Russell Plows

Requirement

It isn’t necessary to have a huge grand piano at home to achieve your goals. If you buy an electric keyboard, it’s worth checking that it is touch-sensitive so that you can achieve a dynamic range from very soft to very loud.

Regular weekly piano lessons with clearly structured goals can help students to feel their progress, an important part of maintaining enthusiasm, especially in young people.

Russell is adept at finding a tailored solution for each budding pianist which will always include ear-training and musicianship as an active part of learning.

FAQs

About practising

It’s important to understand that no student can make progress on lessons alone, however good the teacher. Improvement will only come with regular practice as this is where the real work is done.

In lessons, we focus on interpretation and technique and it is then up to the student to practise and bring the improvements to the following lesson. Time available for this will vary from student to student but if time is short, little and often will yield better results than the odd hour.

Why do exams?

Whatever type of music you want to play, exams are an effective way to control and experience development. Exams test a student in interpretation, technique, sight-reading and musicianship and all of these are necessary if you are to satisfy your urge to play well. While scales and arpeggios might seem like a special kind of torture, many students experience a light-bulb moment when they realize how often they come into play in their favourite pieces.

ABRSM Grades run from 1-8 but it often isn’t necessary to be examined at every level, especially as there is a significant cost. Just having completed the elements of a particular grade will improve a player’s performances. ABRSM piano pieces are well-chosen and skill-appropriate but we’ll also expect to look beyond these to music that interests the particular student. This could be of any genre including rock and pop.

 

Email

info@russellmusic.co.uk