working hands separately, I advocate strands separately (playing each line... Read >>
Prelude in B Minor (Op. 28 No. 6)
ABRSM Grade 6 - B2
Chopin’s dark, somber Prélude in B minor is much more difficult to play than it looks. This video demonstrates how to approach this piece technically and musically with particular attention to the pedalling which requires a lot of thought... Read >>
The Practice Tools Lecture Series
Without an understanding how to approach practising the piano, day-to-day practice can often be unfocussed and unproductive. In this series of video lectures, I identify and explore various practice tools that will help pianists of any level get the most out of their time spent practising.... Read >>
Sostenuto in E flat
ABRSM Grade 5 – B1
Chopin's Sostenuto in E flat or Waltz in E flat was discovered as recently as 1941, by the Director of the Paris Conservatoire, Dr. Jacques Chailley. There are precious few works of Chopin that are suitable for the intermediate level pianist, so Grade V candidates will be extremely happy to... Read >>
Prelude in D Minor
BWV 935
Bach's Prelude in D minor, BWV 935, is a perfect introduction to the two-part Inventions, and a little gem in its own right. In this From the Ground Up edition, we work on developing an overall dynamic scheme for the piece, and on achieving rhythmic vitality through note grouping.... Read >>
Elgar - Andantino (First movement from Sonatina)
Trinity College - Grade 4
Here we find the first movement of a two-movement sonatina that Elgar wrote for his niece. It is song-like and gently expressive, calling for sensitivity in shaping phrases and timing larger melodic intervals. The Andantino demands careful listening in the balancing of the hands, the accompanying left hand, while quieter,... Read >>
Camidge - Scherzando (Second movement from Sonata no. 1 in G major)
Trinity College - Grade 5
Matthew Camidge's Scherzando in G is a worthy example of Classical period music, a light-natured piece full of melodic embellishments, opportunities for variety in phrase shaping, articulation and dynamic colouring. In this video I demonstrate solutions for the fast repeated notes we find in the B section, and show how... Read >>
Practical Psychology for Teaching and Learning
Based on lectures from the Piano Teachers' Course, this set of video lectures provide psychological insight and understanding, and practical tips, to help piano teachers with their pupils.... Read >>
Partita No. 1 in B-flat Major (BWV 825)
This set of resources provides walkthroughs for movements from Bach's Partita No. 1 in B-flat Major (BWV 825) featured in the ABRSM examination syllabus. Menuets I and II (ABRSM Grade 6) make a beautiful contrasting pair of dances whereas the Gigue (ABRSM Grade 7) is unusual among Bach’s Gigues -... Read >>
Bruch - Moderato from Sechs Klavierstücke (Op. 12, No. 4)
ABRSM Grade 6 – B1
Max Bruch’s delightful Moderato from Sechs Klavierstücke (Op. 12, No. 4 ) is set for ABRSM Grade 6, list B. In this video I demonstrate in detail the techniques of quick cover, springboarding and selective landing to assist you in mastering the LH jumps so that you can focus on... Read >>
Diabelli - Moderato Cantabile (from Sonatina in F major, Op. 168 No. 1)
Trinity College - Grade 5 (Alternative)
The first movement (Moderato) of Diabelli’s appealing Sonatina in F is a model of sonata form in miniature, an ideal way to teach form and structure to the intermediate pianist. In this video I demonstrate the art of finger pedalling in the left hand alberti patterns and show how to... Read >>
Waltz in A minor
Trinity College - Grade 4
Grieg’s Waltz in A minor is full of character and contrasts, and not without its challenges - especially concerning how to use the pedal. In this video I show how to organise the pedalling in order to make some of the joins possible without covering over Grieg’s slurs and staccato... Read >>
Allegro (from Fantasia no. 1 in D major)
Trinity College - Grade 6
Georg Philipp Telemann's Fantasia in D major, on Trinity’s Grade 6 alternative syllabus, is a worthy piece and a lot of fun to play. This video shows some of the principles involved in making decisions regarding dynamics, articulation, touch and expression and looks at several options for interpretation based on... Read >>
Allegretto (from The London Sketchbook, K. 15hh)
Trinity College - Grade 4
Mozart was 8 years old on a trip to London when he wrote this charming little Allegretto in F major in minuet-style, with a trio section in the minor. The video demonstrates how to use quarantine practice for difficult spots, and how to apply bar-by-bar chaining for secure learning. Various... Read >>
Reger - Versöhnung (Reconciliation) (No. 20 from Aus der Jugendzeit, op. 17)
Trinity College - Grade 6
Max Reger’s Versöhnung (Reconciliation) demands from the player a vivid imagination, the ability to tell a story in sound. This delightful late Romantic piece describes a character asking someone to be their friend again after a disagreement – pleading, commiserating and even dancing to win back their affection. In the... Read >>
From the Ground Up
From the Ground Up is a series devoted to learning individual pieces using outlines and reduced scores that help you to practise more effectively, memorize more consciously, and interpret music more creatively.... Read >>
*** (Album for the Young No. 30)
The 30th piece in Schumann’s Album for the Young is one of the composer’s most intimate and tender short pieces, full of harmonic and contrapuntal refinement. Although it is technically accessible to intermediate pianists, it is musically rewarding for more advanced players as well. This From the Ground Up edition... Read >>
Technical Exercises and Regimes
This section provides an introduction to what will ultimately be an extensive library of technical exercises and provides an overview of exercise regimens for aspects of playing such as warm-ups, finger exercises, chord playing, octaves, double notes, repeated notes and trills.... Read >>
Von fremden Ländern und Menschen
Kinderszenen, Op. 15, no. 1
Schumann’s Von fremden Länder und Menschen (Of Foreign Lands and People), the first piece of his Kinderszenen (Scenes of Childhood), is a poetic evocation of the dream-like world of children. In this article, the three strands of the music — melody, bass, and accompaniment — are studied individually before being... Read >>
Intermediate Scales & Arpeggios
Pianists at the intermediate level should know all major and minor scales (one form of minor), and all major and minor arpeggios in root position. There are several scale manuals available, but this manual is different in that it offers exercises and suggestions for practice, together with short, easy-to-use video... Read >>
Anyone Can Improvise!
Dedicated to helping everyone play the music they love and long to play, Lucinda Mackworth-Young introduces her step-by-step system for learning to play by ear and improvise, so that even classically trained piano players can play spontaneously, anywhere, anytime - and say “Yes!” when asked to play Happy Birthday!... Read >>
Solfeggietto in C Minor
H220 Wq177:2
The term “solfeggietto” means an exercise, or little study. This much-loved little piece is a study in evenness of tempo and touch, but it is also a study in composition (how a piece of music may be constructed from the simplest of ideas). This series of videos provides an introduction... Read >>
Two Short Pieces
This series features two popular short pieces by William Alwyn, The Sun is Setting and The Sea is Angry which are both ideal for the intermediate level.... Read >>
An Overview of the Practice Tools
This series of articles serves as an introduction to Graham Fitch’s practice tools, including how to approach a new piece and the Three Ss.... Read >>
Mastering Polyrhythms
A polyrhythm (sometimes referred to as a cross rhythm) is the effect produced when two conflicting rhythms are played together and can prove very challenging indeed! This series of articles will help you tackle them in various ratios, starting with the simplest: two-against-three (2:3) or three-against-two (3:2).... Read >>
Skeleton Practice
This series of articles will describe how to deconstruct a score and use skeleton practice by way of a number of examples. New articles and examples will be added on an ongoing basis therefore please do watch this space!... Read >>