ABRSM 2025 & 2026 Syllabus – Workshop Series

Are you a teacher preparing candidates for an exam? Or are you looking for some inspiration for new repertoire and ideas to energise your playing?

Join us on Fri 29th November & Sat 1st December for a series of online workshops presented in partnership with the Piano Teachers’ Course UK and The Curious Piano Teachers based on the new 2025 & 2026 syllabus. The series comprises five sessions featuring topics including choosing the right repertoire, ideas for improvising on works from the syllabus and strategies for learning and connecting with new pieces!

Playing with Purpose - Choosing the Right Repertoire (Fri 29th Nov, 11:00 – 12:00 GMT)

Our series kicks-off with a workshop presented by Curious Piano Teachers, Sally Cathcart and Sharon Mark-Teggart, on choosing the right repertoire to develop reading skills, healthy technique and musical joy for beginners.

The workshop will draw out various skills and highlight opportunities for learning within a range of pieces in the Grades 1 and 2 syllabus. Sally and Sharon will also demonstrate how a holistic, multi-sensory approach to learning helps elementary piano pupils to feel like musicians alongside developing their musical knowledge and understanding.

Improvising is Easy - Ideas from the ABRSM Syllabus (Sun 1st Dec, 11:30 – 12:30 GMT)

What can you or your pupils play NOW spontaneously, without notation, wherever you see a piano? And how can we relate spontaneous playing to the learning of exam pieces? Because learning new works can take a long time, many of us are often “between pieces” - unable to play works we learnt for a previous occasion and not yet ready with the pieces we’re currently working on.

To solve this problem, Lucinda Mackworth-Young will demonstrate creative ideas for being able to play something simple and musically satisfying immediately without notation, inspired by pieces from the ABRSM syllabus.

Finding A Voice - Helping Students Express Their Ideas (Sun 1st Dec, 13:00 – 14:00 GMT)

Pianists often find themselves out of their depth when confronted with the harder, longer pieces of intermediate levels. How can one avoid being disheartened by magnitude of embarking upon a new piece while connecting with the music in a meaningful way?

With the help of pieces from the Grade 4 - 6 repertoire, Beate Toyka will give tips and hints how to overcome ‘nerves at the new’ and to embrace new challenges positively. Drawing on her long experience teaching students at all levels and ages, including as a Suzuki practitioner, Beate will show how teachers can help their students express their own ideas from the outset!

Not from Bar One! Other Ways to Learn Pieces (Sun 1st Dec, 14:30 – 15:30 GMT)

Sometimes pupils or amateur pianists are put off from learning a new piece (even when they like how it sounds) simply because it looks frighteningly challenging and "very likely will take a lot of time to learn". However, even advanced pieces are not always as difficult as they look!

In this session, Ilga Pitkevica will share some of her strategies which help her students to learn their repertoire quicker using examples from the later grades, including works by Bach, Janacek and Liszt.

Inspiration Beyond Graded Exams (Sun 1st Dec, 16:00 – 17:00 GMT)

In our last session, Jill Morton draws upon a selection of works from the syllabus to provide teaching and practice strategies to fire up your or your student’s imagination. Through exploring some of the wonderful repertoire available, we will look at how we can enable quicker student growth, confident musicianship and above all, foster a deep love for the music we’re playing!

These sessions will be particularly useful for exam candidates and teachers, but also of interest to any pianists looking for repertoire ideas using the syllabus as a guide. 

Format & Tickets

The sessions will be presented via Zoom and participants will have opportunities to ask questions via chat during various sessions. The sessions will be recorded and all ticket holders will receive links to the videos shortly after the event. Therefore if you can’t join us live, you can still watch the presentations at your convenience afterwards!

Tickets for all five sessions cost £80 and can be purchased by clicking on the "Buy" button below. Online Academy subscribers and PTC Alumni are entitled to a 40% discount - if you are an Online Academy subscriber, please sign-in to your account first and the discount will be automatically added at the check-out.

More Repertoire Ideas & Teaching Insights!

For further repertoire ideas and detailed video lessons on a selection of pieces from across all grades, you may also be interested in Graham Fitch’s separate repertoire showcase from early October. Click here to find out more or to purchase access to the recordings and resources. You can also purchase a bundle which includes access to all five workshops listed above plus the recordings from Graham's repertoire showcase here

The Piano Teachers’ Course

For 16 years, the Piano Teachers’ Course UK has been on a mission to raise the bar in piano teaching standards across the country. We’ve helped hundreds of teachers inspire in thousands of students and deep love of music that reaches beyond the pages of a tutor book. Click here to find out more.

The Curious Piano Teachers

The Curious Piano Teachers is known for its innovative teaching methods and resources. It offers members a wealth of materials, including recorded lessons and workshops. By encouraging collaboration and sharing creative ideas it empowers teachers to engage students more effectively and cultivate a lifelong love of music. The Curious Piano Teachers has members across the world and its Community is known as the friendliest and most supportive group around.

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Workshop sessions & dates

Friday 29th November (29 Nov 2024 @ 11:00 GMT)

Sunday 1st December (01 Dec 2024 @ 11:30 GMT)