The Long Road To Writing A Sonata
It had never been on my radar to write a sonata, but back in July 2021 I had an idea for a little ditty for my beginner piano students,...
top of page
Grant Arnold
Music
Search
Grant Arnold
Jan 5, 20212 min read
Reflections on being a composer
Some people say they’d love to be able to compose music, and some might even ‘have a go at it’ but tend to give up when all they seem to...
65 views2 comments
Grant Arnold
Jan 2, 20212 min read
How I composed ‘On Christmas Day’
Here's the piece -https://youtu.be/C3q4kGkKcEk It was early Christmas Day 2020, and I was going about doing normal things, preparing for...
35 views0 comments
Grant Arnold
Jun 13, 20202 min read
Composer Cat - or should it be called 'Cat Attack'?
Haha ... no, the cat did not really compose anything! My cat, Oscar, couldn't care less about this piece, because cats are like that!...
52 views0 comments
Grant Arnold
Aug 11, 20187 min read
How I compose music for the piano - complete with real examples from two of my pieces
Is it difficult to compose a piece for piano? Does it take hours, days, weeks or months? Do we have to be ‘inspired’ at the start, or can...
182 views0 comments
Grant Arnold
Dec 15, 20163 min read
Things we want to do - easy or hard?
What makes us think that anything we want to do is going to be easy to achieve, or hard for that matter, or anywhere in-between? I reckon...
51 views0 comments
Grant Arnold
Sep 1, 20161 min read
Why short fingernails are important for piano playing.
Even though finger nails can be useful and desirable, they're not so good if you want to be a good piano player and progress past the...
263 views0 comments
Grant Arnold
Jun 5, 20163 min read
Wrong Notes - Are they good or bad? And what do we do about them?
What should we think about wrong notes, or mistakes generally? Whether we like it or not, they happen frequently when learning the piano,...
40 views0 comments
Grant Arnold
May 7, 20161 min read
Feel free to play Ravel's Bolero now!
Do you know that famous orchestral piece by Ravel called 'Bolero'? It has a really catchy theme which repeats over and over. In fact it...
14 views0 comments
Grant Arnold
Apr 16, 20162 min read
What's The Piano Good For? Rocking Riffs or Beautiful Melodies?
Well let's start by saying that 'rocking riffs' are good on the piano, because the piano can be made to sound exciting and rhythmic....
8 views0 comments
Grant Arnold
Mar 17, 20162 min read
Look after your instrument!
Steinway, Bechstein, Mercedes, Audi.... These are a few names of piano and car manufacturers. And they are prestige brands! And they are...
18 views0 comments
Grant Arnold
Jan 6, 20162 min read
How important is 'musical form'?
The 'musical form' of a piece of music is a fundamental aspect of it, and plays a vital role in its success (or otherwise). What is...
507 views0 comments
Grant Arnold
Jan 4, 20163 min read
Creating a 'house' for your musical ideas
Do you want to know how to organise your musical ideas? In this blog, we will think of a musical composition as being like a ‘house’, and...
29 views0 comments
Grant Arnold
Jan 2, 20161 min read
Why doesn't everyone sing?
Almost everyone can sing if they want to, but why are many people afraid to sing? Here's a video I found that explains some of the...
8 views0 comments
Grant Arnold
Nov 23, 20153 min read
What sort of piano or keyboard should I buy when I start piano lessons?
If you already have an upright or grand piano in good working order, then fantastic!!! Stop reading right here!!! But if you don’t have...
46 views0 comments
bottom of page