Category Archives: J.S. Bach

Preparing a student to play the Bach Prelude in C (Well-Tempered Clavier) for the Spring Recital (videos)

Posted on May 7, 2012 by

Here’s a flashback of my work with Sakura, 14, on the Bach Prelude in C. You can readily hear the improvement in her performance at the recent Spring student recital held May 5, 2012. (included for comparison) Videotaping lessons, and … Continue reading →

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Piano Lesson: Analyzing/playing Bach Invention in D minor, No. 4, BWV 775 in slow tempo (Videos)

Posted on March 26, 2012 by

In J.S. Bach’s Two-part Inventions both voices overlap and imitate each other creating counterpoint. The SUBJECT of no. 4 contains a d-minor Harmonic form scale whose 6th note, B flat does NOT continue in an upward motion to the leading … Continue reading →

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Rolling wrist motion for J.S. Bach Invention 4 in D minor

Posted on March 1, 2012 by

Just a video snippet exploring the rolling wrist forward motion in phrasing Bach Invention 4. The streams of scale-like 16th notes and their surprising melodic displacement (descending 7ths) suggest a slope up, then curve around motion that’s best realized with … Continue reading →

Posted in Bach Invention 4 in d minor, J.S. Bach, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, pianist, piano, piano instruction, piano lessons, Uncategorized, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Music Packed Saturday and Sunday! (Video) and NEW PHOTOS!

Posted on February 18, 2012 by

The MTAC Baroque Festival and Daniil Trifonov’s recital at Fresno State cap this weekend’s events, giving our city a warm cultural embrace amidst its Bulldog-driven sports fever! First on the line-up, Claudia, 11, will play the Yamaha concert grand piano … Continue reading →

Posted in Bach Invention, Bach Inventions, Daniil Trifonov, Fresno California, J.S. Bach, J.S. Bach Invention 13 in A minor, J.S. Bach Prelude in C minor BWV 847, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, MTAC Baroque Festival, Philipp Lorenz Memorial Keyboard Concerts, pianist, pianists, piano, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessson, piano pedagogy, piano practicing, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano technique, Piano World, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, slow mindful practicing, slow piano practicing, studying piano, teaching piano, teaching piano to children, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A third year piano student shines playing J.S. Bach’s C Major Prelude (Well-Tempered Clavier)

Posted on February 9, 2012 by

Sakura, 12, is preparing the Bach C Major Prelude from the Well-Tempered Clavier Book I, for the upcoming MTAC Celebration Festival (Music Teachers Association of California) And she’s right on course heading for a satisfying performance in March. Being Left-Handed, … Continue reading →

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Down to the wire: An 11-year old piano student prepares for a competitive Baroque event (VIDEO) with a tender flashback

Posted on January 27, 2012 by

Claudia has made significant gains this year. She’s shaping her phrases more, and becoming ear-attentive and physically responsive to the music she plays. Today, she made additional headway with J.S. Bach’s Prelude in C minor, BWV 847. Coming into her … Continue reading →

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Murray Perahia, pianist, is in a league of his own! (Videos)

Posted on January 15, 2012 by

Okay, so I borrowed a snatch from a movie title about a woman’s baseball team keeping the diamond percolating with energy during World War II. And Geena Davis did a superb job as the lead, but in all honesty, Murray … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthony Tommasini, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, classissima, classissima.com, Fresno Bee, J.S. Bach, J.S. Bach Partita in E Major, Mozart, Mozart Piano concerto in C K. 467, Mozart piano concerto no. 21 K. 467, Murray Perahia, Murray Perahia masterclass, Nareh Arghamanyan, New York City High School of Performing Arts, New York Times, New York Times arts editor, pianist, pianists, piano, piano masterclasses, piano playing and phrasing, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, Schumann Caraval, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Memories of J.S. Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” (Video)

Posted on December 20, 2011 by

I love the carol medley sung in chorus at this time of the year, especially, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” which had a touch of Mendelssohn, though he was not the original composer; “Silent Night,” “O’ Come All Ye Faithful,” … Continue reading →

Posted in "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring", Christmas music, J.S. Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach, pianist, piano, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Steinway O grand piano, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Performing a piece–Getting it right (all the notes) OR really getting it right (the phrasing and nuance) VIDEOS

Posted on December 20, 2011 by

For many pianos students, playing 100% perfect notes, with no clunkers is goal in itself. They breathe a sigh of relief looking back on a video of a recital, where they managed to “get it right,” counting correct notes from … Continue reading →

Posted in Bach imitiation, Bach Invention, Bach Invention BWV 784, Bach Inventions, blog, blogger, blogging, counterpoint, Haddorff, Haddorff piano, Haddorff piano company Rockford, Haddorrff console piano, J.S. Bach, J.S. Bach Invention no. 13 in A minor BWV784, J.S. Bach two part Inventions, J.S. Bach Well Tempered Clavier, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano pedagogy, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, videotaping at piano lessons, Yeti microphone, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Piano Lesson in progress: Fugue in C Minor, BWV 847 (Video)

Posted on December 16, 2011 by

Claudia S., age 11, identified and practiced the Subject, Tonal Answer, and Counter-subject 1 and 2 of the Fugue BWV 847. She learned how to make a difference between portato and staccato as she examined form, structure, and phrasing.

Posted in Bach Prelude and Fugue BWV847, Baroque music, blog, blogger, blogging, blogs about piano, classissima, classissima.com, J.S. Bach, J.S. Bach Fugue in C minor BWV847, pianist, piano, piano instruction, piano lesson dropouts, piano lessons, piano pedagogy, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment