Graham Fairbairn
B . Mus (Hons) LGSM, ALCM.
Tuition in piano, keyboard and music theory.
You can contact Graham by clicking here.
His teaching studio is based in Eccleston (PR7),
west of Chorley.
For more about his keyboard tuition, please
visit the tab above.
Graham's teaching studio is equipped with a new three pedal Schimmel upright (pictured opposite); also visible in the background is a 7 octave Casio Privia which is useful for pupils who prefer to play a digital piano at lessons as well as for duet playing. Also downstairs is a dedicated waiting area for parents/siblings. Parking is easy (apart from 3.30 to 4.15pm (due to a local primary school) in which case it's best to park in New Street, a 2 minute walk away.
All nearby parking is free.
Covid-19 & Tuition
Although I have returned to face-to-face teaching, I still offer lessons online as it has remained quite popular. For more information please visit the online tuition tab. There is a discount available for online tuition.
His teaching studio is based in Eccleston (PR7),
west of Chorley.
For more about his keyboard tuition, please
visit the tab above.
Graham's teaching studio is equipped with a new three pedal Schimmel upright (pictured opposite); also visible in the background is a 7 octave Casio Privia which is useful for pupils who prefer to play a digital piano at lessons as well as for duet playing. Also downstairs is a dedicated waiting area for parents/siblings. Parking is easy (apart from 3.30 to 4.15pm (due to a local primary school) in which case it's best to park in New Street, a 2 minute walk away.
All nearby parking is free.
Covid-19 & Tuition
Although I have returned to face-to-face teaching, I still offer lessons online as it has remained quite popular. For more information please visit the online tuition tab. There is a discount available for online tuition.
Here are a few of Graham's latest YouTube videos:
|
|
A recent yell.com review:
I would highly recommend Graham as a piano teacher! I find his teaching style to be approachable, patient & flexible. He is exceptionally knowledgeable of all things musical. I have had previous piano teachers in the past who’s approach I found very rigid, however with Graham this is the opposite, which has and continues to be helpful with my learning and development of the piano. I find he listens to what you hope to achieve and is keen to help you work towards your goals. Overall I am really enjoying my piano lessons with Graham and the lesson prices are also very reasonable! 👍 For more reviews, please go to yell.com. |
|
|
|
|
There are many more keyboard tutorials on my YouTube channel.
|
There are more videos on my YouTube channel "eccleston piano teacher" found at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChjiHvEHd5j4C-S2fxrA86w |
Teaching Repertoire
Graham uses an extensive repertoire for piano and keyboard tuition and is always introducing new material. Some books and tunes simply become dated: pop and rock is particularly prone to this whereas much classical music has incredible durability.
Classical
My background is largely classical music as that was the content of my music degree & diploma studies. I admit that I breathe a sigh of relief when pupils are happy to work with classical piano music because of this. BUT another reason is that music which is suitable for working on in lessons is still largely classical, although the compositions of many eg Nikki Iles, Mike Cornick, Christopher Norton, Heather Hammond, Pam, Ollie & Sam Wedgwood (to name only a few) have given us much of quality that satisfies both artistic concerns as well as educational.
Pop/Rock
The shorter lifespan of pop and rock songs can be traced to a number of factors: for a song to be of interest to a pupil they will have heard the original performance/video which no doubt shows the song at its best. However, the arrangements for solo piano are usually inferior, as there is very little chance of reproducing on a piano (especially with really simple arrangements for early stage pupils) everything from the original, eg, the vocalists unique timbre, synth lines, drum loops etc. The Complete Piano Player series, although useful, is rather weak at developing the left hand, but [on a positive note] it does rely on non-classical mostly, which appeals to quite a few pupils. However it is now rather dated as it's song list (pop/rock/old-jazz-standards/film) reflects what was well known in the 1980s/90s.
Cost
Classical sheet music tends to be cheaper than pop and rock because the composers are dead!
Teenagers and choice of music to be studied.
If a teenage male approaches me for lessons, the deal is that they (not me) are responsible for choosing the music. An exception is for GCSE or ABRSM/TCL/LCM exam entry, where we normally have to work with a syllabus set by the exam board. Experience has taught me that I can spend ages researching appropriate music for them (eg not too hard; reflecting their favourite genre etc) but they don't practice it if they are not really excited by it.
My background is largely classical music as that was the content of my music degree & diploma studies. I admit that I breathe a sigh of relief when pupils are happy to work with classical piano music because of this. BUT another reason is that music which is suitable for working on in lessons is still largely classical, although the compositions of many eg Nikki Iles, Mike Cornick, Christopher Norton, Heather Hammond, Pam, Ollie & Sam Wedgwood (to name only a few) have given us much of quality that satisfies both artistic concerns as well as educational.
Pop/Rock
The shorter lifespan of pop and rock songs can be traced to a number of factors: for a song to be of interest to a pupil they will have heard the original performance/video which no doubt shows the song at its best. However, the arrangements for solo piano are usually inferior, as there is very little chance of reproducing on a piano (especially with really simple arrangements for early stage pupils) everything from the original, eg, the vocalists unique timbre, synth lines, drum loops etc. The Complete Piano Player series, although useful, is rather weak at developing the left hand, but [on a positive note] it does rely on non-classical mostly, which appeals to quite a few pupils. However it is now rather dated as it's song list (pop/rock/old-jazz-standards/film) reflects what was well known in the 1980s/90s.
Cost
Classical sheet music tends to be cheaper than pop and rock because the composers are dead!
Teenagers and choice of music to be studied.
If a teenage male approaches me for lessons, the deal is that they (not me) are responsible for choosing the music. An exception is for GCSE or ABRSM/TCL/LCM exam entry, where we normally have to work with a syllabus set by the exam board. Experience has taught me that I can spend ages researching appropriate music for them (eg not too hard; reflecting their favourite genre etc) but they don't practice it if they are not really excited by it.