September news: Keybird, method books, Hastings Book Fair
Hello one and all,
Welcome to the September news update!
Autumn term officially kicks into gear in a couple of weeks, and it’s been nice gently welcoming everyone back with some lighter pieces and improvisation games after the summer holidays.
Anyway, on with the show…
Keybird
Now this is very cool – a genuinely portable acoustic piano:
Keybird – A lightweight acoustic piano.
A lightweight acoustic piano.
I have dreamed all my life of something like this that I can actually gig with. I’d be very curious to know what this actually sounds like in person.
Here’s a video of it in action:
It’s a bit toppy / on the treble side, which gives it an almost harpsichord like quality, which I quite like. Certainly feels under-powered on the bass. But the product can only get better. I’m so glad someone out there is investing in this sort of development.
How long does it take to learn the piano?
Browsing the Hoffmann Academy website recently (it’s ok – I might review it at some point), I found this calculator that predicts how much your daily practice time affects how long it takes to learn the piano.
How Long Does It Take to Learn Piano? - Hoffman Academy Blog
Ever wonder how long it takes to learn piano? We have the answer, plus a calculator that will help you determine how long it will take you to learn. Check it out!
Now there’s no way this can offer anything but a very vague sense of development, so by no means treat it as a scientific instrument, but I think the broad point it makes is quite a good one.
Let’s say you’re a beginner and you want to get to Intermediate level, which is about the norm. If you put in 30 mins practise only two times a week, it will take you 6-7 years, which is actually fairly commendable.
But if I did just 15 mins a day, every day, I would shave off about 2 and half years off that goal time. That’s a significant saving from a small adjustment
Question is, how to build the discipline to show up and make that 15 mins a day an effortless, enjoyable experience that you don’t have to think about. Well more on that in another newsletter coming up…
Featured student of the month
As part of a new series, I’ll be sharing little capsule profiles of some of the other members of the musical community here.
Harry Cockburn has been taking piano lessons since March this year – 24 years after his last series of lessons ended. He has studied music technology and played piano and guitar in various bands and musical projects,and has a particular interest in jazz and blues, which we’ve started recently to really dig into, looking at some Herbie Hancock and Billie Holiday.
By day he works as an environmental journalist, but like many of us musicians he also has multiple other creative arrows in his quiver. Of note, Harry is fantastic painter, particularly if you love Post-Impressionism like I do, and he regularly exhibits in Hastings and St Leonards.
You can check out some of his recent paintings here: https://www.instagram.com/harryccockburn/
Hastings Book Fair
In other news… [puts on different hat]
I’ll be selling a shedload of my books and some other printed ephemera, including a small selection of sheet music and music books, at the Hastings Book Fair this year, alongside many other interesting stallholders.
It’s at the Observer Building (end of my road) from 11am until 4pm.
Come find me under ‘The Bookaniste’!
Hastings Online Times – Hastings Book Fair
The Hastings Book Fair is happening this Saturday, 14 September, at the Observer Building, 11am to 4pm. It’s a great opportunity to meet creative people from Hastings and further afield. Erica Smith shares her top …
Which method book do I choose?
This is nice blog, if a bit ‘Inside Baseball’ for music educators, but it gives some good reasons as to why it’s so hard to recommend a method book, and how they fit inside of general music education practise.
The Problem with Method Books – Pianodao
In this post I will explain why there will never be a truly perfect Method Book. We’ll consider a balanced curriculum, stare into the abyss of a world without Method Books at all, and hopefully com…
Recommmended reading: ‘A Natural History of the Piano’ by Stuart Isacoff
There are a few ‘history of the piano’ books on the market but this I think is by far the best I’ve read. I’ve been having an absolute blast with this in short, nightly doses.
The book is excellently written and researched, and stuffed full of interesting anecdotes: we witness Mozart unveiling his monumental concertos in Vienna's coffeehouses, using a special piano with one keyboard for the hands and another for the feet; European virtuoso Henri Herz entertaining rowdy miners during the California gold rush; Beethoven at his piano, conjuring healing angels to console a grieving mother; Liszt fainting in the arms of a page turner to spark an entire hall into hysterics. It’s also beautifully illustrated with drawings and photos.
A big recommend from me!
Happy practising!
Will