It’s so lovely downstairs with no one there, The blissful silence and the hot summer air. A once a week visit to the grocery shop, It’s going to feel real strange when all of this stops.
Tag Archives: Navi Mumbai
A Guide To Help You Shop
For those of you who don’t live here, a ‘COPY’ is a notebook, usually an exercise book used for school homework. Now coffee, is just coffee, but is also pronounced ‘COPHEE’ like copy, but with an ‘h’ sound added to it, because in many Indian languages an f vowel is pronounced ph. This can causeContinue reading “A Guide To Help You Shop”
The local bus
Fifty percent still working,
Running on hope and on faith.
Parts falling off but still running.
The support system that takes us from place to place.
Kharghar is burning
Kharghar is burning and nobody cares.
There’s always a strong smell of smoke in the air.
Garbage collection is not a routine,
And waste segregation still is a pipe dream.
Start to explode?
The roads there for walking, the streets are for parking, The footpaths where we sell our wares. The junction is where we stop to chat, Though the signal is green and we’re causing a jam.
5 Thoughts to help you find the Piano Teacher that’s best for YOU
Families new to piano lessons can find the search for a new piano teacher quite confusing.
I write this post to help these parents and students who have difficulty assessing which piano teacher or lesson format is the best for them.
Practise is, a reminder for piano students
Here’s a reminder for beginner piano students.
A list of all the things they need to keep in mind, so they get the most out of their practise time.
A step-wise approach to mindful piano practise
Piano practise should be a time of attention to detail and focus, but so often ends up being mindless repetition. This often leads to breakdowns & insecure playing during piano performances. Many many young students who say they panic and are therefore unable to perform, actually have the ability to perform well, when they use the right tools to practise effectively.
Here’s a check-list, to help piano students make mindfulness a part of their practise.
Book Review : The Art of Piano Fingering
The Art of Piano Fingering by Rami Bar-Niv is a wonderfully detailed exploration of piano fingering. It’s become my textbook for when I get stuck with fingering and need to study it in relation to playing technique, hand size and the kind of effect that a passage of piano music requires the pianist to produce.
Parent support in piano class
Parent support for piano practise with young piano students is a huge issue. With teachers, because they know the likelihood of any student actually progressing beyond the beginner level depends on this. Even the musically talented student.
For piano parents it’s time and commitment and something more for them to add to their already busy schedules.
A quick easy fix for focus issues
These children come to piano class and learn the theory and technique that’s necessary to play a piece. Then the piece starts to sound good to them as it’s kind of put together from beginning to end. So, they then start to practise by repetition, mind shut to such an extent, that they have totally forgotten the theory and technique (though they play correctly). They’re totally blank and can’t answer basic theory questions. They can’t even recall what was taught earlier – even simple basic stuff.
15 easy steps for students, to a really effective piano class
Sometimes piano teachers have those days. And we need to decide whether to have a good laugh or scream at the walls after our students leave. I’ve decided to laugh at all the crazy things my piano students do…
How to assess your own piano playing
A guide for intermediate to advanced piano students who have learned their piece and want to be able to assess the quality of their playing on their own, with guidance from their teacher. Getting rid of mistakes You should have learned your piece correct from the very first. However, it is likely that you stillContinue reading “How to assess your own piano playing”
Aiming low = reaching high?
The tried and tested path to success “Aim higher than you want to reach. You may miss your target, but you will still reach your original goal” This way of thinking has worked very well for me and many of my piano students who wanted sucess easy. Who wanted to do just barely enough thatContinue reading “Aiming low = reaching high?”
Teaching my first Skype piano class
I tried teaching a few Skype piano classes, and was amazed to see benefits I did not expect. So much, so that I’m now offering students Skype lessons, alternating with in-studio lessons.
Preschool piano teaching with WunderKeys
WunderKeys is a Preschool Piano Program for children between 3 to 5 years of age. It gets children familiar with the piano keyboard, and helps them to develop skills they will need later, when they complete the course and move on to a beginner piano method book. My first experience with WunderKeys I startedContinue reading “Preschool piano teaching with WunderKeys”
Can you Learn On Your Own?
Young beginner students who understand and learn, generally start coming to class within a month or two, having learned an new easy piece on their own. Students with learning difficulties, poor exposure to education or discipline issues take longer. However, even with these students, there will be visible signs of comprehension and a slow growth in learning independence over time.
When focus is a problem in piano class
A brief glimpse of the teacher’s struggle The piano teacher points to a note and asks the student to name it. The student answers wrong repeatedly. When this child is asked to point out the note he/she is talking about, it becomes clear that the student know his/her stuff, but is just not able toContinue reading “When focus is a problem in piano class”
What do piano teachers ‘DO’?
“You teach the piano? That’s wonderful! What do you do with the rest of your time?” Many piano teachers hear variations of this. From friends, relatives and even parents of new students, who think piano teaching happens just at class time. They see the joy that a teacher feels when students do well, and don’tContinue reading “What do piano teachers ‘DO’?”
When piano class is a battle of wills with teenage students
He’s at an age where he’s slowly growing into his own personality and has not yet learned how to be responsible for himself.
At times, piano class risks becoming a battle of wills.
