"The Language of music"

Musical theory - "an understanding of the structure of music and its building blocks" - has a bad rap, fuelled by endless hours of studying arcane principles of musical notation - see graphic!!! - that don't seem to have much to do with making music at all!!!

Mark takes a contrary view, and believes that an understanding of the building blocks of music - "why music works the way it does" - is a fundamental knowledge for any musical performer.  This means, however, that theory must be taught and learned in a performance context, so everything "connects".

The "language of music", musical theory, is taught in an integrated fashion during piano lessons, but is also available in standalone lessons for those wishing to further develop their understanding.  Mark firmly believes in the value of theory training, as it directly supports development in piano performance and musical understanding.  Some of the higher grade piano examinations do require theory examinations as a prerequisite, and theory studies with a 1on1 teacher can be very valuable in supplementing high school music study.

In addition, lessons in this area can be provided on a short term / casual basis - e.g for choir singers to learn the basics of reading music, and for music lovers to deepen their appreciation of listening (how much more would you enjoy a Mahler symphony if you understood what was going on!!!).

The Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) offers three different syllabi in this area - Theory, Musicianship, and Music Craft.  Each has different emphases e.g. the amount of "aural" (understanding, playing and transcribing music by ear) content.  Mark is happy to teach any syllabus for examination purposes, and draws on elements of all three to teach a more holistic "language of music" approach that is integrated with piano lessons. He does recommend Music Craft, however, as the closest to a practical application of theoretical principles for the performing musician (and, even then, expands upon the syllabus in places to better position the concepts for the performer).

Details of lesson costs and other terms & conditions can be found here.