Seven years ago, inspired by several books with a title like ‘200 tips for teachers’, I thought I’d do a series of posts in the category ‘100 tips for working with ballet pianists’, because at the time, part of my job involved trying to help trainee ballet teachers work with pianists, and I thought this would help. I got to 32 tips, and ran out of things to say.
Some of it is good advice, but I don’t agree with all of it any more. On a general level, I think the best teacher-pianist relationships are built from the ground up between two individuals, rather than relying on a set of principles. More specifically, although it’s nice when teachers ‘let the music speak’ (tip 29), there are times when teachers can shout across the music in a way that actually celebrates and reinforces what you’re doing in a way that is musical and fine, and times when silence can be a sign of indifference. I now doubt that practising with a CD (tip 28) is going to make you better at setting an exercise in rhythm. What matters, I think, is that you know what the rhythm and tempo of your exercise is, and can mark that clearly even if you have no music, the pianist is playing the wrong thing, or there’s nothing on your CD that’s appropriate (I’m rather more pleased with my page of tips for ballet pianists).
However, with those caveats in place, in case it’s useful, here are links to the 32 tips in one page.
- June 2007: 100 tips for working with ballet pianistsJune 2007: 100 tips for working with ballet pianists
- 100 tips for working with pianists #1: Give feedback100 tips for working with pianists #1: Give feedback
- 100 tips for working with pianists #2: Use your pianists’ name100 tips for working with pianists #2: Use your pianists’ name
- 100 tips for working with pianists #3: Make sure everyone knows who’s in charge of tempo100 tips for working with pianists #3: Make sure everyone knows who's in charge of tempo
- 100 tips for working with pianists #4: Make eye-contact possible100 tips for working with pianists #4: Make eye-contact possible
- 100 tips for working with pianists #5: Don’t side with the pianist against the class100 tips for working with pianists #5: Don’t side with the pianist against the class
- 100 tips for working with pianists #6: Cover mistakes gracefully100 tips for working with pianists #6: Cover mistakes gracefully
- 100 tips for working with ballet pianists #7: Use non-verbal communication100 tips for working with ballet pianists #7: Use non-verbal communication
- 100 tips for working with pianists #8: Develop a shared language100 tips for working with pianists #8: Develop a shared language
- 100 tips for working with pianists #9: Remember who you’re talking to!100 tips for working with pianists #9: Remember who you're talking to!
- 100 tips for working with pianists #10: Be good humoured about mistakes100 tips for working with pianists #10: Be good humoured about mistakes
- 100 tips for working with pianists #11: Don’t over explain100 tips for working with pianists #11: Don't over explain
- 100 tips for working with pianists #11: Be sensitive to shyness100 tips for working with pianists #11: Be sensitive to shyness
- 100 tips for working with pianists #12: Be inquisitive about mistakes100 tips for working with pianists #12: Be inquisitive about mistakes
- 100 tips for working with pianists #13: Give pianists time to practise100 tips for working with pianists #13: Give pianists time to practise
- 100 tips for working with pianists #14: Let pianists go if you don’t need them100 tips for working with pianists #14: Let pianists go if you don’t need them
- 100 tips for working with pianists #15: Don’t make faces!100 tips for working with pianists #15: Don’t make faces!
- 100 tips for working with ballet pianists #16: Know your pianist’s limits100 tips for working with ballet pianists #16: Know your pianist's limits
- 100 tips for working with ballet pianists #17: Finish on time100 tips for working with ballet pianists #17: Finish on time
- 100 tips for working with ballet pianists #18: Ask your pianist for help100 tips for working with ballet pianists #18: Ask your pianist for help
- 100 tips for working with ballet pianists #19: Talk about music you like100 tips for working with ballet pianists #19: Talk about music you like
- 100 tips for working with ballet pianists #20: Respond to music with your class100 tips for working with ballet pianists #20: Respond to music with your class
- 100 tips for working with ballet pianists #21: Forget about bars100 tips for working with ballet pianists #21: Forget about bars
- 100 tips for working with ballet pianists #22: Take time to experiment100 tips for working with ballet pianists #22: Take time to experiment
- 100 tips for working with ballet pianists #23: Know when it’s good to work without music100 tips for working with ballet pianists #23: Know when it's good to work without music
- 100 tips for working with ballet pianists #24: Show rhythm in your body100 tips for working with ballet pianists #24: Show rhythm in your body
- 100 tips for working with pianists #25: Discover your pianist’s musical interests100 tips for working with pianists #25: Discover your pianist's musical interests
- 100 tips for working with ballet pianists #26: Get musical ideas from the masters100 tips for working with ballet pianists #26: Get musical ideas from the masters
- 100 tips for working with ballet pianists #27: Be your own rhythm section100 tips for working with ballet pianists #27: Be your own rhythm section
- 100 tips for working with ballet pianists #28: Practise at home100 tips for working with ballet pianists #28: Practise at home
- 100 tips for working with ballet pianists #29: Allow the music to speak100 tips for working with ballet pianists #29: Allow the music to speak
- 100 tips for working with ballet pianists #30 Use counts, not bars100 tips for working with ballet pianists #30 Use counts, not bars
- 100 tips for working with ballet pianists #31: Be accurate about the tempo you want100 tips for working with ballet pianists #31: Be accurate about the tempo you want
- 100 tips for working with ballet pianists #32: Check your pianist is ready100 tips for working with ballet pianists #32: Check your pianist is ready
