Graham Fairbairn
B . Mus (Hons) LGSM, ALCM.
Tuition in piano, keyboard and music theory.
contact Graham or you can click on the contact tab above.
His teaching studio is located in Eccleston (PR7),
west of Chorley.
For more about his keyboard tuition, please
click here.
Graham's teaching studio is equipped with a three pedal Schimmel upright (pictured opposite). Also visible in the background (left) is a 7 octave Casio Privia which is useful for pupils who prefer to play a digital piano as well as for duet playing. Also located downstairs is a waiting area for parents/siblings. Parking is easy (apart from 3.30 to 4.15pm (there's a primary school nearby) in which case it's best to park in New Street, a 2 minute walk away.
All nearby parking is free.
Online Tuition
Although covid lock-down seems like a distant (but nasty) memory, I still offer lessons online as it has remained useful for some pupils. For more information about online lessons please visit the online tuition tab.
His teaching studio is located in Eccleston (PR7),
west of Chorley.
For more about his keyboard tuition, please
click here.
Graham's teaching studio is equipped with a three pedal Schimmel upright (pictured opposite). Also visible in the background (left) is a 7 octave Casio Privia which is useful for pupils who prefer to play a digital piano as well as for duet playing. Also located downstairs is a waiting area for parents/siblings. Parking is easy (apart from 3.30 to 4.15pm (there's a primary school nearby) in which case it's best to park in New Street, a 2 minute walk away.
All nearby parking is free.
Online Tuition
Although covid lock-down seems like a distant (but nasty) memory, I still offer lessons online as it has remained useful for some pupils. For more information about online lessons please visit the online tuition tab.
Here are a few of Graham's latest YouTube videos:
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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. |
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There are many more tutorials on my YouTube channel eg music theory.
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There are more videos on my YouTube channel "eccleston piano teacher" found at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChjiHvEHd5j4C-S2fxrA86w |
Teaching Repertoire
Graham's teaching repertoire for piano and keyboard tuition is extensive, and he's always introducing new material. however: some books and tunes simply become dated: pop and rock is particularly prone to this whereas much classical music has fantastic durability.
Classical
Graham's background is largely classical music as that was the content of his music degree & diploma studies. He says: "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 for my sigh-of-relief 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 music of quality [although will probably never get into the 'charts'] 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 displays 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. (It is surprisingly difficult to get a pupil to sing as well as play).
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.
Graham's background is largely classical music as that was the content of his music degree & diploma studies. He says: "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 for my sigh-of-relief 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 music of quality [although will probably never get into the 'charts'] 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 displays 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. (It is surprisingly difficult to get a pupil to sing as well as play).
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.
