In September this year IMS Cardiff will celebrate its fourth birthday! During the academic year 2018-2019, once again IMS Cardiff’s student numbers grew by 30% as they have year on year. We saw several new fantastic additions to our teaching staff and successful productions of two full musicals, in collaboration with the Kings Monkton School pupils. We also hosted the South Glamorgan Festival for Young Musicians and the European Piano Teachers Association Piano Competition for the third consecutive year. In...

First of all a very Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a restful holiday. We were very impressed with all performances in our three Autumn Showcases in December. We are proud to see so much great music-making and everyone progressing so well! Here are a few updates and information about the upcoming term: 1. Our term dates are now easily available on the homepage of our website. Our term starts on the 8th of January 2018 and finishes on the31st of...

Welcome back everyone to another new term at IMS Cardiff, we are wishing everyone a very happy, successful and healthy New Year 2017.   As I'm sure you will agree, this coming year is promising to be an eventful and exciting one all over the world, but not least here in Cardiff at IMS.   Concerts at IMS Cardiff will be modified in 2017, in order to include more of our talented pupils. Our termly professional concerts will now include professional musicians...

Can I learn to play a musical instrument as an adult? The short answer is yes. If you missed out on music lessons as a child, it is not too late to pick it up as an adult. This article explores the benefits of learning to play a musical instrument in adulthood. 'Playing music is the brain's equivalent to a full body workout' You may have come across a video published by TEDEd a couple of years ago, entitled ‘How playing an instrument...

The time has come for your child to start learning music and you feel terribly excited, until it dawns on you that the task of choosing the right teacher is entirely in your hands. Fear not! This guide will provide you with useful tips so that you can identify your priorities and find the confidence to say ‘you’re hired’. The ideal teacher We are often reminded of the popular saying ‘practice makes perfect’. Although it is fundamentally true that in...

I remember once reading a quote that went something like this: “Like taking my vitamins, practising my scales and arpeggios was something that I knew would be good for me, but I wasn’t sure exactly why.” I sympathise with this attitude and remember with clarity the struggle I had with scales when I first started learning them and then later when I entered the Associated Board examinations. By the time I took my grade 8 exam, it felt as if...