Term starting date.

I hope that you have all had a great Christmas and I wish you a very happy new year.

Piano lessons begin again on week beginning Monday 8th January 2018,

Fiona Lau.

Merry Christmas!

Thank you for all the delightful cards and presents.Merry Christmas to you all!

Exam congratulations!

Congratulations to Tricia Seow who has gained a well- deserved distinction for her recent piano grade 7 exam.

Many of you heard Tricia play one of her exam pieces, Chopin's  Nocturne in C# minor, at our recent Christmas Concert.

Well done Tricia!

Snow days

This was the scene at our house yesterday and it's snowing again now. Lessons are still on and for all those who make it there will be hot Ribena, biscuits and chocolate cake. If you can't make it we can always have a FaceTime or Skype lesson.

See you soon!

Fiona.

Concert report.

To all the performers:

Well played!

I heard many appreciative and positive comments about every one of your performances and felt very proud to be your teacher. It was great to hear our youngest performer Grace as well as Samuel H and Tricia who are advanced pupils, and everyone else too.

We had everything from Chopin to Carols, from Jazz to Romantic music, and lovely solos and beautiful duets. I was also impressed with the quality of your bowing, it was the best ever!

Many thanks to the family and friends who made up such an appreciative  audience.

If you took any photos and would be happy to share them on this blog do email them to me. It's always good to have a record of these evenings.

Fiona Lau.

Lessons in December

Just a reminder about lessons in December.

The last lessons will be the week beginning on Monday 18th December, except for Grace, Amelia, Oliver  and Tricia.

Your last lesson will include Christmas songs, games, fun, chocolates and sweets!

See you then!

Fiona Lau.

Reminder!

A reminder that there are NO LESSONS on this Tuesday and Wednesday because of the Christmas Concert and my choir's concert for Mencap in the cathedral.

Last lessons before the Christmas Concert!

It's the Christmas Concert next week on Tuesday 5th December! This week we will have many last lessons and will practise performing your pieces rather than just playing them.

So far these are the performers:

Beth and Ashleigh- 2 duets
Beth- Valse Lent
Samuel I- New Orleans Blues
Daniel- Save the Whale
Zoe- waltz in A
Zoe and Anna- duet
Amelia- Harmonies des Anges
Oliver- Cloudy Day
Tricia- Nocturne
Grace- All the Stars are Shining
Samuel H- Intermezzo

There will also be brass, voice and piano pupils from my colleagues Simon and Joanne.

Come along and bring your family. There s plenty of room at The Salvation Army Hall and an audience is always welcome!

Christmas concert letter.

Hi everyone,

This is the letter that is going out in this week's lessons:

Hooray it’s time for another concert!

 

Piano Pupil Christmas Concert at The Salvation Army Hall, Baddow Road, Chelmsford, Tuesday 5^th Dec 7.30-9pm

 

 

I would love to hear…………………… play..............................................piece.

 

RSVP on the tear off slip below/ tel / email:

Fiona Lau (01245 262269/07776195307, fionavalerielau@hotmail.com) further information at: http://mrslaupiano.blogspot.co.uk/

 

……………………………………………………………………………….........................

 

I/ my child……………………………will/will not be able to play.

 

Signed……………………………………………………………

 

Pupil Concert this term!

Our pupil concert will be this term on Tuesday 5th Dec at The Salvation Army Hall, Baddow Road, Chelmsford. It will be joint with Joanne and Simon Schultz, colleagues of mine who teach singing, piano and brass. It will be an opportunity for a little more variety than usual as well as hearing piano music of all styles and type.

So start to think what you would like to play; a solo, a duet, an exam piece, a Christmas carol. The choice is yours and we will discuss it and prepare in our upcoming lessons. A concert is a chance to play a piece you might be preparing for an exam, to play a piece you love, and to experience applause! Friends and family are all invited, there is plenty of room, and the Salvation Army will provide refreshments for us. It has always been a lovely evening of music and friendship and one I look forward to again.

No piano lessons next Monday and Tuesday!

REMINDER!

There will be no piano lessons on Monday 9th October and Tuesday 10th October! Of course I will expect you to be twice as good the week after...

First week back, stars and stickers and practising.

And so we have enjoyed the first week back cakes and the stars, stickers and 40 piece challenge chart are all out and being used, but what about practice? How much and what should we practise?

For beginners- Prep Test level the most important thing is to practise every day- 10 minutes is fine. This will build habits and strengthen the fingers. I only see your children once a week so parents, this is down to you! You can make charts, download them or reward regular practice. Try to establish a regular time each day to practice: as soon as they come in from school, after dinner, early in the morning- whatever works for you all.

For Grade 1-3 level pianists daily practice is vital but the amount and length of pieces means 20-30 mins at least is necessary.

For Grade 4-5 pianists, things are getting serious now and very enjoyable too so you will want to be doing at least 30 mins daily, maybe even 2 x 20 mins?

For advanced pianists of Grade 6 + 45- 60 mins per day is rewarding and enjoyable.

There will be times when whatever your level you will want to increase your daily practice/ playing. This might be before a concert or recital, leading up to an exam- grade or school exam, or if you have an audition.

Have enormous fun playing and I look forward to using up all those stickers in my folder and having a chart full of ticks!

Lesson information.

September 2017

Welcome to a new year of piano lessons. I am looking forward to hearing everyone play again.

Lessons are £36 per hour. This fee has not been raised for several years and is at the cheaper end of the scale for someone with my qualifications, experience and success rate. It breaks down as £27 per 45 mins and £18 per 30 mins. This is payable in advance before or at the first lesson.

Pupils who are beginner to g5 level generally have 30 min lessons and pupils at g6 + level can have 45 or 60 min lessons. Adults have 1 hour lessons on alternate weeks and pay as they come. I will send an email each month with dates of the lessons and the total to be paid. I appreciate that life gets busy so if you cannot attend a lesson, please tell me at this point and I will try my best to re-arrange it.

There is usually space to park on my road and, if you can arrive only 5 minutes before your lesson that would be great and keep interruptions to other pupils at a minimum. Notes for the lesson will be written in the piano notebook which you can supply or I can provide one of my generic exercise books, to be decorated with stickers etc! And please remember your music!

I also put information on my blog www.mrslaupiano.blogspot.com so check that but feel free to email me with any queries too.

In the unlikely event of you wanting to stop having lessons- it happens to everyone at some point for whatever reason- please give me 1 month’s notice.

Phew, I think I’ve mentioned everything,

 

Fiona Lau

Congratulations!

Congratulations to the following pupils for their exam achievements last term:

Alice Ward for gaining the equivalent of an A in her Music International Baccalaureate exam. Alice is going on to Roehampton to study Primary Education. We wish her lots of luck. Any school will be lucky to have Alice on their staff with her exceptional violin and piano skills.

Jennifer Marshall for gaining an A* at music GCSE. Jennifer is going on to study for A level music and to take her grade 8 piano.

Samuel Harradine for gaining an A at music GCSE. Sam played his Dvorak Slavonic Dance duet at a ferocious speed for the practical part of this exam, and I'm sure delighted the examiners with his performance of Shui Cao Wu. Sam is working towards his grade 8.

Hannah Spry for gaining a distinction mark of 138 at grade 3. Hannah has online lessons with me so has done exceptionally well to achieve this stunning mark.

Many thanks to all the parents who do so much to support and encourage pupils in these achievements; I appreciate you all.

Congratulations everyone!

Fiona Lau.

40 piece challenge!

40 Piece Challenge!

This year l have decided to take the idea of my esteemed Australian colleague, the teacher and composer, Elissa Milne, and issue all my pupils with the 40 piece challenge! This is to take place over the academic year from September 2017 to July 2018.

 

The challenge is to learn, and play to me over the year, 40 pieces. For this you will get a gold medal. 35 pieces will earn a silver medal and 30 pieces will achieve a bronze medal. The pieces can be chosen by me or you but have to be approved by me and then passed by me.

 

They can be in a variety of styles and the level of difficulty music can vary. This is an approximate guide of the levels likely to be acceptable:

 

·        Beginner pupils can include any pieces from pre-reading to Prep Test level

·        Prep Test pupils can include any pieces from beginner stave pieces to grade 1level

·        Grade 1 pupils can include any pieces from Prep Test to Grade 2 level

·        Grade 2 pupils can include any pieces from Prep Test to Grade 3 level

·        Grade 3 pupils can include any pieces from Grade 1 to Grade 4 level

·        Grade 4 pupils can include any pieces from Grade 2 to Grade 5 level

·        Grade 5 pupils can include any pieces from Grade 3 to Grade 6 level

·        Grade 6, 7 and 8 pupils can include any pieces from Grade 4 upwards!

 

So if you are working towards your grade 4, you might enjoy playing some Pam Wedgwood pieces, some pieces from your earlier tutor books, some Christmas carols, as well as your grade 4 pieces. You might even like to have a stab at some pieces that have been set for Grade 5!

 

The pieces can be solos, duets, Christmas songs, hymns, competition pieces and exam pieces. We will keep a list in your practice diary and l will be happy to lend you some of my music books. Have a good look at home as well and see what music you can find or ask your family what they have. You can also find music on the Internet or swop music with your friends. Be creative! 

 

This is a great way to discover new styles, composers and pieces and to improve your sight reading. You can also get a medal, will get a mention at the summer concert and be listed on this blog and on my website! Have a think and we will talk about it at your next lesson.

New Beginings in September 2017.

Hello,

Welcome back to piano lessons! I am really looking forward to seeing you all again after the Summer break and to hearing you play.

At the end of last term I gave many of you books with pieces in that you could learn and play during the holidays. I expect to hear you all play at least one of them in our 1st lesson, so get practising!

This year we will be doing the 40 piece challenge. Some of you may remember it from before. There will be a giant chart in my piano room with everyone's name on it and we will keep track of how many pieces you have learnt this year. There will be certificates and medals for those who achieve significant amounts. Watch out for a blogpost detailing this. Your Summer holiday piece could be your 1st piece.

Chelmsford Competitive Festival of Music and Drama: The closing date is looming so have a look at the syllabus and see which classes you would like to enter.

Christmas concert: Our Christmas concert is on Tuesday 5th December so put the date in your diaries now. It will be at The Salvation Army Hall again and will be joint with 2 colleagues of mine and their pupils.

Lessons start on week beginning Monday 18th September. And there will be cake!

Fiona Lau.

It's the end of the piano teaching year!

Just because it's the end of the piano lesson year doesn't mean that you should stop playing. Please don't! You might not practise so much but keep playing!

Here are a few ideas to keep you- and me- going over the summer:
Summer Piano Ideas.

·        Play a concert; choose an easy piece, a well-known piece and a fun piece. Practise and then invite family and friends then design and print a programme for it.

·        Find out about one of your favourite composers. Write a potted biography of them.

·        Learn a piece you haven’t played before- surprise me! There are lots of free pieces on www.susanparadis.com or in the Petrucci library.

·        Compose your own simple piece, base it on one of your favourites, it can be long or short, you can write it down or memorise it. Give it a name and play it at our next lesson.

·        Find a piano playing friend or family member and play some easy peasy duets with them.

·        Choose a composer to focus on and explore some of his pieces: Bach, Chopin, Amy Beach, Einaudi, Mozart, Yiruma etc.

·        Take my job from me:Teach your parents or your younger brothers and sisters an easy tune from one of your first books.

·        Go to a concert- maybe a BBC Prom or a Prom in the Park.

·        Find some new piano apps, try them out and come back and tell me all about them.

·        Teach yourself to play a favourite TV or film theme tune by ear, or learn Happy Birthday!

·        Explore a new style of piano music: pop, jazz, rock.

·        Watch the Piano Guys on YouTube with your parents.

·        Play the piano every time you are wearing your pyjamas!

·        Visit Handel House, Brook Street, London, it’s very child (and adult) friendly.

Enjoy your summer!

Retirement thanks.

I retired from my two school teaching jobs at Moulsham High School and The Cathedral Primary School this term. After 21 years it was quite a wrench to leave!

Thank you very much for the lovely cards, letters, presents and flowers that I received. I will miss you all but hope that you will continue with your piano lessons with my replacements.

Certificate photos!

Amelia and Oliver are delighted with their ABRSM grade 1 and 2 results. Well done!

Retirement from Essex Music Services Piano Teaching.

Dear Piano Parents, 

Time stands still for no one and as this year is my 60^th birthday, I have decided to retire from Essex Music Services and therefore from my teaching at Moulsham High School and The Cathedral School. This is a sad occasion for me as I have been teaching at MHS  for 21 years ( I even taught the current Head of Music) and at The Cathedral School for 20 years ( my association with CS spans 31 years...).

I have loved teaching your children and watching them progress from beginners to confident pianists over the years. I officially retire on Sat May 20^th so my last days of teaching will be on Tuesday 16^th at MHS and Wednesday 17th May at The Cathedral School.

I will continue my free-lance work for ABRSM, Music Teacher magazine and my private teaching- do contact me if you want to have lessons.  Meanwhile can I say a huge thank you for all your support and friendliness; I will miss you all,

 

Very best wishes,

 

Fiona Lau

Summer term commencement dates.

Piano lessons start again on the following dates:

Private piano lessons start the week of Tuesday 18th April.

Cathedral School piano lessons begin on Wednesday 19th April.

Moulsham High School piano lessons begin on Tuesday 25th April.

Get your fingers out, bring your music and get ready to play!

Grade exam congratulations!

Congratulations to the following pupils who have passed their ABRSM piano grade exams:

George Cairns and Oliver Wilson gained a pass at grade 1.
Joely Lee and Anna Howell passed with a merit at grade 1.
Oliver Rodriguez Payne passed his grade 1 with a distinction.
Isobel Coombe gained a pass at grade 2.
Amelia Wilson passed with a merit at grade 2.
Alexia Deighton passed her grade 3 with a merit.

Well done to all of them. It has taken a lot of hard work and practising to achieve these marks and I am delighted with all the results.

Easter music, printable and games.

If you want something seasonal to play over the Easter break, Susan Paradis has many great materials available here:

http://www.susanparadis.com/tag/free-easter-music-printables/

Enjoy!

Well done exam takers!

Well done to everyone who took a grade exam recently. It is not an easy thing to do and you all did so well as you worked up to the actual day; I enjoyed hearing your pieces and scales as they became better and better, there were some lovely performances in our lessons.

The results should be through in about two weeks and I will let you know as soon as they arrive. Remember that happiness starts at the pass mark of 100!

Have a well earned Easter break.

Fiona Lau.

Exam helps.

Below is a link to the programme slips needed for the exams:

http://gb.abrsm.org/en/exam-booking/exam-programme-slips/

At abrsm.org/en/exam there are also many other tips to help on exam day. All is going well so keep up the good work and wishing you lots of luck on the day!

Pre-exam play through.

It is always good to hear pieces as they reach their best, just before an exam. These pre- exam sessions feature performing and cake- our favourite combination! Well done everyone and good luck.

How parents can help during the exam countdown.

Parents are so crucial to children's piano progress, especially leading up to grade exams. I think they probably deserve a certificate too!

These are some of the things that my expert parents do during this time:

1. Make sure that daily practice happens.
2. Read the Piano Diary so they know what needs to be practised and how.
3. Supports me the teacher.
4. Has their own reward or praise system.
5. Doesn't get too stressed...I know, not easy!
6. Gives their child opportunities to perform via recordings, playing for the family, listening and applauding, and encouraging them to say yes to performance opportunities.
7. Provides a balance e.g. reminds their child that this is only for a couple of weeks and then we will relax the practice regime a little etc.

Pre- Exam Play Through.

The Pre- Exam Play through is for pupils taking grade exams this term.

It is at my home on a Friday 17th March, 6-6.30pm.

Come and play 1 or 2 of your exam pieces and then eat cake!

Fiona Lau.

Exam Countdown!

For those who have grade exams this term at Christchurch, New London Road, Chelmsford, I have some lovely countdown and preparation for exams activities. These include:

Mock exams will take place next week, week beginning Monday 6th March, during your regular lesson. 

You will receive a mark and ways to improve it.


Friday 17th March, my home, a Pre- exam Play Through. You play two exam pieces and I supply cake! 

I do hope that you can attend. It's a valuable performing opportunity and a chance to meet other pupils before seeing them in the waiting room.

Exam support and resources from e-musicmaestro

I met the wonderful founders of e-musicmaestro today and was reminded how good their resources and support material is. They have support for piano grade pieces, aural tests and lots else besides. Worth checking out at:

www.e-musicmaestro.com

Useful exam stuff!

I have the found the following useful in exam preparation:

A metronome app. Or a live metronome!

Scalebox app to help get scales etc exam ready. Or write all the scales etc on individual pieces of paper, fold them up and put in a jar. Draw them out one at a time and play which ever one comes out.

Auralbook by Playnote- an app for ABRSM aural test preparation. It's scary but useful!

Find performances of your pieces on Youtube. e music maestro, yohondo, Yorkshire musician and Greenery Music are all good. You can also download them from ABRSM's online shop or buy a CD of them.

Look on ABRSM'S website www.abrsm.org for exam info and on their YouTube tube channel for videos of exams.

Grade exams- what happens when.

As this term's entries are about to go in here is a reminder/ explanation of what happens when:

1) I send the entries off to ABRSM and although I can request a specific week during the exam session March 6th - April 8th, there is no guarantee we will get it. We usually get at least 3 weeks notice, often more.

2) There are several components of grade exams: scales, chords and arpeggios; 3 pieces; some sight-reading; aural tests. It is really important to practise daily and to practise what is in the Piano Practice Diary. This is where parents come in!

3) We will have activities along the way to help pupils prepare: a countdown plan, opportunities for performance, help in preparing for all aspects of the exam, and a mock exam.

4) The exams are usually held in Christchurch, New London road but their roof is being fixed so they may be in Trinity Methodist church. If you're not sure where the exams are it is worth having a "dummy run" once we receive the official notification. Parking is available at both.

5) Exam results and certificates  generally  arrive after 2-3 weeks.

Good luck everyone!

Snow Days!

Snow is predicted in Essex tomorrow so as usual, remember that private piano lessons in my home ( and yours' ) can still take place via Skype, FaceTime or Google chat. Email me for my contact details and then we can still have a lesson.

If it snows and you make it through to my house I will provide my very best hot chocolate and cake or biscuits!

Top Tips for Motivating Piano Practice.

Top Tips for Motivating Piano Practice

I know how hard it is to encourage and remind your children to practice; As well as practising the piano myself, I am now learning the cello and  have to remind myself to practise. I also had 3 children who learnt 2 instruments each and at times life was very interesting! However over the years I have gathered a few ideas that might help you as you support, encourage and supervise your child’s piano practice sessions.

1.               Have the piano in an accessible part of the house; don’t shut them away in a faraway room- tempting as this might be. Keep the lid up and their music out.

 

2.             Set a regular time to practice; make it a part of the daily routine: straight after breakfast, as soon as they come in from school, immediately after their evening meal, or as a break in between homework subjects. Life will get in the way but try to stick to this.

 

3.              Remember little and often is best (and more effective) rather than one stressed and panicky hour the night before the lesson.

 

4.             Read their Piano Practice Diary to see what I have said they should practise during the week.

 

5.            Star Charts work for some and there are plenty on Pinterest or on Susan Paradis’ website : www.susanparadis.com/colorful-flower-themed-practice-sheet/ She also has a robot themed one if your child would prefer that.

 

6.            Small rewards work for some. I heard of a parent who pays 1p per minute practised, another who puts marbles in a jar for each practice session which then add up to a small prize. You can tailor this to your child.

 

7.             Young children will need support and supervision during their practice so decide which parent (or grandparent) is best for this.

 

8.             Be incredibly encouraging but if you don’t know what to say have a look at Printable Prompt Cards from for ideas: http://www.letsplaykidsmusic.com/how-to-help-your-child-practice-for-non-playing-parents/

 

9.             Encourage performances: recordings, playing happy birthday for relatives, mini concerts for family and friends, playing their latest masterpiece to friends and family. This gives a reason for practising and playing and boosts self-esteem.

 

10.       Praise, praise, praise- realistic of course; kids can smell bland unrealistic praise a mile off!

Exam congratulations!

Many congratulations to the following pupils who took ABRSM piano exams last term:

Fionn Crickett and Charlie Field took their Prep Test and received some very positive and encouraging remarks about their playing- well done boys!

Zoe Howell took her Grade 3 Piano exam and passed with Merit, 127 marks. Zoe got some lovely comments about her playing, especially about The Witches Dance.

Alison Rowles took her Grade 5 Piano exam and also passed with Merit, 120 marks. Alison's playing of Mr Jelly Roll was remarked upon as "highly stylish".

Tricia Seow took her Grade 6 Piano exam and passed with Merit, 126 marks. Tricia got excellent marks for her scales and her pieces.

Samuel Harradine took his Grade 7 Piano exam and passed with merit, 126 marks. Samuel's playing of a Chinese piece- Shui Cao Wu- was the highlight of his performance.

Many congratulations to you all. It is not easy to take an exam and be marked by someone but you all did very well and I enjoyed hearing the performances in the lessons leading up to the exams.

ABRSM exam fees and dates for 2017.

Happy New Year

Happy new year to all of you!

I hope that you had a good Christmas and enjoyed our extra bank holidays. Many thanks for the lovely presents, cards and good wishes you gave me, I appreciated them all.

Piano lessons in January

Private lessons begin week beginning Monday 9th January, except for Tuesday people. I am away doing a presentation for ABRSM at The Royal Northern College of Music on the 10th Jan so your lessons will commence the week after.

Piano lessons at MHS will commence on Tuesday 17th Jan

Piano lessons at the Cathedral School :I commence teaching there on Wednesday llth January.

Exam pupils!

If you are due be entered for an exam this term, you know the rules, 2 1/2 pieces at pass level and all your scales slowly and accurately before I will enter you!

Everyone else, please reacquaint yourself with the piano and bring your music to the first lesson  of the new year. I look forward to hearing you all play, it's going  to be a great term!

Fiona Lau