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Differences Between Rests and Phrases

by Nikos Kokkinis | February 1, 2023 | While Practising Articles | 1 Comment

In this article I am going to talk about the differences between rests and phrases and less how to play them. But before talking about that, I would just say that, arguably, music has one of the largest catalogue of words to describe its ever-changing doings. And it...

Why Do We Practise Hands Separately

by Nikos Kokkinis | January 1, 2023 | While Practising Articles | 0 Comments

In the last three weeks I started asking my students why they think I ask them constantly to play hands separately in class and of course, why should they practise at home with hands separately. I have to admit none gave me a satisfactory answer — well, at least none...

Anna Magdalena Notebook and Its Technical Approach

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 30, 2022 | While Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Who hasn’t played pieces from the Anna Magdalena Notebook? I, for one, have. I have played pieces from this legendary notebook as a child and I keep playing its colourful pieces every now-and-then out of my need to entertain my soul. But, as you know, the,...

When To Let Go Trying To Improve Your Piece

by Nikos Kokkinis | October 30, 2022 | While Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Apparently, every single piece of music, in the historious, historical history of serious (not the non-serious) music had room for improvement. Any piano teacher worth their salt would have advocated this at one point or another during their despairing teaching...

Questions a Piano Teacher Should Never Answer Truthfully

by Nikos Kokkinis | October 1, 2022 | While Practising Articles | 2 Comments

In my minute experience as a piano teacher, I have concluded that, arguably, there are many questions coming from a student a piano teacher should never attempt to answer — at least, truthfully. You might wonder why do I even raise this subject in this article....

Is the Quality of a Piano Performance Subjective?

by Nikos Kokkinis | August 31, 2022 | While Practising Articles | 0 Comments

What do you think….? *with a snobbish expression on my fat face* Is the quality of the performance of a piano piece subjective? Indeed, is the cooking calibre of the female partner in a newly established couple less than great? Of course, not. It’s fantastic. Only...

Will a Better Piano Make Us Better Pianists?

by Nikos Kokkinis | July 31, 2022 | While Practising Articles | 0 Comments

What an imbecilic question! Will a better piano make us better pianists? Really? What a preposterous notion to even ask this question. However, needless to say, that thousands of piano teachers believe, at least subconsciously, that a better piano doesn’t make better...

Rushing the Music

by Nikos Kokkinis | June 30, 2022 | While Practising Articles | 0 Comments

What Does It Mean To Be Rushing On A Piece Of Music Who hasn’t rushed the music before? I, for one, have rushed the tempo one too many times, especially on sticky occasions, such as on auditions, on unprepared rehearsals (on my part) and often, on culturally...

The Neighbours Syndrome | Freedom of Playing

by Nikos Kokkinis | May 29, 2022 | While Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Censored art is everywhere. You cannot see it in galleries (or at least it is kept from public access until for some politically correct excuse it becomes acceptable) and you cannot savour it in its natural habitats, like the gallery, the cinema theatre or wherever...

Which Is the Perfect Repertoire to Teach Your Pupils

by Nikos Kokkinis | May 1, 2022 | After Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Few have been the unresolved mysteries of this world; mysteries that have tantalised humanity for centuries on end: “Where’s the Loch Ness monster located exactly?” “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” “Whatever happened to the illustrious composer Jacques du...

How to Approach an Accent

by Nikos Kokkinis | March 24, 2022 | While Practising Articles | 0 Comments

An interpretation of an articulation on the piano is only as good as the successful interpretation of both its preceding and succeeding passages. To explain this in a more simplified setting, it’s like when you aim to do, say, a successful pianissimo; to do that, you...

Real Dynamics in Music

by Nikos Kokkinis | March 1, 2022 | While Practising Articles | 2 Comments

p - f - ppp - mp - pf - fff - ffff - fp - pp - mf - ppp... … and the list goes on… and on… REALLY??? Are you really telling me that a pianist could implement all those nonsensical dynamics on a piece of music? And, in our case, a pianist can differentiate...

Leggiero and Its Differences to Legato

by Nikos Kokkinis | January 29, 2022 | While Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Is it possible to describe with words a musical articulation? Well, I could easily say no, because I’m sure that I would be insufficient to achieve this in this very article you are reading. However, a seasoned writer and musical scholar of pianism might let...

Coming Back to Piano After a Long Break

by Nikos Kokkinis | December 30, 2021 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Coming back to piano after a long break is refreshing, is exciting and, undoubtedly, is a brand new experience. But in order to return to piano, something happens inside us. We felt the need to hear ourselves playing this marvellous instrument and we anticipate...

The Night Owl | How to Find the Strength to Practice Your Musical Instrument

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 29, 2021 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Reader Discretion is Advised Intro “I will play the f minor Chopin Nocturne by the summer,” you said to yourself. “I’ll finish that novel by the end of the year,” you heard your friend saying in the cafeteria. “This year I will finally complete my 1st piano...

How to Improve Stamina in Piano Practising

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 1, 2021 | While Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Here, the parent should act as a guardian of the student’s right to finish their practising on time. Parents should encourage their kids not to keep practising but to stop practising, because their kids “have practised enough for the day”.

Do Bodily Positions Matter in Pianism?

by Nikos Kokkinis | October 1, 2021 | While Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Attention: Not for the sensitive and sincere individuals. If you’re easily offended, please exit this website at once. This text is not politically correct. It is vulgar, insensitive and contains harsh and disrespectful expressions to facilitate an enjoyable read....

The Peter Principle in Musical Performance

by Nikos Kokkinis | August 27, 2021 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

In this article, I explore the belief that different branches of knowledge often correlate, and, in our case as pianists, can potentially show us how to perform the piano. The notion of morality, for instance, which is amongst others a philosophical and cultural...

Ethical Performing in Music (part 2)

by Nikos Kokkinis | August 1, 2021 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

As in everything we do in life, ethics can make or break our plight. We constantly make decisions in our own everyday lives — from the smallest, trivial matters, such as which carton of milk to buy from the supermarket, to the more important ones, such as which is the...

Ethical Performing in Music

by Nikos Kokkinis | June 30, 2021 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

“Grub first, then ethics” Bertolt Brecht ❦ Ethical performing… “Really, Nikos? What? Is there even a notion like that?” I hear you ask… Well, almost twenty years ago, I was playing to Oxana Yablonskaya Liszt’s 10th transcendental étude in f minor....

What Is Good Pianist in Classical Music

by Nikos Kokkinis | June 1, 2021 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Reader Discretion is advised Who’s your favourite pianist? A very common question amongst piano afficionados, wouldn’t you say? When you ask this question to someone, they will mention some of the normal names that come up in the everyday pianistic lists: to all those...

The Slingshot Effect On The Piano

by Nikos Kokkinis | May 1, 2021 | While Practising Articles | 0 Comments

The Slingshot Effect On The Piano, Or How To Increase The Tempo Of Your Piece When Nothing Works. Do you know what is the most common thing students and pianists want to achieve with their pieces? Is it to make them softer? To make them more convincing, perhaps? Well,...

What Is a Piano Student?

by Nikos Kokkinis | March 31, 2021 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Reader discretion is advised. Q: Is a piano student someone who wants to learn the tuba? A: No. Q: Is a piano student someone who wants to learn to paint? A: No. Q: Is a piano student someone who wants to learn to play the piano? A: Yes. ...

The Metronome Effect

by Nikos Kokkinis | March 17, 2021 | While Practising Articles | 2 Comments

The metronome is this lovely machine that keeps the tempo for you boldly without allowing you to deviate from it. as a matter of fact, we all owe to have one, so if you can afford a proper old-fashioned one, just buy an electric one. However, as you know, music is not...

Online Piano Lessons Setup

by Nikos Kokkinis | March 1, 2021 | Before Practising Articles | 4 Comments

Reader discretion is advised. I feel ashamed. I feel sad and I feel the worst possible piano teacher on Earth — Not that I am not, but that’s another story. This online lessons charade has taken me by storm — I feel I am currently at my most pompous and...

Online Piano Lessons: Thoughts and Challenges

by Nikos Kokkinis | January 31, 2021 | After Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Reader discretion is advised I hate online piano lessons, both as a teacher, but also as a pedagogue. There’s no way you will learn the piano properly with online lessons. Period. And if you eventually reach a certain level of pianism, imagine what you could have done...

What Is Forte and How Loud It Is

by Nikos Kokkinis | January 1, 2021 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

In this article we talk about what is forte in music. Then, after defining forte we shall attempt to describe how loud forte should really be. ❦ Asking what is forte in music, is like asking what is sweet in baking. Being a pianist, and not a baker, if someone was...

Student From a Former Teacher Etiquette

by Nikos Kokkinis | December 1, 2020 | After Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Warning: Reader Discretion Advised: So, the phone rung one day, and you heard the following words from the other end of the line: “Hello! I’m Mrs Soen-So and I’m calling to enquire about piano lessons!” “Oh, hi! Yes, of course. How may I help you?” “Well, my...

The Primary Quality of a Piano Teacher

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 1, 2020 | After Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Hm… what should be the primary quality, the most needed, the most desired quality, that would make a piano teacher fulfil their teaching duties to the fullest? Could it that the teacher should be kind and accepting of the student’s individual pianistic customs? Could...

Mezzo-Staccato and Non-Legato: Two Sides of the Same Coin?

by Nikos Kokkinis | October 1, 2020 | While Practising Articles | 0 Comments

One question that pianists ask every so often is the following: Does mezzo-staccato simply means non-legato? My answer derives from my provenance as a student of the English Piano School—a pianistic school that (surprisingly to many) exists, and to my mind has one...

The Old Man and the Sea and Its Pianistic Symbolism

by Nikos Kokkinis | August 1, 2020 | After Practising Articles | 2 Comments

Premise So, Santiago, an old-aged fisherman nearing his last days on the sea, goes out to fish after an eighty-four-day unlucky streak. He finally advances towards a huge marlin and wants to catch it. However, the marlin, strong as it were, entangled itself in the...

Should You Seek Your Students’ Approval?

by Nikos Kokkinis | August 1, 2020 | After Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Intro Approval seeking was always (and will always be) a common predisposition to mammals like humans. Humans seek and crave approval from the others in order to simply carry through with their existence. Approval-seeking can be found in all of our personality traits,...

Why It Is Hard to Unlearn a Passage

by Nikos Kokkinis | June 30, 2020 | After Practising Articles | 2 Comments

Learning and, especially, keep learning perpetually is what makes our species special according to the… “experts,’. I enclosed the word ‘experts’ in inverted commas in an effort to be sardonic, because firstly, I do not share this belief by the experts and secondly,...

Muscle Memory on the Concert Stage

by Nikos Kokkinis | May 31, 2020 | After Practising Articles | 0 Comments

As with tennis players that can react to a millisecond in time and make the ball over the net, hitting it the right angle by responding perfectly to the opponent’s shot to produce a winner, equally, technical choices of a pianist will be reactively produced on the...

Muscle Memory: The One Caveat

by Nikos Kokkinis | May 1, 2020 | While Practising Articles | 0 Comments

So, when you do something repeatedly for many, many times, your body learns it and then it repeats it efficiently and with ease. This, pretty much, what muscle memory is. It is like when we are cycling; we are not thinking “now I am going to do a pedal stroke with my...

Non-Legato Conundrum

by Nikos Kokkinis | April 1, 2020 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Non-legato is a common articulation found in a pianist’s pianistic vocabulary. It goes without saying that non-legato is poles apart to legato, but it is also different to its “shortened” relatives, such as the staccato and tenuto. Staccato, for instance, is more...

Staccatissimo and Its Differences to Staccato

by Nikos Kokkinis | March 1, 2020 | While Practising Articles | 0 Comments

In music we have two similar words to describe two musical pals, the staccato and the staccatissimo. Each comes with its own notion, of course, but sometimes it is very difficult to distinguish between the two, especially when we listen to a performer playing a piece...

What Is Staccato

by Nikos Kokkinis | February 1, 2020 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Nothing in music is set in stone, fortunately, and thus reading on paper and trying to make sense of the ever-changing attributes of a musical articulation is no mean feat; tradition passed through the capable hands of an instructor is always paramount here, but...

On Comparing Ourselves to Other Musicians

by Nikos Kokkinis | January 1, 2020 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

If music ever makes us feel uneasy or weary, it’s not because of its own “fault”; It will always be because we wanted music to fit our own small-time callings. Music is never at fault. It has a life of its own and can never be chained to ambitions by mere mortals, as...

Sitting at the Piano

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 30, 2019 | Before Practising Articles | 2 Comments

In this article we talk about how to sit at the piano, which is one of the most important factors in our quest to conquer pianism. ❦ ... At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how you position yourself to play this wonderful instrument of ours, the piano; Even if...

Musical Phrases and Their Initial Approach

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 1, 2019 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Phrasing in Piano In this article we talk phrasing in piano and how to approach the phrasing of a new piece. ❦ As with speech, musical phrasing must convey… well, something. Now, you might argue that often our desire is not to convey a particular message or thought...

Why Having a Good Piano Teacher Can Be Bad for You

by Nikos Kokkinis | September 30, 2019 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

From the beginning of [piano] time, having a good teacher was always… well… good. Every teacher (including myself) is arguably an avid supporter of the notion that a good piano teacher is an essential tool in a student’s pianistic journey. But, what is a good...

Who Is My Perfect Teacher?

by Nikos Kokkinis | September 1, 2019 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

This article is dedicated to Nikolaos Smirnakis, eminent professor of piano in Singapore. ❦ To cut to the chase, the one you already have or will have; this is your perfect teacher —end of article. Go back to practising. Just kidding; go have a coffee or watch a film...

How to Get Back to Your Piece on Stage

by Nikos Kokkinis | August 1, 2019 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

How many times were you playing a piece that was going very smoothly, only to lose your grip of it in the most unexpected place, throwing you off and making your performance go downhill? I don’t know about you, but not too few times for me to be honest. At least now...

How to Start a Piece on Stage

by Nikos Kokkinis | July 1, 2019 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

So, the day has come to play on stage. Our hearts are pumping fast, our hands become surprisingly sweaty and we feel deep inside, that this is by no means an ordinary day. This is a special day. Everything feels so different than normal. And all we know, is that...

Do we play for us or for the others?

by Nikos Kokkinis | May 31, 2019 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Arguably, we, the people who associate ourselves with music and the piano, do play for the others. Well, we play for the others in concerts, in classes, etc., but first and foremost, we play for ourselves. What do you think? Since our species is mainly tribal in...

Tenuto, Tenēre, Tenure

by Nikos Kokkinis | April 30, 2019 | While Practising Articles | 0 Comments

One of the most misunderstood articulations in the arena of piano techniques, tenuto, traditionally suffers from lack of identity. “What am I? Who am I? What is my purpose in this life” asks tenuto, and often there are vague answers and contextual definitions that are...

What an Audience Wants

by Nikos Kokkinis | March 31, 2019 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

When audiences come to us — that is to say, attend our performances — they come for a reason. They seek, and they demand. And rightfully so, of course, because let’s not forget that they have already honoured us first and offered us one of their most precious...

What Doesn’t Interest An Audience

by Nikos Kokkinis | March 1, 2019 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

We, the performers, often take for granted that people come to our performances to simply listen to us playing the piano. We might assume that audiences simply come to us, for us. And so, since they come to us, instead of the other way around, they must...

The Rule of Five

by Nikos Kokkinis | February 1, 2019 | While Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Terry hung up the phone. He’s had enough. He was disgusted, alienated, but most of all, scared. The events manager at the Palm Springs Hotel and Resort had just, less than a minute ago, urged him to, lo-and-behold, learn the Overture from Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro....

Scholarly Versus Voguish Phrasing

by Nikos Kokkinis | January 1, 2019 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

As with our verbal communication, musical communication demands appropriate phrasing to show with clarity what we are trying to convey.

Bullying in Music

by Nikos Kokkinis | December 1, 2018 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Disclaimer: if you are a sensitive individual, if sometimes you take what you read personally, if you ocassionaly become ever so slightly uptight about things you read, then please DO NOT read the following article. This article contains exaggerated opinions and...

The Que Será, Será Syndrome

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 1, 2018 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

“If you always give, you will always have.” Chinese Proverb A few years back my friend AJ experienced an incident so peculiar, that made me think deeply about the things that affect my priorities as a musician, and the space those things should occupy (if any),...

Notes From The Lost Diary Of A Piano Teacher

by Nikos Kokkinis | October 1, 2018 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Disclaimer: if you are a sensitive individual, if sometimes you take what you read personally, if you occasionally are ever so slightly uptight about what you read, then please DO NOT read this article. This article contains exaggerated opinions and harsh,...

The Forbidden Question

by Nikos Kokkinis | August 31, 2018 | While Practising Articles | 0 Comments

“Alarmbells are ringing uncontrollably” driiiiiiin!!!! Drooooooonnnnn!!! Draaaaanggggg!!! “Ambulance sirens are tearing the skies in a maniacal fashion!!!” Piiiiiuuuuuuu!!! Piuuuuuuuu!!!!! “People are running away like mad, from their seats in the cafeterias, having...

The Brain Virtuoso

by Nikos Kokkinis | August 3, 2018 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Claude hang up the phone. His vain request to be accepted as a student at the Jopper Music College, went astray once again. “They're right”, he mumbled. “I'm fifty-eight years old! What do I expect? To play at Carnegie hall with the New York philharmonic?” His face...

Perceiving The Sustain Pedal

by Nikos Kokkinis | July 26, 2018 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

In this article we talk about the sustain pedal anyhow to approach implementing it on our pieces. ❦ Uhhh, that sustain pedal... — “Oh, I used one-quarter pedalling, in the finale of the Pathetique.” — “Why not use three-quarters depressed pedal in that passage?” — “I...

What Exists Between Two Music Phrases

by Nikos Kokkinis | June 14, 2018 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Some Initial Thoughts Arguably, every music piece consists of phrases. We’ve all heard of how to do phrases, and how to shape a piece of music. Our teachers continuously talked about phrases and phrasing and they kept showing us on the piano that this phrase...

Approaching Fingerings

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 20, 2017 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Two questions to choosing the correct piano fingerings: Often, during a lesson, I receive the familiar question (familiar, I would presume to all of you fellow teachers): “Sir, what finger should I use to play this note?” This question quickly resolves to me showing...

The Piano Prison

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 12, 2017 | Before Practising Articles | 2 Comments

...Or, the Dark Side of Encouragement and Motivation in Music I prefer to drink a pint of salted lemon juice, sprinkled with red pepper shavings, paprika, ample tabasco, a dessertspoon of dried garlic, and two spoons of cod liver oil, than hear the following...

Piano Procrastination

by Nikos Kokkinis | September 10, 2017 | After Practising Articles | 0 Comments

[Attention: Strong sense of humor required, before commencing reading this article] From the beginning of… umm… piano-time, procrastination was common in a pianist’s routine. Pianists consistently procrastinated, and that was good. Every now and then a pianist or...

About Talent

by Nikos Kokkinis | August 15, 2017 | Before Practising Articles | 2 Comments

Tackling the subject of "talent" in music always fascinated me. When mentioning that someone had talent I naturally meant that they were good in their field but I didn't necessarily mean that they were special; I knew that talent was possible for all of us. I would...

How to Afford a Piano

by Nikos Kokkinis | August 13, 2017 | Before Practising Articles | 8 Comments

This article enjoys first place on Google’s search results on how to afford a piano. It is not without reason. Please, join us today and keep learning about the piano. Please, do not email this website regarding piano prices or where to buy a piano. I would suggest...

Instill Talent

by Nikos Kokkinis | August 5, 2017 | After Practising Articles | 0 Comments

In this article, I will experiment with the notion of creating talent "from scratch", as they say. It’s a hypothetical scenario of the highest order, but, why not? This is my article, after all. One of the pillars of my teaching philosophy is, that following the right...

GUEST POST: How to Practice Piano: Tips for Exercises Off the Keys!

by Nikos Kokkinis | August 3, 2017 | Guest Posts | 0 Comments

We all know how important practicing is for aspiring piano players! But sometimes it can be a challenge to fit into your schedule. Luckily, there are ways to practice your technique while you’re at work, in the car, or practically anywhere else! Continue...

How to Choose the Best Possible Piano Edition

by Nikos Kokkinis | April 5, 2017 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Choosing the best edition of piano music has been a chore for a lot of us pianists since piano music entered the realm of serious music; that means, well... perhaps from the beginning of keyboard history. Because of editions, pianists had always had to put up with...

What is the Best Piano Edition

by Nikos Kokkinis | March 14, 2017 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

In this article, we shall discuss – albeit in no depth whatsoever and try to give an answer to what is the best edition of any given piano work. Before I start, please, do let me ask you the following questions: Can it ever be an ultimate edition for a pianist to...

Pianist’s Block: How to Overcome It and Keep Practicing More Constructively

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 16, 2016 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Pianist’s Block As in writer’s block¹, piano playing, by being a creative activity and hopefully not a monotonous typewriter-type routine, often encompasses its own share of stalling. So, the “Pianist’s Block” per se, is when you have run out of ideas of improving a...

Am I Allowed to Stop Liking the Piano?

by Nikos Kokkinis | March 8, 2016 | After Practising Articles | 0 Comments

In this article I will discuss one of the most dreaded questions a pianist could face. "Am I allowed to stop liking the piano?" Or, by paraphrasing, "what the cousin of my auntie's friend would think if I stop liking this horrible big instrument?" Have you ever asked...

How to Become a Great Pianist in Just a Minute

by Nikos Kokkinis | February 3, 2016 | After Practising Articles | 0 Comments

[ Attention: Strong sense of humor required, before commencing reading this article ] In an age where vanity has reached new zeniths and pianists want to grasp the essence of pianism in quick fashion, I made the greatest discovery of pianokind. In a...

Piano’s Second Most Important Feature

by Nikos Kokkinis | January 18, 2016 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

In a previous article, I was discussing what could possibly be piano's most important feature. What feature could be the key to making us better pianists, when buying a new piano. I came to some conclusions, leaning towards that the piano's key-action could be a...

Piano’s Most Important Feature

by Nikos Kokkinis | January 12, 2016 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Many people who want to buy a piano for the first time, wonder what to look for first on a new piano. Those people are probably new learners or parents of prospective students, and that consequently means that they have little experience when it comes to the key...

Buying an Acoustic Piano or a Digital Piano-Simulator?

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 23, 2015 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Acoustic piano or digital? This is a question that pops ups very often in our piano lives. Whenever you want to do anything in your life, be it learning a hobby, studying for a degree or even choosing which pencil to write with, you ought it to yourself to use the...

Can I Teach Myself the Classical Piano?

by Nikos Kokkinis | July 27, 2015 | Before Practising Articles | 4 Comments

Well, the easy but wrong in my opinion answer is that, yes you can teach yourself the piano. It's a wrong answer however, because you can't really teach yourself the classical piano, I'm afraid. It's true that there are many musicians that managed to build...

Practice Makes Perfect (Not)

by Nikos Kokkinis | July 3, 2015 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

In this article I am going to discuss if there could be infinite improvement on a piece of music. Arguably, a lot things in life have room for improvement; from trying to cook spaghetti aldente to creating a safe plane, humans apparently can infinitely...

Which is the Best Musical Instrument?

by Nikos Kokkinis | June 20, 2015 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

In order to appreciate the following article, a good sense of humor is needed... Well... you guessed right. In my humble and unbiased opinion, the bestest, the beautifulest and the funnest musical instrument of them all, is, well... the piano. One of the main reasons...

Why Piano is Hard

by Nikos Kokkinis | May 29, 2015 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Even though every instrument has its own difficulties to master, however, I believe that we do have to play one of the hardest instruments, albeit being second hardest to the triangle. So, here are some of the reasons piano is so hard: a) One of the usual answers as...

Performance Anxiety in Music

by Nikos Kokkinis | May 4, 2015 | After Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Since the beginning of time performance anxiety was the norm in whatever we did as species; from an orator speaking in an ancient agora, to a lutist playing in the local market, humans had always had this issue to address. Through the centuries, the...

Play Piano by Ear

by Nikos Kokkinis | April 13, 2015 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Playing piano by ear has always been essential in a pianist’s tools-of-the-trade. I had to play by ear many a times in my pianistic life; for example, a day before a concert when I was requested to accompany two traditional songs for a singer, or when I...

Pianistically… Legato

by Nikos Kokkinis | March 17, 2015 | While Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Since the beginning of time, (um… yes, why not) pianists had one thought and one thought only; how to play legato. Legato-playing became so accustomed to pianistic vocabulary, that, in the course of time, knowing how to play legato, somehow meant, ultimately, knowing...

Morality and Musicality

by Nikos Kokkinis | September 24, 2013 | After Practising Articles | 2 Comments

Do you have to be a moral person to be a good musician? Does character and personality count in order to be considered a successful musician? Well, if you define a good musician as a person who is what we call moral - with good standing in society, irrespective of...

Are Classical Music Competitions Becoming Irrelevant?

by Nikos Kokkinis | July 9, 2013 | After Practising Articles | 1 Comment

Back in the day, winning an international or even a national competition was a sure ticket for an artist’s road to stardom. Stardom meant more quality concerts, more acquaintances, more music, and more... everything. Competition winners were celebrated the world over,...

How to Criticize Musicians

by Nikos Kokkinis | June 8, 2013 | After Practising Articles | 0 Comments

“Criticism!” No one likes this dreaded word! Nobody likes it when a fellow musician tells them “you should have done this”, or “you must do this”, or “I think you shouldn’t have done this in your performance”... As I said in a previous article (read here),...

A Great Performer is Not Necessarily a Great Teacher: Myth or Fact?

by Nikos Kokkinis | June 2, 2013 | After Practising Articles | 0 Comments

So... if you are a “bad” performer that means you are a great teacher? Well, let’s not oversimplify things... It’s not really black or white. To start, we have two sides; the performer’s side and the teacher’s side. Let’s see what is happening in their...

How to Love Criticism

by Nikos Kokkinis | May 14, 2013 | After Practising Articles | 0 Comments

When it comes to criticism, artistic people are notorious of having one of the greatest “talents”: to give it liberally but taking it hesitantly. What is criticism? Criticism is when you receive judgement on your work. Later, this judgement can be used to improve your...

The Best Teacher is MY Teacher

by Nikos Kokkinis | May 3, 2013 | After Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Every time I discuss with a fellow piano aficionado I find it impossible not to hear the following line (I’m paraphrasing): “My teacher is the best teacher. He is one of the greatest, but unfortunately an unappreciated teacher.” Now, tell me, haven’t you...

What to Study

by Nikos Kokkinis | March 16, 2013 | CollegeStudy | 2 Comments

Choosing the subject of study can be one of the most decisive moments of your music career. Before applying to an audition you need to answer the following questions: 1. What type of musician would you like to be? For example, do you want to become a...

Where to Study Piano?

by Nikos Kokkinis | March 16, 2013 | CollegeStudy | 0 Comments

In this world of vanity and self-importance, of affectation and false priorities, the place of study is one of the most important factors that will determine your future. Many suggest that when you want to become a pianist, the first and foremost thing that you need...

I Love Piano But Hate Practising. Can I Still Become a Good Pianist?

by Nikos Kokkinis | February 7, 2013 | Before Practising Articles | 1 Comment

You are still remembering the day you went to that piano recital and got hooked on the idea that you liked the piano. You thought that you wouldn’t mind expressing yourself with this instrument’s beautiful sounds and that you would love to have a go with this big,...

How to Pass the Piano Audition

by Nikos Kokkinis | December 5, 2012 | Before Practising Articles | 14 Comments

How to pass the piano auditionThis article enjoys first place on Google’s search results on the piano audition. It is not without reason. You don’t want to miss out learning about the auditions etiquette. Please, join us today and help this site grow. Since I...

Am I a Good Musician?

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 24, 2012 | After Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Am I a good musician? From the most humble and sincere to the most pompous and egotistical of us, we have all asked this dreaded question at some point in our lives. Even when we had a horribly snobby expression next to our fellow musicians or laughed ironically about...

Is Being a Musician Worth It?

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | After Practising Articles | 4 Comments

For pianists and other musicians! I have been asked this question many times from students, from friends and from people that hear me play the piano. In my opinion being a musician is great! I'm a pianist; I love music and I love the piano. I love...

Why My Piece Improves No More?

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | After Practising Articles | 0 Comments

So, you've managed to play the piece that you always wanted to learn. You indulged in it's harmonic sequences and you grasped it's inner world. You loved everything about this piece, even trivial details, such as, who played it the right speed, which...

Playing vs… Talking

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | After Practising Articles | 2 Comments

By reading this article you agree and accept that this article contains fiction and some exaggerated expressions and opinions in order to create suspense. Please read at your discretion. For pianists and other musicians. ❦ It was August 2000. The cicadas were filling...

The Two-Step Great Pianist (aka Can I Become a Great Pianist?)

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | After Practising Articles | 7 Comments

Great pianists have been the awe of audiences for millions of years. One of the first things the first primates that walked the earth asked themselves was : "can I become a great pianist?". The answer was obvious from the start. No. Because in life there...

Can Piano Make the World Better?

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | After Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Indeed, piano be a tremendous force in making the earth a safer place. From the youngsters to the elderly piano can unite all and bring happiness and bliss to this world. And by pressing its breathtaking keys we can all raise the flag of love and...

Playing with Others

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | After Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Playing with others is always a good idea! And I don't mean cricket or Chess on a Sunday morning (Even though that would have been a wise choice for some of my fellow pianists). Yes you guessed it; I meant performing with other instrumentalists and...

Can I Become a Famous Pianist?

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | Before Practising Articles | 13 Comments

DISCLAIMER: IN ORDER TO HAVE A CONCRETE UNDERSTANDING OF THIS ARTICLE'S STATEMENTS, PLEASE READ THROUGH TO THE END OF THIS ARTICLE. BY READING THIS ARTICLE YOU AGREE AND ACCEPT THAT THIS ARTICLE MAY CONTAIN FICTION AND SOME EXAGGERATED EXPRESSIONS AND OPINIONS IN...

The Show-Offy Pianist

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | After Practising Articles | 2 Comments

Have you ever been a show-offy pianist? No? Are you sure? Well, let's see below. In this article we shall look at the show-offy pianist in classical music. The show-offy pianist thinks he is not everyday riffraff. He knows deep inside that he must act...

Changing Piano Teacher

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | After Practising Articles | 0 Comments

I will start this chapter by asking you: Have you signed a long time contract with your teacher? If your answer is no, well you can let your teacher go at any time you wish. But even if it was common practice to sign piano-tutoring contracts, I'm sure that your...

Play to Others

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | After Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Yes, play to others. I know that you might think: "oh, how am I going to do this", but playing to others is essentially what music is all about. Of course, you can perform in the privacy of your own room to an audience of one (yourself) and feel complete...

Understanding Piano Music

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | After Practising Articles | 0 Comments

In our quest for being considered serious pianists we need to explore other fields in music that are related to each other. Studying theory of music for example will help us to better understand what is really happening in the core of the music that we...

Act the Virtuoso

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | After Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Every one of us at some point in our lives have felt timid about going public and perform. We dreaded the time we would walk up onto the stage and face our "detractors". We hoped the audience would keep the yogurts and the eggs in their pockets if we...

Listen to Yourself

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | After Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Every one of us at some point in our lives have felt timid about going public and perform. We dreaded the time we would walk up onto the stage and face our “detractors”. We hoped the audience would keep the yogurts and the eggs in their pockets if we...

Psychological Support from the Others

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | After Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Support from the others cannot be confined to commends and critique on your piano playing. Another type of support vital to a pianist's development is the psychological support. We, being musicians, need approval for our performances and we need the others...

Types of Pianists

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

If you have ever played this dreaded and heavy instrument that's called the piano, chances are that you fall into one of the following categories: Read at your own discretion. The recreational pianist: A recreational pianist is a person that has studied the piano at...

Starting a New Piece

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | While Practising Articles | 0 Comments

We should start a new piano piece as we do with everything that we want to take seriously in life; methodically and gracefully. A new piece needs to be treated as a newborn child - with care. Reason When starting a new piece, we may want to answer the following...

Which Passages to Practise Daily

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | While Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Every part of a piece is arguably always subject to constant improvement. However, fine pianists practice the “right” parts of a piece every time. They know which passages to practice - They do not just practice the same passages over and over again! The "Right"...

Which Pieces to Practise Daily

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | While Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Even though this website is mainly intended to teach you how to do things to become a virtuoso pianist, practising the piano should always be seen as an enjoyable experience. Yet, hopefully, there will always be a reason for why you are practising a...

The Piano Studies

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | While Practising Articles | 0 Comments

After playing a few scales to warm up, our next step is to play a study or two. But not necessarily. It depends; if we had a concert deadline and we were in a hurry to get on with practising the pieces of that particular concert, it wouldn't really matter...

Slowly Does It, with Scales

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | While Practising Articles | 1 Comment

So, it's now time to start practising. Similar to an athlete starting his daily training with a little bit of jogging to warm up, we need to do the same with our piano playing. By warming up we will avoid our muscles stiffening up. This way, we are going...

Record Your Lessons

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | While Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Together with keeping notes, another way to acquire a sort of documentation of your lessons is to actually record your lesson using a digital recorder. There are many types of recording machines, such as Mini-Disk recorders, tape-recorders etc. Use you...

Keeping Notes

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | While Practising Articles | 0 Comments

When in class with your teacher it is important to take notes in our little notebook that we have kept especially for the piano lessons. We need note-taking because quite often important things that have been said or thought in class can slip from our...

Following Our Piano Teacher

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Blindly following teacher or doing our own thing? Do we have a say when it comes to interpretation? Could our opinion of how a piece should go have merits? For Pianists and Other Musicians. We all wanted to become virtuoso pianists at one point or...

How Much Should You Practise?

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | Before Practising Articles | 5 Comments

One of the most common questions I hear from students is how many hours to practise a day. The answer of course is very simple. You have three choices: None 24 hours Between zero and 24 hours. Yes, it's as simple as that! I'm only kidding of course. Many pianists...

The Piano and the Others

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Essentially, the place of practising should be the most sacred place of all for you. Remember! You wanted to become a pianist, so in order to come closer to this notion you need the best possible place to work on. Like with most things we do in life,...

Being Next to Your Piano

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

After you have established where the piano should live in your house you should start thinking about how to coexist with it. No doubt you would spend hours sitting in front of it, in rain, in sun and in snow. It is going to be tired of you playing with...

Our Mood Prior to Practising

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Another very important factor that will make a difference in our practicing routine is our mood when we are practicing. We can only do so many things that could help prepare us psychologically prior to start practicing. Yet, due to our busy lives, we do...

Practice Room “Atmosphere”

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Prior to start practising we should create a comfortable atmosphere in the practising room. First, we should to have a warm and comforting temperature inside the room. It should be neither too hot nor too cold. This might sound a trivial a subject but,...

Pianistic Equipment

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

Did you know that In order to practice the piano, you would need a violin? I'm only kidding! You would need a piano of course. A real piano I am afraid. Not a "fake" one. However many people feel quite frustrated when the answer is so obvious. They would...

Choosing the “Right” Teacher

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

So, why having to chose the right teacher matters when we practice? It matters, because the teacher is the person that is going to show us how to practice at home. Therefore, they better have beneficial things to say when they are teaching us, since we do...

What Is a Pianist?

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

A pianist is any mammal that can play the piano. "Really? Only that?" I hear you say. Yes, it's that simple. Sorry to all big-headed "virtuosos". Whether you play three blind mice with your right hand only or Lutoslawski's piano concerto at Carnegie Hall, you are...

What This Website is Not About

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

This website is not about advising you how to physically play the ever various technical passages of the vast piano repertoire (Articulations such as staccato, legato, accents, or ornaments such as trills, appoggiaturas etc.). Trying to explain how to...

Introduction

by Nikos Kokkinis | November 13, 2012 | Before Practising Articles | 0 Comments

So, you want to become pianist. But maybe not just an ordinary pianist. You want to become a pianist that people will regard highly and fall for your musicality, for your effortless technique and for the Goosebumps they get when they listen to your...