Richard Saunders Swindon Piano Tutor
I'm a piano teacher with over twenty years' experience teaching all levels from beginner to advanced
30/11/2022
Christine McVie, one of great voices of popular music, has passed.
Fleetwood Mac - Songbird The song "Songbird" by Fleetwood Mac, performed by Christine McVie. It is from the Rumours album. Songbird is a nice little song to sit back and relax to; ve...
16/08/2022
Digital pianos are generally vastly better than any acoustic piano you're likely to find for a comparable price. The action and tone of modern digitals are reliable and excellent, digitals don't need tuning, mid range models and above have weighted keyboards that feel almost the same as a good quality piano, you can practice (almost) silently at night through the headphones (although sadly a neighbour in my old house used to complain that he could hear the sound of tapping keys through the wall!) ... and performances can be recorded.
This useful ability is great for playing back when the pianist isn't present (or if they're too shy to play in front of others), and it's perfect for playing duets or two piano works like this piece, the Barcarolle from Rachmaninov's 1st Suite for 2 pianos. I recorded the first piano part (with a few extra notes to mark the beat during otherwise silent sections) and played it back while playing the 2nd piano live.
I've loved the Rachmaninov suites for two pianos since I was a kid, and finally I can play them, courtesy of the wonders of modern technology, without needing a second piano and anothr pianist!
30/08/2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5_34Ww2cDo&t=544s
I'm a performer as well as a piano teacher! Here's an example from one of my piano recitals (in Taiwan, where i lived and worked until last year).
Godowsky Java Suite (4 movements) Piano Recital May 31st, 2008, Richard Saunders (part 3) Godowsky: Java Suite: Gamelan (1st two minutes missing) Three Dances In the Kraton The Streets of Old Batavia (Encore: Rachmaninov: Lilacs)
30/08/2019
I’m a piano tutor with over twenty years’ experience teaching piano to students of all levels from complete beginners to advanced (diploma) standard. Past students have ranged in age from 6 to 63. In class I happily teach a variety of styles from classical music (of all periods) through to notated jazz and popular styles, and ragtime. My main goal for my students is to instil in them an understanding and (hopefully) a love for ‘serious’ music, through a friendly, balanced teaching approach.
I’ve been living and working in Taiwan for 25 years, but now I’m back in the UK and living in Swindon, where I’m resuming my piano tutoring work.
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