Teaching
I have been teaching the piano now for over thirty years… and still love it! It has certainly given me much inspiration over the years…
Every lesson is tailored to the needs of the individual, with a stress on creativity, encouraging both composition and improvisation. I now also teach improvisation separately.
Theory is generally incorporated through whatever music is currently being played, and through other practical, musical, “hands on” approaches.
I have a huge interest in relieving “tension in performance” whatever stage the pupil may be at, and use “Yoga for Musicians” developed by pedagogue Penelope Roskell to help with this.
Over the years, we have put on many charity concerts, with pupils gaining in confidence from these (non obligatory) concerts.
I create music for individual pupils, and you will also find much of this material now available to download from this site.
The amazing story of “Nugget”….
It began with a pupil’s suggestion
for an autumn walk, to inspire musical creativity… so a small group of us went on the walk. I picked up an acorn, and asked how a piece of music would begin for an acorn falling off a tree…. “a single note” was Emily’s reply…. we heard the train hoot, wondered if the note was an “A” and the piece had begun….
I felt it was something we could ALL join in, not just those on the walk…
The first pupil on the Monday, came up with a theme in his lesson and then followed on a flood of creative ideas each week, from themes and story lines to ideas for orchestration. Each week, I orchestrated those ideas… and on 14th March 2020, “Nugget” was finally completed. I added photos…
here is our creation… We hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed its creation ….
Other compositions by former pupils.
The Seasons, in music and poetry
Shared ideas for piano teaching...
– the more we share our ideas, the better teachers we become…
New book for beginners,
New book for beginners
…that encourages children to become happy and confident sight readers as they progress, whilst teaching musicianship right from the beginning. “Piano Explorer”
Thoughts on playing the piano from pupils…
“I like how I feel when I play the piano, it relaxes me and I’m in my own little world.”
Maya
“Composing has been a very expressive and creative outlet for me, … and I find musical tones can express my feeling better than words.”
Nikita
“Playing the piano is an escape – it gives you time to re-focus and get creative; even when you’re playing someone else’s piece, you can make it your own.”
Katie
“I enjoy making tunes up”
Aleena (aged 7)
“I like the tunes I make”
Helena (aged 5)
“I like playing with the pictures”
Serena (aged 5)
“Mirror of my emotions. Whatever I play, it returns back to me in a different form every time. Eighty eight keys with an infinite amount of emotion.”
Amir
Comments…
“You inspired me too by this star lesson you gave on improvisation. It gave me the confidence to include it in my lessons with two youngsters this afternoon.”
(Marina)
“Thank you so much for all your teaching tips Suzanne…. You’ve given me more confidence to try out some of the ideas once I have spent time exploring them myself first.“
(Rose)
“You are such an inspiring teacher and I really look forward to my lessons!”
(Ning)
I can be contacted by email at suzannemusic@virginmedia.com.