212: From The Notes On the Page To Artistry And Mastery, with Dennis Alexander (Premier Piano Course)

<p class="p1">Today we have the honour of talking with one of the top authors of piano books over the last nearly 35 years: Dennis Alexander.</p> <p class="p2"> </p> <p class="p1">With over <a href= "https://www.alfred.com/authors/dennis-alexander/?utm_source=mupod_shownotes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=mupodcast"> 400 publications and recordings on Alfred Music</a>, including Alfred’s flagship piano method <a href= "https://www.alfred.com/premier-piano-course/?utm_source=mupod_shownotes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=mupodcast"> Premier Piano Course</a>, Dennis is one of the world’s most prolific and popular composers of educational piano music for students at all levels. In 2015 he was awarded a “Lifetime Achievement Award” by the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy in recognition of his extraordinary service to the music teaching profession.</p> <p class="p2"> </p> <p class="p1">Mr. Alexander provides a rich learning experience for his students by bringing awareness to the importance of musicality. Often dull topics like music theory and reading notation are brought to life with a creativity and a consciousness of musical expression.</p> <p class="p2"> </p> <p class="p1">In this conversation we talk about:</p> <p class="p2"> </p> <p class="p1">• How Dennis’ background in playing by ear and improvising feeds into how he approaches composing.</p> <p class="p1">• The main difference between children and adult learners and one great way to make learning more enjoyable and improvisation less intimidating if you’re an adult learner.</p> <p class="p1">• And the specific aspects which you should have in mind to bring a rendition from a strictly-correct but unmoving one through to a compelling, musical performance.</p> <p class="p2"> </p> <p class="p1">Enjoy this glimpse into what makes one of the top piano methods much more than just “playing the right notes at the right time”. Even if you’re not a piano player you don’t want to miss all of the deep musical insight in this interview!</p> <p class="p2"> </p> <