Deborah Siepmann

CD for performance nerves: There are various strategies that can help, such as playing for a tape recorder, regular ‘practice performances’ for friends or small groups, and lots and lots of experience.  I believe, as well, that performers of every level would gain enormously from listening to Roger Foxwell’s Music in Mind. There are a number of self-help tapes and CDs on the market that explore positive thinking and visualising success, but Roger Foxwell’s programme stands out from them all. Devised by a musician, for musicians, it contains uniquely powerful and effective relaxation and focusing techniques which he guides one through in a very calming and simple way. Everything feels utterly natural and leaves one uplifted, with a tranquil but invigorated glow of confidence and new resolve.

Wonderful collections of music:

 Keith Snell’s Quiet Classics is very close to my heart and I would never want to be without it.  It includes some gems that are not included in other compilations, such as the Andante from Beethoven’s Sonata op. 79 (a movement I have always thought of as Beethoven’s ‘Venetian Boat Song’) as well as the wonderful and less often played A minor waltz op post. by Chopin, the haunting ‘Notturno’ by Grieg  and ‘Of Foreign Lands and People’ by Schumann.  So many of my pupils have adored this book, and, like other collections edited by Keith Snell it has a very attractive cover which makes it a particularly nice present.  The spiral binding is a great plus, the printing is clear and the notes are a comfortable-to-read size. A winner!

 

Have you discovered Spotlight on Romantic Style by Catherine Rollin? This book is a dream come true for early intermediate/intermediate pupils who would love to play Chopin but aren’t quite ready for it. There is a waltz, nocturne, mazurka, pol0naise and etude, each reminiscent of Chopin’s own, but much easier and shorter. Pupils of mine have especially loved the waltz, which has the flavour of the c sharp minor waltz op. 64 n0.2, the etude, with its rippling right hand figuration over a golden bass line, and the nocturne, a real gem with a crystaline melody, ornamental passages and a heart grabbing moment in the middle section! All are perfect for teaching the shaping of phrases, effective pedalling and ways to create an atmospheric sound world. Catherine Rollin has many other books out as well – Spotlight on Impressionist Style is also very attractive, with a lovely Valse Sentimentale which lies under the hands beautifully. Her Lyric Moments are worth a look – they’re a kind of cross between soft pop and jazz. These and the impressionist pieces are, on the whole, a bit more advanced than those in Spotlight on Romantic Style, which gets top rating in my book!

 

Frederick Stocken’s Scale Shapes series, grades 1-5, is wonderful for giving reluctant scale practisers a boost. With the scale pattern and fingering clearly marked on a diagram of the piano keyboard, pupils are able to instantly play the most confusing of the scales perfectly, and with the greatest of ease. As the book description says, “This method is not designed to be a substitute for the acquisition of the ability to read staff notation, but the complications of staff notation are no longer linked to the physical complications of a given scale with this method.” Stocken’s method certainly makes learning and playing scales less daunting and much more fun. It also helps train eyes to watch the music, rather than the hands. And it’s particularly valuable in teaching pupils who have Specific Learning Difficulties (dyslexia). I hope Frederick Stocken brings out some books of pieces written in this way!