Category Archives: piano lessons

Piano Technique: Scoop it up, loop around 4-note Arpeggios (in inversions)

Posted on June 11, 2013 by

These particular arpeggios in 4-note sequences are some of my favorite warm-up routines. Although most students find them tricky to navigate, certain “cues” planted in the psyche assist a smoother ride. The video demonstration below lays out preliminary blocking techniques … Continue reading →

Posted in arpeggios, arpeggios in inversions, classissima, classissima.com, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, piano arpeggios in inversions, piano instruction, piano lessons, piano technique, shirley kirsten piano teacher B, Shriley Kirsten piano teacher El Cerrito California, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube video, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Piano Technique: Looping Arpeggios in Contrary Motion and how to master them

Posted on June 9, 2013 by

Arpeggios are fun-filled, broken chord escapades across the keyboard. In legato form, they’re chock full of rolling motions–but even if rendered staccato, they never really lose their SHAPE. In the attached video I explore the very build-up I use when … Continue reading →

Posted in piano, piano instruction, piano lessons, piano technique, shaping arpeggios at the piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, word press, word press.com, wordpress, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sister and brother piano lessons in the Hills

Posted on June 8, 2013 by

I enjoy my weekly journey to a home way up in the Hills of El Cerrito (neighbor to Berkeley) There, I teach Lucy and Fritz who play a lovely, resonant Baldwin Acrosonic that I advised mom to purchase (over at … Continue reading →

Posted in Burgmuller, Burgmuller 25 Progressive Pieces, Burgmuller Inquietude, classissima, classissima.com, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, piano, piano instruction, piano instruction by Skype, piano instructor, piano learning, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano lessons and parental support, piano lessons by Skype, piano lessons in Berkeley California, piano lessons in El Cerrito California, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, word press, word press.com, wordpress, you tube video, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Russian composer’s colorful pieces with a strong teaching dimension

Posted on May 21, 2013 by

Native Russian, Samuel Maykapar (b.1867, d. 1938) composed a set of gorgeous, program-inspired pieces, that are carefully phrased, articulated, and fingered. The music is ear-catching in the spirit of Dimitri Kabalevsky and William Gillock as all three composers were highly … Continue reading →

Posted in "In the Garden" by Samuel Maykapar, classissima, classissima.com, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, Maykapar Russian Composer, piano, piano addict, piano instruction, piano lessons, Piano Street, piano teaching, Piano World, Rada Bukhman, Samuel Maykapar, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, The Russian School of Piano Playing, word press, word press.com, wordpress, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

An interview with Rada Bukhman, pianist, teacher, author, about the “Russian School of Piano Playing”

Posted on May 16, 2013 by

Rada Bukhman, a Vancouver-based piano teacher with native Russian roots, has produced a 212-page soft cover volume that entices with its interspersed selections of compositions at various learning levels. The text offers a variety of fascinating topics, “Developing Initial Musical … Continue reading →

Posted in classissima, classissima.com, Discovering Color Behind the Kyes The Essence of the Russian School of Piano Playing by Rada Bukhman, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, piano, piano instruction, piano lessons, piano teaching, Rada Bukhman, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, The Essence of the Russian School of Piano Playing, The Russian School of Piano Playing, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube video, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Romantic era piano repertoire: A murmuring stream and the supple wrist (Burgmuller creates beauty from simplicity)

Posted on April 26, 2013 by

“The Clear Stream” from Friedrich Burgmuller’s Twenty-Five Progressive Pieces offers a student an opportunity to create limpidly beautiful phrases from unraveled broken chords spun out in triplets. In order to create the “mormorando” (murmuring effect) in the treble, it’s best … Continue reading →

Posted in Harmony of the Angels by Burgmuller, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, piano instruction, piano lessons, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Advice for teaching piano students about dynamics and phrasing

Posted on April 12, 2013 by

This was the hallmark topic at a Linked-in piano forum board, with many piano teachers chiming in with great suggestions. For me, singing beside a student or nudging him/her to join in is always helpful. I focus on shaping phrases … Continue reading →

Posted in classissima, classissima.com, Mozart Sonata no. 16 in C Major K. 545, piano, piano instruction, piano lessons, piano teaching, you tube video, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Learning J.S. Bach’s B minor Invention No. 15 (BWV 786) in baby steps

Posted on April 1, 2013 by

Both embedded videos track my step-by-step approach to learning this beautiful composition. In the part one Instruction, I play slowly through the right hand to explore the subject, its articulation, fingering, execution of ornaments, and follow-up strand of 16th notes. … Continue reading →

Posted in classissima. om, classissima.com, J.S. Bach, J.S. Bach two part Inventions, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, piano, piano instruction, piano lessons, word press, word press.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Piano performance: The moment of creation can be deceiving and how we can learn from video playbacks

Posted on March 29, 2013 by

I was telling a musical friend about the discrepancy between what we think we’re hearing during our own performances and what bears out in a review of our self-made recordings. This is why teaching and learning opportunities abound in comparing … Continue reading →

Posted in classissima, classissima.com, J.S. Bach, J.S. Bach Invention in 13 minor, J.S. Bach Prelude in C minor, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, pianist, piano instruction, piano lessons, piano teaching, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, videotaping piano lessons, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Piano Technique: Playing with bigger energies beyond the fingers

Posted on March 28, 2013 by

Practicing a programmatic miniature from Kabalevsy’s Op. 39 Children’s Pieces can draw on energies well beyond the fingers. “Funny Event” is a good example with its series of sound bursts on the first beat of each measure. If a student … Continue reading →

Posted in Kabalevsky, Kabalevsky Funny Event, Kabalevsky Op. 39 Children's pieces, piano, piano instruction, piano lessons, Shirley Kirsten, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment