Jonathan Still, ballet pianist

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Jonathan Still, ballet pianist

Jonathan Still, ballet pianist

  • Home
  • Writings
  • A Year of Ballet Playing Cards
  • About me
    • Transcription services
  • Contact
  • Tamara Karsavina on music

  • On-screen commentary from pianist Joshua Piper during YouTube ballet class

  • Tchaikovsky’s hairpins

  • Ballet pianists on film

  • “They would have…” — Coppélia, Scotch snaps and class (the social kind)

  • Diamond fairy variation: new piano arrangement

100 tips for working with ballet pianists

Home›Category: "100 tips for working with ballet pianists"
  • 100 tips for working with ballet pianistsPlaying for ballet class

    100 tips for working with ballet pianists #32: Check your pianist is ready

    By Jonathan Still
    June 30, 2007 1:01 am
    Glance over to your pianist just before you say ‘and…’ to check that they are ready to play, especially if they are reading from ...
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  • 100 tips for working with ballet pianistsPlaying for ballet class

    100 tips for working with ballet pianists #31: Be accurate about the tempo you want

    By Jonathan Still
    June 28, 2007 10:05 pm
    If you’re marking an exercise for dancers, it can be tempting to ‘mark’ the tempo to the pianist as well – but this is ...
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  • 100 tips for working with ballet pianistsPlaying for ballet class

    100 tips for working with ballet pianists #30 Use counts, not bars

    By Jonathan Still
    June 27, 2007 6:22 pm
    When you’re marking an exercise for a pianist, speak in terms of counts rather than bars, particularly with introductions (e.g. say ‘x counts in’, ...
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  • 100 tips for working with ballet pianistsPlaying for ballet class

    100 tips for working with ballet pianists #29: Allow the music to speak

    By Jonathan Still
    June 26, 2007 1:01 am
    When you first start teaching (whatever your subject), it’s tempting to think that nobody’s learning unless you’re talking. The truth is, an awful lot ...
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  • 100 tips for working with ballet pianistsPlaying for ballet class

    100 tips for working with ballet pianists #28: Practise at home

    By Jonathan Still
    June 25, 2007 12:50 pm
    Put on a tape or CD – of anything – and practise setting exercises aloud with the music. Marking an exercise in tempo is ...
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  • 100 tips for working with ballet pianistsPlaying for ballet class

    100 tips for working with ballet pianists #27: Be your own rhythm section

    By Jonathan Still
    June 24, 2007 3:59 pm
    Sometimes it helps to give directions, count or talk gently in the rhythm and tempo that you want while the music’s playing. This gives ...
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Welcome

Welcome to my site. I’m a pianist for ballet, a researcher, slightly obsessed with IT some of the time.

I’ve had this blog for 17 years. The further back you go, the more pointless and random the posts become, so I don’t recommend it. More lately, I’ve focused more on the work of making music for ballet.

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The Other Jonathan Still

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A year of playing cards: latest

  • A Year of Ballet Playing CardsFree sheet music for ballet classPlaying for ballet class

    A year of ballet playing cards #51 (DQ): A coda medley

    What is a coda in ballet? Here are 10 pages of codas, and links to seven famous ballet codas you have to know.
  • A Year of Ballet Playing CardsPlaying for ballet class

    A year of ballet playing cards #39 (KC): “Spanish waltz” medley

    What is a Spanish waltz? Is there such a thing? No, but here is one all the same, in case you're asked.
  • A Year of Ballet Playing CardsPlaying for ballet class

    A year of ballet playing cards #54 (Red Joker): Odalisques from Le Corsaire

    Download Odalisques piano score (free PDF) Read  more about my Year of Ballet Playing Cards It’s that time of year again, ballet summer schools season, when teachers are supposed to tell ...
  • A Year of Ballet Playing CardsPlaying for ballet class

    A year of ballet playing cards #38 (QC): Prague Waltzes: Soft, strong and very long.

    Download piano sheet music for Prague Waltzes by Dvořak (free pdf) Read  more about my Year of Ballet Playing Cards When is a waltz not “a waltz”? Most of the time  ...
  • A Year of Ballet Playing CardsFree sheet music for ballet classMusicPlaying for ballet class

    A year of ballet playing cards #37: A grand polonaise by Nápravník

    Download the Polonaise by Nápravník  (free pdf) Read  more about my Year of Ballet Playing Cards You’d think that if ballet teachers have a mental model of how a polonaise goes, ...
  • A Year of Ballet Playing CardsFree sheet music for ballet classPlaying for ballet class

    A year of playing cards #23: A fruity waltz by Tcherepnin / Cherepnin (10h)

    Download Grande valse by Cherepnin—free pdf Read  more about my Year of Ballet Playing Cards What a difference an e makes: the difference between a grand waltz and a grande valse ...
  • A Year of Ballet Playing CardsFree sheet music for ballet classPlaying for ballet class

    A year of playing cards #5: An operatic adage by Dvořák

    Download the score of “Song to the Moon” (pdf) Read more about my Year of Ballet Playing Cards The curse of the operatic adage  I think I only have about three ...
  • A Year of Ballet Playing CardsFree sheet music for ballet classPlaying for ballet class

    A year of ballet playing cards #36: A triple meter ballad by Tárrega

    Download the free piano score of this Tárrega piece  (pdf) Read more about my Year of Ballet Playing Cards A Tárrega ballad, the perfect plié music? When I say “perfect” what ...
  • A Year of Ballet Playing CardsFree sheet music for ballet classPlaying for ballet class

    A year of ballet playing cards #50: A chameleon-like march by Granados (DJ)

    Download the score  of the Military March by Granados  (pdf, free)  Read  more about my Year of Ballet Playing Cards The march that isn’t a march: one of the perennial problems of music ...
  • A Year of Ballet Playing CardsFree sheet music for ballet classPlaying for ballet class

    A year of ballet playing cards #35: A mazurka by Hubay

    Download piano score of Hubay’s mazurka (free pdf)  Read  more about my Year of Ballet Playing Cards Slow, mazurka-like exercises from the corner for multiple pirouettes are a staple of all the company ...
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Jonathan Still, ballet pianist