About This Blog

Whether you're a long-time reader or a first-time visitor to the site, welcome! The Collaborative Piano Blog is a site that looks at the art of the piano in ensemble, various piano-related resources and events, the world of classical music, music education, and how to put it all together through technology. As this blog has matured, many readers have requested a way to navigate through all the articles (now well over 1600) in order to get to what they need. This guide will be an ongoing attempt to create as many pathways as possible through the enormity of content on the Collaborative Piano Blog.

Main Links

Home Page (or type www.collaborativepiano.com in your browser's address bar)
Subscribe via an RSS reader such as Google Reader, Bloglines, or NewsGator
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My Twitter Page, another way to be informed of new posts and connect with me online
Contact me: collaborative piano [at] gmail dot com

An Introduction to Collaborative Piano

Welcome to the world of collaborative piano, formerly called piano accompanying. This is the profession where fiercely dedicated, talented, hard-working, and successful pianists devote themselves to the art of playing, coaching, rehearsing, and performing with others for a living. Even though we still get omitted from concert programs from time to time.


Studying Collaborative Piano

So you're interested in entering the field. How do you get accreditation? What schools offer degrees and diplomas? What type of terminal degree do you seek? Here are some articles on the education of collaborative pianists and issues associated with the different types of programs.


The Collaborative Pianist's Skill Set

What are the skills that collaborative pianists need to develop? Here are some articles that take the mystery out of their wide range of sometimes superhuman abilities.

Jennifer Peterson on Subliminal Recit Technique

Collaborative Piano: The Career

Now you've got a degree...what happens next? What kind of work do collaborative pianists do in the field? What are the boundaries of the profession?  The articles below feature issues related to the world of work in the collaborative arts, with an emphasis on freelance skills and resources.


Practicing and Musical Development

In addition to being a performing pianist, I am also a teacher. Here are some articles I have compiled relating to how to improve the quality of your practice and maximize your time spent in the studio.


Highlights from 31 Days to Better Practicing

In October 2007, I set myself the goal of writing 31 posts in 31 days on the subject of practicing. Here are the highlights. You can also check out the complete series.


Piano Pedagogy

A few posts I've written about resources and ideas related to the art of teaching.


Bathroom Divas

In late 2005, I got a gig playing piano for a opera reality show on Bravo!Canada called Bathroom Divas. Six singers chosen from Canada-wide auditions came to a house in Toronto and learned the craft of singing with the cameras rolling. Little did we know that this humble show would become one of the sleeper hits of 2006 and eventually win a Gemini award for its second season. Alas, CTV decided to cancel the show after season 2. However, you can still see the episodes from time to time on both Bravo in Canada and Ovation in the United States. Below is a synopsis of each episode. Spoiler alerts galore!

Season 1


Season 2


Social Media

Yes, I admit it. I'm a social media junkie. Feel free to follow me on Facebook and Twitter to see some of the other stuff I'm up to.


More Stuff

Here are various and sundry other articles I've written including link lists, an account of an opera creation workshop, a review I did for Sony, and more...


Categories

The labels below are the most common ones on the blog. There are numerous other categories that you'll find following posts--click on them to read further on a subject.



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