George Kontoprias

George Kontoprias

Pianist, flutist, percussionist, teacher, accompanist, arranger and composer. Passionate about the creative process of learning and teaching. Enthusiastic about sharing experiences with colleagues!

Location Greece

Achievements

Activity

  • I had the opportunity to present 2 students who scored 13/15 and 14/15 in "Composing a melody" respectively. At every lesson they sang to me their whole composition and we discussed about alternatives. It is the basic difference between hearing music and listening to music. ABRSM gave me and my students the chance to discriminate those things many years ago....

  • John, Jane and Rachel,
    I sincerely thank you for this experience! I already feel much more creative as a music teacher! Will definitely keep in touch and hope to meet you in another course or conference! I also want to thank all of my colleagues here for sharing their own experiences and for being so interactive with each other. It was undoubtedly useful to...

  • I have downloaded every single Pdf and transcript in this course, as it provides invaluable knowledge. Matters to consider, improve, change and add to my lessons, so that they can be as creative for me and my pupils as possible. So informative and well organised ideas! I feel very lucky to have been introduced to ABRSM many years ago and I also feel very happy...

  • I am definitely passing this to my students in September! Very curious to see their answers! Thank you!

  • I have already purchased and used a large number of books reccomended above and I will continue to do so. They provide a great load of guidance! Thank you!

  • I can't wait for September to come, so that I can integrate all these ideas in my lessons! Very gratefull indeed! Thank you ABRSM for this enlightening course!

  • Nice insights! Really eye-opening! I used to have a certain starting procedure for the majority of my students to make them feel secure, as stated in the video, but there is still room for imrpovement, especially for young learners in order for them to make the most out of our lessons.

  • I certainly agree that teachers should support and guide the learning process and encourage a cooperative environment. But for pupils to actually decide what and how they learn a great deal of maturity, responsibily , discipline and initiative is needed. I really wish most students had the time and the clear mind to act like this, but this is quite far from...

  • Very nice tips and guidelines! Always towards the curious independent musician! Thank you!

  • @KayBlake Xaxa me too :)

  • At the beginning of the lesson, my students tell me what they have practiced, at what depth and how often. This is done verbally or by showing me their practice book. We work on areas that need improvement and set goals for our next lesson. It is almost always clear if pupils understand what they have to do. If questions arise during the week, I encourage them...

  • @CyrilE.O. Your fees got slashed because of that reason? You should have left immediately! It is called pride. And you deserve a proper treatment. I mean it is totally ok for parents to have no clue about the ABRSM system, although its syllabus could be explained if they wanted to know. But acting like this is inappropriate to say the least! Poor children.. I...

  • I always ask my students for a feedback and a lot of times it is really helpful to me in many ways: Scheduling, lesson planning, reassuring goals and so on. As far as parents are concerned, well.. this is a totally different subject. Worst example is when a parent told me : "Don't explain to me or ask me anything. Just inform me about the check every month. I...

  • All three examples are nice and clear. ABRSM's view has really helped me organise and assess my lessons. Thank you!

  • All the areas sated in this article are very important to be taken under serious consideration, because the summary of each pupil's repertoire should include a variety that will lead to an independent all-around conscious musician.

  • The importance of short, medium and long term goals is vital to both teachers and students and a constant communication must take place not only for their healthy relationship, but for the learner to be beneficial eventually. Interesting case studies!

  • Again, really useful and well-organised! Thank you!

  • This self-assessment is totally needed! Thank you very much!

  • I encourage them to record themselves and share their videos to family,relatives and friends or to their personal accounts on Facebook, Instagram and (why not?) on YouTube. I also organise ensembles of two or more pupils to perform regularly in concerts. A single piece is enough. The goal is to share and express themselves. Of course the choices in repertoire...

  • Really nice point of view! But, what about those students that start practicing an instrument or singing not because of personal interest of any kind, but due to their parents' ambition? What is our responsibility as teachers when we clearly see that a pupil has no interest and is not willing to pursue any kind of goals as far as music is concerned? Many cases...

  • Really interesting article! I agree with the idea of creating and embracing this "virtuous circle between assessment and progression"!

  • 1) Adequate skill in reading, technique and aural awareness.
    This is the most common case in my opinion, so the lesson is organised in an all-around manner, where I encourage warming up-technical exercises-pieces-sight reading-aural training and a little bit of improvisation. Young pupils have their lessons split in two during the week, as it is quite...

  • I encourage my pupils to recreate what I call "concert conditions" at home. They achieve this either by performing in front of family members, relatives or friends or by taking a video on their cellphones. During the last few years I started giving them pratice books where I jot down exactly what they have to practice. In the beginning, all of them are a bit...

  • Very well presented and organised ideas! One thing I started encouraging my students to do over the last couple of years is recording themselves with their cellphones. I don't even ask them to send me the video, because they always find things to correct. They become teachers of themselves, as they isolate spots that need more practicing. Is is also...

  • @LucindaPillow Unfortunately, I know exactly the feeling. Worst excuse from an adult student of mine : "I didn't practice again, because I have these dancing classes and I don't want to skip them. It is really important to me!"
    Being a babysitter to an adult, because you need the money.... Thank God, I didn't have to..! Now he has all the time to dance! :)

  • @SylvinaTilbury With all respect, do you actually believe that feeding her rabbits was the reason of not having time to practice or it was just an excuse? After some years of teaching I realised two things. First, there is an ancient tactic to follow, when we want to avoid something, such as practice. This is : mentioning ALL the rest of our obligations, which...

  • @JohnHolmes I totally agree! As soon as I realised it, I kept telling my students two things : 1) Music actually starts when they get their diploma and 2) A successful teacher is the one that, after a time, acts only as a mentor and only once in a while.
    To me it is very important to encourage this mindset quite early, because becoming independent does not...

  • Well, 1) a snare drum , to begin with, has already done the job keeping a solid march rhythm or 2) just a ride for the swing feel, while accenting 2 and 4. The whole drum set would be impossible to carry around :P

  • @KayBlake @CherylFrost Τhe infringement of the right to privacy is a very sensitive matter, so I understand the risks and the reluctance. I personally turned to these specific social media when I needed a boost for new students. But as I see from the rest of the comments, it is not absolutely necessary. For the time being, at least. Whatever suits you best :)

  • Really glad to read this interesting article and the comments below to see that I share common thoughts with so many colleagues!

  • @EsterM I've been in your shoes a couple of times and this is indeed an uncomfortable situation to be in. Really promising is the fact that you actually care about the student, because it is them we are trying to help express themselves. And in toxic environments like this, I think music can really be a creative way out. So, hang in there! After all, these...

  • Really nice article! All these skills are enhanced through music learning creating expressive human beings..! So amazing!

  • Most of my students came to me due to word of mouth. To be totally frank, there was a period of time when I stubbornly refused to advertise myself in social media. I guess I was moving against the current because I was used to a different approach. Since I realised that the world has utterly changed, I reconsidered my view and now students find me via Facebook...

  • I regularly use social media to advertise my own performances as well as the arrangements I make for my ensemble. Pupils find it really inspiring! It is also a great "place" for networking with colleagues. It can easily act as a means of communication with my students and their parents and last but not least, it can be a great source of quite interesting posts...

  • I use Metronome Beats Pro, Loopz, Drumgenius, Datuner, iReal Pro, Wikipedia and of course YouTube. Pupils just love it. Also when I need to compare original manuscripts with the ones that are used now, I use Petrucci Library. Once in a group lesson, I brought Bach's original Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 565 manuscript as a proof that Soprano Clef was...

  • Certainly learned a lot at this webinar. Thank you!

  • I suppose ABRSM wouldn't mind if we copied and pasted the whole webinar (all 6 transcripts) in a text document for later use. It offers invaluable knowledge after all.

  • Taking at least one break half way through the lesson is essential. During this break, I might stretch and I encourage my students to do so as well. I also prefer to sit at the piano properly when I demonstrate a passage, even if it is a short one. Between classes, I also take small breaks and eat something if time permits it. It is also important to be...

  • @CarolynEvans Well said!

  • When I have lessons at my students' homes , there are very few actions to be taken before and during the lesson. Proper lighting, clean keyboard and wearing shoes - yes, it is an issue, especially in the summer - would be some of them. When I have group lessons, thankfully music schools take care of pupils' Health and Safety.

  • If only we had this mindset here, in Greece..! Thank you again!

  • Thank you very much! "Setting up your business" chapter was really informative!

  • No written contract so far. Only spoken arrangements with parents-if pupil is underaged- and students. But, thank you for the information!

  • Very nicely stated! Although I have witnessed that even at the highest technical level, our mind can still be tricked. But it also creates musical expression, as you mentioned, which applies to every instrument! We always have to feel the music-couldn't agree more to that.

  • I like organizing this kind of information. Thank you!

  • Very useful tips that make me reconsider a few things about my craft..! Over the last few years I have been convinced that in order to keep pupils motivated, teachers have to be really active and, in my opinion, not only on one instrument and not only classical, as I was initially trained. So, apart from flute I have lessons in drums and electric bass. My goal...

  • Teaching students with dyslexia occured twice to me. First time was many years ago and I didn't really think this pupil had to be treated differently than the rest. I thought lack of focus and anxiety bursts were just parts of his personality and that I shouldn't mind. He made progress, but I wish I had done some research on my own to create a musical...

  • Thank you! I really appreciate it!

  • I am a piano teacher and accompanist, but I also play the flute, percussion and electric bass. So, piano has the difficulty of polyphony , which means playing a lot of voices while having to balance dynamics, articulation , accentuation , rests etc. among them. We also have to play with a relaxed wrist and be careful with our thumbs, but there is no such...

  • Interesting, but it depends.. In a legato passage, we should press the keys smoothly, in a sforzando passage, hammer them, in a Bach invension, immitate the plucked sound of the harpsichord and so on...

  • Thank you for the suggestions!

  • The subject is covered thoroughly! Thank you for the tips!

  • I am a flutist myself, so these articles are going to be very handy! Thank you!

  • Very informative! Thank you very much!

  • Assessing technique is one of the most important things when a pupil begins to play or sing. In my case, as a pianist, I ensure that their posture is relaxing, their back is straight, their hands are curved and they play without tension. I also explain the useful role of the thumb, which supports the fluidity of passages. I always remind them that they don't...

  • Happy to see that most teachers agree on the fact that studies should be musical and relevant to the repertoire currently being practiced by the student. I want to add that , in some cases, pupils, mostly the advanced ones, are totally willing to practice exercises that will surely help them overcome a certain technical issue, even if the path is not as...

  • Technique is trully a matter to consider cautiously. I agree to the fact that we ought to put bad habits aside and teach a method which , if followed consistently, will lead to an absolute control of the pupi's sound without putting more effort than needed.

  • 1) He should practice at a slower tempo in small sections with a metronome to specify rhythm and correct notes. He also needs to internalize pulse rather than stressing the beginning of each measure. Phrasing and shaping should also be observed with guidance.
    2) He should also practice at a slower tempo to realize the direction and shape of the melody....

  • Theory is essential to all of us - teachers and pupils. At the moment we realize that theory is a collection of rules that systematically help us progress by understanding how music can be communicated, we embrace it as a basic tool in our "arsenal".

  • First, I would like to clarify something very important to me. Composition and Improvisation have similarities, but they aren't the same thing! We are afraid of rules, because rules dictate , at a certain point, what sounds good, as it is suggested in the podcast. I totally agree with that. Not having a specific tonal centre for someone that hasn't improvised...

  • Very interesting! By creating their own little compositions, they begin to understand the importance of score precision.

  • I definitely believe that an instrumentalist or vocal teacher HAS to be a really good performer, composer/arranger and improvisor. So, all these advice is very helpful and I couln't agree more. Practising these things on a daily basis really helps us convey all this knowledge to aspiring musicians of all ages! :)

  • Thank you for providing us with such food for thought and tools to integrate into our lessons!

  • Discriminating Wide or Narrow intervals vs Pure ones concerns tuning. In our case it has to do with intervals from a perfect 5th on. With "Octave displacement" we can easily create wide intervals from close ones. Of course compound ones are wide by definition. Hope this helped..!

  • It is always nice to hear the modes from bright to dark. We can then put them easily into context.

  • Inventions of Bach- Do people really know what they were created for? The real reason! They were created for his students to "steal" ideas so that they could improvise and compose later on. But, nowadays, what purpose do they serve? To be examined from Grade 4 onwards. I understand that there has to be a categorization, but sometimes we ourselves lose the...

  • Well, this is not exactly an improvisation - not a melodic one at least. It is the creation of an image using a minimalistic figure with changes in dynamics and speed. Good starting point, though! After all it all comes to how we actually define improvisation, certainly at this age group. Personal conclusion is that a teacher has to get inside a child's mind...

  • It depends on age, maturity, level of discipline and pupil's willingness to keep in touch during the week and ask questions should they arise. I have been so fortunate throughout the years to have a few students craving for progress so much that they send me short videos of them practicing specific passages and asking questions. Regardless of their age and...

  • Tough goal to reach as a teacher, but it is worth it! It develops both teacher and students.

  • Philosophy never actually caused any harm to anyone. On the contrary, it makes us think on a much deeper level. I certainly believe that a score is just a vessel for the performer to bring the composer's idea to life and extend it-put his individual mark on it. But I speak as a performer-composer/arranger-teacher who encourages his students to experiment in...

  • Great insight! I understand the reason why this video was put here. We should always "read" the signs and try our best to maneuver accordingly so that the pupil, especially at that age and skill level, will actually acquire something from the lesson..!

  • Once, a student of mine came to the lesson totally unprepared and his mind was somewhere else during the class. I was a bit strict with him until he confessed that a member of his family had a serious health issue and that he couldn't focus on anything else. He apologized. At the end of the lesson I personally talked to him and said that it is absolutely ok to...

  • Over the last few years I seriously tend to think that we, teachers, have an obligation to "arm" our students with all the tools necessary to explore themselves through music. A lot of times this means that we have the not-so-pleasant role of insisting on them practicing stuff that doesn't seem helpful at once, but prepares them to have an overall musical...

  • Both Pdfs very useful. I will definitely use them from now on as a student feedback and a strict personal evaluation. Thank you very much!

  • To be totally honest, I used to teach almost exactly the way I was taught and have the same expectations of my students as my teacher had of me. Well, after some 13 years of teaching I have to admit that the percentage which actually responds to the "old" way of teaching is quite small. Different pieces, different inspirations and different stimuli nowadays...

  • Hi everyone! I am George and I live in Athens, Greece. I have been teaching piano and music theory for the last 13 years. Communicating with students of all ages and inspiring them to express themselves through music has been a purpose I am gladly devoted to. By completing this course I hope to be "richer" in ideas on how to maintain my pupils' motivation to...

  • George Kontoprias made a comment

    Cheers from Athens, Greece! From the moment this course was announced I was so thrilled, because I knew this would be a great opportunity to learn from other colleagues and share my own experiences as a music teacher. Piano and theory teaching in private or in groups along with playing the flute and accompanying instrumentalists and singers has been my life...