Festivals and Summits This weekend is the AltStrings Practice Summit. While primarily aimed at string players, this free summit for amateur adult musicians has a lot to offer, so I opted for the paid version to access the recordings rather than paying attention at 2:30 in the morning. Also, early bird tickets are now available for the 30th Blue Mountains Music Festival happening next March. Grab them here: https://www.bmff.org.au/.

What's been playing The third season of the ABRSM "Start Here" podcast has surprisingly dropped two new episodes covering Punk and House music. The series is comprehensive and an excellent way to expand your musical horizons. You can listen here: https://shows.acast.com/abrsm-start-here. On ABC Radio, "The Music Show" featured a look back at the career of John Farnham, diving deep into "You're the Voice". Check out the episode here: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/musicshow/john-farnham-whispering-jack/107070578. This ties into a new biography and an upcoming musical based on his life premiering in November. Get tickets to the musical here before it sells out: https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/whats-on/2026/productions/whispering-jack. Other than that, I'm listening to choir practice tracks like "Barefoot" and "The Day You Went Away" to get a proper feel for the music.

Learning - What's new I've made a bit of progress in the "How to Write A Great Melody" course by Guy Michelmore. I've been using the motif generator to come up with short, one-bar phrases that will form the basis of my next exercises. To get closer to playing familiar pop music, I've been exploring the types of keyboards used in classic recordings. David Bennett recently released "Top 10 Rhodes Songs of All Time", which covers the development of Rhodes pianos. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CV0Jv1Z0To. Pierre Piscitelli also has his own version of Rhodes intros, which you can check out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CimnsB-IHpk. I’ve been using these videos to play with the settings on the Nord and MODX.

Progress at the Keys The Trumpet Tune is coming along nicely, and I finally have the timing of the trills working properly into the next notes. With the right-hand working, I'm starting to bring in the left-hand chords. Excitingly, I'm making a start on a cover of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here". With the Montage M8X arriving this coming week, I've purchased a package of settings based around Pink Floyd's music and am testing them out.

Closing Piano practice will take a back seat this week as I attend the 2027 season launches for the Sydney Theatre Company and Bell Shakespeare, plus a read performance of Henry VI Pt 2, the annual Astronomy evening at Macquarie University, and a vocal workshop. If you want to reach out, email david@pianofinally.show or visit www.pianofinally.show.

The contents of the podcast were entirely generated by David Reidy, but these show notes were created by Gemini.

Send me a text message.

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Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

What's been playing Over the last few weeks, I’ve added new tracks for the upcoming choir concert. Singing in the choir has forced me to learn music I'd never normally consider, like the K-pop Demon Hunters track Golden. I've also been enjoying The Whitlams' Blow Up the Pokies, kd lang's Barefoot, Tainted Love, and Moon River. 

On the piano side, I attended a brilliant concert in Newtown featuring improvised music by Mark Isaacs and performances by my piano teacher, Devi Mammak. She played her own compositions, along with Beethoven and Chopin, and finished with a wonderful interpretation of the second movement of Beethoven's Pathetique sonata played in the style of Chopin. If you're around Sydney in September, try to catch these Wednesday evening concerts in a great acoustic space: https://events.humanitix.com/host/eight-o-clock-sharp https://www.emus.space/events/2026-09-02-88x8-mark-isaacs-and-devi-mamak/ 

I also saw Lucas and Arthur Jussen brilliantly perform Francis Poulenc's Concerto for 2 pianos in D minor with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. We also heard selections from Poulenc's Les Animaux Modèles and Ottorino Respighi's Pines of Rome. Conductor Stéphane Denève even brought an original 78rpm record of a nightingale to play on an era-appropriate gramophone during the Respighi piece! (Catch the broadcast on ABC Classic FM on 18 November). 

Listen widely It’s common to stick to safe, comfortable music, but being adventurous pays off. Whether through choir repertoire, SSO concert series, or podcasts like the ABRSM's Start Here and the ABC's The Music Show, there are countless ways to discover incredible new pieces and artists. For less than the cost of an album each month, you can access almost everything ever recorded, so get out there and listen widely. 

Learning - What's new I've started a new online course from Thinkspace Education by Guy Michelmore called How to Write a Great Melody. I'm not planning to become a composer, but it’s a fun way to understand the process. So far, we've analyzed melodies like Baby Shark and Schindler's List. 

Progress I'm working towards the November piano recital. This week, I practiced the right-hand melody for Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here on the synth and worked on the Purcell-based piano piece Trumpet Tune. 

If you'd like to contact me, email me at david@pianofinally.show or visit www.pianofinally.show. 

The contents of the podcast were entirely generated by David Reidy, but that these show notes were created by Gemini.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Musically, the biggest event was the Belong choir concert. We performed two sold-out shows at the Factory Theatre in Marrickville with a ten-piece band. Despite some early logistical hiccups with the stage setup, it was a spectacular experience. 

Reflecting on the past hundred episodes, starting the piano wasn't quite a spur-of-the-moment decision. I began with a backup plan, but it has become a pretty important part of what I do. I'm finding that the old saying, "the journey is more important than the destination", is very much holding true. Saying "yes" rather than "no" to joining a vigil choir eventually led to all of this. 

Where to for the next hundred episodes? I'll be adding lead sheets and popular music to my learning, making my playing more entertaining and accessible. This has given me a reason to explore new stage keyboards. I'm waiting on a Yamaha Montage M8X and am already using a MODX-M6, so expect some different sounds soon! 

The choir singing will continue, Devi will be back for piano lessons, and the podcast will keep going. I'm also planning to discuss traditional software tools and electronics I use for learning. 

I've also been enjoying other music recently, seeing the Pink Floyd Experience in Penrith to celebrate fifty years of Wish You Were Here, and performing off-book with the choir at the Blackheath Choir Festival. 

What have I been practising? I'm working on a lead sheet version of Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here, Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", and The Spice Girls' "Wannabe". 

If you'd like to contact me, email is best at david@pianofinally.show and the website is www.pianofinally.show. 

This podcast is produced on the lands of the Dharug and Gundungurra peoples, the first musicians in this place. I pay my respects to their elders, past and present. 

Until next week, I hope your piano stays in tune, and you enjoy your time at the keys. 

The contents of the podcast were entirely generated by David Reidy, but these show notes were created by Gemini.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Progress Update My piano lessons are going well. We have gone back to some of the older pieces to get them up to a performance level, like the Purcell Trumpet Tune. Coincidentally, Paul Fey recently put out a video playing the piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OYOH-KWTGS. The singing lessons are also helping, as I can now hit notes I couldn't hit earlier in the year.

Review - Sydney Theatre Company - An Iliad I recently went to see the STC's production of An Iliad, an adaptation of Homer's work. The cast is just two people: cellist and flautist Helen Svoboda, and the storyteller, David Wenham. The staging is simple, black, and empty except for a heavily loaded cart, ensuring the focus is always on the two people on stage. The story is compelling, covering the events of Homer's Iliad, but turning into a tale about war in general. The season is sold out, but you can see a promo here: https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/whats-on/2026/productions/an-iliad.

Essay - Why Music? With so many work-related tasks, social obligations, and hobbies, I've had to start setting priorities. I was wondering why I give so much of my discretionary time to music. While science and teaching are both creative, it is still work. Music is a different kind of creativity. Right now, I'm focusing on the mechanics of playing the piano, relying on others' creativity. The simple sense of victory over a D major scale played hands together is a nice add-on to the day, offering an immediate sense of accomplishment. I'll wrap up these ideas in part two next week.

Review - Georgy Girl The Blue Mountains Musical Society recently put on Georgy Girl, a musical based on the career of The Seekers. The production focused mostly on the last five years of the 1960s. The cast did an amazing job, particularly the four stars carrying the show: Isabella Schroder, Tim Gerber, Benjamin Roorda, and Rowan Brown. While this production has closed, they have Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat coming up: https://bmms.org.au/show/georgy-girl-2026/.

Closing To get in touch, email me at david@pianofinally.show or visit www.pianofinally.show.

The contents of the podcast were entirely generated by David Reidy, but these show notes were created by Gemini.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Review - Matthew Cawood Matthew Cawood's latest video, How to open any piece of music and just play it, looks at sight-reading. Matthew starts by explaining the difference between sight-reading and learning a new piece. He moves on to the two levels of sight-reading: recognising individual notes and then recognising patterns. He provides a list of things you really should know before attempting to play a piece: the key signature, the time signature, the performance markings, dynamics, and articulations. He also suggests that you should be practising just on the edge of failure to get the maximum benefit. Matthew has a new project, The Practice Room, designed as a community for adult learners.

Essay - One thing at a time Multitasking is a myth. When most people attempt two complex tasks at the same time, the quality of both suffers. When I started singing with the choir, I found myself much better able to name the bass clef notes. Why? Because using my voice is automatic, so all my attention can go into note reading. If I'm at the piano, moving the right fingers on the right keys is already a complex task, leaving little room for analysing notes. The only way to deal with this is to practise so that you only need to do one complex thing at a time. For the piano, getting the correct fingers on the correct keys moves to automatic, and it's no longer part of the multitasking.

Sydney Children's Hospital Charity Ball Performance On Saturday, I was part of the choir performance for the Emerald Ball fundraiser for the Sydney Children's Hospital in the ballroom of the International Convention Centre. The choir's job was to accompany the end of a video presentation detailing the story of a young patient. We sang A Million Dreams over the montage section. After a 4:30 pm sound check and a lot of waiting around, the performance went without a hitch! I even discovered that the choir's event manager, Terry, and I had been in the same production of Oliver back in 1974.

Closing & Progress Next week, I won't be at the choir rehearsal on Thursday as I am taking a group of students to Macquarie University for a science lecture. I am continuing progress on A Mingus Among Us.  

The contents of the podcast were entirely generated by David Reidy, but these show notes were created by Gemini.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
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• all the podcast directories - list
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Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Progress Update I had my piano and voice lessons on Monday. Finding time to practice the piano has been a bit of a challenge lately, so progress is slow, but the singing is coming along nicely! I can now reach some notes that were previously out of my range. Our choir is more than halfway through the repertoire, and we are now doing full run-throughs of some numbers as we are only two months away from the performances.

Review - Scales I have two excellent reference books that list all the piano scales: https://amzn.to/4whjbsm https://amzn.to/48Ms6ln Instead of reviewing them, I wanted to share the approach Devi, has suggested for my practice. Playing scales straight up and down is pretty boring, so adding variety makes the repetition much more bearable. I'm focusing on C major and G major across two octaves. Aside from getting the fingering right, the main focus is on keeping a strictly even tempo and getting exactly the same loudness for each note. I'm also practising them staccato in both hands, using contrary motion, and—quite trickily—playing staccato in one hand and legato in the other.

Essay - Tradition There is a long tradition of learning and playing music, stretching back thousands of years—from the songlines of Indigenous Australians to the singing bards in Homer's Odyssey. But times and traditions are changing. I used to buy a new CD every week and chat with the staff at the local classical music shop. Today, for less than the cost of one CD, I have access to almost everything ever recorded via Apple's classical catalogue. I am curious to see what new traditions will emerge around modern music listening.

SSO Concert: The Planets Last weekend, I attended the Sydney Symphony Orchestra concert at the Opera House with Nigel Westlake's percussion concerto, When the clock strikes me, performed brilliantly by Rebecca Lagos. We also heard Charles Ives' Unanswered Question, followed by Holst's The Planets. The Holst piece was particularly interesting because it was a "Symphonic Cinema" performance. You can find out more here: https://www.sydneysymphony.com/events/symphonic-cinema-the-planets

Closing We have an extra rehearsal for a charity event next Saturday, where we will be singing A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman. I'm also hoping to check out a second-hand music score shop I found in Sydney. Contact me at david@pianofinally.show or visit www.pianofinally.show.

The contents of the podcast were entirely generated by David Reidy, but these show notes were created by Gemini.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

In it for the money I was listening to the Music Show on the weekend, where a quote by Stephen Sondheim was mentioned. When asked what the difference between a musical and an opera is, he answered, "A musical is a way of making money and an opera is a way of spending it." This got me thinking about the influence money has on how we approach music. Comparing productions like Opera Australia's Turandot and the musical The Book of Morman, the audience experience is very similar, but the financials are not. The opera relies heavily on government funding to stay afloat, while the musical breaks box office records. Opera is marketed as elite entertainment, meaning it doesn't really have to go out and sell itself to a wider audience.

How does this affect us as piano learners? It is likely the reason why exam syllabus books almost exclusively feature classical or classical adjacent pieces. Piano learning relies heavily on hundreds of years of musical tradition instead of having to promote itself from the ground up.

Hal Leonard Choral My SATB (Sopranos, Altos, Tenors and Basses) choir encourages practising outside of sessions, but finding a proper SATB score for a song can be tough. Luckily, the music publisher Hal Leonard has six different YouTube channels where they show the score of a piece of music perfectly synced with a high-quality performance. The choral section has genre playlists containing hundreds of videos, making it very easy to follow along with the score and learn the music. It is an amazing resource! https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hal+leonardhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f37Uf5Apj9w

Progress and Closing It is going to be a busy week with voice and piano lessons, school debates, and choir rehearsals. Because of this, very little piano practice got done this week. This week I'm including Daniel McFarlaine's Titans, recorded using the Kawai NV10, with the Kontact Claire Piano emulating a Fazioli grand piano in concert mode, via Cubase 15 and a Mac Mini Pro.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
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• all the podcast directories - list
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Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Listener Feedback & Progress I received an email from Chris, an adult piano learner, with some great suggestions for my learning and the podcast. It is genuinely gratifying to hear from listeners, as it's usually just me in the room when recording. In terms of my own progress, choir rehearsals are going well for our July performance. The singing has unexpectedly helped me translate my treble clef reading to the bass clef.

Review: The Piano Scale Book I recently picked up The Piano Scale Book by Ben Andrew, a new release from Hal Leonard. It simplifies conventional classical scale learning using practical, colour-coded keyboard illustrations for fingerings. The book includes digital resources with 87 Synthesia-style videos. If you need to brush up on scales, it's worth a look. Grab a copy here: https://amzn.to/48twBrh.

Essay: It's not a race After watching a Rick Beato video on Spotify's top downloaded tracks, I was reminded how lucky we are as hobbyist learners to not have pressure to meet others' expectations. We don't have strict deadlines, just the goal to get better as time passes. Music for enjoyment shouldn't be turned into a race with no meaningful finish line—a lesson we should keep in mind for both ourselves and younger learners.

YouTube Recommendation: Tom Scott Tom Scott, one of my favourite educational creators, is back with a new series called England. The first episode is a fascinating look at a traditional bell foundry. His videos retain that great low-tech feel and are not AI-generated. Check out his channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TomScottGo.

Progress SegmentThis week features a selection of scales to help with my choir singing, recorded on the Kawai NV10 with Pianoteq 9 emulating a Shigeru Kawai SK-EX grand piano.

The contents of the podcast were entirely generated by David Reidy, but these show notes were created by Gemini.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Megalong Music Festival, Day Two I'm finishing my review of the Megalong Music Festival, set in the beautiful Blue Mountains. Day two showcased an incredible "Folk and Fancy" program featuring the five festival fellows: Ellen Chuong, Rueben Johnson, Maggie Zeng, Arjun Singh, and Daniel Casey. We also enjoyed performances by talented local musicians Jeremy and Leon Spikmans. The weekend wrapped up with Joaquín Turina’s Escena Andaluza sextet and Dohnányi’s Piano Quintet. The festival is entirely funded by tickets and donations, so if you have corporate connections, the organisers would love to hear from you! Learn more about the festival here: https://www.megalongmusicfestival.com.au/.

Let's do that again At a recent sound check for the Counting Crows at the Enmore Theatre, I watched lead singer Adam Duritz actively tweak how the band performed a song they've played for decades. It got me thinking about how contemporary musicians constantly evolve their work, whereas classical pieces generally sound identical to recordings from fifty years ago. A rare exception is Australian guitarist John Williams and his band Sky—check out their unique take on classical music here: https://music.apple.com/au/album/toccata/1503012912?i=1503012925.

Ryan Abshier and the Moonlight Sonata I review an encouraging video by Ryan Abshier about tackling Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. When the sheet music suddenly looks overly complex, Ryan explains how those intimidating chords can be broken down into simple, repeating numerical patterns, like 1, 3, 2, 1, 3, 2. Watch Ryan’s breakdown here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-4sjhQWKPI.

Progress My new scales and arpeggios book finally arrived from the UK! Devi is overseas, so there are no formal lessons this week. However, I'm making progress on Titans by Daniel McFarlane, practising the opening of the Moonlight Sonata, and singing along to my arpeggios. Have a listen to the practice piece here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phHuD-3bREY.

If there is something you'd like me to talk about, drop me an email at david@pianofinally.show or visit www.pianofinally.show. 

The contents of the podcast were entirely generated by David Reidy, but these show notes were created by Gemini.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Review: Megalong Music Festival, Day One

In this week's show, I start reviewing the Megalong Music Festival. The concerts take place in the Megalong Valley Community Centre, a concrete block, metal-roofed building which is used by the local scouts, the pony club and for other community events. It was definitely not built as a concert venue, but the hall is small, seating a bit over a hundred people, so the lack of concert hall acoustics doesn't matter.

This year, the professional musicians included Jacqui Cronin, Frank Celata, Timothy Nankervis, Asmira Woodward-Page, and leva Jokubaviciute.

The concert was named A moment in time and consisted of seven works. The selections were made to complement Olivier Messiaen's Quatuor pour le fin du Temps. Other pieces included Alex Turley's Zero Sum Game, Arvo Pärt's Fratres, Jessica Meyer's I only speak of the Sun, Miriam Hyde's Toccata for two, and Caroline Shaw's Entr'acte.

Quartet for the End of Time was written during the Second World War and had its first performance in a German prisoner of war camp. It is written for clarinet, violin, cello and piano.

Listen to the Messiaen recording: https://music.apple.com/au/album/messiaen-quatuor-pour-la-fin-du-temps/1452201290

Megalong Music Festival Website: https://www.megalongmusicfestival.com.au/

Essay: Consistently distracting

Taking a day off from the swimming pool on Good Friday made Saturday's swim a little harder than usual, which got me thinking about how advantageous it is to consistently stick to a routine. I consistently swim just over a kilometre each morning. So, why can't I do the same for piano practice? 

At the pool, there is nothing to do other than swim, but when I sit down at the piano, I can always see that there is something else that needs doing, like dusting the Kawai. My idea for a solution is to move the piano so I can't see the other jobs. My medium-term plan is to turn the smallest bedroom back into a piano room and consistently shut the door.

Progress & Coming Up

We spent most of the lesson on Monday concentrating on Titans by Daniel McFarlane once again. The music was recorded using the Nord Stage 4 with settings based around the Astoria Grand piano, inspired by a video by Douglas of dsoundman.

+Watch the dsoundman video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phHuD-3bREY

The contents of the podcast were entirely generated by David Reidy, but these show notes were created by Gemini.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Theatre Review: My Brilliant Career On Saturday, I went to see the Sydney Theatre Company's production of My Brilliant Career. If you want the short recommendation for this show, get a ticket if you can; it is a great, fun production.

• The story was written by Australian Author Miles Franklin, telling the story of Sybilla, a young woman living in outback Australia in the 1890s.
• There is no band; the music throughout was performed by the cast of ten actors, all of whom do an excellent job.
• The lead performer is Kala Gare who plays Sybilla.
• Promo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ts08hNxCOE
• Tickets: https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/whats-on/productions/2026/my-brilliant-career

Essay: Cover Stories This week, I look at the fundamental difference between the two different ways we approach music. In classical music and examinations, strict adherence to the score is required. In contrast, big names in pop or rock concerts don't follow their own written music. Shouldn't we be encouraging students to build their skills, but then to take them in new directions?. Should we be asking them to write their own musical stories rather than just more cover stories?.

Review: Korg VPT-1 During the week, a small piece of equipment arrived: the Korg VPT-1 or Vocal Pitch Tuner.

• It costs AUD59.
• It can play a tone at any of the notes in its range and listen to what it hears to display the pitch of the note.
• I've been using it to check that I'm staying on pitch when I do vocal exercises from my voice teacher, Sussanne.
• Mannys: https://www.mannys.com.au/products/korg-vpt-1-vocal-pitch-trainer
• Amazon: https://www.amazon.com.au/KORG-VPT-1-Vocal-Pitch-Trainer/dp/B083ZTJYWF?th=1

Coming Up & Progress

• The Piano has returned to ABC TV in Australia.
• The Bell Shakespeare Company's production of Julius Caesar was excellent. Tickets: https://www.bellshakespeare.com.au/julius-caesar
• In my piano progress, I'm working on Titans by Daniel McFarlane.

If you'd like to contact me, email is the best way at david@pianofinally.show or visit the website at www.pianofinally.show.

The contents of the podcast were entirely generated by David Reidy, but these show notes were created by Gemini.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Progress Update: The voice lessons are working! Two of the choir pieces are All By Myself and Alone, and I was able to handle the middle Cs in the bass part reasonably well. I'm also working on a new piano piece, Titans by Daniel McFarlane, which has to be from memory because the chords in the right hand jump an octave each time. Moonlight Sonata and Sea Song are still coming along slowly.

Podcast Recommendation: Start Here. I highly recommend the third season of the Start Here podcast. It is produced by the ABRSM (the Associated Boards of the Royal Schools of Music) in the United Kingdom and presented by Alexis Ffrench. Each of the ten episodes looks at a different genre of music, from Grime to heavy metal, providing intelligent conversation and insights. https://www.abrsm.org/en-gb/listen/podcast

Essay: Musical Support Spending the weekend at the Blue Mountains Music Festival got me thinking about the people who support performers. Because very few musicians get meaningful support from business and government once they finish their initial training, it should be the audiences that are providing the support. Getting out to see your local musicians is a great way of ensuring that there will still be original music that means something, rather than cheap to produce AI-generated silence filler sounds.

Review: Sondheim for Singers - Baritone/Bass I found out that my unauditioned choir likes to do a bit of a musical audit, which includes singing a song. I found the Sondheim for Singers - Baritone/Bass book, which features forty pieces ranging from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum to Into the Woods (though nothing from Assassins). If you are looking to sing some Sondheim, it is a great place to start. Link: https://www.halleonard.com/search/search.action?keywords=sondheim+for+singers&searchcategory=00&dt=item#product

Coming Up this week are voice and piano lessons, choir, Julius Caesar with the Bell Shakespeare Company, and My Brilliant Career with the Sydney Theatre Company.

If you'd like to contact me, email is the best way at david@pianofinally.show or via the website at www.pianofinally.show.

The contents of the podcast were entirely generated by David Reidy, but these show notes were created by Gemini.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
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• all the podcast directories - list
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Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

In This Episode:

• The Making of Synthesiser V's Choir Voices: I discuss the AI voice tool, Synthesiser V 2 Pro by Dreamtonics,which I’ve been using to create isolated practice tracks for the choir. I share my thoughts on ethical AI training in the arts and review a video showcasing the small team—including Kanru, Junko, and Yongxin—who ethically recorded and built these choir voices.
  • Watch the video here: The Making of Synthesiser V's Choir Voices.
• Backstage Support: A short essay on the support networks we all rely on as musicians. While touring professionals might have massive crews providing electricity to stadium events like Taylor Swift's Eras tour,amateur musicians rely heavily on the forbearance and support of their families and friends while practising those repetitive scales.
• Festival Review: A roundup of the fantastic acts I managed to see at the Blue Mountains Music Festival, including:
  • The Ocelots: Twin brothers from Ireland playing guitar, harmonica, keyboard, and flute. Visit their YouTube Channel.
  • Mary Coughlan: Described as Ireland's greatest female vocalist, who played songs from her new album.Check out her channel.
  • Sunday Lemonade: An incredibly energetic local singer-songwriter duo. Visit their website.
  • The Spooky Men's Chorale: A hilarious 17-piece a capella group that had the audience singing along to Taylor Swift/Tina Turner mashups. Visit their YouTube Channel.
  • To learn more about the festival, visit: https://www.bmff.org.au/.
• Progress: A quick reality check on finding the time to practice this week, plus a short snippet from my recent vocal lesson.

Get in Touch: If you're learning an instrument or singing, I’d love to hear how you are managing your practice time and what challenges you are facing. Contact me at david@pianofinally.show or visit www.pianofinally.show.

The contents of this podcast were entirely generated by David Reidy, but these show notes were created by Gemini.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Recording Under the Storm

This episode comes to you amidst some local connectivity challenges. A large electrical storm recently knocked out both my landline and 5G internet, which might delay the posting of this show until I can reach a stable connection.

Community and Music Lessons

Despite a busy week adjudicating the Year 7 public speaking semi-finals, I managed to attend my regular singing and piano lessons. Working with Sussane, my voice teacher, I’ve successfully moved up another full tone—eyeing a specific E in an upcoming piece. I’ve found that having others involved, like my teachers Devi and Sussane, makes me much more likely to block out practice time and follow through on my plans.

YouTube Review: Matthew Cawood

I took a look at a video by Matthew Cawood where he reacts to a beginner pianist named Dinky. Dinky documented her seven-month journey from zero, and while her playing is technically entertaining, Matthew suggests she may be learning by rote rather than building a long-term foundation.

• Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZxQY4uskVc

Software Review: Synthesiser V Studio 2 Pro

I’ve been having a lot of fun with Synthesiser V Studio 2 Pro from Dreamtonics. This AI voice tool uses machine learning and properly licensed samples of real people to generate vocal tracks from music scores. I’ve been using it to create practice audio for my community choir, specifically generating choir voices for Stevie Nicks' "Edge of Seventeen".

• Explore Synthesiser V: https://dreamtonics.com/

Progress Report

It was another difficult week to fit in as much practice as I wanted. I am still working on chord progressions, now playing octaves in the left hand with chords higher up in the right. The Fmaj7 chord remains a particular hurdle. I’m also trying an idea from Tom Donald:

• Tom Donald Video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbL IFFNWHO](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbL IFFNWHO) 

The Blue Mountains Music Festival is coming up next weekend, and I hope to share some reviews from the event soon!

The contents of this podcast were entirely generated by David Reidy, but these show notes were created by me, Gemini.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Singing Lessons and Choir Progress

I've officially started singing lessons with Sussanne to help with my new choir. We're working on Tracey Chapman’s "Fast Car," which fits comfortably in my range. Our upcoming concert features 24 songs performed "off book," so I’ve been using my commute to learn lyrics via an Apple Music playlist.

TwoSet Violin Returns

The Australian violin duo, TwoSet Violin, is back from their break and has announced a world tour. I’ve secured tickets for their Sydney show. You can check out their tour dates here: https://worldtour.twosetviolin.com/.

Rick Beato: Guitar Classics on Piano

I recently enjoyed a video from Rick Beato featuring Pierre Piscitelli playing piano versions of legendary guitar songs by artists like Guns N' Roses and Metallica. It’s a great watch for anyone looking to adapt songs from other instruments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqgQamc0iXI.

Rethinking Practice Habits

With a busy schedule, I’m rearranging my home setup. I'm moving my Roland FP-90X into a more high-traffic area so I can squeeze in short bursts of practice throughout the day.

Theatre Review: "Purpose"

I attended the Sydney Theatre Company’s production of Purpose at the Wharf Theatre. It’s a gripping family drama set against the backdrop of the US Civil Rights movement. Despite a few staging questions, it was a thoroughly entertaining three hours. You can find more about STC's season here: https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/whats-on/productions/2026/purpose.

Progress Update

This week’s practice focused on chord progressions—moving from root positions to inversions and experimenting with octaves in the left hand. I’m also continuing work on "Sea Song" and the opening of Beethoven’s "Moonlight" Sonata.

The contents of this podcast were entirely generated by David Reidy, but these show notes were created by me, Google Gemini.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

YouTube: Bardcore I explore "Bardcore" this week! Hildegard von Blingin' orchestrates modern songs with medieval instruments, while The Miracle Aligner translates hits into ancient languages like Latin and Attic Greek. https://www.youtube.com/@Hildegardvonblingin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7jOobdrdGohttps://www.youtube.com/@the_miracle_aligner https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xtt78SW-mgg

Essay: All By Myself I contrast the intense, solitary focus of Yunchan Lim performing Bach with the collaborative joy of Clyde Lawrence learning a Toto song on YouTube. It made me realise how much more enjoyable practice is when shared, as I've recently discovered in my three-hour choir rehearsals. https://www.stage-plus.com/video/vod_concert_APNM8GRFDPHMASJKBSS3ICG https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q105dgG2720

Review: All These Pretty Things I caught Tracey Yarad's fantastic one-woman show at the Blue Mountains Theatre. She weaves her inspiring life story with original piano music, supported by a great jazz and blues opening act from Mataya Young. https://www.bluemountainstheatre.com.au/what-s-on/past-events/2020-events/all-these-pretty-things-tracey-yarad/

Progress I'm refining chord progressions, "Sea Song," and "Moonlight" Sonata. I've also added Monday voice lessons to my routine! 

Contact me at david@pianofinally.show. 

The contents of the podcast were entirely generated by David Reidy, but these show notes were created by Gemini.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

This week, things have taken a vocal turn. Following my enjoyment of the Belong choir, I've signed up for another community choir—one that didn't require an audition! I've found myself in the bass section, managing up to middle C for now. It's proving to be great fun and an unexpected detour on my musical journey.

YouTube - Stefan Wyatt - How to play ornaments on the piano Ornaments seem to be in the air lately. Stefan Wyatt recently posted a video on his "Piano Tips" channel that is distinct from Matthew Cawood's recent coverage. Stefan’s approach is practical, based on his beginner's course, and offers clear explanations of grace notes (appoggiaturas vs.acciaccaturas), mordents, turns, and trills. He also clarifies a point about accidentals and trills that was new to me. It is a great introduction for beginner and intermediate players.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxXgEUE5xm0

Essay - The Entertainer My new choir is rehearsing for a full concert in July. While listening to practice tracks for "Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roan, I fell down a YouTube rabbit hole of cover versions.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR3Liudev18

Despite the lack of financial incentive in covering songs, people do it for the sheer joy of performing and sharing. This reinforces my belief that live performance has nothing to fear from AI. Whether it’s 120 people in a choir entertaining each other or a solo pianist, the goal is to be the entertainer. That desire to share our love of music is what gets us through the endless Czerny exercises and scales.

Review - Sydney Theatre Company - The Normal Heart Theatre is back for 2026! I caught Larry Kramer's "The Normal Heart" at the Sydney Theatre Company. Set in mid-1980s New York, this production in the Drama Theatre was excellent. It featured live musicians on stage—Michael Griffiths on piano and Rowena McNeish on cello—which was a lovely touch. It is an important story and a great production well worth seeing.https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/whats-on/productions/2026/the-normal-heart

Closing Things are settling into a rhythm with lessons and rehearsals. If you are learning an instrument, I'd love to hear how you are managing your time and what pieces you are enjoying.

You can contact me at david@pianofinally.show or visit the website at www.pianofinally.show.

Until next week, I hope your piano stays in tune, and you enjoy your time at the keys.

The contents of this podcast were entirely generated by David Reidy. These show notes were created by Gemini.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Podcast Review: The Music Show I recently rediscovered "The Music Show" on ABC Radio National, hosted by Dr Andrew Ford. I was reminded of it after hearing Andrew on another podcast discussing Stravinsky’s "The Rite of Spring." "The Music Show" is a fantastic program that covers every conceivable genre. Recent episodes have featured guests ranging from Neil and Tim Finn of "Split Enz" to Ursula Yovich singing Nina Simone, and topics like the role of the bazouki in Irish Folk Music. Andrew’s relaxed and informed style makes it a permanent part of my listening rotation.https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/musicshow

Essay: Year Two Reflecting on two years of learning, I realised that while my technical progress is roughly where I expected—moving into Grade One pieces and passing theory exams—the real value has been the experiences along the way. Deciding to learn the piano has opened doors I didn't anticipate. It led to a subscription to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, attending jazz concerts with my teacher Devi, and even singing in front of a thousand people with the Belong choir. For Year Three, I’m planning more theatre, more concerts, and perhaps joining a choir permanently.

Review: David Bennett's new channel Just as I was finalising this week's show, I saw that David Bennett has launched a new interview channel and podcast called "How do you do?". He speaks with other creators, and given the quality of his existing work, this is definitely worth checking out.https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVDanqrFSHgX-hlqFs4AZ7w

Progress In my lessons with Devi, we are shifting focus slightly towards modern and pop music. I’ve started working on a chord progression in A minor, practicing smooth transitions between root position chords. It’s a new challenge,especially the sevenths in the left hand! I’m also continuing with "Sea Song" and the "Moonlight" Sonata.

The music was recorded using the Kawai NV10, Cubase 15 on a Mac Mini, and Pianoteq 9 emulating a Shigeru Kawai SK-EX grand piano.

If you'd like to get in touch, email me at david@pianofinally.show.

The contents of the podcast were entirely generated by David Reidy, but these show notes were created by Gemini.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Follow-up: Amazon Returns Last week, I mentioned receiving some dubious print-on-demand music books from Amazon. I’m happy to report that the return process was incredibly simple, and the refund was processed almost immediately. I still haven't found the proper copyright owners to notify them, but I’ll keep looking.

YouTube Review: The story of Vigil: Belong This week’s video recommendation is a special one because, if you squint, you might just spot me! The Sydney Festival has released a video about the Vigil: Belong performance. It features interviews with Nardi Simpson and clips from the rehearsals and the performance itself. It’s a beautiful summary of the event. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjp-LNCHDKQ

Essay: Say "Yes" Reflecting on my recent experience with the Belong Choir, I realised that none of it would have happened if I hadn't simply said "Yes." As we get older, it's easy to stick to the comfortable and predictable, but opportunities for growth and fun usually lie just outside that comfort zone. From filling out an expression of interest form on a whim to singing in front of a thousand people, saying "Yes" has been the best strategy for 2026 so far. 

Review: Megalong Music Festival I received an email about the upcoming Megalong Music Festival, held in the picturesque Megalong Valley in the Blue Mountains. I attended last year, and it was fantastic. This year's program for Easter Saturday and Sunday looks incredibly varied, featuring music from Hayden to Pärt. With performers like Jacqui Cronin, Timothy Nankervis, and Ieva Jokubaviciute, it’s definitely worth the drive. https://www.megalongmusicfestival.com.au/

Progress Piano lessons resume this week! Over the break, practice was a bit sparse, but I’ve been enjoying "Sea Song," which has just the right amount of complexity. I’m also making decent headway with the "Moonlight" Sonata. "Trumpet Tune" and "A Wild Chase" are still in the works, and I'll update you on those when I've made more progress. 

If you'd like to get in touch, email me at david@pianofinally.show.

The contents of the podcast were entirely generated by David Reidy, but these show notes were created by Gemini.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

YouTube Review: Three Elton John Songs for Beginners Coincidentally, just as I decided to look into learning some Billy Joel and Elton John music, a video popped up from the London School of Contemporary Piano featuring Tom Donald. Tom breaks down "Your Song," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," and "Sacrifice" as a way to teach chords. He moves from simple root position chords to more complex progressions and arpeggiation. It’s a great resource if you want to understand the structure behind these iconic tracks.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPm05-5KBz0

Essay: Who's listening? Inspired by a video from David Bennett, I’ve been thinking about Artificial Intelligence in music. While AI might inevitably take over "unimportant" music—like the hold music I used to license for my scuba shop—I believe there will always be a place for "important" music where listeners crave a human connection. We want to know the stories behind the songs, whether it’s Taylor Swift’s romances or Mozart’s final days.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrcUJI197Vs

Review: Billy Joel and Elton John sheet music I recently purchased two sheet music collections from Amazon to expand my repertoire. Unfortunately, upon arrival, I discovered they were print-on-demand books manufactured by Amazon with absolutely no publisher details or copyright acknowledgements. I don't believe people should profit from the work of others without proper compensation, so I’m sending them back. A warning to be careful when buying music online!

Progress Practice has been a bit spotty this week due to holiday tasks like writing school programs and tidying the house."Sea Song" is coming along bit-by-bit. regarding "A Wild Chase," I’ve made an executive decision to ignore the "As fast as you can" instruction. I’m going to play it at a speed where the notes actually sound musical rather than just noise. Work also continues on "Trumpet Tune" and memorising the chord progressions for the "Moonlight" Sonata.

If you'd like to get in touch, you can contact me at david@pianofinally.show.

The contents of the podcast were entirely generated by David Reidy, but these show notes were created by Gemini.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Podcast Recommendation: No one saw it coming I’m a big fan of history podcasts, and this week I recommend Marc Fennell’s "No one saw it coming." Specifically, the episode "The ballet that caused a riot and changed music," which dives into Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. Marc and Andrew Ford explore the music, the riots (real or exaggerated), and how Disney’s Fantasia eventually cemented Stravinsky’s fame.

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/no-one-saw-it-coming/the-rite-of-spring/105872884?utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_sharedhttps://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/no-one-saw-it-coming

Essay: The "T" Word There is a word I try to avoid: Talent. While often meant as a compliment, attributing success to "talent" discounts the hundreds of hours of effort and commitment a musician puts in. Whether it’s a child prodigy or Rachmaninov, what we see is the result of hard work, not just a genetic lottery. Let’s replace the "T" word with “Effort".

Review: Grand Solos for Christmas, Book 3 I decided it’s time to add some seasonal music to my repertoire—and starting in January gives me plenty of time! I picked up Melody Bober’s Grand Solos for Christmas, Book 3. Rated for "Late Elementary," these arrangements are approachable (keys of F, C, G, D) but musical enough to sound great at a family gathering.

https://www.alfred.com/authors/melody-bober/https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/1470617307?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

Progress Since I was away, I didn't practice. Instead of rusty playing, I’m sharing professional performances of the pieces I’m currently learning:

• "A Wild Chase" performed by Roderick MacFarlane https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2XtjcjQyqA
• "Trumpet Tune" performed by Piano with Beth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpqGF7J8aLc
• "Sea Song" performed by Alan Chan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DykqLkbUAGM
• "Moonlight Sonata" performed by Daniel Barenboim https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHwoypAY52k

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

YouTube Review: Matthew Cawood - 30 Piano Techniques Matthew Cawood's video "30 Piano Techniques Explained in 15 Minutes" is excellent revision. He covers everything from basic articulation to ornaments and bass patterns like the Alberti bass. I even found a few new ones, like "octave legato." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH8BxXAHnWs

Essay: Play What You Like Inspired by a David Snyder short, I discuss why adult learners should prioritize music they enjoy over strict syllabuses. Whether it’s "Blackout Blues" or an ambitious "Moonlight Sonata," playing music that motivates you is key.https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jSMyRu7ujo0

Review: Businesses I conclude my channel reviews with these businesses creating great content:

• Merriam Pianos: Stu Harrison produces top-tier, unbiased comparison videos.https://www.youtube.com/@MerriamPianos
• Living Pianos Videos: Robert Estrin shares engaging stories and tips from a life in music.https://www.youtube.com/@LivingPianosVideos
• Andertons Synths: Jack Duxbury brings high energy to reviews and blindfold "shootouts." https://www.youtube.com/@AndertonsKeyboardDept
• Bonner's Pianos: Tony offers performance-heavy reviews, great for hearing the instruments.https://www.youtube.com/@bonnersmusic
• Alamo Music: Ted Barsalou offers unique insights and interviews with other musicians.https://www.youtube.com/@apianogallery

Progress "A Wild Chase" is becoming more consistent, though I need to speed up the middle. "Trumpet Tune" is improving with a focus on articulation. "Sea Song" is slow going with its complex rhythm, and "Moonlight Sonata" is on hold until I return from my trip.

Contact me at david@pianofinally.show.

The contents of this podcast were entirely generated by me, David Reidy, but these show notes were created by Gemini.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Podcast Update: The Rest is History I need to make a quick correction to last week’s episode. The new musical episodes of The Rest is History, covering Tchaikovsky and Wagner live from the Royal Albert Hall, are available now. They are excellent listens, exploring the lives, scandals, and music of these giants—even if, like me, you aren't Wagner's biggest fan.

Essay: Not planning, not failing As we head into the new year, I discuss why I have no intention of making a strict plan for my piano playing. For adult learners, "failing to plan" isn't planning to fail; it's simply giving ourselves permission to take detours and have fun. My only goal is to enjoy the process, whether that means sticking to the syllabus or getting distracted by Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.

Review: YouTube Keyboardists Continuing my review of YouTube channels, this week I look at the keyboard players I follow for inspiration and education:

• My Keys to Music: Run by Marc Larochelle, this is a must for Nord keyboard owners, covering everything from sound emulation to in-depth setups.https://www.youtube.com/@MyKeysToMusic
• DSoundman: Douglas, a worship leader, reviews and demonstrates a huge range of keyboards beyond just the piano, including Nord, Yamaha, and Arturia.https://www.youtube.com/@DSoundman
• The Salisbury Organist: Ben Maton travels the UK playing organs in quaint village churches. It’s part travelogue, part performance, and completely unique.https://www.youtube.com/@SalisburyOrganist
• Paul Fey: Similar to Ben but focusing on the grander sounds of cathedral organs. Paul often includes technical details and history in his videos.https://www.youtube.com/@PaulFey

Progress, I'm continuing my experiment of recording my entire practice session to beat the "performance effect," and it seems to be working! A Wild Chase is improving, and I'm slowing down the Trumpet Tune to get the articulations right. I've also started a lovely new piece, Sea Song by Australian composer Christopher Healey—chosen via the rigorous method of "it was on the right-hand page!"

If you'd like to share your own piano journey on the show, drop me an email at david@pianofinally.show.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

G'day everyone! Welcome to show number seventy-eight. The holidays have finally started! School has finished for the year, and while I have some work to do on a new Physics program for 2027, there is plenty of time to get it done. Devi and I have chosen some new pieces to keep me busy over the break, and I'm looking forward to increasing my daily practice.

YouTube - Guy Michelmore - Want to Write a Better Tune? This week I look at a video by Guy Michelmore. Guy is a composer of film and television music with a very relatable presentation style—mostly because he leaves his mistakes in! In this video, he writes a simple piece of music using Cubase, explaining his thought process on chord progressions and melody. It is a fascinating look at how a piece of music comes together. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJJFlAEBwYI

Essay - A Series of Fortunate Events I discuss why subscribing to a concert series, like the Sydney Symphony Orchestra's Sunday Afternoon series, is a wise investment for an adult learner. Beyond the financial discount, committing to a series helps you block out time for music in a busy calendar. It exposes you to new repertoire—this year I discovered Scriabin—and it's a great way to support live music and young performers.

Review - AMEB Piano Series 19 Grade 2 Following last week's look at Grade One, I review the new AMEB Series 19 Grade 2 book. The jump in difficulty is noticeable; pieces are longer (often two pages) and much denser with notes. The selection is diverse, featuring works from Wilhelm Friedemann Bach to contemporary pieces like "Mala dyskoteka" by Krystyna Gowik and "La poursuite" by Louise Nguyen Van Ty. It looks like a challenging year ahead!https://www.ameb.edu.au/shop/music/keyboard/piano/series-19

Progress I'm continuing with the "Moonlight" Sonata and my flute piece, though combining hands remains a challenge. Wynn-Anne Rossi's "A Wild Chase" is now memorised, and I'm working on evening it out with a drum machine. I've also started looking at "Titans" by Daniel McFarlane, "A Mingus Among Us" by Eric Baumgartner, and "Sea Song" by Christopher Healey.

If you'd like to get in touch or share your own musical journey on the podcast, drop me a line at david@pianofinally.show.

The contents of the podcast were entirely generated by me, David Reidy, but these show notes were created by Gemini.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

G'day everyone! Welcome to show number seventy-eight. The holidays have finally started! School has finished for the year, and while I have some work to do on a new Physics program for 2027, there is plenty of time to get it done. Devi and I have chosen some new pieces to keep me busy over the break, and I'm looking forward to increasing my daily practice.

YouTube - Guy Michelmore - Want to Write a Better Tune? This week I look at a video by Guy Michelmore. Guy is a composer of film and television music with a very relatable presentation style—mostly because he leaves his mistakes in!In this video, he writes a simple piece of music using Cubase, explaining his thought process on chord progressions and melody. It is a fascinating look at how a piece of music comes together.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJJFlAEBwYI

Essay - A Series of Fortunate Events I discuss why subscribing to a concert series, like the Sydney Symphony Orchestra's Sunday Afternoon series, is a wise investment for an adult learner. Beyond the financial discount, committing to a series helps you block out time for music in a busy calendar. It exposes you to new repertoire—this year I discovered Scriabin—and it's a great way to support live music and young performers.

Review - AMEB Piano Series 19 Grade 2 Following last week's look at Grade One, I review the new AMEB Series 19 Grade 2 book. The jump in difficulty is noticeable; pieces are longer (often two pages) and much denser with notes. The selection is diverse, featuring works from Wilhelm Friedemann Bach to contemporary pieces like "Mala dyskoteka" by Krystyna Gowik and "La poursuite" by Louise Nguyen Van Ty. It looks like a challenging year ahead!https://www.ameb.edu.au/shop/music/keyboard/piano/series-19

Progress I'm continuing with the "Moonlight" Sonata and my flute piece, though combining hands remains a challenge.Wynn-Anne Rossi's "A Wild Chase" is now memorised, and I'm working on evening it out with a drum machine. I've also started looking at "Titans" by Daniel McFarlane, "A Mingus Among Us" by Eric Baumgartner, and "Sea Song" by Christopher Healey.

If you'd like to get in touch or share your own musical journey on the podcast, drop me a line at david@pianofinally.show.

The contents of the podcast were entirely generated by me, David Reidy, but these show notes were created by Gemini.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

G'day, everyone! Welcome to show number seventy-seven. Teaching has finally finished for the year, wrapping up with a wonderful awards ceremony and a staff performance that was definitely more enthusiastic than musical! I’m looking forward to my last piano lesson of the year this Monday, where Devi and I will pick out a few pieces to keep me busy over the break.

YouTube Review: Merriam Pianos - Hybrids This week, I take a look at a video from Merriam Pianos featuring Stu Harrison. Stu discusses his switch from a Grotrian acoustic upright to a Kawai NV5 hybrid. It’s a fascinating watch,especially if you are weighing up the pros and cons of acoustic versus hybrid instruments. As Stu points out, an 8/10 experience you can have anytime is better than a 10/10 experience you can rarely access.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsTElPqKJjY

Essay: Christmas Shopping Despite the title, this isn't a gift guide! Instead, I explore the value of giving musical gifts,especially to young people. After forty years of teaching, I’ve noticed that engagement is key to learning. Giving a child access to an instrument—without friction—can spark curiosity and build valuable life skills like self-discipline. If you have the means, a musical instrument might just change a life this Christmas.

Review: AMEB Piano Series 19 Grade 1 I popped into Carlingford Music to pick up the newly released AMEB Series 19 books. I’m not planning to sit the exams, but these books are a great source of graded repertoire. The Grade 1 book features a diverse mix, from a sarabande by Gillock to a "swung blues" piece by Eric Baumgartner. I’ll be trying out a few of these over the holidays.https://www.ameb.edu.au/shop/music/keyboard/piano/series-19

Progress Work continues on Beethoven’s "Moonlight" Sonata; it’s slow going, but enjoyable. My flute piece is coming along, though combining hands still slows me down. I’ve also added a new piece based on Rossini's Barber of Seville, and Wynn-Anne Rossi's "A Wild Chase" is nearing completion—I can finally play it from memory!

If you'd like to get in touch or share your own musical journey, drop me a line at david@pianofinally.show.

The contents of this podcast were entirely generated by a human, but these show notes were created by Gemini.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

In the lead-up to Christmas, practice opportunities appear and disappear in equal measure. A little more playing happened this week, though not as much as hoped. The 3D printer is busy producing small gifts for the staff party, and while it’s handy for personalised presents, it hasn’t yet found a role at the piano.

🎧 YouTube – Piano Myth or Fact? Do Kids Learn Faster Than Adults?
Ryan Abshear’s new video examines why children appear to learn piano faster than adults — not magic, but time, expectations, and practice hours. Adults often assume quick mastery because we’re used to learning other skills rapidly; a child playing difficult repertoire may already have six years of experience. Ryan’s thoughtful breakdown is well worth watching.
Link: included in your episode

📝 Essay – In Public
This week’s reflections centre on doing things in public — choir rehearsals, student performances at assembly, coaching public speaking, and hearing that the podcast encouraged someone to try something new. Performing publicly isn’t harder than doing it privately; the difficulty comes from the standards we set for ourselves and the fear of judgment.
But most people are kind. Anonymous criticism isn’t worth your attention; genuine listeners are overwhelmingly supportive. Being open about learning — especially when playing piano in front of students — removes pressure and invites encouragement rather than comparison.

🎼 Progress
• Moonlight Sonata continues slowly but steadily.
• The flute piece is developing, though coordinating staccato and legato needs work.
• Wynn-Anne Rossi’s A Wild Chase is nearly complete and improving with the drum machine.

Recorded on the Kawai NV10, Cubase 15, and Pianoteq 9 with a Shigeru Kawai SK-EX model.

The contents of this podcast were entirely generated by a human. These show notes, however, were created by ChatGPT.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

With the exams marked and reports written, the last weeks of the school year bring a welcome return to regular practice (and twice-daily swimming). This week’s episode is built around a story in two parts: a run of theatre outings, and an unexpected new musical adventure.

🎭 Performances Around Sydney
A free week meant several nights out:
• The Rest Is History Returns at the Opera House, with Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook delivering a lively extended podcast episode and Q&A.
• Bell Shakespeare – Romeo and Juliet, a polished, contemporary staging with excellent pacing and standout comic moments. Video excerpts here:
https://www.bellshakespeare.com.au/romeo-and-juliet

• Devi Mamak & the Caravan Band, blending sitar, sax, drums and dancers in a Marrickville venue that doubles as a belly-dance school. More info:
https://caravandancecompany.com.au/

📝 Something New – Joining a Community Choir
An email from Sydney Festival announced a community choir performing on 25 January at Barangaroo. Despite not being a singer, I signed up — partly out of curiosity, partly to step outside my comfort zone. The rehearsal, led by composer Nardi Simpson, was warm, energetic and enormous fun. Two of the four songs were introduced, including Four Directions, complete with harmonies and some accidental “clams” in the projected lyrics. With over 200 people in the room and only a handful of tenors, it’s going to be an adventure.

🎼 Review – Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier (Schirmer)
Another aspirational addition to the music shelf. This Carl Czerny-edited volume includes fingering, dynamics, a short biographical essay, and all 48 Preludes and Fugues. Clear engraving, perfect-bound, and solid value.
https://www.musicjunction.com.au/products/complete-well%EF%BF%BDtempered-clavier

🎹 Progress
• Beethoven – Moonlight Sonata: Still uneven in places, but improving.
• Wynn-Anne Rossi – A Wild Chase: Nearly complete and played from memory.
• Trumpet Tune (Clarke/Purcell): Slow but steady.

Recorded on the Kawai NV10 using Cubase 15 and Pianoteq 9 with a Shigeru Kawai SK-EX piano model.

The contents of this podcast were entirely generated by a human. These show notes, however, were created by ChatGPT.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

🎧 YouTube – Beethoven Literally Used Four Chords to Write Für Elise
YouTube analysis channels can be a goldmine. Jazz pianist Charles Cornell – co-founder of Better Piano and author of Jazz Piano Improv – has a terrific breakdown of Für Elise. He looks at the key (A minor), the 3/8 time signature (so it doesn’t feel like a waltz), and the chord movement from A minor–E and then C–G. It’s almost note-by-note, showing how harmony and melody fit together rather than just listing Roman numerals. If you’re learning the piece, it’s a great way to go beyond “just remembering the notes”.

📺 Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-W8VbPgpkU

📝 Essay – Unexpected Benefits
You’d think the main benefit of learning piano would simply be playing piano. In practice, it’s opened far more doors. 

Learning has also reconnected me with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra: spotting names like Daniil Trifonov, Sir Stephen Hough and Nobuyuki Tsujii on the program nudged me into a subscription, pre-concert talks, and a deeper understanding of composers and form. A music episode of The Rest is History podcast has slipped into my regular listening too.

All of this has brought more concerts, more conversations in foyers and festival tents, and more chances to meet like-minded people than I expected when I first walked into a piano shop.

🎼 Review – Chopin: Complete Preludes, Nocturnes and Waltzes (Schirmer)
Another “aspirational” purchase: Chopin – Complete Preludes, Nocturnes and Waltzes (Schirmer Vol. 2056). I can’t yet play most of it, but the A-major Prelude Op. 28 No. 7 is firmly on the “soon” list. The edition is edited by Rafael Joseffy, a 19th-century Hungarian-born Chopin specialist, who also provides fingering.

The book includes a brief introduction plus 26 Preludes, 21 Nocturnes and 19 Waltzes. The engraving is from older plates but clean and readable; at 248 pages it’s a chunky perfect-bound volume that will stay open with a little encouragement. For 66 pieces, AU$48.95 from Music Junction feels like good value.

Links:

• Music Junction (AU):
  https://www.musicjunction.com.au/products/chopin-complete-preludes-nocturnes-and-waltzes?_pos=5&_sid=547dbbf5d&_ss=r
  
  
• Amazon AU:
  https://www.amazon.com.au/Frederic-Chopin-Complete-Preludes-Nocturnes/dp/0634099205
  
  

🎹 Progress
Practice continues on Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata – still not as even as I’d like, but improving – and Wynn-Anne Rossi’s A Wild Chase, now mostly from memory, with the drum machine back on the piano to rebuild a steady pulse. 

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

This week was light on practice thanks to Year 9 camp at Lake Macquarie and the start of exam-marking season, but there was still some playing – including at camp – and some reflections on what it means to practise where people can see you.

🎧 YouTube – 5 Minutes on… Moonlight Sonata
YouTube pointed me to Daniel Barenboim’s 5 minutes on… Beethoven – The “Moonlight” Sonata, part of a 13-video series where he talks about music by Beethoven, Debussy, Mozart, Chopin, Liszt and Brahms, illustrating his ideas at the piano. Barenboim argues that “Moonlight” is often played too dreamily, and links it instead to Mozart’s Don Giovanniand a more funereal, martial character. You may not agree with all his opinions, but they’re thoughtful and well explained.
Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLErHuBsy75wzNtI5pjaDqwyM_C_RdipXn

📝 Essay – Practising in Public
Next year I’ll be watching Anna Lapwood teach a masterclass on the Sydney Opera House organ: students practising in public, with an audience. It made me think about my own public practice – playing in junior music classes I’m covering, while students work on written tasks or try keyboards and guitars.
Masterclass info:
https://www.sydneysymphony.com/concerts/masterclass-with-anna-lapwood

In science lessons, I’m the expert in the room; at the piano, I’m a learner. Saying “Here’s what I’m working on” gives me permission to make mistakes and gives students permission to be better than me at something. It models lifelong learning and shows that adults are still tackling new skills long after school ends. Learning piano as an adult is low-risk – we’re not after a career change, we’re here because we enjoy both the music and the learning. Practising where others can hear us helps build a culture where everyone keeps thinking, exploring and expanding their world.

🎼 Review – The Indispensable Beethoven Collection
As well as my aspirational Bärenreiter sonatas, I picked up Schirmer’s The Indispensable Beethoven Collection – 12 Famous Piano Pieces as a more practical working score for Piano Sonata No. 14. It includes Für Elise, four sonatas (Moonlight, Pathétique, Op. 49 Nos. 1 and 2), some variations, two sonatinas, and the attributed Adieu to the Piano. There are editorial notes, suggested fingerings (some amended in consultation with Devi), and the 96-page saddle-stitched book sits open nicely on the stand. The engraving is clearly from an older edition, but still quite readable.

Links:

• Music Junction (AU):
  https://www.musicjunction.com.au/
  
  
• Hal Leonard product page:
  https://www.halleonard.com/product/50600657/the-indispensable-beethoven-collection-12-famous-piano-pieces
  
  

🎶 Progress
Practice was limited, but continuing:

• Beethoven – “Moonlight” Sonata: still uneven but improving.
• Jeremiah Clarke (attrib. Purcell) – Trumpet Tune: little progress after forgetting the score for camp.
• Wynn-Anne Rossi – A Wild Chase: mostly from memory now, still slower than marked.

All music was recorded on the Kawai NV10 with an M4 Pro Mac Mini, Cubase 15, and Pianoteq 9 emulating a Shigeru Kawai SK-EX.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

This week’s episode is all about stepping up to new challenges and enjoying the progress along the way. I’ve been practising more than usual, working on three pieces — including my first “real” classical work: Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. It’s tricky, but rewarding, and I’m discovering just how much a single piece can transform practice from routine to exciting.

🎧 YouTube – Yuja Wang and Rachmaninov
In 2023, Yuja Wang performed all four Rachmaninov Piano Concertos and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in a single evening at Carnegie Hall — the first time anyone has ever attempted it. Not even Rachmaninov himself did that. The concert was also a scientific study: Yuja, conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, members of the orchestra, and the audience wore heart rate monitors throughout.

• Watch the ToneBase overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isuT10uxNZE
  
  
• See the Carnegie Hall analysis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuA9l77ODbs
  
  

Together, these two videos offer a fascinating look at the physical and emotional energy behind performance — and maybe an excuse to count piano practice as exercise.

📝 Essay – A Bit of a Challenge
After nearly two years of learning, I’m now tackling pieces around the Grade One level — not perfect, but recognisable! My goal has always been to play “real” music for others, not just eight bars of Ode to Joy. Choosing something like Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata is ambitious but deeply satisfying. Even a few bars of it sound great, and that joy makes practice fun again.

🎼 Review – Easier Classical Piano (Hal Leonard)
Found at Mooloolaba Music, this hefty 300-page volume is packed with 174 pieces by 44 composers — from Bach and Beethoven to Tchaikovsky and Burgmüller. It’s beautifully printed, spiral-bound, and a great value for $53. Perfect for players moving toward the intermediate level.

• Hal Leonard
  
  
• Music Junction
  
  
• Amazon AU
  
  

🎶 Progress
Devi and I are refining three pieces: Wynn-Anne Rossi’s A Wild Chase, Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, and Trumpet Tune by Jeremiah Clarke (attributed to Henry Purcell). All recorded on the Kawai NV10 using Cubase 15 and Pianoteq 9 with a Shigeru Kawai SK-EX grand.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

This week’s episode recaps my trip to the Out West Piano Fest
in Bathurst—a weekend of incredible performances, great company, and the best farm food I’ve ever had.

🎼 Review – Out West Piano Fest
Held on Blackdown Farm and organised by Piano Plus, the festival brings together music, meals, and the scenic countryside over three days. The performances took place in a gallery-shed surrounded by Indigenous art, featuring two Shigeru Kawai SK-EX concert grands (each valued at $380,000—coffee machine included if you buy one!).

The lineup included four pianists—Jeonghwan Kim, Wynona Wang, Rueben Tsang, and Mark Coughlan—along with soprano Rachelle Durkin and violinist Harry Bennetts. From Mozart and Liszt to Chopin, Strauss, and Rachmaninov, each concert offered something new. Highlights included Wynona Wang’s dazzling Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 1and the four pianists tackling Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro overture together.

Meals were as memorable as the music, shared at communal tables with fellow festivalgoers, performers, and even a few magazine editors and doctors. A small crowd, big talent, and genuine connection made it a perfect weekend.

🎙 Interview – Jay Byrnes
I also chatted with producer Jay Byrnes, who explained the logistics behind moving multiple concert grands into a farm shed, coordinating artists, and balancing food, design, and music. It takes months of planning—and a love of chaos—to pull it off. Jay’s enthusiasm for combining music and community makes the festival what it is.

🎧 19th International Chopin Competition Playlist
I’ve been watching performances from the Chopin Competition and following Devi’s advice to compare interpretations of the same work. There’s a playlist of finalists performing Chopin’s Polonaise-Fantaisie—you can find it here
.

🎻 Coming Up
Next week I’ll share my wrap-up of the Chopin Competition and return to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Opera House for Janáček’s Sinfonietta, Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, and Ravel’s Pictures at an Exhibition.

🎹 Progress
Wynn-Anne Rossi’s A Wild Chase is now nearly performance-ready, and I’ve started on Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14 in C♯ minor—the Moonlight Sonata. I’m only a few bars in, but loving it already.

The contents of this podcast were entirely generated by a human. These show notes, however, were created by ChatGPT.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

For those who enjoy piano competitions, the Honens International Piano Competition is underway, with finals streaming live and available afterwards on the Honens YouTube channel. Meanwhile, the 19th International Chopin Competition continues into its second week—forty pianists made it to Stage Two, though my pick, Anthony Ratinov, didn’t advance further. Performances and highlights are available on the Chopin Institute’s YouTube page.

🎭 Theatre Recommendation – Legally Blonde
The Blue Mountains Musical Society’s production of Legally Blonde is running at the Blue Mountains Theatre in Springwood until 2 November. The cast, led by Charli Arkle as Elle Woods and James Matheson as Emmett Forrest, were outstanding—two dogs even joined the cast and performed perfectly! Minimal staging, but top-tier performances. Highly recommended.

📝 Essay – The Judging of Art
Watching the Chopin Competition got me thinking about what it means to judge art. In science, comparisons are objective—numbers, measurements, and repeatable outcomes. In art, not so much. You can quantify accuracy, but not interpretation. Garrick Ohlsson, chair of the Chopin jury, admitted that pianists he preferred didn’t progress—a reminder that even experts disagree. Art isn’t about ranking; it’s about expression.

Competitions, I think, should be showcases rather than scoreboards. Like Devi’s annual student recital, where everyone performs, no prizes are awarded, and every listener connects differently. The value lies in participation and appreciation, not comparison.

🎧 Review – In-Ear Monitors & Wireless Setup
I’ve switched to Mee Audio MX Pro in-ear monitors for podcasting and practice—clear sound, low leakage, and modular design. Paired with the Swiff Audio WX 520 Wireless System, the setup makes recording much easier. Both came from Mooloolaba Music Centre, where the staff were excellent.

🎹 Progress
This week’s practice: Wynn-Anne Rossi’s A Wild Chase, recorded on the Kawai NV10 with Pianoteq 9 emulating a Steinway Model D.

The contents of this podcast were entirely generated by a human. These show notes, however, were created by ChatGPT.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Welcome back to Piano, finally, the podcast of one bloke learning piano later in life. This week’s episode was planned and drafted on the train to Sydney—an unusually productive commute at $6.90 each way!

🎧 YouTube and Podcast – 19th International Chopin Competition
Stage One of the 19th International Chopin Competition
has finished, with forty pianists progressing to the next round. I’m following Anthony Ratinov, runner-up in Miami and a recent guest on Ben Laude’s Late Cho(pin). You can catch his first-round performance here, and find more interviews and highlights on the Chopin Institute YouTube channel. For extra insight, check out Ben Laude’s Patreon recaps and a short discussion between Ben and Ratinov here.

📝 Essay – It’s Not About the Money
Some approach music as a business, others as a passion. I fall into the latter group. While lessons, instruments, and concert tickets all cost money, for most of us learning later in life, the goal isn’t profit—it’s progress. Playing music for joy rather than financial return changes how we value practice and performance. Attending concerts, connecting with like-minded people, and encouraging students to pursue music for its own sake all reinforce the same truth: music’s real worth isn’t measured in dollars.

🎼 Review – Piano Glory Music Folder
Like Bill Hilton, I’ve rediscovered the benefits of paper scores. Digital versions are convenient, but writing on real paper feels more connected. Enter Piano Glory, a Sydney-based company creating sturdy music folders that hold pages without plastic sleeves—no reflections, easy annotations, and durable construction. Each folder holds up to forty pages, includes adhesive tabs and a pencil holder, and stays open on the stand. Not cheap, but beautifully designed and worth it. Check out Bill Hilton’s video that inspired the switch here.

🎶 Coming Up
Next week: the Blue Mountains Musical Society’s production of Legally Blonde (details here), and I’ll be starting the new term with Devi, tackling more Grade One pieces. Also, if you’re near the Blue Mountains, catch Devi performing later this month with the Khyal Trio (event info).

The contents of this podcast were entirely generated by a human. These show notes, however, were created by ChatGPT.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
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• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

G’day, everyone—and welcome back to Piano, Finally, the podcast from an old bloke who’s learning the piano, finally. This week’s episode comes to you from Queensland, recorded on portable Rode gear via an iPhone and edited in Cubase on a MacBook Pro. It’s also a rehearsal for the upcoming Out West Piano Fest, where I’ll be recording on location.

🎧 YouTube Feature – 19th International Chopin Competition
The 19th International Chopin Competition
has begun, with every performance livestreamed and archived on YouTube. If you missed the opening concert, you can still watch it here
. The broadcast quality is excellent, with multiple cameras and pristine sound. Performers included Bruce Liu (Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 5), Yulianna Avdeeva and Garrick Ohlsson (Poulenc’s Concerto for Two Pianos), and Dang Thai Son joining them for Bach’s Concerto for Four Harpsichords. Expect world-class playing and superb production.

📝 Essay – It Takes Time
Swimming, like practising piano, takes patience. Around lap six, it always feels impossible—but by the end, the distance is done. Piano practice is the same. Each new piece starts excitingly, then slows into frustration before progress reappears. Preparing my four recital pieces—Spindler’s Canon, Türk’s Bagatelle in F, and Craggs’ Afternoon Snooze and Blackout Blues—proved that persistence works. It took about ten months to get them performance-ready. Each time I reach “lap six,” I remind myself: I’ve finished before, I’ll finish again.

🎛 Review – Haptik (Apple Watch Metronome)
If you’ve ever seen the Soundbrenner Pulse
, you’ll understand the appeal of haptic metronomes. Haptik offers a similar experience for Apple Watch users—and at AU$14.99 lifetime or AU$7.99 a year, it’s far cheaper. Available via haptik.watch
, it syncs with iPhone tempo changes and even lets you record while you practise. Battery usage is minimal (around 2% per half-hour), and it’s easy to access from your watch face. Ideal for silent tempo guidance during practice sessions.

🎹 Progress
This week’s practice piece: Wynn-Anne Rossi’s A Wild Chase. Travelling and family life made practice tricky, but things are still moving forward—helped by the Roland FP-30X and Pianoteq 8 emulating the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX.

The contents of this podcast were entirely generated by a human. These show notes, however, were created by ChatGPT.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Welcome back to Piano, Finally, a podcast from an old bloke learning the piano later in life. Term three has wrapped up, and with it my piano lessons for now. Devi has me back on Wynn-Anne Rossi’s A Wild Chase, plus a new piece—Kevin Olson’s Machines on the Loose—and Juan Cabeza’s Diversion 1. Plenty to keep me busy through the break.

🎧 Podcast & YouTube – A Musical Séance
This week’s suggestion comes via Dan Schreiber’s book The Theory of Everything Else, where he recounts the story of Rosemary Brown—a spiritualist who claimed to channel new works from Beethoven, Liszt, Chopin and others. Psychologists called it unconscious composition, but the result was an album: A Musical Séance
(Spotify link). Weird, yes, but fascinating piano music.

• No Such Thing as a Fish
  
  
• We Can Be Weirdos
  
  
• Rosemary Brown wiki
  
  

📝 Essay – If a job’s worth doing…
Generative AI has its uses, but mainly for what’s unimportant. When a message matters, effort matters. Real music—music that communicates—isn’t just filler like hold music or AI “slop.” Corporations cutting corners with generated content reveal that they don’t care about their message. By contrast, humans crafting art signal intent, care, and communication. If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth having a real person do it. Two classic Sony ads (here’s the other) prove that effort shines through.

✏️ Review – Blackwing Pencils
For marking up scores, I’ve discovered Blackwing pencils
—beautifully made, with soft graphite, replaceable erasers, and even a two-stage sharpener. Expensive compared to standard HBs, but worth it for clear, easy writing on scores. Available locally via Sydney Art Store.

🎭 Coming Up
Next stop: Legally Blonde with the Blue Mountains Musical Society
and then the Out West Piano Fest in Bathurst.

🎼 Progress
This week’s progress is A Wild Chase by Wynn-Anne Rossi, from the Piano for Leisure, Grade 1 Series 4 book. Wynn-Anne also has her own YouTube channel. Recorded on the Kawai NV10 with Pianoteq 8, emulating the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Welcome back to Piano, Finally, the podcast of one bloke learning piano later in life. This episode didn’t go quite as planned—I was meant to be sharing a recording from Devi’s piano showcase, but thanks to a calendar mishap, I missed it by a day. Disappointing, yes—but not wasted. The extra practice means I now have four polished pieces ready to play whenever someone asks.

🎧 YouTube Spotlight – David Bennett
Two new videos worth a look:

• Beginner’s Guide to Woodwind Instruments
  , the third in a series explaining orchestral sections, complete with examples and a quiz.
• 67 Real Names of Famous Musicians
  , a lighter piece revealing the original names behind the stage names.

Catch more of David’s excellent work on his channel
.

📝 Essay – Nothing’s Wasted
Even without the showcase, the effort paid off. Preparing Spindler’s Canon, Türk’s Bagatelle in F, and Craggs’ Afternoon Snooze and Blackout Blues forced me to analyse practice habits more closely. I realised that when my fingers move on autopilot, mistakes creep in. Concentrating on understanding the music—not just memorising it—improved accuracy and confidence. Playing for others sharpens focus, so my advice is: find opportunities to share your music. None of the preparation is wasted.

🎼 Review – Sounds Inside
At Hurstville Library
, part of the Sydney Fringe Festival, I joined Marcus Whale for an evening of synthesisers, subtractive synthesis, and performance. Instruments were even available to borrow through the library’s collection—a brilliant way for young people to access music. Highlights included a Roland Juno-60 and Marcus’s layered electronic performance.

🎶 Closing & Progress
Coming up: a Taylor Swift tribute at the Sydney Fringe
, the last lesson of term with Devi, and a return to Rossi’s Wild Chase. This week’s progress section features the four showcase pieces, recorded on the Kawai NV10 with Pianoteq’s Shigeru Kawai SK-EX.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Welcome back to Piano, Finally, the podcast from an old bloke learning the piano. With the showcase just a week away, I’ve doubled practice sessions—half an hour in the morning, twenty minutes in the afternoon—rotating between the Kawai NV10 and Nord Stage 4. Devi’s electric Kawai will be the instrument on the day, so I’m aiming to be ready, even if the occasional wrong note slips through.

🎧 YouTube Spotlight – Paul Fey
My organ journey continues with Paul Fey’s channel
. Unlike Ben Maton’s rural churches, Paul explores grand cathedrals—St Peter’s in the Vatican, the Basilica of St John Lateran, and others across Europe. His playing showcases not only the music but the instruments and buildings themselves. Paul also offers music collections on his website, and sometimes even records on a Hauptwerk virtual organ. A channel full of grandeur (and the occasional penguin).

📝 Essay – Aspirations
Recent podcasts have focused on structured goal setting, but for me, aspirations work better. A goal implies measurable outcomes; an aspiration simply points the way. Last year, I thought playing at the 2025 showcase might be possible—that aspiration has now become reality. Though I abandoned Rossi’s Wild Chase in favour of the “old four,” I still count it as success. Looking ahead, my aspirations include tackling a few bars of Beethoven’s Moonlight or Waldstein, playing Elton John and Billy Joel, and even writing something original. No deadlines, just direction.

🎼 Review – Complete Beethoven Sonatas
To keep Beethoven in sight, I bought the Bärenreiter Complete Piano Sonatas
, a three-volume urtext edition from Music Junction (AU$297). They contain all 35 sonatas, including the early WoO 47 works. Sturdy, heavy, but not designed to sit flat on a stand—but inspiring to have on the shelf. Browse the full Beethoven repertoire at Music Junction
.

🎶 Coming Up
Before the next episode: Devi’s piano showcase, a big birthday party, and Sounds Inside at the Sydney Fringe Festival.

🎼 Progress
Daily practice of the four showcase pieces: Spindler’s Canon, Türk’s Bagatelle in F, and Craggs’ Afternoon Snooze and Blackout Blues. All recorded on the Nord Stage 4 using its electric piano settings.

The contents of this podcast were entirely generated by a human. These show notes, however, were created by ChatGPT.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

G’day and welcome back to Piano, Finally. This week I had something like a first public performance—playing my four showcase pieces for a junior music class I was covering. They asked, I played, and it went alright. With just two weeks until the actual showcase, I’m ramping up practice but not aiming for perfection—it’s about learning, and sharing the journey.

🎧 YouTube Spotlight – Ten Keyboard Sounds EVERY Player Should Have
Pierre Piscitelli’s video on Ten Keyboard Sounds
every player should know is a treasure. From grand and upright pianos to Rhodes, DX7s, Wurlitzers, Clavinets, B3 organs and synth pads, Pierre demonstrates each sound with real song examples and tutorials. I’ve already been matching them on the Nord—and it’s a resource I’ll be coming back to often.

📝 Essay – Purpose
What’s the purpose of education? Increasingly, governments treat it as job training, and arts programs—particularly music—are the first to be cut. Yet the benefits of music are profound: leadership, culture, creativity, and joy. Only 37% of students in Australia are taught music at school, and often by non-specialists. We need to push back. Music isn’t just about careers; it’s about happiness, history, and living a full life. Those of us who know its value must keep speaking up.

🎼 Review – Sydney Symphony Orchestra 2026 Season
Subscription renewals are out, and I’ve secured my Sunday series. Next year’s program includes Holst’s The Planets, Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, Ligeti, Dvořák, Bach, and Mozart’s Symphony No. 39. There are also extras—masterclasses with Bryn Terfel and Anna Lapwood, plus Lucas and Arthur Jussen playing Poulenc. If you’re in Sydney, check out the 2026 season
. It’s a wonderful way to support live music.

🎶 Progress
With the showcase looming, practice is focused entirely on the “old four”: Spindler’s Canon, Türk’s Bagatelle in F, and Andrew Craggs’ Afternoon Snooze and Blackout Blues. Devi has also given me some improvisation exercises, and while they’re not world-shattering, they’re fun and freeing. All recorded this week on the Nord Stage 4 using a mix of pianos and electric pianos from the standard library.

The contents of this podcast were entirely generated by a human. These show notes, however, were created by ChatGPT.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Welcome back to Piano, Finally. Apologies for the break last week—I came down with Influenza A and even had to miss my lesson with Devi. Thankfully the antivirals worked, and I’m back at the keys (though you may still hear a touch of it in my voice).

This week included some extra performances by senior students preparing for their exams—Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, and Dire Straits were all on the program. It’s a reminder of just how diverse the world of music can be.

📝 Essay – Narrow or Broad
With centuries of repertoire and new music arriving daily, none of us can possibly cover it all. The real question is: do we specialise or spread ourselves broadly? Professionals often find success by narrowing their focus, as Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music
demonstrated in the early music movement. But for amateurs like most of us, exploring broadly opens doors we might not otherwise try. I discovered how much fun blues could be thanks to Andrew Craggs’ Blackout Blues—a piece I never would have chosen myself. Being broad means staying open to surprises.

🎹 Review – Organteq 2 by Modartt
Alongside Pianoteq, Modartt also make Organteq
, a modelled pipe organ instrument. Version 2 offers Baroque, Romantic, and Neo-Classical organs with incredible flexibility. Played through a subwoofer, the 32’ stops literally shake the room. Inspired by Ben Maton’s Salisbury Organist videos, I took the plunge—and it’s been both fun and inspiring. The trial version is free, so it’s worth exploring.

🎶 Out West Piano Fest
More details are out for the Out West Piano Fest
in Bathurst this October. The program features five concerts, with soloists including Rachelle Durkin (soprano) and Harry Bennetts (violin). Expect a romantic-heavy program in a stunning regional setting.

🎼 Progress
To prepare for the September showcase, I’ve been practising on the Nord Stage 4 instead of the Kawai—closer to the Yamaha that will be used on the day. The focus has returned to my four older pieces: Spindler’s Canon, Türk’s Bagatelle in F, and Craggs’ Afternoon Snooze and Blackout Blues. Oddly enough, a short break from Blackout Blues seems to have helped—it’s sounding better than ever.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
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• all the podcast directories - list
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Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

G’day and welcome back to Piano, Finally. This week included two very different performances: Circa and the Art of the Fugue at City Recital Hall, and Radio Luxembourg at The Joan in Penrith. Both highlighted the power of live music, from Bach’s intricate counterpoint to the raw energy of 1960s rock and pop.

🎭 Performance Reviews

• Circa and the Art of the Fugue combined the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra with contemporary circus from Circa. Historically informed Baroque met modern dance—plus some spectacular floor rolling. A unique experience worth catching in Melbourne. More info
• Radio Luxembourg featured John Waters, Stewart D’Arrietta and the Chartbusters. It’s a trip through the British invasion, with music from The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Troggs and more. Great fun and beautifully played. Radio Luxembourg Live

📝 Essay – Why Are We Playing?
Both concerts raised a bigger question: why do we play music? The Brandenburg players acted as messengers for Bach’s intent, while the rock band communicated their personal connection to the songs. For amateurs like me, the “why” often comes down to enjoyment. We practise, persevere, and share music not for a paycheque, but for the joy of saying, this piece means something to me, and I want to share it with you.

🎹 Gear Review – Adam D3V Monitor Speakers & K&M 18807 Holders
Thanks to a video by DSoundman, I’ve upgraded the Nord Stage 4 setup with Adam D3V speakers mounted on K&M 18807 holders. The sound is a huge improvement, and the speakers sit right where they should—making practice far more enjoyable.

🎼 Progress
This week I’ve circled back to four older pieces: Spindler’s Canon, Türk’s Bagatelle in F, and Andrew Craggs’s Afternoon Snooze and Blackout Blues. All recorded on the Kawai NV10 through Pianoteq 8 on Cubase, emulating the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX grand.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
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• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Welcome back to Piano, Finally, where I share the ups, downs, and sideways detours of learning piano later in life. This week’s opening note: if you contact me via Buzzsprout’s FanMail, I can’t reply—so if you’d like a conversation, please send an email to david@pianofinally.show.

It’s Science Week here in NSW schools, and between showing science demos to preschoolers and heading out to a Bach-meets-acrobatics performance, I’ve also been keeping an eye on September’s Sydney Fringe Festival.

YouTube Spotlight – Ben Maton, The Salisbury Organist
The algorithm got this one right. Ben Maton’s channel features visits to rural British churches, telling their stories and playing their organs—sometimes linking the repertoire directly to the church’s history. Expect Elgar in his birthplace, Hans Zimmer’s Interstellar, and even Elvis. Ben also composes, writes for Choir & Organ magazine, and shares his broader work at benmatonmusic.co.uk.

Essay – When Are We Going to Use This?
In teaching (and learning music), the question often isn’t about the piece itself, but the skills learned along the way. Just as science lessons might quietly teach students how to follow instructions, beginner pieces like Amazing Grace teach note-reading, even if they’ll never be performed. The best reason to choose a piece is to develop a skill you’ll use later—something I kept in mind when selecting my latest repertoire with Devi.

Review – ANZCA Modern Pianoforte Preliminary – Series 2
This companion to last week’s classical book includes pop, rock, blues, and boogie pieces. I’ve chosen Tick Tock Blues (C major, staccato/legato), Sneak (E♭ major), and Blue Sky Boogie (mezzo staccato). Slightly simpler than the classical volume, but great for building targeted skills.
Book link | ANZCA shop

Progress
This week: Study in G (Müller), Tick Tock Blues (Hunter), and the descending scale from Riders on the Storm. Classical pieces recorded on the Kawai NV10 with Pianoteq 8; Riders on the Nord Stage 4 with My Keys To Music presets.

📬 david@pianofinally.show | 🌐 pianofinally.show

The contents of this podcast were entirely generated by a human. These show notes, however, were created by ChatGPT.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
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• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Welcome to Episode 60 of Piano, Finally, a podcast about learning the piano later in life and enjoying the journey along the way.

This week, tickets went on sale for the Out West Piano Fest. It will be held in October at Blackdown Farm in Bathurst and features five concerts over three days with meals included. Wynona Wang, prize-winner at the 2023 Sydney International Piano Competition, will be performing, along with other pianists and a few surprise guests. More details are at Out West Piano Fest.

Early morning practice has its perks, but also one drawback: the cold. A simple solution? Fingerless merino wool gloves. They keep the hands warm without interfering with playing. Macpac Fingerless Gloves

YouTube Review – Greg Allison
This week I recommend Greg Allison’s channel, where he demonstrates all the presets for the Native Instruments Claire piano—over 100 in total. These videos are beautifully recorded, text-labelled, and let the sound speak for itself. He also covers Pianoteq instruments and other music gear. Greg Allison on YouTube

Essay – Choosing Six
New term, new pieces. Devi and I picked six pieces from the ANZCA Preliminary books to focus on specific skills: rhythm, articulation (particularly mixing legato and staccato), dynamics, and better awareness of key signatures. These selections are designed to help me progress steadily, building skills I can later bring back to more challenging pieces like the Mozart and Rossi works.

Review – ANZCA Preliminary Classical
The ANZCA preliminary series books are excellent stepping stones between preparatory pieces and Grade One. They include technical exercises, classical-era works, and 20th-century pieces. I review the classical book in this episode.
ANZCA website
ANZCA piano books
Classical Pianoforte Series 2 Preliminary Book

Progress
This week’s practice includes the first two of the new pieces: Study in G by August Müller and Tick Tock Blues by Glenn R. Hunter. For something different, you’ll also hear Dorico’s playback of these pieces before my own recordings

The contents of this podcast were entirely generated by a human. These show notes, however, were created by ChatGPT.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Welcome to Piano, Finally. This week brings a few changes in how the show is recorded. The entire episode has been produced in Cubase using Steinberg’s SpectraLayers for audio processing. Recording the MIDI data from the Kawai NV10 directly into Cubase has improved the quality of the piano sound—now I just need to work on improving my playing!

A warm welcome to new listeners who found the show through Marc Larochelle’s My Keys To Music newsletter. Thank you for joining the journey.

YouTube Feature – The Music Tab
Instead of a single channel, this week’s tip is to explore the Music tab in YouTube. You’ll find recommended videos across every style: brass arrangements, classical favourites, pop, rock, even oddities like “I’m a Barbie Girl in the style of six composers.” Clicking on things you wouldn’t normally listen to is a simple way to expand your musical horizons.

Essay – It’s Our Job
Jaime Martín’s pre-concert story about how hearing Pictures at an Exhibition changed his life sparked this week’s reflection. Every musician starts with a first experience. But with music education often shrinking, who is going to give kids those first experiences now? It has become our job.
Take the young people in your life to hear music that won’t come from a social media algorithm—live orchestras, jazz, folk, choirs. Every performance is a chance to spark curiosity and broaden their world.

Review – Editors Keys for Cubase
Learning Cubase can feel like learning a whole new language. This week I’ve been using a new keyboard from Editors Keys designed for Cubase. It has colour-coded keys and printed shortcuts, making it much faster to navigate. It’s Bluetooth and backlit, but I keep it plugged in so I don’t have to worry about battery life.
Editors Keys Keyboards

Theatre – Trophy Boys
At Carriageworks, I caught Trophy Boys, a sharp, funny and powerful play about private school debaters preparing for a final round. Performed by a female and non-binary cast, it’s on until 3 August.
More on the play

Progress
This week’s practice pieces are Spindler’s Canon, Türk’s Bagatelle in F, Craggs’s Afternoon Snooze and Blackout Blues, all recorded on the Kawai NV10 using the Native Instruments Claire Fazioli piano.

The contents of this podcast were entirely generated by a human. These show notes, however, were created by ChatGPT.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

G’day and welcome back to Piano, Finally—where a bloke learning piano later in life reports in from yet another theatre foyer. This week’s episode was written from the Northern Foyer of the Sydney Opera House, in the sunlight beneath John Olsen’s mural Salute to Slessor’s 5 Bells. A pre-concert talk with Jaime Martín and Genevieve Lang turned out to be one of the highlights of the week—more on that later.

🎨 More on the mural

📺 YouTube Feature – Aspen Music Festival and School

The Aspen Festival is back, and even if you can’t be there in person, you can still tune in from home. There are seven livestreams on their YouTube channel and on their Virtual Stage, featuring student and professional performances. Highly recommended if you’re looking for fresh inspiration or a reminder of just how good live music can be.

🎥 Aspen’s YouTube Channel

📝 Essay – Listening In

A Bill Hilton podcast sparked this week’s reflection: should we listen to recordings of the pieces we’re learning? For most of us, the answer is yes. Whether it’s YouTube performances of AMEB pieces (like Blackout Blues), a demo from your piano teacher, or a playback from notation software like Dorico or MuseScore, hearing a piece before (or while) learning it can be a huge help. And thanks to playback tools, you can even slow it down for practice or play along without needing a metronome.

🎹 Nord Stage 4 Review – The Effects Section

We wrap up the main parts of the Nord Stage 4 with a look at the effects engine. From reverb (room, hall, cathedral) to filters, phasers, delays, rotary speakers and more—there are dozens of ways to shape your sound, and most come with dual variations. The real challenge? Knowing when to stop tweaking.

🎼 Progress

Back to Wild Chase this week—polishing bars 9–16 and rounding out the ending. It’s shaping up well for the September showcase.

Also included: early work on Riders on the Storm using the Nord Stage 4 and presets from My Keys To Music. The sound is right, but the timing still needs work.

🎶 Pre-concert talk highlight: conductor Jaime Martín on childhood concerts, music in classrooms, and what Taylor Swift has in common with Diaghilev. A brilliant conversation hosted by Genevieve Lang.

🎼 More on the pre-concert talks

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Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Welcome to Piano, Finally, a podcast about learning the piano—later in life and without the pressure. This week’s episode has been recorded a day early as I head off to the Opera House for another concert in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s subscription series—more on that next week.

🎧 The latest episode of the Chopin Podcast focuses on the Polonaises, including one I hadn’t heard before: the Polonaise-Fantaisie, which has quickly become a favourite. Denis Zhdanov’s performance on YouTube is a good place to start—though the double flats in bar four suggest it’ll be a while before I try playing it.

🎭 I also caught Prima Facie at Carriageworks this week—powerfully performed by Sof Forrest in a one-person show. A brilliant actor in a confronting work staged by Black Swan Theatre Company. If you see it advertised, make time—but check the content warnings.
More on the production

📺 YouTube Spotlight – James Shawcross
If you’ve ever wondered what hidden pianos lurk in American thrift shops and antique stores, James Shawcross’s new channel is for you. He plays the pianos as he finds them—no tuning, no touch-ups—just character. His earlier channel, The Piano Forever, also has some lovely playing and thoughtful commentary from a younger James.

📝 Essay – Reading and Writing
This week’s reflection connects two developing skills: improvising and musical literacy. Inspired by Devi’s suggestion, I’ve started experimenting with basic improvisation (hint: two low Cs go a long way). While I’m not composing yet, I’ve realised that music reading feels a lot like early language development—sounding out notes like syllables, slowly growing into musical fluency. If we’ve learned to write entire essays and emails, maybe staff notation isn't so impossible after all.

🎹 Nord Stage 4 Review – Sampling
We wrap up the review of the Nord’s synthesiser section by looking at its sampling capabilities. You can trigger ambient sounds (like thunder and rain for Riders on the Storm), or load full sample libraries of other instruments. The Nord Sample Editor lets you build your own playable samples—imagine turning your mandolin into a Nord patch. Check out Nord’s tutorial here.

🎼 Progress
Still working on Wild Chase by Wynn-Anne Rossi, now officially chosen as my piece for Devi’s September showcase (if I can get it there). Recorded on the Kawai NV10 with the Claire Fazioli f308 virtual piano.

🎶 Sydney Symphony: Ravel and Falla

Everything in this episode was created entirely by a human. These show notes, however, were created by ChatGPT.

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You can contact me:

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Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

G’day, and welcome back to Piano, Finally, where each week I share the detours, lessons, and progress from learning piano later in life. This week’s episode was written from the foyer of the Bell Shakespeare Company’s theatre, ahead of a performance of Coriolanus—more on that at the end.

🎭 Term’s over, holidays have begun, and with piano lessons on break too, I’m gearing up for more time at the keys. Devi’s set a new goal for next term: get off the page and start improvising. She’s also locked in the date for this year’s piano showcase—Saturday, 21 September.

📺 YouTube Feature – Improvising Like the Masters
A timely find: Tom Donald from the London Contemporary School of Piano improvises well-known melodies in the styles of Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Rachmaninov, Messiaen, and more. It’s not a polished performance video—he talks through what he’s doing and leaves the rough bits in. It’s thoughtful, human, and inspiring. Watch it here and also check out his companion video.
LCSP Website

📝 Essay – Leaving Evidence
Thinking about history, The Rest Is History podcast, and how future historians figure out what happened… led me to wonder: how are we documenting our piano journeys? With modern phones, recording your playing is easier than ever—and worth doing. It helps you see progress, keeps motivation up, and creates a record of how far you’ve come. It doesn’t need to be public—YouTube and Instagram both offer private uploads—but it should exist. Leave yourself some evidence.
The Rest Is History Live Tour

🎹 Nord Stage 4 Review – The Synthesiser Section
This week, I explore the Nord Stage 4’s synthesisers. With three independent synth engines—subtractive, FM, and sample-based—you can combine sounds in endless ways. I’m currently learning sound design through Syntorial, and the Nord keeps up beautifully. Waveform visualisation on the Stage 4’s second display has been a huge help. A full FM section review is coming soon.
Want to try your own custom setups? Marc Larochelle of My Keys To Music has some brilliant ones, including a Riders on the Storm setup with thunderstorm samples. I’m working on it… but it’s not quite ready for public ears yet.

🎼 Progress
Just one piece this week: Wild Chase by Wynn-Anne Rossi. I’m through the first eight bars and working on the next. It’s one of those pieces where both hands have to be involved from the start. Still too slow, but hey—“As fast as you can” is relative.
Played on the Kawai NV10 with the Claire Fazioli f308 virtual piano by Native Instruments. Claire Bundle Info

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You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
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• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

G’day and welcome back to Piano, Finally, where an old bloke keeps learning the piano, one step (and one podcast) at a time.

This week’s script was written in the foyer of Carriageworks ahead of Aphrodite, a world premiere chamber opera by Nico Muhly. The venue, with its industrial charm and bold programming, is perfect for discovering new voices—and maybe a future Taylor Swift. More on the opera at the end of the episode.
🎭 Aphrodite at Carriageworks

🎸 Friday’s school carnival featured the annual Battle of the Bands—loud, fun, and featuring some talented Year 8 students. I only caught one band in between dunk tank duties, but it was great to see so many students skipping the rides and cheering on their friends.

🎧 This episode sounds a little different again—thanks to a second Rode NT1 mic that lets me speak and play at the same time. We’ll see how it goes.

📺 YouTube Spotlight – Zarty – Music
Discovered via algorithm magic, Zarty’s video “STOP PLEASE 21 Classical Accompaniments that are not Alberti Bass” was a revelation. Zarty breaks down alternatives to the classic Alberti pattern, showing each one in isolation and in Mozart context. His clear explanations and clean presentation make it easy to understand how accompaniment shapes the feel of a piece. Highly recommended for anyone struggling with left-hand patterns (like me on a bad day).

📝 Essay – Play Like No One Is Listening
Inspired by that old quote about dancing, I reflect this week on playing the piano as if no one is listening—even when they are. As hobbyist pianists, we’re lucky. No exams, no assessments, just the joy of learning and sharing music. Whether it's sneaking in a few bars during a music class cover or trying out the school grand piano after hours, I’ve learned that playing publicly—even informally—can be liberating and fun when there’s no pressure. Don’t wait for perfection. Share the music.

🎹 Nord Stage 4 Review – The Organs
We continue our Nord Stage 4 deep dive with the organ section. With two independent organs, full drawbar control, and models like the Hammond B3, Vox Continental, Farfisa, and two pipe organs, there’s plenty to explore. You can blend layers, apply vibrato and chorus, and even use pitch bend and sustain creatively. Nord Stage 4 Overview

🎼 Progress & Piano Talk
This week’s practice includes four pieces I’ve been maintaining, now played using a new virtual instrument—Claire by Native Instruments, sampling the legendary Fazioli f308. It’s not the $400k real thing, but it’s close enough through headphones. Claire Bundle

Until next week, play like no one is listening—and enjoy your time at the keys.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Welcome to Episode 54 of Piano, Finally, the podcast of one old bloke making his way—note by note—through learning the piano.

It’s been a big week at school with the Creative and Performing Arts Showcase on Wednesday and a packed end-of-term schedule coming up, featuring the walkathon, carnival, and Battle of the Bands (yes, I’ll be in the dunk tank again). The week also brought a tech upgrade with a new Mackie Big Knob Studio+ audio interface—so if the show sounds a bit different, that’s why. A review of it is on the way.

🎧 Video Feature – Best Piano VSTs of 2025
This week’s recommended video comes from Stu Harrison at Merriam Music, who reviews five top-tier piano VSTs: Keyscape, CFX Garritan, Addictive Keys, Pianoteq 8, and Claire. If you’re building out a virtual piano rig or just want to know what’s new, this is a thorough and insightful look. I’ve even added one of them to my own setup—hint: Mi piacciono i pianoforti italiani.

📝 Essay – Under Pressure
The Showcase performances sparked a reflection on pressure in music. While student performers juggle nerves, grading systems, and the looming ATAR, adult learners like me have the luxury of learning purely for enjoyment. No exams, no deadlines, just curiosity and flexibility. That freedom—especially to take detours like learning synthesis and adding stage keyboards—has been a huge part of the fun. I’m still debating whether to join the September recital, but if I do, I’ll choose something that keeps it enjoyable rather than stressful.

🎹 Gear Review – The Nord Stage 4 Pianos
We start a new review series on the Nord Stage 4 by looking at its piano section. Unlike traditional keyboards, the NS4 includes both modelled and sampled pianos (the latter via the synth engine). With limited memory, you have to choose your sounds carefully—but Nord makes it easy to load and swap models. I explore the grand, upright, electric, clavinet, and digital categories, including gems like the Velvet Grand, Amber Upright, and even a DX7. The Nord Sound Library offers many more. If you’re interested in purchasing the Stage 4 locally, here’s a link to Turramurra Music.

A standout feature? Layering. Up to seven sounds can be blended—say, an acoustic and electric piano—to create rich textures like those used by Elton John. Add in dynamic compensation, touch adjustments, and even pitch bending, and you’ve got a remarkably flexible performance tool.

🎼 Progress
This week’s practice focused on tricky passages from two pieces: Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja (Mozart) and Wild Chase(Wynn-Anne Rossi). Recorded using the Kawai NV10 and Pianoteq 8 with the New York Steinway D in Classical mode.

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You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
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• all the podcast directories - list
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Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

G’day and welcome to Episode 53 of Piano, finally, the podcast of a bloke getting around to learning the piano… finally.

This week finds me writing from the foyer of the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre in Penrith, not the Opera House this time. I was waiting for Shake & Stir’s touring production of 1984, and I have to say, it was an impressive adaptation—just five actors and some clever use of video screens. Highly recommended if it’s heading your way:
👉 Tour info
👉 The Joan

🎹 YouTube Recommendation: My Keys To Music
If Nord keyboards are your thing—or you want them to be—Marc Larochelle’s channel My Keys To Music is a goldmine. Whether he’s breaking down sound design, comparing Nord models, or just playing the Doctor Who theme from an overhead angle, it’s all very watchable and informative. He even explores AI tools for separating tracks into stems—something I plan to try during the holidays.

Courses, deeper dives, and downloadable patches are all on his website, and there’s bonus material via his Patreon. Just don’t sign up via the iOS app—Apple takes a cut. Use the web version instead.
🎥 My Keys To Music on YouTube

🎶 Essay: A Community
My performance of Someone Like You isn’t happening after all, but another chance looms—a recital at the end of Term 3. I’m undecided. Is performing worthwhile? Definitely. Music communicates, and someone needs to do the performing. Whether you’re a pro with the Sydney Symphony or a volunteer in a Christmas variety show, performance builds community between players and listeners. Maybe that’s reason enough.

🎛️ Gear Talk: Nord Stage 4 – Overview
I’ve finally got my hands on the Nord Stage 4 (88-key version), and this review will be spread over a few episodes. This keyboard is a beast—three instrument sections (organ, piano, synth), full effects, layering, aftertouch, triple sensors, 512-program capacity, and serious versatility. It’s 130cm long and nearly 20kg, so more “transportable” than portable, but you’d only need this one keyboard for most gigs.

🛒 Nord Stage 4 official page
🛍️ Turramurra Music – AU retailer
🛒 Sweetwater – US retailer

🎭 Coming Up: The Creative and Performing Arts Showcase is on Wednesday, and I’m looking forward to being impressed by our young artists.

🎵 Progress update: Still aiming for September recital readiness. Current contenders include:

• Fritz Spinder – Canon
• Daniel Gottlob Türk – Bagatelle
• Andrew Cragg – Afternoon Snooze, Blackout Blues

These were recorded using the Kawai NV10 and Pianoteq 8 with the New York Steinway D model.

Until next time—may your piano stay in tune and your practice time plentiful.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
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• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

G’day, and welcome back to Piano, Finally—a podcast from an old bloke finally learning the piano. This week’s episode was written once again from the busy foyer of the Sydney Opera House—where Vivid’s light show and some eye-watering appetiser prices ($825!) set the scene before another performance by Sir Stephen Hough.

We begin with an update from the Cliburn piano competition, streaming live on YouTube. All six finalists are men—curious, but I’m just glad to have a favourite from the earlier Gina Bachauer comp in the running. (Note to competition organisers: please consider school holidays next time!)

🎹 This week’s featured channel is DSoundman—a.k.a. Douglas: songwriter, studio producer, and worship leader. His content dives deep into keyboard reviews, tutorials, and creative sound design. Whether you’re new to Nord and Roland boards or just curious about what modern stage pianos can do, his videos are a treasure trove. He also sells courses and preset packs for those looking to level up.

In the essay, A Dangerous Business, we reflect on just how far the piano journey can carry you. What started with a single Roland piano has spiralled into digital grand actions, YouTube rabbit holes, sound design adventures, and reflections on music education. We tip our hat to David Bennett Piano, Elton John, and Billy Joel—and we explore why learning classical first still makes sense, even if you’re aiming for Pink Floyd.

Classical training builds the foundation—but pop music’s chord progressions are opening new doors. The goal is to blend both worlds, and it turns out the scenic route—via detours and diversions—makes for a much better trip.

🎛 To that end, we review Syntorial by Audible Genius—a powerful course that teaches synthesis through ear training rather than theory. With 199 lessons, a built-in synth, and a free trial of the first 22 lessons, it’s a brilliant way to learn what all those knobs and sliders actually do. It’s already helping improve listening skills and synth programming—and it’s surprisingly fun.

🎶 In progress news: the debating season’s over, practice is back on track (even if Wednesday went mysteriously off the rails), and a few “once-a-session” pieces made it to the mic—Spindler’s Canon, Türk’s Bagatelle in F, and Cragg’s Afternoon Snooze and Blackout Blues. Recorded on the Kawai NV10 with Pianoteq’s New York Steinway Model D, they’re a nod to the Cliburn competition’s piano of choice.

As always, get in touch at david@pianofinally.show or via pianofinally.show.

Until next time, I hope your piano stays in tune and your detours are just as rewarding.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
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• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

In the spirit of broadening musical horizons, this episode’s recommendation is the Early Music Sources channel, run by Elam Rotem. It’s a beautifully produced, deeply researched dive into the music of the 16th and 17th centuries — ideal if you're curious about how music evolved into what we hear today.
👉 Explore Early Music Sources
👉 Hear recordings by Elam Rotem

The essay this week is all about practice: how I’ve been organising mine, how it’s evolved, and why I’ve started playing each of my “ready” pieces just once a day. This one-take approach (also used for the progress recordings at the end of each episode) mirrors performance pressure — one shot, no do-overs. It makes for more mindful playing, even if the occasional mistake sneaks through. I break down how I categorise pieces (can’t play yet, sort of can, and performance-ready), and what my thirty-minute sessions tend to look like — or what gets skipped when time runs out.

The episode also includes a review of the Blue Mountains Musical Society’s production of Come From Away. The show is brilliantly cast, creatively staged, and a local production that holds its own against Broadway. And at $49 a ticket, it’s a bargain.
👉 Blue Mountains Musical Society – Book tickets

In the progress section: Mozart’s Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja, Wynn-Anne Rossi’s Wild Chase, and a first attempt at Van Halen’s Jump, patched together on the Nord Stage 4. The acoustic pieces were recorded using the Kawai NV10 with Pianoteq 8 on the M4 Pro Mac Mini, running the Anton Petrov Grand in Recording Mode 2.

Thanks again for listening. If you’re working on an instrument of your own, I’d love to hear how it’s going — send a note to david@pianofinally.show or visit the website at
👉 www.pianofinally.show

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

As I write this, I’m sitting in the Sydney Opera House foyer, waiting for a Stephen Hough concert. There’s also an update on the school’s Battle of the Bands (spoiler: I won’t be performing), and a quick mention of the Van Cliburn piano competition, which is now underway and streaming live — with top-down keyboard views and excellent coverage.
👉 Watch the Cliburn
👉 Ben Laude’s daily recaps

This week’s viewing suggestion is The Piano, a heartwarming ABC series set around a public upright in Sydney’s Central Station. Don’t confuse it with the BBC show of the same name — this one’s not a competition, though it does feature Harry Connick Jr. and Andrea Lam quietly observing from behind the scenes. The stories are beautifully produced and moving.
👉 Watch the featured segment
👉 View the full series on iView

I also look back at the podcast’s first year — the ups and downs of recording, what’s improved, and how it’s changed how I engage with music. From new genres to more concerts, the podcast has opened a lot of doors, including a trip to Armidale and plans for a piano festival in Bathurst.

In this week’s concert review, I recap Sir Stephen Hough performing Brahms’ First Piano Concerto with the SSO — with a Prokofiev highlight and encore Chopin Nocturne to round it off. You can find a Spotify playlist of the concert here:
👉 SSO concert page

The practice pieces this week include Mozart’s Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja and Wild Chase by Wynn-Anne Rossi. I’m making headway, especially with Alberti bass and coordination across hands.

And for early music fans, check out Elam Rotem’s Early Music Sources channel — packed with 16th- and 17th-century insights and examples.
👉 Early Music Sources and recordings

Thanks again for listening this past year. Here’s to the next fifty!

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
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• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

🎼 Back to Lessons
Lessons resumed this week after the summer break—though it’s a short term, just five weeks before Devi heads overseas again. Playing the Spindler Canon and the Bagatelle in F in front of someone else felt very different than at home. I also made a bit of progress on Mozart—those first two bars are getting there, slowly.

🎬 YouTube Pick – Andy Chamberlain Music
This week’s video recommendation is You’ve Been Lied To About Time Signatures by Andy Chamberlain Music. It starts with theory basics, then dives into some wonderful historical context—particularly from 18:45 to 24:40, where Andy explains how 13th-century notation influences what we see on the page today.
Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfWy5yhAukA

🧠 Essay – Do you need a piano teacher?
After a year of lessons, I reflect on how much more I’ve enjoyed and benefited from guided learning than I did trying to go it alone. From immediate feedback and technique tips to having someone who finds pedal technique as interesting as you do—it makes all the difference. Devi helped me fix timing in Afternoon Snooze and even fingering in Der Vogelfänger. For me, lessons are more than worth it.

🎹 Review – K&M Keyboard Stand
I recently bought a K&M 18810 Omega stand for the Nord Stage 4. It’s rock solid, holds the 20kg keyboard without a problem, and looks like it’ll last a lifetime. I’ve added the second-tier riser, a laptop shelf, and an iPad holder—great flexibility, sturdy German engineering, and easily sourced here in Australia.
More about K&M: https://www.k-m.de/en/
Where I bought mine: https://www.turramusic.com.au/products/konig-meyer-k-m-18810-omega-keyboard-stand

🎧 Progress Update
You’ll hear Afternoon Snooze and Blackout Blues again this week, plus the two bars of Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja I’ve been polishing. I’m also working on Wild Chase by Wynn-Anne Rossi—an energetic piece that’s tricky because the melody is shared between both hands. Not ready to record yet, but it’s underway.
Everything was recorded on the Kawai NV10 with Pianoteq 8 using the Anton Petrov Grand in Recording Mode One.

📬 Get in Touch
Email: david@pianofinally.show
Website: http://www.pianofinally.show
Also on Instagram and YouTube (audio only). Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favourite app.

🎉 Coming Up
Next week marks the podcast’s first birthday, and I’ll take a look back at the year that was.

Until then, I hope your piano stays in tune and you enjoy your time at the keys.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Welcome to Episode 48. This week, I reflect on remixing, musical distractions, and the sneaky ways we convince ourselves we’re making progress.

🎧 Remixing in the Classroom
Year 9 music students had a workshop on remixing, led by two presenters, including musician Nyxen. I got to sit in on parts of the day and was surprised by how much I enjoyed her music and her breakdown of the production process.
Check out Nyxen’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/@NYXENMUSIC
Here’s the track they worked on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4136AwqMjiA

🎹 Denis Zhdanov’s Competition Story
A fun video from Denis Zhdanov about his first piano competition—light, entertaining, and with a nice piece at the end: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOAuDBWLzXI

📺 YouTube Pick – David Bennett Piano
David Bennett’s videos dissect music theory through popular songs. I’ve learned a lot from his breakdowns of chord progressions and modes.
Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidBennettPiano
This week’s pick is especially useful:
“Film and TV Themes that will help you identify intervals” – a great resource for recognising intervals by ear, from Jaws to The Flintstones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JftZNTUJTJc

🧠 Essay – Dancing about architecture
There’s a quote—often misattributed—about how writing about music is like dancing about architecture. I use it this week to reflect on the trap of watching music content instead of doing music.
I’ve set myself a rule: no YouTube videos or piano reading during the week until I’ve done at least 30 minutes of practice. No more illusions of progress without real playing.

📘 Review – Bill Hilton’s “Exercises, Inventions & Ideas”
As a Patreon supporter, I’ve been working through Bill Hilton’s teaching pack. The first PDF includes a clever dexterity exercise with deliberately tricky fingering, a pedal-focused invention using finger cycling, and a segment on legato/staccato control.
The first video and download in the series is free to all: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8kQ2qn7qCk

🎼 Progress Update

• Türk’s Bagatelle in F is now on maintenance rotation.
• Afternoon Snooze and Blackout Blues are getting close—though I’ve slowed down Afternoon Snooze, because a nap should sound lazy, not brisk.
• Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja is coming together with both hands, very slowly.
• Mozart is in the best shape this week.

All recordings used the Kawai NV10 with Pianoteq 8 emulating a Bösendorfer VC.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

🎭 On Stage
If you're in Sydney or the Blue Mountains, tickets are now on sale for the Blue Mountains Musical Society’s production of Come From Away, on at Springwood later this month.
Tickets: https://www.bluemountainstheatre.com.au/what-s-on/season-2025/come-from-away/

🎼 Streaming Spotlight
I caught Yunchan Lim’s phenomenal performance of Bach’s Goldberg Variations at Carnegie Hall via Stage+. As the youngest winner of the Van Cliburn competition, he delivered 80 uninterrupted minutes of brilliance—and possibly some sneaky B-roll camera work.
Watch on Stage+: https://www.stage-plus.com/video/live_concert_9HKNCPA3DTN66PBIEHFJGE9I

🎧 Podcast of the Week
This week’s recommendation is Musicianship Mastery by David Lane—formerly The Musician’s Toolkit. Now back to a weekly schedule, the show focuses on practical musicianship skills. Highlights include why memorisation matters and an inspiring interview with Michael Hall on blending Western classical and Indonesian music.
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/musicianship-mastery-with-david-lane/id1661500413

🎹 New Gear – Nord Stage 4
Yes, I bought a Nord Stage 4—a top-tier stage piano blending organ, piano, and synth engines. I’m halfway through a great course by Marc Larochelle at MyKeysToMusic. The Nord’s 384 built-in programs have nudged me toward improvisation—something I hadn’t seriously explored before. Turns out, just playing around with sounds can be surprisingly useful.
More on the Nord Stage 4: https://www.nordkeyboards.com/products/nord-stage-4

🥁 Review – Roland TR-6S Drum Machine
Never clicked with metronomes, so I turned to the Roland Aira TR-6S drum machine instead. It’s musical, easy to use, and blends well with piano practice. I picked mine up from Turramurra Music—though they’re currently out of stock.
Roland product page: https://www.roland.com/GLOBAL/products/tr-6s
Where I bought it: https://www.turramusic.com.au/products/roland-tr-6s

🎶 Progress Update
This week includes Spindler’s Canon again—now with a drum machine hand clap—plus two Andrew Craggs pieces. The Mozart is coming along slowly with both hands, but still a way to go. 

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Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

On ANZAC Day, I joined the Hawkesbury District Concert Band as a bus driver for the Sydney march. It was a real privilege to be part of an important community event alongside students and local musicians.

If you’ve been following the Chopin competitions this year, good news — the preliminary rounds are now streaming live from Warsaw! Introductions are in Polish and English, but of course, the music transcends language. If you’d like to catch some incredible performances, here’s the link to the first session:
👉 Watch the Warsaw preliminary rounds

Also, if you're curious about music theory (with a twist of science and art), I recommend The Meta in Music lecture series by Professor Milton Mermikides. It’s based loosely on Gödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter and brings Bach's puzzles and musical secrets to life. It's well worth a look — here’s the link to the first lecture:
👉 Watch The Meta in Music

In this episode, I also talk about why it’s worth making the effort to attend smaller, local concerts. From feeling the vibrations of cellos and pianos at arm’s length, to having the chance to chat with performers, small venue performances really reconnect you with what music is meant to be — human, shared, and vibrant.

Finally, I share my experience at the Megalong Music Festival. Set in the beautiful Megalong Valley in the Blue Mountains, it was a spectacular celebration of chamber music, community, and brilliant young musicians.
If you’d like to learn more about the festival or get involved next year, you’ll find more information here:
👉 Megalong Music Festival

Thanks for joining me again. If you’re learning an instrument yourself, I’d love to hear from you!
Until next week, I hope your piano stays in tune and you enjoy your time at the keys.

🎹 www.pianofinally.show
📧 david@pianofinally.show

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
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• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

🚗 Road Trip & Piano Concert
The episode begins with a musical journey—literally—to Armidale for the Piano Plus Showcase Concert, part of the Autumn Piano School. The highlight? Watching Coady Green blaze through two of Anton Rubenstein’s études with jaw-dropping precision.
🎶 Listen to the études: YouTube Link

🥁 Practising with Rhythm
David shares his experiment with using a drum machine instead of a metronome. Inspired by the idea that bands keep time with drummers, he’s testing this approach to add energy to his practice sessions. More updates coming in the next episode!

🎧 Podcast Pick: Start Here (Season 2)
A glowing recommendation for the Start Here podcast from ABRSM, hosted by Alexis Ffrench. It dives into musical genres beyond classical, including Drum & Bass, Drill, Gaming Music, and Opera—with expert guests each week.

🎹 Essay: What Does It Mean to "Play" the Piano?
In a thoughtful essay, David considers how different languages express playing music—and why in English we use the word “play.” Whether it’s for pleasure, growth, or expression, choosing to play is a powerful act. He reflects on the tension between delayed gratification and having fun now, and how tools like the Nord Stage 4 bring extra joy to learning.

🎵 Practice Progress
David continues work on preparatory pieces Afternoon Snooze and Blackout Blues, and starts a new piece from Grade 1: Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja from Mozart’s The Magic Flute, arranged by Barrie Carson Turner.

🏞️ Bonus Music Outing
A surprise chamber music concert at the Megalong Music Festival offered a magical Sunday and will be featured in more detail in the next episode.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

🎵 The School Song Saga
I kicked off the holidays with a curious challenge: trying to play the school song. Despite knowing it well, my first attempt sounded way off – but, oddly enough, it fixed itself the next day. Still working on the fingerings, though.

📺 Stage+ – A Treasure Trove of Classical Documentaries
I talk about the value of Stage+, a high-quality classical music streaming platform from Deutsche Grammophon. It offers not just performances but excellent documentaries, including “Magic Moments in Music” and stories about greats like Bernstein, Karajan, Tsujii, Lang Lang, and Trifonov.

🎼 Choosing My Pieces for the Year
Devi and I selected four main pieces for the coming months – all aimed at expanding my technique and musical range.

1. 🎶 Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja (Mozart / arr. Barrie Carson Turner)
   A bright, fast piece introducing Alberti bass and runs in G major.
   🎧 Listen here
2. 🎹 A Wild Chase (Wynn-Anne Rossi)
   Tricky fingering, dual bass clefs, and a fast tempo – definitely a challenge.
   🎧 Listen here
3. 🕰️ Going Baroque (Glenda Austin)
   My first foray into baroque-style music, complete with counterpoint and complexity.
   🎧 Listen here
4. 🎤 Hallelujah (Jeff Buckley)
   From the Rockschool Contemporary Piano book – a modern piece with a strong rhythmic focus.
   🎧 Listen here

📘 Book Review – The Pop Piano Book by Mark Harrison
A Discord recommendation, this 500-page book is a full course on pop piano playing. It starts with theory and moves into genre-specific chapters like R&B, gospel, and rock. The book’s practical but bulky – maybe the PDF version is the way to go.
📖 Find it at Harrison Music

🎧 Progress Report
Two pieces are now performance-ready: Spindler’s Canon and Türk’s Bagatelle in F. I’m still working on Afternoon Snooze and Blackout Blues – both tricky in their own ways. Recorded on the Kawai NV10 with Pianoteq 8’s U4 upright model.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

🎶 Sydney Symphony and Daniil Trifonov
I had the pleasure of hearing Daniil Trifonov perform Rachmaninov’s Fourth Piano Concerto at the Opera House. A magical evening that also featured Lyadov’s The Enchanted Lake—a piece by a lesser-known Russian composer. Learn more about Anatoly Lyadov and why he might have missed his big break.

🎹 YouTube Find: Andertons Music Co.
If you enjoy keyboard demos and a bit of fun, check out Andertons Keyboard Department. Hosted by Jack Duxbury and friends, this channel has blindfold challenges, gear reviews, and loads of musical insight. You can explore the full Andertons Music Co. YouTube channel here.

🤖 Essay: Artificial Meaning
After attending a Matthew Cawood masterclass and watching Rick Beato’s video Will these AI tools make songwriters irrelevant in 2025?, I’ve been pondering the role of human connection in music. AI tools like Mureka and Suno can now churn out tunes, but can they offer anything meaningful? Or are they just filling silence?

📘 Book Review: Playing the Piano for Pleasure by Charles Cooke
A recommendation from the Bill Hicks Discord group led me to this charming book from 1941. Cooke, a journalist and keen amateur pianist, offers timeless advice, personal stories, and repertoire suggestions. A few tips may feel dated (one hour of practice daily, anyone?), but the book remains a gem. You can grab a copy on Amazon.

📩 Stay in Touch
Got piano progress or practice stories to share? Drop me a line at david@pianofinally.show or visit www.pianofinally.show. You’ll also find audio-only versions of the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

🎧 This Week’s Practice Pieces:

• Fritz Spindler’s Canon
• Daniel Gottlob Türk’s Bagatelle in F
• Andrew Cragg’s Afternoon Snooze and Blackout Blues
  All recorded in one take using a Kawai NV10 with Pianoteq 8 and a Shigeru Kawai SK-EX model.

Thanks for tuning in—whether you’re a regular or it’s your first time here. Until next time, keep playing and keep listening.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

G’day, and welcome back to Piano, finally—a podcast by an old bloke learning the piano, finally.

This week’s episode is a little different. I’m thrilled to share the very first interview on the show, and it’s with someone many of you have heard me mention before—my piano teacher, Devi Mamak. We sat down at her studio to chat about music, teaching, and learning piano as an adult. A big thanks to Devi for taking the time to speak after a full day of teaching.

🎹 Links from the episode
Check out Devi’s music and teaching via her website:
🔗 https://caravandancecompany.com.au/devi-mamak/

📬 Get in touch
Let me know how your own piano (or other musical) journey is going.
Email me at: david@pianofinally.show
Show website: www.pianofinally.show

🎧 Coming up next week
We’ll be back to the usual format. I’ll chat about how we picked the next four Grade 1 pieces from the AMEB Piano for Leisure and ABRSM Rock School books, and walk through how I set myself up for productive practice sessions.

🎵 Progress update
I’m working on refining three pieces:

• Fritz Spindler’s Canon
• Turk’s Bagatelle in F
• Andrew Craggs’ Afternoon Snooze

You’ll hear the first take of each—rough edges and all.

Thanks again for tuning in. Until next time, may your piano stay in tune and your practice time be rewarding.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

🎵 A Conspiracy in Classical Music?
It started with a video about using a metronome and ended with a full-blown theory claiming we’re all playing classical music twice as fast as intended. This “Whole Beat Theory” suggests tempo markings were meant for both ticks and tocks of a metronome, not just ticks. It’s an interesting idea… but does it hold up to scrutiny?

Turns out, not really. Performances by pianists like Ashkenazy and Yunchan Lim show that Chopin’s intended tempo for the Revolutionary Etude is quite playable the conventional way. We also get into why this theory falls apart when applied to opera or examined historically. You won’t find a link to the video here, but if you're curious, a quick search for “Whole Beat Conspiracy” should do the trick.

🎹 Essay – Getting Curious About Keyboards
Thanks to a few YouTube suggestions (and maybe a recent headphone search), I’ve found myself watching videos about electronic keyboards. Turns out, there's a whole universe of buttons, knobs and sliders up there beyond the keys.

A couple of videos worth checking out:

• How to sound like Elton John on a Nord Stage 3
• Patch walkthrough for iconic pop song sounds

It’s fascinating stuff – especially how a traditional piano performance can be shaped by modern tech. I’m definitely intrigued, and a stage piano might be on the wishlist now.

🎧 Review – AMEB Rock School Grade 1
If you’re looking for graded music that’s a bit more modern, the Rock School syllabus might be worth a look. I picked up the Grade One book and found pieces by the likes of Taylor Swift, The Beatles, and Sir Elton John. The pieces are short, approachable, and well within reach after a year of playing.

You can hear them before you buy too:

• Summit School of Music's Grade 1 playlist
• Buy the book at AMEB

🎼 Progress & Practice
This week, I was a bit out of sorts with my routine – left my practice notes at work – but still made some headway. Working on Blackout Blues by Andrew Craggs and a Mozart piece (Die Zauberflöte arrangement) with a focus on hands separately. Played on the Kawai NV10 using Pianoteq 8.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

This week, I prepared part of this episode at the Sydney Opera House before attending Bell Shakespeare’s Henry V. It’s one of my favorite Shakespeare history plays, and this production was excellent.

YouTube Spotlight: Jameson Nathan Jones
Jameson Nathan Jones is a composer and performer with a unique approach to music composition. His YouTube channel stands out with video titles like Key Signatures Aren’t Prisons and Music Theory that Composers Actually Use. His training in classical piano and organ makes his teaching particularly relevant. If you're interested in composing as well as playing, his channel is worth checking out: Jameson Nathan Jones.

Essay – External Memory
Balancing learning the piano with a busy life means finding ways to stay organized. This week, I focused on improving my practice efficiency. My system includes:

• A leather briefcase with printed scores and backup reading glasses
• An iPad with Newzik for digital scores (though I often forget to charge it!)
• A big hardcover notebook where my teacher, Devi, writes key practice points

Taking notes during and after practice has helped make my sessions more productive and given me a clearer sense of progress. Keeping track of improvements is a great way to stay motivated, especially when frustration strikes (like hitting unintended black keys!).

Review – AMEB Piano for Leisure
I’ve been looking for repertoire to challenge myself, and while browsing a music store, I came across the AMEB Piano for Leisure series. Unlike the traditional classical syllabus, Piano for Leisure offers a more varied selection of pieces but maintains the same technical requirements.

I picked up the Series 1, First Grade book, which includes 11 diverse pieces—from boogie woogie to Mozart. The structured difficulty makes it a great choice for learners. If you’re considering it, you can preview the pieces online: AMEB Piano for Leisure.

I also found complete YouTube playlists for these books, making it easy to hear how the pieces should sound: AMEB Repertoire.

Closing

By the way, Henry V was a fantastic production—if you get the chance to see it, I highly recommend it.

Progress Update
This week, I focused on refining my articulation in Bagatelle in F and Afternoon Snooze while adding four more bars to Blackout Blues.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

Welcome!
Thanks for tuning in to Episode 39 of Piano, finally! Whether you're a first-time listener or a returning friend, I appreciate you being here. If you're on your own piano-learning journey, feel free to share your progress with me at david@pianofinally.show.

🎧 Piano News & Resources

• 🎼 Chopin Podcast Returns!
  Ben Laude announced that The Chopin Podcast is back with a monthly release schedule leading up to the International Chopin Competition. Check it out here.
• 🎵 ABRSM's Start Here Podcast
  The second season of ABRSM’s Start Here podcast, hosted by Alexis Ffrench, is now available. It explores different musical genres and is a great way to discover new sounds. Listen here.
• 🎹 Howard Piano Industries YouTube & Podcast
  If you're into piano care and maintenance, Howard Piano Industries has a fantastic collection of videos and a new podcast. Learn about tuning, repairs, and piano history. Find it here.

📝 Essay – Choosing Music

Finding the right music as an adult learner can be a challenge. Many beginner books are geared towards children, but there are great alternatives:

✔️ Easy Piano Books – Look for Easy Piano or Really Easy Piano editions of music you love. These books often include a range of difficulties, allowing you to progress naturally.

✔️ Exam Syllabuses – Music examination boards publish graded lists of pieces that are great for structured learning. Some useful ones:

• ABRSM Piano Syllabus 2025/26 – Download here.
• ANZCA Piano Syllabus – View here.
• RCM Piano Syllabus – Check it out.

If you're looking for pieces that are not too easy, not too hard, these syllabuses are a great place to start!

🔧 Review - The Piano Doctor’s Tuning Kit

Interested in learning how to tune a piano? I picked up The Piano Doctor’s tuning kit and gave it a try. The set includes:

• A sturdy tuning hammer with a fixed-angle head
• Rubber mutes to silence strings
• Additional rubber mute ends

For beginners looking for a reliable kit, this is a solid option. Check it out here.

Send me a text message.

You can contact me:

• via email at david@pianofinally.show; this is probably the best option
• the show website, www.pianofinally.show
• Instagram and Threads @pianofinally
• and on YouTube 
• all the podcast directories - list
• here's the RSS feed

Some of the links to books and other items mentioned in the podcast may affiliate links for Amazon or other providers. If you use one of these links, a commission may be paid to me at no additional cost to you. Thank you if you use a link. 
All reviews of products, websites and services are unpaid, and no sponsorship has been received for any content on this podcast.

G’day, and welcome to Episode 38 of Piano, Finally! If you’re new here, I hope you enjoy the episode. If you’re a returning listener, thanks for coming back!

This week, I’m recording on Saturday instead of Sunday because tomorrow, I’ll be attending my first Sydney Symphony Orchestra concert of the year. The program includes a new work by Australian composer Carl Vine, the Elgar Violin Concerto, and Vaughan Williams’ Symphony No. 3, plus a pre-concert lecture. I’ll share all the details in next week’s episode!

YouTube Recommendation – Words Unravelled

I recently came across the YouTube channel Words Unravelled, presented by Rob Watts and American academic Jess Zafarris. Like RobWords, it delves into language origins, and the episode I watched was What’s the Difference Between a Violin and a Fiddle?.

The episode explores the history of instrument names, including how piano is a contraction of pianoforte, which itself comes from gravicembalo col piano e forte. It also looks at the names of string and brass instruments—you might be surprised where trumpet fits in!

Check out the episode here: Watch on YouTube

Essay – Move On

This week’s essay is inspired by one of my favorite Stephen Sondheim songs, Move On, from Sunday in the Park with George. The song encourages artists to keep moving forward despite external opinions—a message that resonates deeply with me as a piano learner.

One of the biggest challenges I face is transitioning from learning a piece to performing it. In practice, I stop and correct mistakes, but in performance mode, I need to move on without disrupting the flow. It’s a skill I’m still working on, and it’s reassuring to know that even professional pianists make the occasional slip but recover seamlessly.

Book Review – The Musician’s Way

My piano teacher, Devi, recently lent me The Musician’s Way: A Guide to Practice, Performance, and Wellness by Gerald Klickstein. Written by a performer and teacher with over 30 years of experience, this book offers practical advice for musicians.

It divides practice into three phases:

1. New material – Understanding the piece before even touching the instrument.
2. Developing material – Refining technique, articulation, and dynamics.
3. Performance material – Preparing for a confident and seamless presentation.

One of Klickstein’s key insights is to include articulation and dynamics from the start, so you don’t learn an incorrect version first—a piece of advice Devi often gives me!

If you're interested, the book is available here: The Musician’s Way on Amazon

Progress Update

This week, I’ve been working on:
🎵 Bagatelle in F – Daniel Gotlobb Türk
🎵 Afternoon Snooze – Andrew Craggs
🎵 Blackout Blues – Andrew Craggs (Still working on getting both hands coordinated!)

All recordings were made using the Kawai NV10 keyboard and Pianoteq 8, set to a New York Steinway D in player mode.