Stephen
has taught the piano for all of his professional career. He teaches across the
board - adult and child beginners through to coaching for young professional
pianists.
He
has the knack of drawing from individual students the best playing they are
capable of achieving. He concentrates on the musical aspects of the repertoire,
allowing students' technique to develop naturally, without needing to spend
countless hours working at scales and studies. Stephen feels that, as he
refuses to do this, he should not inflict technical grind upon his students.
This
approach demands high standards from students. They are constantly called upon
to make musical decisions and find technical solutions for themselves. Even the
least talented young musicians develop exceptional musical understanding.
The
most talented thrive. Stephen's former students include many piano teachers
and
a professional soloist; several of these studied successfully with him for
Diploma qualifications. Some gained these whilst still at school.
His
latest success is a young lady of 17 who has gained the LLCM Performers' Recital
Diploma and a place to study at the Royal Northern College of Music in
September.
Students
travel vast distances to study with Stephen. Towns within easy reach of his home
are:
Find
Stephen via Multimap.com
Frequently asked questions
Here are the questions Stephen is most
often asked by prospective students or their parents.
Q: What do beginner piano pupils need?
A: Three things:
-
A
piano to practice on, or at least a full sized keyboard.
-
A
desire to learn to play.
-
The
persistence to practise.
Q: Why do they need their own piano?
A: So they can practise the material covered in
lessons.
Q: Why practise?
A: Because playing the piano is a physical
activity as well as an intellectual and artistic one. Fingers have to move quickly over
the keys and the only way to ensure accuracy is to rehearse, and rehearse,
and rehearse........
Q:
How much practise?
A: That is one of those, "How long is a piece
of string?" questions. The only realistic answer is, "As long as it
takes to master the lesson material." This takes an average student about
30 minutes a day. Others will take more or less time according to their ability
and intelligence.
Q:
Will I be successful without practise?
A: No. Do not even start unless you are prepared to
practise.
Q: My child has a
busy life and will not be able to practise often. What should I do?
A: Either cut down on some of the activities or
abandon the idea of taking piano lessons. There is no short-cut to satisfying
playing.
Q: Is piano playing fun?
A: Depends on your definition of 'fun'. Playing the
piano is not a laugh-a-minute romp giving instant, push button gratification. It
is: deeply satisfying; emotionally and intellectually stimulating;
capable of affording lifelong pleasure.
Q:
Are the lessons fun?
A: You bet. Stephen is a genial nutcase who insists
his students have a good time whilst they are with him. We all learn best whilst
laughing.
Q: What benefits do children derive from
playing a musical instrument?
A: Here are just a few of the abilities and
characteristics enhanced by playing the piano:
-
Intellectual development through
mastering music reading.
-
Problem solving through finding solutions to the myriad of
different challenges.
-
Self-discipline through regular
practise.
-
Physical coordination.
-
Creativity.
-
Cooperation with others in ensemble
work.
-
Opens new emotional experiences to
children.
Q:
How young can children start?
A: Children can start as soon as they can
coordinate physical movements of fingers, wrists and arms with note-reading.
Children able to catch a ball can usually start to learn to play the piano -
girls usually aged 6-7, boys 7-8 years of age.
Q:
Should parents be involved?
A: Yes, particularly with younger children. Parents will need to encourage
children to practise. They will often need to use their adult analytical skills
to help children solve difficult problems. Parents will need to know what
happens in lessons if they are to help, so Stephen will invite them to sit in on
lessons.
Q:
Do I need a good piano?
A: Of course. Would you want to learn to
drive in a 20 year old ex-minicab, do your word-processing on a 10 year old
computer or live in a house with holes in the roof? We all have to make
compromises between what we would like and what we can afford but students can
only make musical sounds on a good instrument. Too many parents buy decrepit
pianos. Describing a festering, untunable, noise-polluting wreck as 'Okay for a
beginner' is ridiculous.
Pianos
age badly, like cars only more slowly. There are analogies between the
disintegration of pianos and cars. On average, think of a piano taking 5 years
to age as much as a car will in 1
year. Put another way, a badly maintained 100 year old
piano will be as wrecked as a badly maintained 20 year old car.
Q: Must I have an acoustic piano?
A: Eventually. The piano is a percussion
instrument; the player strikes the keys which make the hammers hit the strings
that produce the sound. This opens up the endless potential for different tone
qualities and expressive nuances needed by an advanced player; electric pianos
lack this infinite subtlety. Having said that, a good electric piano is better
than a poor acoustic instrument. Good electric pianos start at c. £2000, so you
might as well get a decent second hand upright for that kind of money.
Q:
Won't an electric keyboard do?
A: No. Nearest analogy is buying a bike to take
driving lessons.
Q: Where can I
buy a piano?
A: Look in Yellow Pages for piano showrooms - these
are located in towns and cities, usually. Showrooms will stock a range of new
and second hand pianos. They will offer part exchange on an older piano but you
are better off selling it privately. Look in newspaper classified ads sections
to find good second hand pianos at reasonable prices, but take along someone who
knows about them when you go to view. The 'market price' of a piano is whatever
an individual is prepared to pay, so 'buyer beware' operates in this market.
Remember, the older the piano the less it is worth.
Q:
How much?
A: Decent second hand - £1,000 upwards.
New - £5,000 for a good quality upright to £100,000
for a top-of-the-range concert
grand.
Q:
Can I rent one?
A: Yes. Many piano showrooms offer this facility.
They are hoping you will buy the instrument and will usually offset the rent you
have paid against the purchase price if you decide to buy the piano within a
couple of years. A student of mine rents a lovely, brand new upright for only
£8 a week.
Q: Is there a way of
finding out whether my child will do well before committing to such a purchase?
A: None that I know of. So far as I am aware, there
are no tests of musical potential in existence that will predict whether an
individual will succeed in playing the piano. Mostly, it comes down to practise
anyway. You could try arranging practise facilities in school, or with
friends and relatives but these arrangements tend to break down quickly.
Q:
Should I try to set aside a special 'music room' for my child beginner?
A: No. Beginners who do best tend to be those who play for a few minutes every
time they walk past the piano; not many kids enjoy being isolated from the rest
of the house whilst they practise. The best place is often the hall, in that
spot where the triangle of routes between bedroom, living room and kitchen meet!
Q:
Can adults learn?
A: Certainly can, and do, if they are prepared
to practise. Everything comes down to that.
Q:
I have heard that there are graded music exams. What are they?
A: A system to help amateur musicians judge their
progress. Each stage will become progressively more difficult, calling for
greater technical mastery (i.e. ability to play the notes) and musical
understanding. Students wishing to take music exams should study a wide variety
of pieces at each stage to gain the experience necessary to pass well; only then
should they attempt to learn the set material for the exam.
Q:
My child has been learning for several years and has only ever been given exam pieces by her teacher. She plays them for
months on end then takes the exam. I am beginning to doubt this approach. What
should I do?
A: Find a decent teacher. Your current teacher is
abusing the exam system and de-motivating your child. She will give up
soon.
Q:
I am an adult learner. Must I take exams?
A: No. Only take them if you feel you will
benefit. Try one and see.
Q:
Must my child take exams?
A: No. Children learned musical instruments
for hundreds of years before the exam system developed. To take exams or not is
an individual decision and non-exam teaching is as effective as that leading to
exams.
Q: OK, so I have a choice
about taking exams. How would I benefit from taking them?
A: You will have the incentive to polish pieces to
a much higher standard than usual. This allows Stephen to go into greater depth
about the music and expose you to a wider range of ideas. You will develop
deeper musical understanding as a result.
Q:
Now I really am confused. Are exams a good idea, of aren't they?
A: Yes. They just have to be used properly.
Q:
What sort of child achieves the higher grades in piano exams?
A: The sort that practises. Sorry to keep banging
on about this, but there really is no other way to learn to play.
Q:
Can anybody achieve the highest grades and if not, is there a point in learning
to play?
A: In truth, not everybody has the ability to
achieve the highest grade (grade 8+) but there is a massive wealth of wonderful
music available to anybody who can achieve a post grade 5 standard. Everybody
has the ability to do that if they practise consistently.
Q:
Does grade 8 qualify a pianist as a teacher?
A: No. Grade 8 indicates good standard amateur playing. Professional
qualifications begin at Diploma level and very few grade 8 candidates will have
the time and ability to reach that standard. A piano teacher should be able to
play to at least Performers Diploma standard, a standard at which audiences are
happy to pay to hear them. Think of the time and effort it takes to reach grade
8 standard, then imagine a Diploma equating to an imaginary grade 100. You can
now begin to understand the vast gulf of technical expertise and musical
understanding that separates the two standards.
Q:
Where do lessons take place?
A: In Stephen's music room.
Q:
Will Stephen make visits to my home to teach me?
A: Only under the most exceptional circumstances.
Stephen has a magnificent grand piano and all the necessary resources at home.
Traveling to students denies them use of these facilities. Also, is is
expensive; he would charge for travel to-and-from students' homes at the same
rate as for the actual teaching.
Q:
What about theory?
A: Stephen deals with theory on an
as-and-when-needed basis. He concentrates on teaching students to play the
piano.
Stephen
can help with the academic side as well. He was Head of Music at a 6th form
college in Cheshire for several years and has recently concluded a contract to
teach 'A' level at a school in Oldham. 'A' level successes include two private
students who both gained top grades.
Stephen obtains music from Counterpoint, in Lincoln, who offer
an efficient UK mail order service for music, CDs and cassettes. Visit
Counterpoint's website, telephone them on 01522 560065 or Email
them.
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