Heart of the Piano Podcast

Listen to see why I'm so enthusiastic about Rockschool's Rock/Pop Piano grades for piano! Following on from my previous review, I also give more information for those considering the new Rockschool Classical grades.

Rockschool has recently released an exciting new set of classical piano grades! Listen to this review to find out their strengths and weaknesses, including my strong misgivings.

The Heart of the Piano Podcast is back with a review of the new piano syllabuses from ABRSM and Trinity, which take you from an Initial Grade to Grade 8. Listen to the podcast to discover some reasons why me and many other piano teachers are now defecting from ABRSM to Trinity!

An absorbing, enlightening and entertaining conversation with Karl Luthmayer- musical raconteur, international concert pianist, academic, rock star keyboardist and theremin player in a prog-rock band! As well as chatting about Karl's career and piano playing, we discuss his fascinating research on facial expressiveness in piano performers, the history and aesthetics of piano concert arrangements,...

I was so excited about interviewing Karen Bulmer that it only very recently occurred to me after recording the interview that Karen is not actually a pianist! But every musician will get so much from listening to this episode, and I think particularly us pianists who often have to juggle so many things happening at once in our music will really benefit from so much of the conversation between me a...

The Leeds International Piano Competition is one of the top 3 most important and prestigious piano competitions in the world, with previous finalists such as Murray Perahia, Mitsuko Uchida, András Schiff... and dozens more names that anybody familiar with classical pianists will recognise instantly as being in the top row of the best, most important, and most successful artists in the business. Th...

Olga is not only a superb pianist- her CD shows off her deep soulful & expressive playing with a highly refined ear for counterpoint, layers and structure- but her concert transcription of the Vitali Chaconne for solo piano is an absolute masterpiece, and she has also done a PhD on polyphony in Rachmaninov... I absolutely had to interview her! I'm afraid my enthusiasm for details about bells and t...

Erica is the editor of UK-based Pianist Magazine, an internationally renowned magazine for people who love to play the piano. It features interviews with top concert pianists, full-length features on current issues, how-to piano lessons, CD and sheet music reviews, Questions and Answers, teaching tips and concert highlights. I thought, who better to chat with than the editor of one of the world's...

This time, my friend Andy Cole did the interviewing, chatting with Melvin Besbrode, owner of one of the biggest piano stores in the UK- situated in Leeds. It's well worth listening to even if you're not buying a piano- very interesting topics are covered such as the monumental popularity of the piano in China & Asia, and little-known reasons how the piano came to be such an important part of the c...

Ben Richards organises 8(!) regular piano meetup groups all across the UK. We talk about what makes his groups particularly fun and inviting for amateurs and beginners (although advanced players also play), some of the history of piano groups and the piano, and the various benefits and attractions of taking part. We also talk about the inevitable nerves and performance anxiety that we all feel, an...

A free guided visualisation to help people get passionate and motivated to practise their piano and achieve their goals! This guided visualisation is strongly influenced by the book 'Rethinking Positive Thinking: Inside the New Science of Motivation', which suggests strong evidence-led strategies for using visualisation in ways that are most likely to bring about successful goal achievement. You s...

A free guided audio meditation to use while practising the piano- this meditation uses a slightly more selective selection of techniques from the previous meditation, 'Further Down the Road'. However, the plan is to make many guided meditations that will guide people over a longer period of time to gradually and gently build up these techniques, and go into more depth on each one. You should have...

A free guided audio meditation to use while sat at the piano- this meditation gives a taster of many different techniques that can be used to deepen piano practice. However, the plan is to make many guided meditations that will guide people over a longer period of time to gradually and gently build up these techniques, and go into more depth on each one. It's better to use speakers (or just use th...

A free guided audio meditation to use while sat at the piano- this meditation explores the ability to really listen to your piano- one of the most important skills for any pianist. It's better to use speakers (or just use the speaker on your phone or computer) and not use headphones for this meditation so you can hear your piano clearly. Risks: people with unresolved trauma, psychotic disorders, m...

Continuation of the interview with Benjamin Frith, British classical pianist with strong links to the Leeds International Piano Competition- having been a competitor at 'The Leeds' twice, and a student with Dame Fanny Waterman since an early age. He won several big awards early in his career, and his recordings are highly regarded- five of his discs are represented in the Gramophone Best CD Guide...

Benjamin Frith is a British classical pianist with strong links to the Leeds International Piano Competition- having been a competitor at 'The Leeds' twice, and a student with Dame Fanny Waterman since an early age. He won several big awards early in his career, and his recordings are highly regarded- five of his discs are represented in the Gramophone Best CD Guide and his disc of Schumann’s Davi...