Practising the Piano Online Academy: Graham Fitch tells all

 At Dartington in 1982 I shared an extraordinary experience with a group of very talented young pianists. We spent a week immersed in the masterclasses of a lively young Hungarian pianist, a rising star in his late twenties, whose performance of the Goldberg Variations in the Great Hall mesmerised everybody on day one. His name was, of course, András Schiff. For some of us it was a life-changing experience - including me, and also including Graham Fitch, who as luck would have it now lives up the road and is busy with some extremely engaging piano teaching projects. 

Notably, he has been running an excellent piano practise blog entitled Practising the Piano (I love sites that do what they say on the tin). Now he is turning the idea into an online academy for pianists of all levels - student, professional or amateur - and he's launched an Indigogo campaign to help make it happen. If you play, or want to, do take a peek and pledge your support via the links below. He's sent me a bunch of info about it, so here it all is. JD

Crowdfunding Campaign for the Practising the Piano Online Academy Launched

Introduction

Pianist and teacher, Graham Fitch has launched an Indiegogo campaign for a new initiative, the Practising the Piano Online Academy. Building on his Practising the Piano blog and eBook series, the Online Academy will take his work to the next level with a comprehensive library of lessons, masterclasses and resources combined with insights from other leading experts. The materials will be presented in an intuitive, interactive manner and aims to transform the way you approach teaching and playing the piano. The funding goal is £10,000 and funds raised will be used directly for creating additional content and resources.  

The story so far

The art of practising is a special area of interest to me and is rarely taught specifically enough. Our practice time at the piano is just as significant to the end product as the hours of training undertaken by professional athletes, but this time can so easily be wasted unless we have the know-how. Effective practice is essential to mastering the piano and it’s for this reason that I have spent decades researching and experimenting in the art of practising to find the optimal approaches.

I’ve developed a methodology comprising practice tools, strategies and techniques which I’ve tested and refined in my work with students of varying ages and levels of ability. I would love to see as many people as possible benefit from my work but obviously not everyone can get to me for one-to-one lessons. Therefore I’ve embarked upon a number of initiatives to make my work more widely accessible including my blog and eBook series. These provide a conceptual introduction to my approach and I am now planning to build on this foundation with the Practising the Piano Online Academy.

What is it?

 The Practising the Piano Online Academy is an extensive, searchable, and regularly updated library of lessons, articles and resources which will:

• Illustrate my methodologies and approach in more depth with multimedia content, interactive features and resources including musical examples, worksheets and annotated scores which can be downloaded and printed.
• Expand on practice tools and strategies with masterclasses and tutorials applying them to popular pieces in the repertoire, exam syllabuses and specific technical challenges.
• Share the expertise of guest experts on subjects including applied theory, improvisation and healthy piano playing.
• Be regularly updated, easily searchable and allow for personalisation with bookmarking and notes.
• Be shaped by your input, responding to your questions and suggestions for new content to meet your needs.

What it will do for you?

Whether you are a budding student, keen amateur, passionate piano teacher or a professional musician, it is my hope that the Practising the Piano Online Academy will provide you with the knowledge and resources at your finger tips to overcome technical difficulties, master trouble spots, inspire your students or deliver performances that reflect your full potential.

How can you be involved?

We’ve already started creating content for this project and are now seeking the further support of pianists and teachers via our crowdfunding campaign to help us make this resource as good as it can possibly be. A number of great rewards ranging from discounted subscriptions through to opportunities to sponsor lessons and obtain a one-to-one consultations with me are on offer. Supporters will also have an opportunity to shape the Online Academy by suggesting and voting for topics and content they would like to see featured. 

Please visit our campaign page to find out more and feel free to share this link with anyone you think might be interested.