In this episode, I dive into the mind-blowing world of ChatGPT’s brand new voice AI feature, where I have hilarious, shockingly human-like conversations with some of history’s greatest composers! These experimental chats are not only educational but packed with unexpected humor and personality. Join me as I explore the incredible capabilities of this revolutionary technology. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to chat with iconic figures from the past—laughing along the way—this episo...
Oct 11, 2024•23 min•Ep. 44
An exploration of the challenging but crucial conversations surrounding diversity and representation in classical music education, framed through a personal cautionary experience. Drawing from recent events in the industry, topics discussed include: – The importance of open dialogue about race and gender in music – Challenges in representing diverse composers in educational materials – Navigating sensitive discussions in music education – Lessons learned from attempting to address these issues –...
Oct 05, 2024•44 min•Ep. 43
Please check the shownotes for timings if you just want to listen to the review for one particular grade Show Notes: Init [1:40] Grade 1 [2:53] Grade 2 [4:03] Grade 3 [6:00] Grade 4 [10:06] Grade 5 [13:17] Grade 6 [15:33] Grade 7 [17:45] Grade 8 [23:03]
Jun 06, 2024•36 min•Ep. 42
In this thought-provoking first part of a two-part review, I explore the new books and discuss how ABRSM are navigating the complex landscape of music education in a changing world. Join me as I delve into the challenges and opportunities presented by this new syllabus, which is sure to spark lively debate within the piano community. Part two will review the individual grades. Show Notes: Introduction Excitement about the new ABRSM syllabus for 2025-2026. Importance of these pieces for teachers ...
Jun 06, 2024•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 41
Tim Topham is a legend in the piano education world, his podcast “The Integrated Music Teaching Podcast” is a who’s who of the most interesting & creative piano educators. It was a huge honour to chat to Tim about his new book which advocates and provides a framework for delaying reading music with beginner piano students. This episode is not just for piano teachers though, I’m sure everybody will be interested in our chat which includes topics such as common preventable weaknesses that most...
Dec 02, 2023•56 min•Ep. 39
Check the shownotes for timings if you just want to listen to the review for one particular grade Show Notes: Init [2:13] Terrible (almost non-existent) selection of Baroque/ Classical Wild range of difficulty levels For me, mostly unremarkable pieces Much prefer the 2021-2023 syllabus, pieces more fun, more character, less bland Both RSL offerings strong at this level, for me, ABRSM in 2nd place Grade 1 [3:06] Very strong Classical selection. Often technically challenging Useful technical pedag...
Sep 07, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 38
The most radical and indispensable piano syllabus ever! This will either be incredibly exciting for piano teachers & students- or highly controversial. Either way, it’s a must-own. In this episode I discuss some of the many controversial issues that this new syllabus raises, and give you a detailed verdict on these new books. Part two will review the individual grades. Show Notes: First impressions I sight-read through every single piece in every grade, and did the same with current syllabus...
Sep 05, 2023•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 37
Cheryl is back for a masterclass on how awareness of musical tension and release can make huge changes to our playing, and demonstrates that we absolutely need to learn to learn to feel it in the body before we can successfully apply it to our piano playing Show Notes [6:20] Pulling/ pushing tempo- stretching time More tension = get slower [13:30] We have to *feel* tension/release, not just think about getting slower/faster (otherwise it’s too difficult)! It also helps for tempo changes to happe...
Apr 09, 2023•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 35
My friend Cheryl is back to chat about and get a deeper understanding of the practical ways in which we can become truly great pianists by bringing the psychological skills I’ve demonstrated in recent episodes into our learning and practising Show Notes [3:15] A reminder of the 4 skills: Look for what there is to love in every moment Magic wand practice Cultivate the felt sense of always good enough Every few minutes, change the focus of your musical awareness [17:25] A deeper look at skill 1 wi...
Nov 27, 2022•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 34
An epic review (with music audio clips) of ABRSM’s hotly anticipated foray into pop music! I’m holding ABRSM to a high standard so I’m quite critical, but I do also look for what there is to enjoy in these books. Listen to this episode to find out if you should buy them for yourself or recommend them for your students! A brief bulletpoint summary of my review: 2 books: Book 1, ABRSM Initial Grade to Grade 3 (20 songs) Book 2, ABRSM Grades 4 & 5 (16 songs) The songs have been arranged in more...
Nov 08, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 33
This fourth skill is immensely practical, maybe some of you might think it’s a stretch to call it a ‘psychological skill’, but I notice that it’s totally normal for most of my students to have issues with putting this into practice as- like in meditation- we have to practise choosing where to place our awareness in any given moment Show Notes [0:45] The #4 skill: to begin with, every 5-10 minutes as you practise, change the focus of your awareness. Never just focus only on ‘the correct notes’ [4...
Sep 18, 2022•35 min•Ep. 32
The third in a series looking at the most essential mental habits to practise at the piano that will give you the quickest and most profound progress. These are the things I refer to constantly when I’m teaching, and covers aspects of musicianship that almost all teachers consider unteachable- considered to be innate qualities in talented students. But I can show you how to develop this natural musicianship. I think we can all struggle with this third skill at times, and it’s for this reason tha...
Sep 17, 2022•47 min•Ep. 31
A must-listen review (with music audio clips) of 3 books of jazz piano sheet music from Nikki Iles & Friends published by ABRSM covering from initial grade up to grade 8 and beyond. A detailed look at highlights and ‘weak’ pieces with audio clips from each book starts at 36:30 A brief bulletpoint summary of my review: 3 books: Book 1- Intermediate (Grades 4-6) Book 2- Intermediate to Advanced (Grades 6-8) Easy to Intermediate (Grades initial-3) Writing/ arranging in a jazz style for students...
Sep 05, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 30
The second in a series looking at the most essential mental habits to practise at the piano that will give you the quickest and most profound progress. These are the things I refer to constantly when I’m teaching, and covers aspects of musicianship that almost all teachers consider unteachable- considered to be innate qualities in talented students. But I can show you how to develop this natural musicianship. When my students practise regularly using this second skill, their musicality is transf...
Aug 15, 2022•33 min•Ep. 29
A lively and passionate discussion where we introduce the ideas and research behind Self-Determination Theory, which could help you make giant leaps with your music. Some core topics covered in this episode include intrinsic & extrinsic motivation, autonomy, how rewards actually make us perform worse, ego & needing approval from others and ourselves, and how we can practise & cultivate intrinsic motivation in our own piano journey. Show Notes [2:55] Brief intro to Self-Determination ...
Jun 25, 2022•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 28
Can ABRSM bounce back from their last syllabus I was highly critical of? Listen to this episode for a comprehensive review of the new set of books, including audio clips of many of the new pieces. I also discuss some of the recent controversial issues regarding their operational and business challenges A brief bulletpoint summary of my review: Blown away, superb selection of pieces this time around Good balance between pedagogical rigour, and being fun to play Interesting creative & diverse ...
Jun 09, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 27
The first in a series looking at the most essential mental habits to practise at the piano that will give you the quickest and most profound progress. These are the things I refer to constantly when I’m teaching, and covers aspects of musicianship that almost all teachers consider unteachable- considered to be innate qualities in talented students. But I can show you how to develop this natural musicianship. The first skill covered in this episode is by far the most important- I’m always remindi...
May 05, 2022•56 min•Ep. 26
Matt Herskowitz is quite simply one of the most skilful, versatile, and soulful pianists on the planet. Matt shines in many genres, but it’s his outstanding work jazzing up classical music in particular that was the reason I absolutely had to chat with him for the podcast! I include many generous audio clips of Matt’s playing during the interview to give you a taste of what I love about his playing Show Notes [3:04] Matt’s classical background and education- Curtis Institute of Music, Julliard w...
Apr 30, 2022•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 25
A practical masterclass demonstrating how an understanding of the two brain hemispheres can help us deal with performance anxiety, and help us identify and deal with obstacles to our natural musicianship when learning and practising a new piece. Show Notes [3:05] Learning hands separately or together? [7:40] Psychological strategies for dealing with performance anxiety, and finding an optimal state of mind before we start to practice or perform [30:15] Strategies for coming out of narrow focus w...
Apr 25, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 24
A further introduction into how an understanding of the two brain hemispheres can help us with aspects of musicianship that are normally considered ‘unteachable’! Show Notes [2:30] Summing up important concepts from the last episode [6:35] The neuroscience of the hemispheres is still in a (sometimes controversial) process of discovery- what may be most useful for musicians is to explore the two distinct ways of perceiving the world as laid out by Iain McGilchrist, and explore their practical use...
Apr 25, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 23
An introduction into how an understanding of the two brain hemispheres can help us with aspects of musicianship that are normally considered ‘unteachable’! Show Notes [6:30] The story of how I came to understand the fundamental difference between the two brain hemispheres. The difference between analytic & holistic processing. Narrow focus & broad focus [10:35] The evolutionary explanation for divided brains [14:15] Right hemisphere gives the raw experience from the senses. Left hemisphe...
Apr 25, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 22
Not only just a review of the 2021 Leeds International Piano Competition, but also a wider examination of the issues brought up by competition in music, the role of music in communities, interviews with some of my favourite competitors including the winner Alim Beisembayev, audio clips from the unofficially linked Leeds Pub Piano Competition event, discussion with the competitors about how they deal with the nerves and pressures of competitions, and much more! Notes: Thank you to the pianists wh...
Oct 22, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 21
After a long wait, LCM have published a brand new piano syllabus- which covers exams from Pre-Preparatory level to Grade 8. Find out how it compares to ABRSM, Trinity, and Rockschool Classical’s recent new syllabuses. A written summary of this review is available here: https://heartofthepiano.com/summary-of-podcast-review-lcm-london-college-of-music-2021-piano-syllabus/ Show Notes Who are LCM/ London College of Music? [0:50] The previous 2018-2020 LCM Piano Syllabus [2:15] Some general impressio...
Oct 04, 2021•58 min•Ep. 20
Listen to see why I’m so enthusiastic about Rockschool’s Rock/Pop Piano grades for piano! Following on from my previous review, I also give more information for those considering the new Rockschool Classical grades. Show Notes Excellent for fixing common rhythmic weaknesses in classical students [3:05] The difference between the graded exams and the performance certificates [4:30] The improvisation section was poorly implemented in classical syllabus- makes much more sense in the Rock/Pop syllab...
Jul 14, 2021•56 min•Ep. 19
Rockschool has recently released an exciting new set of classical piano grades! Listen to this review to find out their strengths and weaknesses, including my strong misgivings. Show Notes Identity crisis [2:50] No mention of balanced programme [5:50] Difficult to assess across different styles with no requirement for balanced programme [6:40] Excellent representation of women and BIPOC [9:46] Lack of consistency across grades in terms of styles & difficulty levels [12:30] Comparison with AB...
Jun 16, 2021•56 min•Ep. 18
The Heart of the Piano Podcast is back with a review of the new piano syllabuses from ABRSM and Trinity, which take you from an Initial Grade to Grade 8. Listen to the podcast to discover some reasons why me and many other piano teachers are now defecting from ABRSM to Trinity! A brief summary of my review: ABRSM- Grade 8 seems much easier technically, but much harder musically than in previous years. Grade 8 book has less pieces than previous years, down to almost half the number of pages. Chan...
Sep 25, 2020•48 min•Ep. 17
An absorbing, enlightening and entertaining conversation with Karl Luthmayer- musical raconteur, international concert pianist, academic, rock star keyboardist & theremin player in a prog-rock band! As well as chatting about Karl’s career and piano playing, we discuss his fascinating research on facial expressiveness in piano performers, the history and aesthetics of piano concert arrangements, the explosion of interest in Western classical music in India, concert etiquette and reaching new ...
Dec 15, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 16
I was so excited about interviewing Karen Bulmer that it only very recently occurred to me after recording the interview that Karen is not actually a pianist! But every musician will get so much from listening to this episode, and I think particularly us pianists who often have to juggle so many things happening at once in our music will really benefit from so much of the conversation between me and Karen. Karen is an incredibly clear thinker and communicator, with thoughtful responses on some o...
Apr 17, 2019•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 14
The Leeds International Piano Competition is one of the top 3 most important and prestigious piano competitions in the world, with previous finalists such as Murray Perahia, Mitsuko Uchida, András Schiff… and dozens more names that anybody familiar with classical pianists will recognise instantly as being in the top row of the best, most important, and most successful artists in the business. The competition has always owed its strength and international presence to its founder Dame Fanny Waterm...
Apr 03, 2019•43 min•Ep. 13
Olga is not only a superb pianist- her CD shows off her deep soulful & expressive playing with a highly refined ear for counterpoint, layers and structure- but her concert transcription of the Vitali Chaconne for solo piano is an absolute masterpiece, and she has also done a PhD on polyphony in Rachmaninov’s music… I absolutely had to interview her! I’m afraid my enthusiasm for details about bells and the structure of the Rachmaninov 2nd Sonata made the beginning of this episode perhaps a li...
Mar 27, 2019•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 12
