Boogie Woogie, Ragtime and Rock as well as Classical

I believe it’s important (as well as a lot of fun) that my students have the opportunity to play the kind of music THEY want to play.  So, instead of the narrow, sometimes uninteresting music that is so often taught for exams, I encourage students to learn a range of interesting and fun styles – styles that you will want to play and others will love to hear.

So while I certainly encourage and teach the best of classical music, I also teach “hard to come-by” styles such as Boogie Woogie, Ragtime, “Honky Tonk” or Blues – provided of course that’s what the student wishes.

For example, for someone who has been learning only a few months a lesson might cover:

• The basics of a simple boogie woogie like Jerry Lee Lewis’s Whole lotta shakin’
• How to learn, play and recognise chords and their inversions and variations
• Some basic “learner” tunes in various keys, focusing on correct fingering, excellent technique and recognising chord the progressions making up the tune.
• Some fun “honky-tonk” bass lines
• One of my many personal compositions such as “The Russian Song” – played in a Russian style, getting faster and faster…

For the intermediate/advanced student, a lesson might cover:

• Boogie Woogie Stomp by Albert Ammons
• The Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin
• Air on The G-String by J S Bach
• Some Jerry Lewis style rock ‘n roll

Essential Technique

Of course as well as making learning music fun I also ensure our students learn the essential basics required for any style:

• Thorough knowledge of all keys
  • Some scale work (although not too much, it’s supposed to be fun!)
  • The importance of correct technique and fingering even when playing more ‘informal’ styles
• Knowledge and recognition of chord progressions
  • Allows a deep understanding of pieces, more than “just reading dots on a page”
• How to recognise keys and play by ear
  • vamp’ in a variety of engaging styles
  • how to join in with other musicians
  • play with or without music in front of you.

Song writing and composition

I also teach song-writing and composition as a standard part of my lessons – so you could be writing your own pieces before very long at all…