Tips for Pianists no. 10: Tankard exercises

I thought I'd talk today briefly about one of my favourite books of technical exercises. There are many collections of technical exercises out there as well as the normal scales and arpeggios pianists are expected to practise. Warming up is an important part of the practise routine. Not only does it give you time to work at specific technical difficulties you might encounter in pieces, but it also warms the fingers and hands up ready for playing pieces. The nice thing with the Tankard book I find is that some of the exercises are very straight forward and some are quite challenging so they can be used for pianists of all abilities. They also cover a wide range of technical difficulties from five-finger exercises to arpeggios, trills, tremolos and much more. You can also transpose the exercises into different keys, play them at different dynamic levels, try with different rhythms and use different articulation.

Learn an instrument!

As a piano and organ teacher I thought I'd write a little today about some of the benefits of learning to play an instrument. Learning an instrument can be a very rewarding and enjoyable experience whatever age you might be. There is much research to show that learning an instrument can improve concentration and co-ordination. It can be a great way to relax after a busy day. Being able to achieve something that you haven't been able to do before can really boost self-confidence and also playing with other musicians is a great way of meeting people and building friendships.

I have pupils of all ages and abilities. We often think that learning an instrument is something people do as a child. However, many adults too are now choosing to learn an instrument or returning to their music studies. They are discovering that it is very rewarding, enjoyable and a great way to relax.

So why not think about learning an instrument even if you have never done so before? Musicteachers.co.uk is a great website for finding a local music teacher and many will be willing to give you a trial lesson first so see if this is something you might like to do.