I guess, in total, nearly 20 years. I started when I was 7, and had lessons until the age of 18. Then restarted again at around 25-ish after spending too long at university doing science degrees.
What kind of repertoire do you enjoy playing, and listening to?
I have very broad listening tastes – any type of music from anywhere really. I’m a composer too so I think listening widely is really important for broadening your musical horizons. I’m much more conservative when it comes to playing though. I recently discovered I love playing Bach, which is great for the fingers, brain and soul! I played a lot of classical repertoire at school, but now love playing the Romantics (Brahms, Chopin and Rachmaninoff particularly) and really enjoy Debussy. I’d like to learn some works from more modern composers too, particularly Kapustin and Ligeti. I also like playing jazz – Cole Porter, Fats Waller, Herbie Hancock, anything really.
How do you make the time to practise? Do you enjoy practising?
I think people make time for what’s important. I love practising so I usually find time at the expense of other things (like exercise!). I play at least an hour a day, often more. Learning to play a really great piece is quite addictive I think – and really life enhancing to spend so much time in the company of a great work of art. Usually I play in the evenings, but sometimes manage 45mins before work too.
Have you participated in any masterclasses/piano courses? What have you gained from this experience?
Yes, both, multiple times. My masterclass experiences have been mixed – some have been wonderfully enlightening and encouraging, and some rather soul destroying! I think it depends on how well you know the piece (don’t even consider doing it unless you know the piece absolutely inside out!) and the personality of the teacher. As for summer schools – I like to go to one every year or so, to sort of turbo-charge my enthusiasm for practising. I’ve been to Chetham’s a few times, which is amazingly invigorating but absolutely exhausting! I always come back fresh with new ideas for how to practice, and an enormous wish-list of pieces to learn. I’ve also done a week at Dartington and been to the COMA (Contemporary Music for Amateurs) summer school a few times, which are much more varied as they don’t just focus on piano. It’s always a real pleasure to meet like-minded people at summer schools and share you passion.
If you are taking piano lessons what do you find a) most enjoyable and b) most challenging about your lessons?
I think being challenged to think and hear in a different way is the most enjoyable aspect of lessons, as well as being introduced to new repertoire. The most challenging aspect of lessons is probably not playing as well as I know I can when I’m home alone. Which is really frustrating!
What are the special challenges of preparing for a piano exam as an adult?
Fear of making an idiot of yourself! I was scared of having a memory lapse, as I always play from memory. Finding enough time and courage to practice the whole program in front of people can be a challenge too. But overall I’ve really enjoyed preparing for the two exams I’ve done as an adult (ATCL and LTCL performance diplomas).
Has taking piano lessons as an adult enhanced any other areas of your life?
I’ve certainly met more pianists through lessons, which has been great. I think playing piano and challenging yourself to continue learning has enormous benefits in all areas of life, and makes you more mentally alert.
What advice would you give to other adults who are considering taking up the piano or resuming lessons?
Do it! But find a teacher who enthuses you and makes you want to practice, not one who makes you feel like you have to start from scratch every week.
If you could play one piece, what would it be?
Something very long – like Bach’s Goldberg Variations – so I didn’t run out of music!
Though actually it might be Chopin’s Fourth Ballade…
Caroline Wright has an MMus in musical composition from the University of London, and a Licentiate Diploma in Piano Performance from Trinity College of Music, London. She is a scientist by profession, and blogs about musical memory at http://memorisingmusic.com.
I remember sitting at the piano at my Grandma Packy’s as a very little girl and being completely entranced. We didn’t have a piano and I would pick out songs and create my own whenever I found one. I wanted to take lessons for years as a child but my parents refused until I was 9. My Grandfather Zickert was an opera singer and they didn’t want that life for me.
Who or what inspired you to start teaching?
It wasn’t a matter of whether I was going to teach—it was what. I remember getting in trouble for bringing all the little neighbourhood kids to our house and playing school when I was 7 or 8. I am pretty much a born teacher. You know the old saying, “them that can’t teach”? I don’t think it means what we commonly think. To me it means that you can’t do anything else because it is your true nature—your true calling.
I started teaching when I was in high school. As much as I would do things differently with those early students now, I know that that those first teaching experiences—good and bad—are the rock that my teaching and blogging are built on today.
Who were your most memorable/significant teachers?
All my teachers have been memorable. Some in positive and others perhaps not so much. I learned both what to do and what not to do from them all. From my childhood teacher, I learned to read music, basic theory, and how to create basic arrangements. From my undergraduate professor, Patrick Meierotto, I learned that music was an entire world of sound, thought, and communication with others—the most important lesson of all in my opinion. Once that lesson was well and truly ingrained, I was able to build on it and grow into myself. As I practice and teach bits of advice from all of my teachers and coaches bubble to the surface and it’s like I have this great support group. Sometimes it can be quite startling! I still chuckle over Johana Harris’ simple little gem, written in my copy of the Poulenc Flute Sonata, “Don’t hold over gone notes.”
Who or what are the most important influences on your teaching?
Obviously, my teachers and coaches have been a large influence. But, I think the most important influences are my colleagues and my students themselves. Both continually both validate and make me question my choices and that is an excellent thing.
Most memorable/significant teaching experiences?
I have had a lot of memorable experiences over the years, but, here are a couple that have truly stuck in my mind.
A high school transfer student I’ll call Marcella had had lessons with me for about 18 months. She would learn the nitty-gritty musical details alright, but never really seemed to be able to make the music come alive or have much connection to it. I did everything to bring it out of her and was beginning to think that perhaps she just didn’t have it in her. One night at studio class, we did an activity where I played recordings of a piece by 3 different artists. I had the students fill out a form which asked what they liked and didn’t, details of patterns and repetitions, and form, as well as how they thought each artist used interpretive details to convey their personal view. Marcella’s insights were stellar—by far the best in the class. She had really heard and learned everything I had been trying to teach her. She just couldn’t make it come out of the piano. By the time she graduated, she had become only somewhat more able to be expressive herself but I was content that I had given her something that would last a lifetime—the ability to appreciate music at a deep level.
An adult student who came to the college had many holes in her background. The biggest was her ear. She could only hear the melody and everything else went by the wayside. During her 3rd semester we were working on one of the more accessible Beethoven sonatas in hopes of building her musical conversational skills. It was quite a stretch for her. We spent many hours working on recognizing the layers and letting the voices interact with each other. One day she came in and said I heard it! I heard it! She had made the connection in an 8 measure section of the piece. After that, she began to be able to apply what she had learned to other sections. At her jury, she performed her piece with many mistakes but with such determination and understanding of the voices and musical content that I was brought to tears, I was so proud.
Neither of these students had demonstrated perfection in performance by any means, and yet each had broken a barrier and transcended themselves. I continue to be changed by each and every student I teach.
What are the most exciting/challenging aspects of teaching adults?
I love teaching adults. They are motivated extrinsically for the most part. They come to lessons because they want to. The biggest challenges are that they get frustrated easily and their learning habits are ingrained. Because they have clear goals, they don’t always have the patience to let the process have the time it needs. Since their learning habits are ingrained, it can be hard and sometimes very emotional to change those habits. Adults also often get fixated on details and fail to see the larger picture. ( i.e. a missed Bb ruins the entire lovely tone and mood they created in a piece) You also often have to work through a great deal of fear.
What do you expect from your students?
I expect them to do their best and push themselves beyond that which they think they are capable. I want them to be themselves but the best themselves possible. That’s it.
What are your views on exams, festivals and competitions?
These are important parts of becoming a professional pianist. For those who will go on to other careers, they are important because they give concrete goals to work for. Participating in events like these are a trade off because the lessons and practice are differently focused. Some of my students participate and others’ time is better spent in deep practice and discovery of a larger variety of music and creative projects.
What do you consider to be the most important concepts to impart to beginning students, and to advanced students?
Beginning students need to learn what practice is and how to do it. It doesn’t matter what skill or concept you are learning. It matters how you work. Students have to learn to work smart and not get down on themselves just because something doesn’t go right. As they advance, they need to continually refine these skills to adapt to their repertoire and adult lives.
Another important thing all students need to learn is that listening to music of all genres is essential to being a good musician. As they mature, they need to learn to bring their total experience of life into their music.
What do you consider to be the best and worst aspects of the job?
The best aspect of the job is that I get to do something I love and it’s new everyday. I get to help people grow and stretch themselves through teaching, workshops, and blogging. I also get to work with a lot more repertoire than I could ever keep up on my own. The worst aspect has to be some of the parents. It’s so sad when they stand in their child’s way and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.
My favourite student funny of all time went something like this: Me: How are you doing today? 8 year old girl: Not so good. My brother and I had a fight. Me: Oh no! what happened? Girl (clearly disgusted): Well, he said there was no such thing as F Major!!!
What is your favourite music to teach? To play?
I am really quite eclectic in my tastes. My favourite music is always what I am working on at the time somebody asks. That said, Beethoven is definitely my boy! I also am continually drawn to 20th century and contemporary composers and I teach quite a lot of that repertoire.
Who are your favourite pianists/pianist-teachers and why?
Our home library consists of about 75 linear feet of 78s, 33s, and CDs plus a large iTunes library and my YouTube channel. I love listening to performers from all eras and discovering their unique approach to a piece or a time period. It really does keep you honest and put details such as ornaments, tempo, and touch into perspective. The common thread I find is that rules, such as ornamentation, touch, stylistic details, etc, never drive the interpretation—the music itself does. It drives me quite crazy when someone discounts an entire performance because of a preconceived idea of an ornament , tempo, or slur.
Gail Fischler is an MTNA Nationally Certified Teacher, and a past president of both Arizona State Music Teachers Association and Tucson Music Teachers Association. Gail received her undergraduate degree in music from San Jose State University and completed her masters in piano performance and her doctorate in Music Education and Piano at the University of Arizona. Her teachers and coaches have included Patrick Meierotto, Johana Harris, Marilyn Thompson, Ozan Marsh, Rex Woods, and Carol Stivers. She is a recipient of the Janice McCurnin – Beatrice Searles ASMTA Honored Teacher Award.
Gail was a founding member of the Board of Directors of the National MusicLink Foundation and has served as Southwest Regional MusicLink Coordinator. She has performed across Arizona and presented lectures, workshops, and research presentations throughout the United States and in Canada. Gail has adjudicated for the Arizona Study Program, Roberta Slaver Competition, Prescott Fine Arts Association Piano Scholarship Competition, NAU Adele Piano Competition, ASMTA Honors Recital, TMTA Scholarship Audition, AMEA Solo & Ensemble Festival, Cochise Young Artists Competition, and NAU Concerto Competition.
Gail currently teaches private and community class piano at Eastern Arizona College and maintains an independent studio in Tucson. Her students have won honors in state and local competitions, evaluations, and festivals. She is co-author with Neeki Bey of Latin America, a volume of original, folk, and popular pieces coming in August from Piano Accents. Gail also runs Piano Addict, a website for piano students, teachers, and avocational players and The Musical Adjectives Project, an interactive Wiki to aid pianists and musicians in describing and understanding the emotions and character within repertoire. She holds Permanent Professional Certification in piano from Music Teachers National Association.
Spotify is a music streaming service, offering content from a vast range of mainstream and independent record labels and artists. Music can be browsed by artist, album, record label, genre or playlist as well as by direct searches.
Until fairly recently, I thought the Spotify catalogue only contained pop music and jazz, and therefore of almost no interest to me: I was wrong. Spotify has a vast and wonderful archive of classical music, by mainstream artists and lesser-knowns (and even some real oddities!). There are the latest albums by the artists “du jour”, there are “classics” and “standards”, and there are some fantastic archive recordings of great performers of yesteryear, including Horowitz, Heifertz, Wilhelm Kempf (I love his Liszt ‘Legendes’), Gilels, Gould, Lipatti and many more…. There is a whole album of Rachmaninov playing his own music, including the E flat Etude-Tableau I have (possibly foolishly) included in my LTCL programme, and taken at such a lick by its composer, it is over almost before it has begun.
Purists and lovers of vinyl and cassette tapes bemoan the fact that we can’t make “mix tapes” like we used to. Wrong. With services like Spotify, you can create your own personal playlists and “mixes” and share them, so that others may enjoy them too. You can subscribe to other people’s playlists, and even see what your friends on Facebook are listening to – in real time (and you might be surprised by some of their choices!). You can share tracks to Facebook and Twitter, email a track to a friend, and waste hours of your precious time (when you should be practising) browsing the vast catalogue. And all for £9.99 per month. (There is a free service, but your listening is frequently interrupted by adverts.)
I really started to fully utilise Spotify when I began my reviewing for Bachtrack. I tend to like to know what I’m going to hear in advance, so I’ll make a playlist of the programme to familiarise myself with the music, and sometimes I might listen to a recording of the performer I’m going to hear. I have two ever-lengthening playlists called Stuff I Like 1 (Classical) and Stuff I like 2 (Other) where I save tracks that interest me. When I was devising the programme for my LTCL Diploma, I created four different playlists of the pieces so that I can tinker with the programme order and listen to the complete programme to see if the ordering worked or not. When the programme was finalised, I sent a link to the playlist to my page turner so that he could acquaint himself with the pieces ahead of our rehearsals.
My latest playlist is called New Repertoire Ideas and contains tracks of pieces I would like to tackle after I’ve taken my Diploma in April. It’s a way of reminding myself of the music, while also giving me the opportunity to familiarise myself with it before I have even laid eyes on the score. And as regular readers of this blog will know, I often include links to tracks on Spotify so that readers can hear the music being discussed.
Recently, while reviewing a new CD of Brahms’ sonatas for violin and piano, I was able to do some “comparative listening”, to check out the competition, or the “standards” against which certain pieces are benchmarked. It was really interesting to compare different performers’ approaches to the same works, something I could do without having to load-eject-load-eject a stack of CDs. (Damian Thompson of The Spectator has written a very positive review of this particularly useful and enjoyable aspect of Spotify – read his article here.)
Spotify has a use in my teaching studio too: I can compile playlists for students, to enable them to “listen around” the music they are studying, or offer examples of one composer’s output. For example, while teaching Beethoven’s Rondo in F (Trinity Guildhall Grade 4), I have directed those students who are studying this piece to Beethoven’s ‘Rondo A Capriccio’, the famous ‘Rage Over a Lost Penny’ as a way of introducing them to Rondo form. Or for those who are working on the witty Fanfare for the Common Cold (Trinity Guildhall Grade 2), a link to hear Aaron Copland’s iconic Fanfare for the Common Man, which inspired this quirky piece. In lessons, I often want students to listen to music, and it’s quick and easy to plug my iPhone into the speakers in my piano studio, and call up a few tracks on Spotify. And of course the kids love it because they are all so techno-clued up these days……
Spotify has surpassed iTunes as my music app of choice – because I can set a playlist to be available offline and enjoy listening to it even when I don’t have access to WiFi. One of my recent and best discoveries on Spotify is a series of albums called Rarities of Piano Music, which a friend and colleague of mine flagged up. These live recordings from the annual Husum Festival of Rare Piano Music are fascinating, offering some little-known but no less wonderful piano works, a number of which have migrated onto my New Repertoire Ideas playlist. Here’s a handful of my particular favourites:
Spotify is available on PC, Mac, iPhone, iPod and other smart phones and similar devices, and synchronises across your devices. Clever huh? Go on, give it a try and open up a whole new world of music and listening……
Details of this year’s Rarities of Piano Festival in Husum here
Who or what inspired you to take up the piano and make it your career?
My recorder teacher and my godfather were jointly the ones who nudged me towards getting my first piano lesson at the age of seven. None of my family play and I wasn’t brought up listening to a great deal of Classical music, but as soon as I started lessons, I took to it like a duck to water and digested every new thing I learnt with a great enthusiasm. Surprisingly, for once, my habit of impetuously discarding the latest hobby in exchange for a new one didn’t happen; something was a little different about playing the piano, and it stuck with me and I with it. I still can’t quite put my finger on what it is I love so much about playing. Maybe it is the very essence of intangibility itself; the idea of crafting something so magical and beautiful for an instant, passing moment. Who knows? But it captivated me then and still does now, and that’s why I have chosen to pursue music as a career.
Who or what are the most important influences on your playing?
My teachers, for me, have always been the most wonderful influence on my playing, not because they have dictated what I do – what does anyone actually learn from that, after all? – but because I have been lucky enough to have grown up and continued to study with teachers who have encouraged me to question everything I do and to do it my own way. I think finding your own path of understanding with music is essential because, at the end of the day, it’s an art form and art is a very personal thing.
What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?
Starting to make the leap from amateur to professional has definitely been a difficult one – playing for family and friends and people in the local area who support you is one thing; playing for a new and unfamiliar audience in a venue you’ve never been in, and knowing your reputation is at stake, is entirely another. As with any transition, it requires gently testing the water at times, and at others just jumping on in and not fearing the consequences. I seem to have struck the balance fairly successfully so far, but it is most definitely a tricky one to strike!
What are the particular challenges/excitements of working with an ensemble?
Ensemble playing is (mostly) a wonderful experience for me because as pianists, we spend far too much time cooped up on our own, and getting to explore music with other people is a refreshing change! A spectrum of different but equally valid viewpoints to consider is exciting beyond measure, but of course, with conflicting viewpoints comes scope for disagreement and if you’re not working with open-minded individuals, deciding anything new can be like banging your head against a brick wall. I seem to generally have been lucky on this front so far, but I do have one or two unsatisfying experiences of working with less flexible musicians. It seems to me that the vital thing is to have the same vision of where the music is heading and what it’s about. If you can connect with others musically and conceptually in the macro sense, the little details fall into place pretty much seamlessly.
Do you have a favourite concert venue?
I absolutely delight in going to watch concerts at the Royal Festival Hall; it is quite simply my favourite venue in the whole of London. I particularly enjoy sitting in the choir seats when an orchestra is playing because you can feel the buzz of the excitement from being in such close proximity to the performers and see every nuance on the conductor’s face. To play in the Royal Festival Hall would be an absolute dream-come-true, and is something I aspire one day to do.
Who are your favourite musicians?
I have to say I think Marin Alsop is an incredible musician. I went to see her for the first time last year conducting Liszt 1 and Liszt 2 with Stephen Hough and was so bowled over I bought a ticket for her next concert two days later! She’s incredibly animated and passionate about what she does, and I find that inspiring. I also adore Murray Perahia’s recordings of Mozart – he just captures the cheeky yet graceful nature touch that Mozart playing requires sublimely and his recordings are always an absolute joy to listen to.
What is your most memorable concert experience?
It’d probably have to be the Medway Young Musicians Awards Finals 2006, the first year I got into the finals, which take place in The Brook Theatre in Chatham. It’s not exactly a large venue, but monumental to a fourteen-year-old who used to practise on a Clavinova in her dining room, and stepping onto a real stage with a real spotlight and performing live to an audience was absolutely captivating. The playing itself didn’t go so well from what I remember – I played Joplin’s ‘Maple Leaf Rag’ and made a bit of a mess of it due to being wracked with nerves – but the experience itself was addictive beyond measure and that’s probably the first time I was truly awakened to how thrilling a performance experience can be.
What is your favourite music to play? To listen to?
My favourite music to play has probably got to be Mozart or Purcell, Mozart for its deceptive simplicity (such detail and intricacy hidden within such seemingly uncomplicated music!) and Purcell for the tortuously beautiful harmonies. To listen to, I’m currently obsessed with Tchaikovsky’s later symphonies (the first three are indeed delicious, but 4, 5 and 6 absolutely blow my mind) and I also love Louise Farrenc – I think she’s sorely underrated as a composer, and it’s a shame more of her works aren’t played and recorded.
What do you consider to be the most important ideas and concepts to impart to aspiring musicians/students?
I think the concept that music is an art and not just a skill and, as a result, is something that you mature into; the process simply cannot be rushed or artificially induced. By all means, practise hard, listen, play, perform, read as much as you can, broaden your mind in every possible direction, but don’t expect to magically blossom into a fully-formed artist overnight. Allow yourself time to grow and while challenging yourself at every turn, don’t have completely unrealistic expectations you’ll fall short of and grow bitter about. I myself am only a young pianist, and I know that with time to grow and mature, I’ll have a deeper insight into what I’m doing and a broader base of knowledge and experience to draw from when approaching new music, but that’s something I accept and feel strongly is an important part of the process. If there was a magical ‘cure-all’ solution to all our technical and musical problems, the beauty in the process of feeling your way into music would be completely meaningless. We have to take it for what it is and, though it can be frustrating at times, it’s ultimately more rewarding for it.
What are you working on at the moment?
At the moment, I’m tackling the Strauss Cello Sonata, among other things, with my duo partner cellist Daniel Edwards. We’ve just aired the programme for the first time, and have concerts coming up in Birmingham and London over the coming fortnight. I’m also starting a new programme for a recital at the Maritime Museum, inspired by the current Ansel Adams exhibition: the programme will be officially announced shortly, but it’s going to be an interesting mix of miniatures including some rarely played pieces by MacDowell.
Where would you like to be in 10 years’ time?
Tricky one. Not sure I know how to answer that! I would like to think I’d be a better musician and have a better sense of self. But as to where that will take me? On to bigger and better things is the most specific answer I can give. I don’t like the idea of being too single-minded about the future; I’d far rather make sure I’m prepared as I can be and just see where it all takes me and what exciting directions I end up going in.
What is your most treasured possession?
My piano, of course, though primarily for sentimental reasons. It was given to me by a gentleman whose wife sadly passed away, and he let me have it on a long-term loan since he personally had no use for it. A few months later, after I had sent him a few update letters and CDs to show my gratitude and so that he could see how I was getting on, he sent me a letter and told me wanted to give me the piano as a gift as he wished it to go to a young musician who would use it regularly and treat it well. I’ve simply never been so touched and surprised, and the gesture was made even more wonderful by the fact that the letter arrived about two days before my birthday – a coincidence, but a fantastic one. We still keep in touch with each other, and if you’re reading this, Michael, thank you very much, I am forever indebted to you!
What do you enjoy doing most?
I assume you mean aside from music? Learning, in whatever shape or form that comes. When I’m not devouring music, I love devouring books. I also love talking (anyone who has ever met me face to face will tell you that, I’m sure!), giving speeches to audiences is something that lights my candle – I’m most definitely a performer at heart! Writing is also a passion of mine. I used to write a lot of poetry, but sadly don’t find the time so much nowadays. But obviously I still get to exercise my pen a lot, what with reviewing for Bachtrack and writing for various other websites and blogs.
Madelaine’s full biography, and details of forthcoming concerts and her writing can be found at
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