Tag: Highlights

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Highlights & Most Popular Content of 2019

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We’re currently taking a break over the Festive Session and will resume further posts and updates in the New Year. In the meantime, the following are some of our highlights and most popular content over the last year.

2019 Highlights:

Most popular blog posts (new):

Most popular blog posts (previous):

Most popular Online Academy series

Most popular videos on our YouTube channel:

Graham was also delighted to participate in an interview with Dr. Josh Wright which turned out to be an incredibly popular video (click here to view)!

We also launched new functionality which makes Online Academy lessons available for once-off purchase without a subscription (Click here to view a listing of available lessons). The most popular lessons on our store were as follows:

Lastly, the following were our most popular editions (Click here to view a listing of all editions and bundles):

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judi

Pieces to Play – ABRSM Highlights

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Are you looking for a few ideas for some new pieces to learn? Or are you a teacher searching for interesting pieces for a student? In our new Pieces to Play series we will be featuring a selection of works to provide you with some ideas and inspiration. These will include links to resources with tips and suggestions for each work.

Instalments in this series will be published on our blog, and you can get updates from our mailing list. We hope that this series will give you some interesting ideas for what to learn next and perhaps introduce you to some exciting new discoveries!

Highlights from the ABRSM Syllabus

We’ve recently embarked upon an ambitious project to create a detailed collection of guides to the pieces in the new ABRSM syllabus. The first instalment in this series kicks off with some highlights from the syllabus at the late elementary (grades 3 and 4) and intermediate levels (grades 4 to 6).

Even if you’re not preparing for an examination, the new syllabus contains a curated selection of graded pieces, many of which are open domain and therefore freely available online. Exploring this rich and varied collection of works is highly recommended as you are bound to find some delightful additions to your repertoire!

JS Bach – Prelude in C minor (BWV 999)

Grade 4

bach pieces to play
Caravaggio: The Lute Player

Originally written for the lute, this piece is based on a harmonic progression that Bach opens out into figuration (we find one texture throughout). It makes an ideal preparatory piece for the C major and C minor Preludes (from Book 1), constructed in similar ways.

Click here for links to the full video walk-through, open domain score and a Spotify recording of this work.

Ecossaise in E-Flat (No. 4 from Six Ecossaises, WoO 83)

Grade 3

beethoven eccosaise in e-flat

This lively Scottish dance by Beethoven looks rather square on the page, but in fact it requires rhythmic flexibility (as well as elegance and grace) to bring it to life.

Click here for links to the full video walk-through, open domain score and a Spotify recording of this work.

Burgmüller – Innocence (No. 5 from 25 études faciles et progressives, Op.100)

Grade 3

A study in delicacy of touch and articulation, tonal balance between the hands and scale patterns in the upper register, Innocence gives plenty of scope for understanding harmony and developing musical as well as technical skills.

Click here for links to the full video walk-through, open domain score and a Spotify recording of this work.

Chopin – Mazurka in G minor (Op. 67 No. 2)

Grade 6

This delightful entry-level mazurka in G minor, written in the last year of Chopin’s life (1849) is a great choice for the intermediate player who loves Chopin but who isn’t quite ready for the bigger works.

Click here for links to the full video walk-through, open domain score and a Spotify recording of this work.

Sergei Prokofiev – Tarantella (No. 4 from Musiques d’enfants, Op. 65)

Grade 5

play prokofievs tarantella

Prokoviev’s Tarantella is one of the best examples of this type of dance piece, featuring spinning patterns in both hands and plenty of quirky harmonic and rhythmic features that make the composer’s style so engaging. If you’re looking for an accessible modern Russian piece that sounds harder than it is, here it is!

Click here for links to the full video walk-through, open domain score and a Spotify recording of this work.

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Further Resources

The Online Academy and our store have numerous resources to support you in learning a wide range of popular pieces, including:

  • Video walk-throughs of popular works such as Burgmuller’s 25 Easy and Progressive Etudes, Chopin’s Fantasie-Impromptu, Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata and Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C# Minor (Op. 3 No. 2)
  • A growing collection of video walkthroughs for selected pieces in the new ABRSM 2021 & 2022 examination syllabus
  • From the Ground Up – a series that uses reduced scores and outlines to help you learn new pieces faster, featuring works by Bach, Chopin, Grieg, Schumann and Beethoven
  • Annotated study editions and walk-throughs for works by Bach, Debussy, Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Schubert and Ravel

Click here to find out more about the Online Academy or click here to subscribe from as little as £13.99 per month or £119.99 per year.

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judi

Free Highlights and a New Feature!

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Our library of content on the Online Academy has grown substantially since we first launched. We have just developed a new feature called “collections” to provide another method of finding and accessing content.

Collections are selections of content from the Online Academy library which offer a guided pathway through content or a “play list” based on themes or topics. These may be topics not covered directly within the main browse categories or might span multiple categories e.g. resources at the intermediate level on practising and technique, repertoire collections, recommendations for “returning” pianists and so on.

new feature
newnew

How it works

Previously, the Online Academy was navigated by browsing, searching or a full content index. Collections offer an additional way to browse customised groupings from start to finish rather than having to browse / search for individual items.

Within a collection you will be able to browse backwards and forwards from start to finish. Breadcrumbs and additional menus will enable you to jump between items.

If you’re signed in then you will also be able to jump to your last viewed page from your “Recently viewed” links. You can also add pages that were particularly interesting to your bookmarks.

Free Highlights

The Online academy recently turned four and therefore we decided to make first collection a set of highlights featuring some of the most popular recent items and a perennial favourites. As part of our birthday celebrations, these resources will be available to view free without a subscription on the Online Academy until Tuesday 24th November 2020.

The highlights collection includes:

  • Two of our most popular videos by Graham Fitch on practising which introduce highly effective practice tools
  • A selection of technique resources on general principles, position, scales, warming-up and the basics of using fore-arm rotation
  • Walk-throughs of pieces by Bach, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Chopin and Brahms from elementary through to the advanced level

…and much more!

free highlights

following from this initial collection, we will be adding more on an ongoing basis, featuring existing content, new content and a combination thereof. The next collections planned will likely include a technique “health check”, a set of recommendations for getting started and repertoire collections focusing on specific topics or themes.

How to get access?

If you are on our mailing list then please check your email as we will have sent you further instructions on how to access this new feature. Otherwise if you’re not on our mailing list, you can sign-up here to receive an email with further details (you can unsubscribe at any time).

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judi

Highlights & Most Popular Content of 2020

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We’re currently taking a break over the Festive Session and will resume further posts and updates in the New Year. In the meantime, we thought we’d leave you with some highlights and links to our most popular content from the last year.

Highlights & silver linings

Although 2020 has clearly not gone according to plan for most of us, we are very grateful that the year has still had a number of highlights, including:

  • Launch of our online workshops and events programme which enabled us to meet and interact with pianists all over the world! These included a programme of Zoom workshops, monthly practice clinics and an online take on the traditional masterclass format.
  • The Online Academy celebrated its fourth birthday
  • We welcomed new authors to the Online Academy and published many new resources, including detailed study editions and over 100 videos!

Most popular content

The following were our most popular blog posts from the last year:

And these were the most popular Online Academy series:

We also launched a new “collections” feature to provide additional ways to find and access content from our library.

Our YouTube channel has also grown significantly and these were some of the most popular videos:

In addition to the above, recordings of our monthly practice clinics have also been very popular on both YouTube and Facebook (please click here to view a playlist of all videos on YouTube).

Thanks again to all of our readers and subscribers for your support over the last year. As always, we are hard at work on many new exciting projects which we can’t wait to share with you!

More information on what’s in store for the year ahead is available here and please be sure to have a look at our courses and events page for information on our next online events.

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judi

Highlights & Most Popular Content of 2021

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We are currently taking a break over the Festive Season and will resume further posts and updates in the New Year. We will be kicking off the year with new videos for our collection of resources for the Trinity syllabus, the next work in our Beethoven on Board series and more videos on technical exercises. Our first events for the year will take place on 15th January and you can join us online or in person for several sessions, including a performance workshop and three lecture-presentations.

In the meantime, we thought we’d leave you with some highlights and links to our most popular content and events from the last year:

Highlights

Although 2021 might not have gone according to plan for most of us, we are very grateful for the wonderful experiences and highlights that the year has given us, including:

  • Piano Day – We ran a weekend of online events to celebrate Piano Day 2021 (29th March) which featured ten sessions presented by Graham Fitch, Ken Johansen, William Westney and Jory Vinikour. Click here to find out more or to purchase access to workshop recordings and resources.
  • Teaching Healthy, Expressive Piano Technique – Penelope Roskell’s new online course based on her award-winning book, The Complete Pianist, was launched in November. The course features approx. 9 hrs of high-quality footage and numerous musical examples showing how to teach all aspects of technique to students of all levels. Click here to find out more or click here to view a sample video.
  • Beethoven on Board – The first three instalments in our new Beethoven on Board series were published, featuring guided tours of Beethoven’s Op. 2 Sonatas by pianist and captain of The Piano Boat, Masayuki Tayama.
  • Examination Resources – Our collection of resources for piano examinations grew significantly and now features 100+ videos on the ABRSM and Trinity syllabuses, in addition to several videos on other aspects of exam preparation. Click here for more information.
  • How to Start Learning a New Piece – We created a free email course based on our series on learning new pieces, which over 500 participants completed! Click here to find out more or to sign-up.

Most popular content

The following are our most popular blog posts from the last year:

And these were the most popular Online Academy series:

Events

Two of our most popular YouTube videos were:

Thanks again to all of our readers and subscribers for your support over the last year. As always, we are hard at work on many exciting new projects which we look forward to sharing with you soon!

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judi

Highlights & Most Popular Content of 2022

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We are currently taking a break over the Festive Season and will resume our various activities in the New Year. Our events programme will kick-off with a presentation on interpretation and a performance workshop on the 14th of January. We will also be starting off the year with a series of initiatives themed around learning new pieces. These include online workshops on related topics, updates to our free email course and many other resources featuring a wide range of repertoire.

In the meantime, we thought we’d leave you with some highlights and links to our most popular content and events from the last year:

Highlights

The following were some of our highlights from 2022:

  • New Premises – In the latter part of the year we moved into new premises in central London. This new studio is sound-proofed with a leased-line connection making it perfect for filming and running online and in-person events.
  • London Piano Courses – The new studio has enabled us to develop our events programme further to offer a combination of in-person attendance and online participation. We ran a variety of different sessions including performance workshops, presentations and a technique workshop (click here to find out more about these events).
  • ABRSM Videos – Our first shoots in the new premises featured resources for the ABRSM 2023 & 2024 syllabus. We’ve since shot videos for 70+ works from the syllabus with almost twenty available on our site already and more to follow in due course. Click here to view an index of the available videos.
  • New Content – In addition to the above, the Online Academy’s library saw many new additions, including the last module of our Advanced Sight-Reading Curriculum, several resources on exercises and studies, a new series on Bach’s Well-Tempered Klavier and welcoming of a new author, Fred Karpoff.
  • Free Events – As part of our online workshops programme, we ran three free events on practising, memorisation and playing fast with the latter being filmed in our new studio.

Most popular content

And these were the most popular Online Academy series:

Events

The following were some of the most popular events from our programme:

And lastly, our most popular YouTube videos were:

Thanks again to all of our readers and subscribers for your support over the last year. As always, we are hard at work on many exciting new projects which we look forward to sharing with you soon!

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