E-MusicMaestro is a new concept in piano sight reading, specially designed to motivate students to practise and to promote understanding and fluency in music reading. more
How much music practice is needed for a child to develop into a competent musician depends on the quality of practice, how often practice is done and how long is spent practising. more
You can help your child to learn how to play new pieces and sing new songs by facilitating repeated listening. more
Parents want to understand more about music practice and how they can help but sometimes there is insufficient communication between teacher and parent. It could help your child's motivation if you were to sit in on music lessons or be there at practice time, but not in every case. more
Writing letter names into a musical score might seem, to a young pupil, like an easy way to get started with playing a piece but, as teachers know, it's not a good solution. It can be difficult to convince students that writing the notes in will prevent them from learning to read music successfully. more
Ideally, your child's music lesson will be a template for what should be practised at home. When children understand this they are able to practise mindfully. Here's an example of putting that principle into practice. more
"The right kind of practice is not a matter of hours. Practice should represent the utmost concentration of brain ..." Leopold Auer. Find out why some children learn more quickly and easily by comparing good music practice with inefficient practice. more
Find out how to gain a distinction in a Performance Grade music exam or a conventional Graded Music Exam. Most music exam candidates do not get a distinction, although most do pass - gaining a distinction is about knowing well before your exam date how to get good marks. Here are some tips for getting distinction marks in the pieces or songs, whichever examining board you use - ABRSM, Trinity, LCM or MTB and whichever type of grade exam you are taking. Get on target soon! more
Finding out what your child actually does in music practice is the first step towards helping him to practise successfully. more
The E-MusicMaestro Music Parents Blog is a series for 'music parents' who want to help their child to enjoy learning, playing, singing and performing music. The better informed you are, the easier it is to ensure your child has a happy musical journey. In each article, a different aspect of music parenting is explored, taking you further along the path to becoming a Music Parent Marvel! more
Make the final piano lesson of the term inspiring! After reading this easy guide to beginning to 'invent' music, no teacher will say that they cannot teach improvisation and every pupil can be motivated to begin. more
What exactly is sight reading? Why is sight reading important? And ten very useful things to remember when you learn to sight read piano music! more