Category Archives: Ludwig Van Beethoven

My childhood “Fur Elise,” past teachers, yearbook entries, and present mentoring (Video)

Posted on May 16, 2012 by

I named one of my daughters, “Elise,” in honor of Beethoven’s famous composition. That’s how much I adored the music. A companion piece since childhood, I managed to squeak through the notes at age 8 when enrolled at a quaint … Continue reading →

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Piano Lesson in progress: Beethoven “Tempest” Sonata, Op. 31, No. 2 (shaping the opening phrases) Video

Posted on May 11, 2012 by

An adult student practiced the transition from the opening Largo broken chord, to grouping double 8th-notes in the Allegro, by blocking them, then unraveling the duple figures. The Adagio that followed required phrasing with an ear toward shaping the line … Continue reading →

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Piano Instruction: Practicing the “windy” chromatic scale of Beethoven’s “Fur Elise”

Posted on April 28, 2012 by

After a stream of graceful arpeggiated triplets, a “windy” sounding, descending chromatic scale leads artfully back to the opening theme that concludes “Fur Elise.” The traditional chromatic fingering I’ve inserted in the score corresponds to the 1/2-step sequence beginning on … Continue reading →

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Piano lesson-in-progress: Shaping a solo for the right hand in Beethoven’s “Fur Elise” ( a “vocal” transition) Videos

Posted on April 21, 2012 by

Marie, an adult student practiced measures 32-40 of “Fur Elise,” enlisting the model of a singer who shapes and nuances phrases with meticulous breath control. While pianists are not operatic performers, they must imagine that their arms, wrists and fingers … Continue reading →

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Quality spot-practicing by an adult student: Beethoven’s “Fur Elise” (Video)

Posted on April 14, 2012 by

Marie, a motivated adult student, revisited piano studies after a decades-long hiatus. When she resumed lessons about 6 years ago, she made “Fur Elise” her goal-setting piece. Following long-term scale and arpeggio exposure accompanied by a detailed focus on minuets, … Continue reading →

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Part Six Piano Instruction, Beethoven’s “Tempest” Sonata No. 17, Op. 31 No. 2 and all FIVE teaching segments preceding

Posted on April 6, 2012 by

In order from Part One to Six: I. II. III. IV. V. VI. LINKS: Part ONE: Beethoven Tempest Sonata in D minor http://arioso7.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/practicing-tips-for-beethovens-tempest-sonata-op-31-no-2-part-one-video/ Part TWO Instruction http://arioso7.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/piano-instuction-part-two-beethovens-tempest-sonata-hand-cross-over-with-tremolo-in-the-middle-voice/ Part THREE Instruction https://arioso7.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/piano-instruction-part-three-beethoven-tempest-sonata-in-d-minor-op-31-no-2/ Part FOUR Instruction http://arioso7.wordpress.com/2012/04/04/piano-instruction-part-four-beethovens-tempest-sonata-in-d-minor-op-31-no-2-measures-55-93/ Part FIVE Instruction http://arioso7.wordpress.com/2012/04/05/piano-instruction-part-five-beethovens-tempest-sonata-op-31-no-2-measures-93-to-158-development-recitative-submerged-pedal/ PART … Continue reading →

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Beethoven’s Fur Elise with orchestra? or without (Videos)

Posted on March 25, 2012 by

During the night, I stumbled upon a piano solo with orchestra arrangement of “Fur Elise” that included a set of nuanced special effects. First, the pianist, nonchalantly flowed into the first theme to a stream applause, reminding me of the … Continue reading →

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Building Piano Technique: Extracting passages from pieces to practice

Posted on February 28, 2012 by

Instead of playing through laborious Hanon and Czerny exercises to improve aspects of piano technique, a student can cut to the chase, by snatching selected passages from their pieces that magnify a particular technical/musical challenge. As an example, one of … Continue reading →

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After midnight MOONLIGHT Sonata–why not another try, first movement (BEETHOVEN–video)

Posted on February 17, 2012 by

I had nothing better to do at 1 a.m. and Aiden cat had settled down on the rug beside the piano. This time he had no energy reserves to leap to the window sill and make a racket. (Notice how … Continue reading →

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When the piano teacher is absent between lessons, a You Tube video can fill in the gap (Fur Elise and chord voicing)

Posted on February 11, 2012 by

Lately, students have benefited from receiving supplemental video instruction during the interval between their weekly lessons. By videotaping parts of their sessions and uploading to You Tube, they can often make their daily practice time more efficient. Today, for example, … Continue reading →

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