When you spend time with a teacher who has seen hundreds of students pass through their studio, you start to notice how certain ideas come up again and again. That was exactly the feeling in my recent conversation with Melanie Spanswick - composer, educator, adjudicator, and the author of over 30 piano books.

What I appreciated most was how practical her advice was. These weren’t abstract notions but habits that learners of any age can build into their practice straight away. Click below on the Youtube Video to listen to the conversation.

A different way to think about the metronome

Most of us have had the metronome nagging away at us on the beat, and we either switch it off in frustration or plough on mechanically. Melanie suggests something different: setting it to the shortest note value in the bar. If you’re working on a Bach invention or a Mozart allegro, this could mean quavers or semiquavers. Suddenly, the tick isn’t just keeping you in time - it’s shaping your sense of subdivision and helping you avoid hesitation that creeps in at bar lines.

She also encourages students to use the metronome at a crawl, playing a whole piece from start to finish at a quarter of the intended tempo. It’s a simple way to eliminate hesitation. It can be remarkably effective.

Playing right to the keybed

Another point that stood out was Melanie’s insistence on developing strength and flexibility by playing deep into the keys. She describes practising almost forte on every note, dropping into the key with the weight of the arm, and then releasing at the bottom. Done correctly, it firms up ‘weak’ fingers while teaching the body to let go of tension.

This isn’t about banging — it’s about feeling the depth of the instrument and learning how to balance firmness with release. Students who adopt this approach gain both stability and freedom.

Look away from the page

Melanie’s final tip was a gentle nudge at something I see often with adult learners: being glued to the score. Her suggestion is not to throw the music away, but to memorise small sections so you can actually look at your hands and notice what they’re doing. Are your fingers rounded? Are you landing securely on the keys? This simple shift of attention can transform hand position and overall posture.

Of course, the balance matters. If you only stare at your fingers, you miss phrasing and dynamics on the page. But as Melanie points out, a happy middle ground helps you internalise the music rather than becoming dependent on notation.

Melanie’s latest projects

Towards the end of our chat, Melanie spoke about her forthcoming Play It Again: Piano Prep Book — designed for late beginners working towards Grade 1 — and a new book of duets and trios for complete beginners, aimed at building sight-reading and ensemble skills. Both sound like valuable additions to the teaching library.

What I enjoyed most was the clarity of these three ideas. None of them require expensive equipment or hours of extra practice. They’re simply a different way of approaching the piano, habits that, if adopted consistently, could reshape your playing over time.

You can watch the full interview here
More about Melanie: https://melaniespanswick.com