Category Archives: piano teaching

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 →

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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 →

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A Tribute to traveling piano teachers

Posted on April 15, 2013 by

I’m lucky that for decades I’ve been a stationary piano teacher, home-based for Skype, but having two youngsters whom I teach at their house up in the El Cerrito Hills. Fortunately, I get chauffeured to and from the location so … Continue reading →

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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 →

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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 →

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The piano learning process at all levels of study

Posted on March 2, 2013 by

In spite of my having studied piano for decades, each learning experience is filled with challenges that I must approach with a glut of patience. A new composition has its own form, architecture, harmonic rhythm, fingering that requires a big … Continue reading →

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Revisiting an old piano piece learned years earlier

Posted on February 13, 2013 by

I find my current musical journey down memory lane to be joyful and challenging–especially as I cut and paste the Mozart Rondo: Allegro, K. 311 pages to fit comfortably on the piano rack. (Deja Vu, Haydn C Major Hoboken XVI35–Haydn … Continue reading →

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A sentimental journey taken with Mozart

Posted on February 4, 2013 by

Musical memories rekindled Continue reading →

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The C Major Scale universe: metric and muscle memory; shaping and tapering

Posted on January 25, 2013 by

The C Major scale is more than meets the “I,” if you’re the one practicing it! Continue reading →

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A Well-known Haydn Piano Sonata is pinned!

Posted on January 21, 2013 by

I don’t mean to inject pins into this post, but it amply introduces Haydn’s vibrant Sonata no. 35 in C Major. Yesterday, as I diligently embarked upon learning this masterpiece, I had to deal with basic housekeeping matters: How to … Continue reading →

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