Have you ever experienced that for most of the repertoires that you learnt during your youth to your adolescence, you are still able to play them from memory well into adulthood? Yet, it takes twice or thrice as much to learn and memorise a repertoire in your adulthood. This is because during our youth, we... Continue Reading →
Preparation for Artistic Interpretation
In my previous blog, I explained the approaches to preparing new repertoires, before tackling the very first bar. Conventionally, most students are taught to play hands separately first and, when all notations are learned, then to play hands together. This presents a challenge because often our muscles, motions and mental memory may not be sufficiently... Continue Reading →
The Learning Process
In most cases, very little is ever explained to students regarding the learning process of a music repertoire. Successful learning is not about how much time we spend but rather about the quality of the time invested. There is no shortcut to this process, but if a student applies him or herself intelligently much time... Continue Reading →
Practice Management
Following on my recent blog on Student Motivation, one of the key elements of good instuction is the need for students to be taught how to practice effectively and efficiently. Younger students may lack the necessary attention spans or motivations while older students may get frustrated as they struggle with challenging technical requirements. These issues... Continue Reading →
Student Motivation
In the teaching profession, no matter what subject you teach, most teachers are bound to come across some students who are not as motivated as you would expect. Through my past and current experiences, I have found this is the result of a combination of reasons. 1. Negative Past Experiences Most teachers inherit students with previous... Continue Reading →
How to organise your practice time for technical gain
The study of scales and technical works is a very important aspect of your musical training, through which you will learn about all tonalities, intervals and the keyboard orientation. The study of scales should be introduced only when the pupil has formed a good finger touch and understands the function of the thumb. Technical exercises... Continue Reading →
Great reasons to practice Pianissimo……
In my recent blog called Piano Practice regarded as a Nuisance? I would like to take this opportunity to re-consider our practice approach. Besides my busy teaching schedules, I am always pleased and delighted to sit down after dinner to practice my repertoires. So many of us (piano teachers) can easily brush aside our own... Continue Reading →
Piano Practice regarded as nuisance. Here is what you should do! Part 2
In my previous blog, I posted on what preventative measures to consider and how to deal with sound mitigation for your piano should you receive a complaint from your neighbour(s). In this second half of my blog, I would like to shed some light on the legality aspects of this issue. I was fortunate to... Continue Reading →
Piano Practice regarded as a Nuisance? Here is what you should do! Part 1
Have you ever had a complaint from a neighbour about your piano playing? Have you ever thought how can my piano playing and practice become a nuisance to my neighbours? If you live in a flat, apartment or condominium type of living arrangement, it may well be a concern. Recently, I received a Cease and... Continue Reading →
Kim Chang's Piano Studio 