Studio 71

24/09/2026

Fine words

12/09/2026

They’re the ones usually learning an instrument.

16/03/2026

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27/11/2025

Such fun playing this joyful piece with one of my students this afternoon😊🎹🪈🎼🎶

https://open.spotify.com/track/3MV6U4WDVYeI7D4jMktD6Q?si=vaOsKMsCT7aj9AH0X5zsSQ&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A51fkhDZKZGpBgmhy5CIzDR

James Hook, Rosanna Ter-Berg, Leo Nicholson · Flute Exam Pieces from 2022, ABRSM Grade 4 · Song · 2021

28/10/2025

Take note!

🎹 Why Short Fingernails Help Teens Develop Great Piano Technique ✂️

When learning piano, technique is everything - it builds the foundation for comfort, speed, and musicality. One simple, but crucial habit? Keeping fingernails short.

✨ Here’s why it matters:

Builds correct technique: Good piano playing starts with using the tips and pads of the fingers to press the keys. This allows curved fingers, proper wrist alignment, and balanced control. Long nails make this impossible - they force the fingers to flatten, leading to tension and poor habits that are hard to unlearn.

Improves control and sound: Short nails help students play with accuracy and confidence, producing a clean, expressive tone.

Supports long-term progress: Developing the right touch early on helps students advance faster and play more naturally as pieces become more challenging.

A quick nail trim before each practice or lesson keeps your teen on track for healthy technique and beautiful music-making! 🎶✨

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26/09/2025

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One of the biggest misconceptions about reading music, I think, is that we learn what the individual notes are and then painstakingly, like some kind of paint by numbers, transfer that to our instrument or voice.

That’s tantamount to trying to read a Dickens novel by each letter alone!

As someone who’s a pretty decent sight reader, I’m often fascinated about the process of reading music (which, of course, is different from “sight reading” music).

There are four things to consider:

1. Fluent music readers see patterns, not individual notes. So effective sight reading is all about the ability to take in and analyse music in an incredibly short amount of time, seeing in an instant if the passage is moving up or down or by what interval; whether there are chords involved and whether they’re root position, first inversion or second inversion. And, of course, we make instant harmonic judgments, which presupposes a very solid understanding of tonality and harmony via scales and arpeggios. And yes, we continually teach these skills!

2. Good sight reading involves fantastic physical awareness of keyboard geography. That means that it’s fundamentally important to be able to keep the eyes on the music and not to have to check the hands to see if they’re in the right place. This comes about through consistent practice, a deep, rich and varied repertoire, and MUCH time spent doodling and improvising at the piano.

3. It also involves excellent musicianship and aural skills. Most of the time, when sight reading, little slips need to be perceived aurally and adjusted without even looking at the keys to see what’s wrong. So it’s imperative that teachers instil excellent musicianship in their students. Aural skills are NEVER something separate from playing, merely to be treated as some kind of irritating add-on like the aural test of an exam!

4. Rhythm is everything. But everything! You play the wrong note in the right place, and you’re still 50% right. Get the rhythm wrong, though, and it’s ALL wrong! Pulse is something physical, visceral and driving. Remember that music exists in time, and the beats are merely markers of time. The music happens between the beats, but it is always forward-moving and never static. It’s as if every single beat immediately kickstarts the anticipation of the next. It’s amazing when students finally start to perceive that unfailing momentum in their playing and their reading!

26/09/2025

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Music

Music is the art of organizing sounds in time. It combines elements like melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre to create something that can express emotions, tell stories, or simply provide enjoyment.

Here are the main parts that make up music:

1. Sound & Silence – Music isn’t just about notes; the pauses (rests) are just as important. The balance of sound and silence creates rhythm and flow.

2. Melody – The main “tune” you hear in a song. It’s a sequence of notes played or sung one after another.

3. Harmony – When two or more notes are played together, creating chords. Harmony gives music depth and emotional color.

4. Rhythm – The beat or timing of music. Rhythm tells us when to play a note and how long it lasts. It’s what makes us tap our feet or dance.

5. Tempo – The speed of the music (fast, slow, or in between).

6. Dynamics – How loud or soft the music is, which adds expression.

7. Timbre (Tone color) – The unique sound quality of an instrument or voice. For example, a violin and a guitar may play the same note, but they sound different because of their timbre.

8. Form – The structure of a piece of music (for example, verse–chorus–verse in songs).

At its core, music is a universal language—every culture has its own style, but all use it to communicate feelings, traditions, and ideas.

25/04/2025

Without a shadow of a doubt!
🎶🎹🎸🥁🎻🎺🎷🎭🎨🖌️🖼️