In the early podcast episode, Louise, Sophie and Ruth played their favourite pieces from the ABRSM Prep Test syllabus. Three years down the line they have kindly agreed to share their favourite Grade 3 pieces in the video clip. As Ruth points out in the video, it is only by setting yourself challenges and striving towards your goals that you are able to achieve them.

Now that the summer term has wound down, it’s a good chance to review some of the activities which have taken place. I was pleased to receive a great set of exam results last week which included six merits and a distinction. “Share one, comment two” week  has increased active participation on the Noteflight Studio. Why not take the opportunity to do some composing over the summer holidays? I am planning to have another composition competition in the Autumn Term, so watch this space for details!

The TWO concerts this term were well attended and offered a wide variety of performances from piano solos and duets to ensembles and choirs. One of my piano students was even brave enough to sing a solo. We welcomed the Chester Music Society Youth Choir and Preludes at “Ludus Cantiones” with their conductors Helena Thomas and Katie Wilkes. Proceeds from ticket sales raised another £200 towards Betina’s Bursary fund. Unfortunately, Betina wasn’t able to take her Grade 1 exam this session but hopes to continue her violin studies in September and maybe take it next time. Feedback would still be welcome on the “Ludus Cantiones” concert held on 25th June.

Have a great summer and don’t forget to keep practising.

There’s little chance of escaping the fact that scales aren’t the most exciting thing to practice, especially when you have a piano exam coming up in the next few weeks.  However they are the building blocks of much music and being able to play them fluently is fundamental in the ability to play any instrument.

My students have been incorporating “musical curve” into their scale technique. Playing duet scales helps focus on the rhythm with some lovely arrangements  in “Get Ready for Major Scale Duets”

This collaborative performance of Twinkle Twinkle Little C from the book demonstrates some of the “musical curve” technique they have been exploring. With thanks to Amelia, Kathleen, Lauren, Beth, Mattea, Shea, Alice, Emily, Grace, Ruth, Felicity, Izzie, Emma, Kirsten, Jacob, Oliver and Sylvia for their contributions to the video.

Scales are also a useful tool to experiment with in composition. This 12 bar work by Beryl looks at the relationship between relative major and minor scale.
“Major and Minor Creativity” by Beryl

Why not have a go at making your own composition using scales? Log in to your noteflight account to get started.

Some hi-resolution photographs of the concert are available in a password-protected gallery. (Access details for this gallery will be emailed to parents directly) All proceeds from any sales of these photographs will go to the Kampala Music School Fund. Video clips are also available, (produced to order) of your child’s performance on DVD, memory stick or by digital download, price £5. Contact me if you are interested in one of these.

Excerpts from the “Playing Together” Concert

Plans are already afoot for the next concert which is likely to take place on a Saturday morning in late June, 2011.

Fiona requested that I might share the card with my students, so with thanks to Oliver who created the backing track on Noteflight, please see below the embedded video presentation of the delightful Ugandan craft card!

Step 2 – All the necessary material is available in a single publication

Step 1 – All the necessary material is available in a single publication

Trinity LCM exams have an exam venue in Chester and offer a range of pre-grade 1 options; Pre-prep, Step 1 and Step 2. The entry fees for these exams in 2011 are £23, £24 and £25 respectively. The closing date for Spring entry is 1st February 2011 and the spring exam session takes place from 19th March – 21st April.

Pre-Prep Test – All the necessary material is available in a single publication

Thirty students performed in the Charity Piano Recital last week at The King’s School.  The concert raised a further £180 towards Betina’s lesson bursary bringing the total raised this year to over £400. With a year of lessons costing £300 this means there is a surplus to go towards her exam fees and other costs. Certificates were presented and the winners of the composition competition performed their work along with noteflight accompaniment!

A selection of video clips from the concert are available to watch below. More may be added in due course…

“CDE song” was the first piece Oliver learned nearly four years ago and the noteflight arrangement below is his latest piece of work which pays homage to this early experience. This is the second time his work has been featured on my website but the first time in his own notation. See African Elephant

I hope that seeing this will encourage my other students who are using noteflight to experiment with their ideas and share their creative work!

Betina Nalugo.

Date of Birth: 5 December 2000

Local School: Kampala Quality Primary School

Level: Primary 5

She loves music, drama and very much the violin.

“She has played the violin for over a year but began with her current teacher Frances Attwood in September this last year. She is currently about Preparatory Test level of the ABRSM.”

“All sweet words for your sponsorship and she promised to work hard possibly even to ABRSM grade 1.”

Part of the concert included the first presentation of the new piano points trophy won by Mollie who scored 42 points in the Easter term and gets to keep the silver cup until the next concert, at which point it will be presented to the winner of this term’s piano points competition.

Audio recordings of all the student performances at the concert have been uploaded to an album in the gallery. The podcast episode features some of these recordings given by Mollie, Louise, Sophie and Alice along with the entertaining closing speech given by the special guest, Terence Ayebare.

The Ash Grove

In conversation we look at the challenges the piece poses along with sources of inspiration for the solo section and possible embellishments for the recapitulation of the head section.

The pieces featured, following a spooky theme, include:
Ghost (Oct ’07),  Scarecrow (Mar ’08)  and Ghostly Tale (Jan ’09).

Seasons greetings to all my students and podcast listeners. The Christmas episode of the piano gallery podcast takes a seasonal dip into the archives featuring:

Nikita – Jingle Bells
Lucy – Silent Night

both recordings are from the 2006 Christmas Concert at Chester Cathedral and as a variation from solo piano fayre, my school choir; St. Clare’s, sing Follow That Star.

Featuring:

Lightly Row – Hannah
Au clair de la lune – Beth
Trudging – Daniel

This week’s podcast explores some of the repertoire for the ABRSM prep test, an intermediate stage which provides a goal in the first few months of playing prior to Grade 1.

Featuring the following recordings:

Boating Lake – Sophie
Jogalong – Ruth
On Parade – Louise

1. Charleston – Ayesha
2. Minnie Mouse Hits Town – Laura
3. Every Good Boy – Own composition by Oliver

A new episode will be produced every few weeks providing that my pupils practise hard and prepare their pieces well. The podcast is now available through iTunes