PIANORAMA

In this programme, Phil offers an extremely entertaining hour or so of dazzling piano playing and fascinating talk about the magic of 10 fingers and 88 keys. He explains how the piano works and takes you through its evolution from the early inventions through to the amazing hi-tech present and possible future.

Throughout, he illustrates with pictures and performs on his extraordinary electronic piano set-up which has to be heard to be believed. He conjures up a range of acoustically modelled pianos and plays beautiful and exciting music to demonstrate their amazing powers.

KEYED UP

In this groundbreaking programme, Phil presents the keyboard as a tool for musical fluency. People really fluent in the language of music are usually keyboard players! It is a centuries-old, musically empowering tool. Using common sense principles and innovative visual materials, he works with teachers and students placing great emphasis on musical reward and fun.

There is a clear structure but no dry theory. If the school has keyboards, this is great but not essential. Using clapping and chanting, students and teachers discover the idea of a rhythmic matrix of pulse - rather like 'call and response' but much deeper. Then using the keyboard, a sense of melodic progression is trained in a way that is clear and intuitive, much more so than with solfège. Finally, we practise songs. A very high level of musical performance and understanding is possible.