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Metronome Practice Record
In the Humoresques of 23rd April (“Enemies to Lovers”) and 30th April (“Vingt-et-Un”) I gave you guidance on when, why and how to use a metronome as part of your practice. Remember, I suggested you only use numbers between 60bpm (beats per minute) and 144bpm. [I am sticking, as always, to traditional metronome marks, although…
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Playlists!
The pianist in the photo was Radu Lupu (1945-2022). He was Romanian, and one of the greatest pianists ever. We are very lucky to have recordings of his performances. Lupu started studying piano when he was six years old. In 1969, at the age of 24, he won the famous Leeds International Piano Competition. In…
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Do you listen to classical* music?
It’s never been easier! There are YouTube playlists, Spotify playlists, mp3 recordings to buy, borrow or stream – and, of course, CDs and even vinyl records! What a choice! So it’s easy to listen – but why should you? Here are three great reasons: 3. Listening helps your hands follow your ears. This isn’t just…
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Vingt-et-Un!
Vingt-et-un is a card game in which you have to collect twenty-one points. Here’s a quick summary of the rules: I hope you’ll have a go at this age-old gambling game! I grew up on it! And now the reason we’re diving into “vingt-et-un” today: old-fashioned metronomes are the answer. Old-fashioned metronomes, those lovely pyramid-shaped…
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Enemies to Lovers!
Many of you will know that I write novels – Medieval Fantasy Adventures. This is just one genre of fiction, and there are many others. We all have our favourites, but one of the on-trend genres right now is called “Enemies to Lovers”. The “enemies to lovers” trope describes a romantic narrative where two characters who…
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Sight-Reading = Independence
Sight-reading means playing a piece of music for the first time. In an exam situation, your sight-reading test is meant to be a performance: don’t stop, don’t go back, get from start to finish in one go, and if you can, add dynamics and play musically! In real life, sight-reading isn’t a test at all.…
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Humoresque
A Humoresque is a genre of Romantic music, characterised by pieces with fanciful humour in the sense of mood rather than wit. (Wikipedia, accessed 09: 50 2nd April 2025)