Category Archives: New York City High School of Performing Arts

A sentimental journey taken with Mozart

Posted on February 4, 2013 by

Musical memories rekindled Continue reading →

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Growing piano technique in baby steps: Rina, 5, advances to hands together five-finger positions (adding in 10ths)

Posted on May 10, 2012 by

Rina may not know the words “pentascales” and “tenths,” but she has the intelligence to notice when her fingers move up and down together, playing the same notes an “octave” apart. With a sound knowledge of the music alphabet in … Continue reading →

Posted in "Tales of a Musical Journey" by Irina Gorin, acoustic piano, arioso 7, blog, blogger, blogging, blogging about piano, blogs about piano, children's music, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano instruction, El Cerrito piano studio, emotion in music, fingering and phrasing at the piano, fingering and piano technique, five finger positions at the piano, five finger warm-ups, Irina Gorin, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, Just Being at the Piano by Mildred Portney-Chase, legato playing at the piano, mental imagery, mindful piano practicing, mindful practicing, molto cantabile, MTAC, MTAC.org, New York City, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin, Oberlin Conservatory, pentascales, phrasing at the piano, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano playing, piano playing and relaxation, piano practicing, piano studio in El Cerrito, piano study, piano teacher, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing five-finger positions, playing legato at the piano, playing piano, playing staccato, playing staccato at the piano, playing the piano, POWHOW, POWHOW instruction, POWHOW piano instruction, POWHOW.com, practicing a piece in 7 different emotions, practicing arpeggios, practicing piano, practicing piano with relaxation, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace, Rina, Rina 4 takes piano lessons, Rina takes piano lessons, rotation in piano playing, scales, shirley kirsten piano teacher in El Cerrito, Shirley Kirsten teaches classes at POWHOW, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Skype a piano lesson to Australia, Skype piano lessons, slow mindful practicing, slow piano practicing, teaching piano to young children, teaching Rina piano, teachinig piano to young children, technique, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Grammy award winner Murray Perahia shines at Zellerbach Hall! Encore, Schubert Impromptu Op. 90 in Eb in two “live” performances (Videos)

Posted on March 22, 2012 by

Murray Perahia, Poet of the Piano Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley is a regular stop for Murray Perahia, who happens to be my former classmate at the New York City High School of Performing Arts (The “FAME I wanna live forever … Continue reading →

Posted in Barbicon in London England, Cal Performances in Berkeley CA, classissima, classissima.com, FAME NYC HS of Performing Arts, Grammy awards, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, Murray Perahia, Murray Perahia poet of the piano, New York City High School of Performing Arts, pianist, piano, playing piano, Schubert Impromptu Op 90 in Eb, Sony recording, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video, Zellerbach Hall, Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Irina Morozova’s inspiring words flow through a lesson with an adult student (Beethoven’s Fur Elise-in-progress) Video

Posted on March 17, 2012 by

“From watching great pianists it is obvious that they incorporate quite different movements to achieve the same goals, because people do not play piano with fingers but rather with the mind and the ear. Again, it is the clear image … Continue reading →

Posted in blog, blogger, blogging, blogging about piano, classissima, classissima.com, ear training, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, Facebook, Facebook friend, Fur Elise, Fur Elise by Beethoven, harmonic rhythm, How to practice Fur Elise, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, keyboard technique, learning piano, legato playing at the piano, Lillian Freundlich, Lillian Lefkofsky Freundlich, mental imagery, mind body connection, mindful piano practicing, mindful practicing, molto cantabile, molto cantabilie, MTAC, MTAC.org, music, music and heart, music education, music teachers association, music teachers association of california, musical phrasing, musical phrasing and breathing, New York City, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin, Oberlin Conservatory, pianist, pianists, piano, piano addict, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano pedagogy, piano playing, piano playing and breathing, piano playing and phrasing, piano playing and relaxation, piano playing and the singing tone, piano recital, piano restoration, Piano Street, piano student, piano study, piano teacher, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano virtuosos, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, playing piano with expression, playing the piano, playing the piano with a singing tone, practicing difficult piano passages, practicing piano with relaxation, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, slow mindful practicing, slow piano practicing, Steinway M grand, Steinway M grand piano, teaching a piano student about melody, teaching an adult student, the ideal piano lesson, the vocal model for pianists, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Piano Lesson: The challenge of playing a slow movement

Posted on March 15, 2012 by

I chose Muzio Clementi’s popular Sonatina in C, Op. 36, No. 1 to flesh out the contrasting middle movement designated ANDANTE by the composer. It’s definitely a challenge to play just 6 lines of music with beauty and finesse. As … Continue reading →

Posted in arioso 7, blog, blogging, blogging about piano, blogs about piano, Classical era, classical music, classical period piano music, Classical sonatina, classissima, classissima.com, classisssima.com, Clementi Sonatina in C Op. 36 no. 1, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano instruction, fingering and phrasing at the piano, fingering and piano technique, Fresno CA, Fresno California, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, keyboard technique, MTAC, music and heart, music and the breath, musical phrasing, Muzio Clementi, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano playing, piano playing and phrasing, piano playing and relaxation, piano playing and the singing tone, piano practicing, piano teacher, piano technique, Piano World, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, playing the piano with a singing tone, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Coming Attractions: A music packed weekend and even more to come

Posted on March 11, 2012 by

Today, in the company of two adult students, I’ll be heading over to Zellerbach in Berkeley, California to hear Murray Perahia’s piano recital. Last year at about this time, he was curbed by injury, but apparently he’s now in peak … Continue reading →

Posted in Mozart Piano concerto no. 21 in C Major, Murray Perahia, New York City High School of Performing Arts, pianist, piano, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video, Zellerbach in Berkeley California | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Piano Technique: Burgmuller’s Tarentelle, Op. 100-Fueling and shaping fast passages with a dipping, supple wrist (Videos)

Posted on March 9, 2012 by

Most piano students will have been assigned a Burgmuller selection or two during their formative years of study. And most likely, these would have been snatched from the composer’s Twenty-Five Progressive Pieces, Op. 100 that advance by steps in difficulty, … Continue reading →

Posted in Burgmuller "La Chasse", Burgmuller Inquietude, Burgmuller pastorale, Burgmuller Pastorale Op. 100, Burgmuller Tarentelle, Burgmuller The Chase, Burgmuller's Op. 100 Twenty-Five Progressive Pieces, classissima, classissima.com, Friedrich Burgmuller, music, music and heart, music teachers association of california, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano pedagogy, piano playing, piano playing and breathing, piano playing and phrasing, piano playing and relaxation, piano practicing, piano repertoire, piano student, piano study, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano technique, piano technique and the singing tone, piano world-wide, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano with expression, playing the piano, playing the piano with a singing tone, practicing difficult piano passages, practicing piano with relaxation, Romantic era music, Romantic era piano music, Romantic era piano repertoire, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, slow mindful practicing, slow piano practicing, Steinway M grand piano, studying piano, supple wrist in piano playing, swinging arms in playing piano, teaching a piano student about melody, teaching piano, teaching piano to adults, teaching piano to children, teaching piano to teenagers, technique, The art of phrasing at the piano, Twenty five Progressive pieces by Burgmuller, video instruction, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Even piano teachers have their unguarded moments….zzzzz

Posted on February 26, 2012 by

Many of us keep full schedules, often teaching into late evening hours–The following day, we’re up at the crack of dawn to mentor a stream of students. This past week, I Skyped a 7:00 a.m. lesson to Pennsylvania that spilled … Continue reading →

Posted in Fur Elise by Beethoven, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, New York City High School of Performing Arts, New York City subways, pianist, piano, piano instruction, piano lessons, piano teacher nearly falls asleep, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, teaching an adult student, teaching Fur Elise, video bloopers, video outtakes, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

When sight-reading is not enough: Learning a new piano piece from the ground up so we can teach it to our students (Videos)

Posted on February 22, 2012 by

I’m reminded of a quote attributed to Sviatoslav Richter when asked how he approached a challenging new composition of virtuoso proportion: His reply– “I read a new piece and then start practicing the place that irritates me the most. After … Continue reading →

Posted in arioso7, blog, blogger, blogging, blogging about piano, California, classissima, classissima.com, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano studio, Felix Mendelssohn, Mendelssohn Children's Piece Op. 72 no. 1, music, music and heart, music and the breath, New York City High School of Performing Arts, New York University, Oberlin Conservatory, pianist, pianists, piano, piano addict, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano lessson, piano playing, piano playing and breathing, piano playing and phrasing, piano playing and the singing tone, piano studio, piano study, piano teacher, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano teaching repertoire, piano tutorial, Piano World, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, Romantic era music, sight-reading and piano playing, Sviatoslav Richter, video instruction, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Piano Technique: Rina turns 5 and plays two-note Legato slurs (slow motion, soundless replays)

Posted on February 16, 2012 by

The Good News: Rina just celebrated her big FIFTH birthday, and bestowed a lovely portrait of herself draped in a smile over her precious piano. Thank You for the beautifully framed photo! *** OTHER: Today, technology failed me once again, … Continue reading →

Posted in "Tales of a Musical Journey" by Irina Gorin, iMac, iMac 21, iMac iMovie, Irina Gorin, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, legato playing at the piano, mind body connection, mindful piano practicing, MTAC.org, music teachers association of california, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, phrasing at the piano, pianists, piano, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano lessson, piano pedagogy, piano playing and breathing, piano playing and phrasing, piano playing and relaxation, piano practicing, piano study, piano teacher, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano teaching repertoire, piano warm-ups, Piano World, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, playing the piano, publishersmarketplace, publishersmarketplace.com, relaxed arms in piano playing, Rina takes piano lessons, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, slow mindful practicing, slow piano practicing, studying piano, supple wrist in piano playing, teaching piano, technique, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, Yeti mic, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment