Scott Lam Piano Pedagogy SLPP in Sydney, Australia | Personal blog

Scott Lam Piano Pedagogy SLPP

Locality: Sydney, Australia

Phone: +61 412 524 711

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25.01.2022 This year has been very adventurous ( & busy) !!! I have had no day off since last time I went overseas..... including today..... but I try to enjoy what I do... and I hope you enjoy the content on this page too

25.01.2022 Today is about 3 months after my first video post on this pedagogy page. Each video took me 5-10 hours to make. I think its worth it. Thank you very much for everyones support!!! I am now producing a course to share my complete system of teaching, which can help students to become proficient in memorisation and playing technique. It will be in two parts and part 1 will be available soon.

25.01.2022 Years ago I wrote an impressionist piece based on the last name of a painter friends last name A-B(Bb)-D after a winter Japanese trip together. He gave me an impressionist oil painting of my garden and as an art exchange I dedicated this short musical sketch to him. The A-BbD theme is announced in the middle range with the Taiko bass and a Japanese sounding ostinato on the top. It can be an interesting piece for intermediate level students. If you like a PDF of the score p...lease like the post and comment below. I hope you enjoy this little piece and give it a thumb up and share it if possible. Thank you very much!!

24.01.2022 This is the exam report of my first piano exam ever. I started learning the piano when I was 15 years old. I think thats a disadvantage to become a performer but it was a great journey to develop as a piano teacher as I remember every struggle and obstacle and how to tackle them one by one.

24.01.2022 I sometimes teach two students at the same time using the same method ( with slightly different focus for different individuals), especially when they started with me at the same time and they are from the same family. I started teaching these two boys since 2016. They passed AMEB G5 at the end of 2017 ( A& A+) and G8 in mid 2019 ( B & A). For the rest of 2019, they have finished learning Bach French Suite No4, a study from Czerny op 740, a Chopin Polonaise ( they picked a di...fferent one) and Khachaturian Toccata for Performance Certificate exam but due to the pandemic we decided to prepared for AMusA diploma exam next year instead. During the last 5 months they learnt to play fluently a Bach Prelude and Fugue from Bk2 , a Haydn sonata 1st movement, a piece from Tchaikovskys Seasons and a Debussy Prelude, now moving onto a Chopin Nocturne. We learn a new AmusA piece each month and will decide what to play for exam next year. I also like to share the heartwarming card they wrote me end of last year

23.01.2022 Active Thinking Piano Method Q&A Thank you very much for everyones warm response. I received many questions over the last two days and I thought I might post those Q&A here as well. There are around 10 places left now. Please inbox me if you have any other questions or want to enrol. Q: Is it going to be a live webinar or a course of pre-recorded videos? ... A: The course includes many pre- recorded teaching videos and PDF. The course length 6-weeks give you a rough idea the time you need to digest the content at a comfortable pace but participants can go through them any time at their own pace. There is no set events in the course that you have to attend at a particular time. Q: How long are the videos for each week? A: The total length of the collection of videos for each week is about an hour long. I carefully edited the videos so participants can learn many teaching strategies within the shortest time. Q: Do we need to get any books? A: There is no extra method books required on top the materials/beginners method books you are currently using. ( Although I would recommend some classical repertoire ) I will talk about how to write the ideas on students note book so that students and parents can follow your instructions when practising at home. Q: Do you teach the participants individually? A: The course includes a 12 month course-related Q&A session where participants can send me questions and I will make videos to reply in the course group. Q: Will what I learn in Part 1 be applicable without knowing the 2nd half of your method? A: Part 1 will cover the most basic but also the most important training for students to learn technique and effective memorisation to late intermediate level and part 2 is quite inseparable from part 1. It is important to train a good pianist from the basics. The content in part 1 is based around teaching principles which relate irrespective of the student level. Q: Will The course videos include footages of me teaching my students. A: Yes Q: Will the printed music be free to print/download? A: Yes as they are all my arrangement of classical music for beginner/intermediate level for applying the concepts I discuss in the course. For advanced level students/teachers should purchase the books of classical standard repertoire. Q: Will this method overlap with what I have already been using in my teaching? A: I will not try to cover everything like explaining treble clef and bass chef. This method is more about how to teach students to be more capable of understanding and memorising music and develop a good technique, which is essential in performing at an advanced level.

21.01.2022 Thank you very much for those who decided to participate this method course!! My goal is to share everything I know about piano teaching with you. Just a friendly reminder the course access will be granted at 9 am tomorrow (1/7/2020) and I will make sure course material in week 1 are all ready. For teachers who have to miss it this time, I will keep up with generating contents on this SLPP page. Thank you very much for everyones support!

21.01.2022 I like to share with you the first piano(keyboard) I owned when I moved to Sydney to study music in the early 2000s. As I started piano at 15yo and was very behind, I always put piano study my top priority and here are the photos showing the evolution of my home practice space/teaching space in the last 18 years.

20.01.2022 On a day with good network connection, online piano lesson can work very well even with a simple setup. Well done Dylan who followed instructions very well in the last few weeks online lessons! (video shared with consent)

20.01.2022 Ep.11 Introducing the metronome ( Student video was shot back in March before Quarantine) Playing with the metronome is an essential part of piano learning. It trains the students sense of beat/rhythms and co-ordination skills. You can start right from the first lesson and have some fun with students using this clever device! ... Hope you enjoy this episode! Your Like and Share will mean a lot for my videos creation # FirstLessonActivities Music: Bossanova Musician: Ilya Truhanov Site: https://icons8.com/music/

19.01.2022 Ep.16 Letter Names in Chunks(Beginners Checklist #4) No more counting from C all the time... Thank you for watching, please give it a thumb up/share.

18.01.2022 This piece allows player to run and sweat a lot!

17.01.2022 A student just sent me a video of her duet performance at school. She learnt this piece by herself. What a surprise! I hope you enjoy this little musical treat

15.01.2022 Ep.14 Secure ppp by understanding Physics Isnt it daunting sometimes when we need to play something really soft but fear that no sound would be made? I like to offer you a very scientific way to approach securing a soft tone and I hope you will enjoy this video! Your thumb up and share will motivate me to continue making videos PS, fingers have to be curved and rigid and if its a very soft chord, it will always be difficult if the piano is not regulated (keys are uneven...). Velocity = speed at a specific direction Momentum = Velocity x Mass See more

14.01.2022 4 months ago I organised a big piano concerts for my students and after their performance experience I could feel the difference in their learning attitude. I practiced every night after teaching to prepare a performance for them too and all the students and parents were very appreciative for the inspiration and this concert performance opportunity. Each performer received a medal on that night. I hope the pandemic will be over sometime soon and such event could be possible again.

14.01.2022 A senior students practice video at home. I highly recommend students to video record themselves at home to perfect their performance.

13.01.2022 Scriabin 24 Preludes op.11 No.14 by James M. If you like Chopins 24 Preludes op.28, I think you will enjoy Scriabins Opus 11 too. This one No 14 in Eb minor is a very challenging one. I hope you will enjoy this exciting performance from memory by an adult student James and your thumb up will mean a lot!!

13.01.2022 From 2017 onwards, I had the pleasure to adjudicate several piano competitions including the first Sauter Piano Competition in Sydney 2017, La Pianista Piano competition in Sydney 2018, 2019, SutherlandShire Eisteddfod 1018 and Inspirito Online Piano Competition 2020. Competitions are very valuable experience for piano students to share their music making with the best preparation possible with their peers. https://www.facebook.com/582114878512051/posts/2068897446500446/?d=n

12.01.2022 Which method books are you using with beginners students at the moment? Please comment below. Which method books are you using with beginners students at the moment? Please comment below.

12.01.2022 Episode 15 Note Reading Game This game let students exercise the concepts about Line/Space and Step/Skip. The reasoning process makes note reading not as quick compared to methods that try to get students recognise note instantly by memorising all the notes ( FACE, All Cow Eat Grass etc). However the reasoning part is essential to let students relate the notes and form patterns in their mind. Music: Ice Tea... Musician: Not The King. See more

11.01.2022 Important Announcement: How to help beginners piano students all the way to diploma level? How to help students to become more independent so teachers can spend more time talking about interpretation instead of correcting notes/rhythm? ... How to help nervous students overcome performance anxiety and be able to play fluently with confidence? After many sleepless nights of recording and editing.... finally I like to announce that My piano pedagogy course Active Thinking Piano Method Part 1/2 will commence on 1/7/2020. It is a video course which you can watch and learn my core teaching system any time you like on your smart phone or PC. Enrolment details will be posted on Sunday 21/6 Sydney time 8pm. I will accept 30 participants only.

10.01.2022 Final Call: Tomorrow is the launch and today is the LAST DAY to catch the Early Bird Discount to join my video course Active Thinking Piano Method Part 1/2. The course will also include how I teach beginners technique so that later they can handle wide range of repertoire with great technical foundation. After today the enrolment form will be disabled and if I do consider accepting enrolment again later in the future I promise my first group of participants this time have the best price to access this course. Comment Yes below if you dont want to miss this opportunity. Only 3 places left.

10.01.2022 Important Announcement: Active Thinking Piano Method - no method book needed,... - compatible with any existing method A 6 weeks online pedagogy course for piano teachers : How to help beginners with various abilities and commitment all the way to diploma level even without a strong concert performance background? More details will be out in June. The course is in two instalments. The first course will be open for a limited number of enrolments. You can express interest by reacting to this post or dropping a comment below.

09.01.2022 J. S. Bach: Arioso from Cantata BWV156 by Sue C. About 3 years ago I started teaching an adult student who came for lesson every fortnight. Every year I invited her to perform in my student concert she politely declined. Finally in my last concert she made her first public performance and this week she allowed me to share with you her recent home performance. I hope you enjoy this video and give Sue a big thumb up!!

09.01.2022 Episode 13: Good Friends & Argument I like to share with you an interesting way to introduce to beginners the two types of chords used in most method books: the tonic and the dominant 7th in 1st inversion. I hope you enjoy this episode. Your Likes/Shares are the biggest motivation for me to continue making the videos. Thank you for your support!... Music: Walk In The Park Musician: music by audionautix.com License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

09.01.2022 Rachmaninoff Prelude in G# minor This video was shot after I taught this transfer student for about 1 year. She was nominated for encore (for outstanding performance in High School Certificate Exam in the New South Wales state) and passed AMusA piano performance diploma exam later on.

08.01.2022 Ep.10 Chromatic Scale: the snake and the crab Hello everyone, after a few weeks of adapting to online teaching, I finally got time to make videos again. This episode is about chromatic scale. I hope you enjoy it. Your thumb up/ share will be my biggest support Thank you for watching!! Scott

07.01.2022 I wish the recording sound quality could have been better but it was still a very good performance run through of this colourful piece by Ravel. Hope you could give Lesley a thumb up for the effort to record this from memory. It took me 2 hours to edit/include the score. Enjoy the journey!

06.01.2022 Important Announcement: I repost without the video because some of you told me that the text could not be found in the previous video post. So here go: Active Thinking Piano Method Part 1/2... For the very first time, I will make my core teaching system available for other teachers. This systematic method has been proven very successful in advancing beginner students up to diploma-level virtuosity. This 6-week course covers the first half of the system. If students understand the logic in music and have good technical skills, they can learn a difficult piece mostly by themselves and even have it memorised securely. Teachers can then spend more time during lessons working on the most challenging parts of the piece and on musical interpretation. Student can then produce a fluent and musical performance at an advanced level. This method will give teachers the strategies to train their students to think effectively and acquire the most important technical foundation to achieve such independence. I am sure students will be very grateful to teachers who are able to take them to such a level. This method is suitable for: 1. Teachers who are struggling to learn and perform confidently at an advanced/diploma level but who want to make a breakthrough for themselves and for their students. 2. Professional pianists who are also teachers, but who find it challenging to identify what students dont understand and therefore struggle to bring them to an advanced level. 3. Teachers who deal with many students who are keen learners but have limited practice time. 4. Teachers of hardworking students who are not independent learners and thus need a lot of time with the teacher. This method may not be suitable for: 1. Teachers who are already very comfortable with their teaching. 2. Teachers who do not have time to commit to further professional development. 3. Teachers who only deal with students who learn for recreation with minimal emphasis on skill progression. As the course will commence on 1/7, you will receive an early bird discount when you enrol in June. Comment Yes below and the enrolment details will be messaged to you. Thank you :-)

06.01.2022 Debussy Reverie at 12:27am by Hoangvng Last night while burning some midnight oil preparing for the course launch, I received an adult students recording- Debussy Reverie at 12:27am. It was a rather magical experience and I like to share it with you. Hope you would enjoy it too and give Hoangvng a thumb up https://m.soundcloud.com/hoangvng/reverie-1720-1227-am

04.01.2022 Which teaching video(s) did you enjoy the most so far? Please comment below 1. Finger numbers game 2. Jellyfish wrist exercise 3. 1-3-5 chord with pencil aid ... 4. Visualise the three touches 5. Space notes & Line notes 6. Importance of student concert 7. Legato line vs chord accompaniment 8. Sight singing training app 9. Unlocking different parts of the body 10. Chromatic Scale: the snake and the crab 11. Introducing the metronome 12. Steps and Skips 13. Good Friends and Argument See more

04.01.2022 Would like to share the story of my journey... Born in Hong Kong, I started piano at 15 years old and later I migrated to Australia and spent 5 years completing a music and education double degree and completed a research thesis (Unconventional Notations in New Piano Music) the year after at the University of New South Wales. After the graduation I have been working as a piano teacher but I have never stopped my own professional development. ...Continue reading

03.01.2022 Scriabin Sonata No.2 1st mvt by Lauren Zhang I was very grateful in 2018 I was given an opportunity to present a young student to perform in a big charity dinner event in Sydney. Lauren was 13 and had just passed the diploma exam AMusA. We were working on this Scriabin sonata ( one of my favourite pieces). It was absolutely one of my best memories as a piano teacher when I saw her performed it beautifully from memory even with the distraction of the dancers. I hope you enjoy... this video/ performance and give Lauren a thumb up High resolution video: https://youtu.be/e2P8O4JoHwE

02.01.2022 Ep.12 Steps and skips Beginners Checklist #3 This is a very important concept for beginners students to find which key to press on the piano faster by comparing notes, involving reasoning/ thinking, not just by memorising notes position. I hope you find this video helpful and please like and share. Thank you for watching ... Music: Shoreline Musician: Rook1e

01.01.2022 Scriabin 24 Preludes op.11 No.14 by James M. If you like Chopin’s 24 Preludes op.28, I think you will enjoy Scriabin’s Opus 11 too. This one No 14 in Eb minor is a very challenging one. I hope you will enjoy this exciting performance from memory by an adult student James and your thumb up will mean a lot!!

01.01.2022 During the quarantine period my three legged piano has grown an extra arm What a memory!