Category Archives: shirley smith kirsten blog

Photo memories of my December 2012 trip to NYC

Posted on March 21, 2013 by

A native New Yorker, I rarely found myself at the Statue of Liberty, but yes, to Central Park, and gentle walks though Fall and Spring paths. My last visit to the home land, was this past December when I sauntered … Continue reading →

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Into the Hills with the Sound of Music –a Baldwin Acrosonic “acoustic” sings

Posted on March 5, 2013 by

The video attached to this writing validates the beauty of music-making on a well-maintained, though 1940s vintage era acoustic piano. Baldwin Acrosonics were the Cadillacs of the spinet and console variety pianos. They had a noticeable innovation compared to their … Continue reading →

Posted in Baldwin Acrosonic piano, Chopin, Chopin pedaling, Chopin Waltz in A minor no. 19, classissima, classissima.com, El Cerrito California, pedaling at the piano, phrasing at the piano, piano addict, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano instrruction, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano lessons in Berkeley California, piano lessons in El Cerrito California, piano studio, piano studio in El Cerrito, piano teachers, piano technique, piano technique and breathing, Piano World, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, shirley kirsten pianist, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, Shirley Smth Kirsten, slow mindful practicing, slow piano practicing, studying piano, The art of phrasing at the piano, the art of piano pedaling, The El Cerrito Hills, 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

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 →

Posted in "Tales of a Musical Journey" by Irina Gorin, Chopin Waltz in A minor no. 19, classissima, classissima.com, Irina Gorin, phrasing at the piano, pianist, piano, piano blogs, piano instrruction, piano lessons, piano lessons for adults, Piano Street, piano studio, piano studio in El Cerrito, piano study, piano teacher, piano teaching, piano technique and breathing, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, practicing piano, practicing piano in slow motion, practicing piano in slow tempo, practicing piano with relaxation, relaxed arms in piano playing, scales, scales and arpeggios, separate hand piano practicing, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, Shirley Smth Kirsten, slow mindful practicing, slow piano practicing, teaching Beethoven Fur Elise, teaching Fur Elise, teaching piano scales, teaching piano to adult students, teaching piano to adults, teaching piano to young children, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

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 →

Posted in Emanuel Ax, Lillian Freundlich, mindful piano practicing, Mozart, Mozart Sonata no. 9 in D K. 311, ornaments, phrasing at the piano, pianist, pianists, piano, piano addict, piano addict.com, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano lessons by Skype, piano lessons for adults, piano lessons in Berkeley California, piano lessons in El Cerrito California, piano pedagogy, piano playing, piano playing and the singing tone, piano practicing, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano teaching philosophy, piano teaching repertoire, piano technique, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, Shirley Smth Kirsten, the undulating wrist, the undulating wrist in piano playing, trills, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in C Major Scale, C major scale at the piano, classissima, classissima.com, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, piano instruction, piano instruction by Skype, piano lessons, piano lessons for adults, piano lessons in Berkeley California, piano lessons in El Cerrito California, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano technique, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, playing staccato at the piano, playing the piano, playing the piano with a singing tone, POWHOW, POWHOW instruction, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, skype piano lesson, Skype piano lessons, skyped piano lessons, Skyping piano lessons, teaching piano online, teaching piano to adults, the breath and phrasing in piano playing, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The business of copying the piano teacher: Who has the final say or PLAY?

Posted on November 9, 2012 by

The latest provocative teacher exchange is taking place on Facebook at the “Art of Piano Pedagogy” which has now become a private forum. When it comes to teaching philosophies, many are intensely opinionated. From my perspective, I passionately believe in … Continue reading →

Posted in classissima, classsissima.com, Nairi Grigorian Akimov, piano, piano instruction, piano lessons, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Kirsten on POWHOW, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, Shirley Smth Kirsten, skype piano lesson, Skype piano lessons, slow mindful practicing, slow piano practicing, teaching piano online, teaching piano to adult students, teaching piano to children, The art of phrasing at the piano, the breath and phrasing in piano playing, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube video, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Purr-fect sedative for a Cat

Posted on August 19, 2012 by

“Harmony of the Angels” has a soporific effect on Aiden cat while it provided a relaxing prelude to Rina’s earliest piano lessons. Students, young and old, love its thread of sonorities. Continue reading →

Posted in Aiden Cat, Burgmuller, classissima, classissima.com, Friedrich Burgmuller, Op. 100 Twenty-five Progressive Pieces, piano addict, Piano Street, Piano World, playing piano, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, Shirley Smth Kirsten, teaching piano to adults, teaching piano to young children, teaching Rina piano, teachinig piano to young children, teacing piano to children, the art of piano playing, the breath and phrasing in piano playing, undulating wrist in piano playing, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Using piano repertoire as a springboard for a theory lesson: Major, minor and Diminished Chords (Videos)

Posted on May 30, 2012 by

One of my adult students is working on the gorgeous J.C. Bach Prelude in A minor which has a second page full of “Major,” “Minor” and “Diminished” chords. The sonorities progress in sequences, but they also have a secondary dominant … Continue reading →

Posted in J. C. Bach Prelude in A Minor, J.C. Bach, Major minor and diminished chords, musical phrasing, musical phrasing and breathing, phrasing at the piano, pianist, piano, piano learning, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano pedagogy, piano playing, piano regulation, piano studio, piano studio in El Cerrito, piano study, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano tutorial, Piano World, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing pentascales, playing piano, playing the piano, playing the piano with a singing tone, POWHOW, POWHOW instruction, practicing piano, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace, repertoire for piano students, rolling forward wrist motions in piano playing, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Kirsten on POWHOW, shirley kirsten on POWHOW webcam piano class, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, studying piano, teaching piano, teaching piano to adults, The art of phrasing at the piano, the art of piano pedaling, Theory, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press.com, wordpress, you tube video, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

El Cerrito “Sushi” cat is a match for Aiden (Videos)

Posted on May 24, 2012 by

Aiden took the prize for his mini-choreography of Chopin’s C# minor Waltz, but “Sushi” outdistanced him with an impressive break dance routine on the kitchen floor. “Sushi,” the house cat in El Cerrito, is always on the move–resistant to stay … Continue reading →

Posted in Aiden Cat, Aiden the Cat, feline, felines, pianist, piano, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano lesson, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube video, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Beethoven, Beethoven "Tempest" in Dminor Op. 31 no.2, Beethoven "Tempest" sonata op. 31 no. 2, classissima, classissima.com, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, Ludwig Van Beethoven, pianist, piano, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Kirsten certified piano instructor at POWHOW, Shirley Kirsten on POWHOW, shirley kirsten on POWHOW webcam piano class, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, slow mindful practicing, slow piano practicing, teaching piano, teaching piano to adult students, teaching piano to adults, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment