teaching
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First theory exam! Woo hoo!
Congratulations to my student D who sat her first online music theory exam with AMEB recently and passed with Honours! The certificate came in the post and she was keen to show me. Yay! 🎉 Well done practising transposition, learning the pattern of a major scale (tone tone semitone…) key signatures, and being grilled over… Continue reading
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So What’s Good About Online Piano Lessons?
I am often asked, how do I find teaching piano online? Is it difficult? Is it impersonal because you aren’t physically with the student? People can’t imagine that I can sit in my music studio and teach somebody far away, without it feeling cold and distant. But actually, it’s very personal! I have an iPad… Continue reading
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Is that a cheat sheet stuck on the piano?
A mum of three students got a new iPad stand so I had a great view of the kids when I called in. It’s a perfect view. I have a big iPad and it feels like I’m looking in from a window perched right on the edge of their piano. What’s that I see? A… Continue reading
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Theory Lessons in the car
I FaceTimed a student tonight for her theory lesson, and she took the call in the back of the car, wrapped in a blanket with her theory book on her knees. “We had to go out but I didn’t want to miss my lesson”, she said. How good is that? Continue reading
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A face-to-face lesson, for a change!
Usually, I see Micah once or twice a week like this (pets turn up after the lesson of course): He’s almost 100 kms from me, but over the years I’ve become a bit like an aunty and his mum and I have become very good friends. This weekend we made a day of it! I… Continue reading
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Go The Mighty Little Beale!
I got a text message this morning from Hanna, mother of my students Eloise, Wyatt and Jakob. The piano tuner was in and said the piano is well looked after, in tune and is fantastic quality to keep its condition so well! He said he doesn’t get to say that too often and that it’s… Continue reading
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How I Became an Online Piano Teacher
I originally posted this article on Medium, but have now removed it from there. If you have considered taking your services online, you might be interested in the essay below. I Became an Online Piano Teacher Because of COVID Now I am living the dream Teaching piano is a lovely way to make a living,… Continue reading
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Piano lid up fully for the first time! Bachianinha No. 1, by Paulinho Nogueira
The grand piano has been in my home for 35 days but I hadn’t put up the lid fully until a few days ago, and I wanted to record playing it! This is a beautiful piece for classical guitar called Bachianinha No.1 written by Brazilian composer Paulinho Nogueira. This piano version came about when a… Continue reading
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The Grande Dame arrives
Last week I wrote about my Beale going to a new home. Well that sure did happen and I was texting photos like this to Hanna saying, “They’re taking it now!” Later, she sent back… I’ve said before that buying the Beale felt like putting down roots in Australia – I wouldn’t buy an acoustic… Continue reading
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My Beale is going to a new home ❤️
Buying my little Bijou Beale piano in 2017 symbolised a commitment to making roots in Australia. She was made in 1951, had a lot of TLC and I loved playing her. She’s going to a new home in Logan Village with some lovely people I know. Next time I see her will be via Zoom… Continue reading
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Chopin’s Nocturne in E Flat, for Bojan — YouTube
Recently, Roaring Lion’s new drummer Bojan said he loves Chopin nocturnes. So I’m in the school music studio, and I’ve got a gap. Here you go Bojan, Nocturne in E flat. Continue reading
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Piano Man. Taking the panel off my Beale — video
I removed the front panel of my Beale piano! I thought it would be fun to see all those moving hammers. Some of my students don’t know what’s inside an old-fashioned piano, so I played a short version of Billy Joel’s ‘Piano Man’, the quintessential pub piano bar song, for my kids. Here are a… Continue reading
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Brahms’ Lullaby for Molly
[A note to add that this is not my original idea. Most beginner piano books start this way, although they soon move to the stave (notes on lines) and introduce chords. This does not suit Molly. I hope, by staying with this pictorial form, she will be able to play simplified versions of songs she… Continue reading
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Love in the mistakes
I am learning the Debussy piece and thinking of a memory posted on Facebook a while ago by my friend Ann. She recalled going to sleep each night as a child, listening to her mother play their piano. Ann said her mother always played one song. There was a difficult part near the end and… Continue reading
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Learning Debussy again
Learning a Debussy piece for the first time in 40 years. A student wants to learn Arabesque No. 1. I’m so grateful to her. Never thought I’d be doing this again. It’s lovely. ❤️ Continue reading
About Joanna
Joanna is British Australian. She worked mainly in financial news in London. In her forties she moved to her parents’ birthplace, Sabah, a Malaysian state on the island of Borneo, where she became a pianist in a hotel and wrote a blog about musicians. The blog became a book before Joanna came to Australia in 2012. In this blog she writes mostly about music, gardening, and trips to Sabah. Oh, and Wookie the Havanese.
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