Piano Archives - The Creative Pianist

The Competition-Winning Piano Teaching Philosophies of Highly-Regarded Teachers

Date November 27, 2023 Author By Jeff Category Pedagogy

"The Teaching Philosophy of a Highly Regarded Piano Teacher," from The Creative Pianist

Highly regarded piano teachers produce exceptional, competition-winning students due in part to their clear, strategic teaching philosophies.

The Question that Changed Everything

Date April 2, 2023 Author By Jeff Category Piano Lessons

I started teaching piano when I was fairly young. I taught part-time during my undergraduate years, and by the time I finished my Ph.D., nearly fourteen years later, I had a full piano studio. But a decade of teaching left me with a dilemma. I thought I was a good piano teacher, but I had […]

Mental Rehearsal

Date August 15, 2022 Author By Jeff Category Piano Lessons

Photo credit: Stanford University We tend to think that piano playing is all about what you can do with your fingers, but so much of it has to do with what you can do with your mind: recognizing patterns, being able to see the forest and the trees at the same time, knowing what to […]

Brahms Intermezzo Op. 117, No. 1: what’s up with the B-section?

Date May 15, 2020 Author By Jeff Category Interpretation, Piano Lessons

"Brahms Intermezzo Op. 117, No. 1," from The Creative Pianist

Brahms Intermezzo Op. 117, No. 1: what’s up with the B-section? Octave displacement, rhythmic displacement. There’s your answer.