As a child I was surrounded by music and took part in all sorts of musical activities. I played in various youth orchestras, I loved the school choir and I was even one of the Sproughton Handbell Ringers! I often took part in the Suffolk Music Festival and in various classes was placed 3rd, 2nd and 1st!
When I was 15, I gained 2nd place with a Distinction for grades 7 & 8 for 'Piano Playing at Sight'. As you may know, this is where you play music you've never seen before. I attended the Ipswich High School where I gained my Music O'Level and A'Level. On the piano, I gained my Music Teaching Diploma with the London College of Music.
When I was 15, I gained 2nd place with a Distinction for grades 7 & 8 for 'Piano Playing at Sight'. As you may know, this is where you play music you've never seen before. I attended the Ipswich High School where I gained my Music O'Level and A'Level. On the piano, I gained my Music Teaching Diploma with the London College of Music.
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To receive online piano lessons by video call you will need an acoustic or digital piano. You will also need a good internet connection and an internet enabled device with either a built-in camera or - if using a laptop, Chromebook, PC or Mac - a webcam. The camera need be positioned above the keyboard in such a way that it can see all the keys.
You shouldn't sit too close to the keyboard and except for children whose feet can't yet reach the ground while sitting on the stool, you should sit slightly forward on the stool with feet on the ground. Make sure you sit at the right height with your forearm horizontal with the keyboard and upper arm sloping slightly forward.
Practising between lessons is essential as you want to learn and progress in the lessons rather than just end up practising in the lessons! It is useful to practise little and often as this keeps things fresh in your mind. Practising for around 10-15 minutes each day if possible would be a good way to start, building up to around half-an-hour each day as you progress.
It is of course possible just to have a remote lesson via a standard video call using one of the various apps, but I'm in a very fortunate position that my husband, Paul, is in IT and has put together a much more professional set-up. Paul has written some useful articles for this website, giving advice on how to get set up for video lessons.
There are many ways to mount a phone or webcam over a piano keyboard, and a host of household items that have been repurposed in the name of indoor overhead photography. The goal is to get the phone or webcam directly over the centre of the keyboard, or as close to that as is possible, high enough so that all 88 keys can be seen.
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