Category Archives: Steinway piano

Piano Mania! and the Bezerkeley arrival of Steinway 1098!

Posted on February 6, 2013 by

Pianomania! is an apt title for a documentary about Stefan Knupfer, Steinway piano technician, who gallops upstairs and downstairs in a premier “Vienna concert haus,” trying to meet the needs of performing pianists, recording artists, et al. They demand the … Continue reading →

Posted in Berkeley California, classissima, classissima.com, James Barron, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, New York Times, piano, Pianomania!, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Stefan Kupfer, Steinway 1098, Steinway piano, Steinway studio upright, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Pianos, Old Age, and Cosmetic Imperfection

Posted on July 14, 2012 by

I wish I could order an instant make-over for gorgeous-sounding pianos that suffer rejection because of imperfect exteriors. By example, one of my students who’d grown attached to her respectable-looking, 70′s era, walnut console piano, was devastated when her family … Continue reading →

Posted in Acrosonic piano, Brooklyn Bridge Park, cosmetic appearances of pianos, George Gershwin, Gulbransen piano, Haddorff piano, piano, Rhapsody in Blue, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Sing for Hope, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, used piano, used pianos, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, Wurlitzer piano, you tube video, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Piano Lesson: Analyzing/playing Bach Invention in D minor, No. 4, BWV 775 in slow tempo (Videos)

Posted on March 26, 2012 by

In J.S. Bach’s Two-part Inventions both voices overlap and imitate each other creating counterpoint. The SUBJECT of no. 4 contains a d-minor Harmonic form scale whose 6th note, B flat does NOT continue in an upward motion to the leading … Continue reading →

Posted in Bach Invention no. 4 in d minor BWV775, Bach Two Part Inventions, J.S. Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach, phrasing at the piano, pianist, pianists, piano, piano addict, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano keyboard, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano masterclass, piano pedagogy, piano playing, piano playing and the singing tone, piano practicing, piano student, piano study, piano teacher, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano technique, piano tutorial, Piano World, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, playing the piano, practicing piano, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace, publishersmarketplace.com, scales, scales for the piano, 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, Steinway piano, teaching piano, teaching scales, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Piano Lesson: An adult student continues her Beethoven “Fur Elise” learning process (Video)

Posted on February 25, 2012 by

These are excerpts from today’s lesson where we covered: 1. Broken chord blocking; refreshing inversions of the Tonic as applied to practicing Fur Elise. 2. Voice balancing: fleshing out the treble (soprano) melody, on page 2 (F Major section) Using … Continue reading →

Posted in Fur Elise by Beethoven, pianists, piano, piano addict, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano lessson, piano pedagogy, piano playing and breathing, piano playing and phrasing, piano playing and relaxation, piano repertoire, piano student, piano teacher, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano technique, piano tutorial, piano virtuosos, piano warm-ups, Piano World, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, 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, practicing the left hand at the piano, producing a singing tone legato at the piano, relaxed arms in piano playing, rotation in piano playing, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, sight-singing, slow mindful practicing, slow piano practicing, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, studying piano, teaching Beethoven Fur Elise, teaching piano, teaching piano to adult students, technique, the art of piano playing, video instruction, video performances, video supplementation of piano lessons, videotaping at piano lessons, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Teaching Gillock’s delightfully appealing, Later Elementary Level music: “The Glass Slipper” (Video)

Posted on February 4, 2012 by

I have no reservation about the immense teaching value of William Gillock’s music from elementary through advanced levels. And while the titles in the first few volumes appeal to children, the pieces can be universally enjoyed by piano students of … Continue reading →

Posted in blog, blogger, blogging, blogging about piano, blogs about piano, classissima, classissima.com, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano studio, Fresno CA, Fresno California, Gillock "Flamenco", Gillock composer, Hal Leonard, Hal Leonard Music Publishing, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, mind body connection, mindful piano practicing, MTAC, music teachers association of california, musical phrasing, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin, phrasing at the piano, pianist, pianists, piano, piano addict, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano lessson, piano pedagogy, piano playing and relaxation, piano practicing, piano practicing motivators, piano recital, piano repertoire, piano studio, piano study, piano teacher, piano teaching, piano teaching repertoire, piano technique, piano tutorial, Piano World, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, singing tone legato, slow mindful practicing, slow piano practicing, Steinway M, Steinway piano, video performances, William Gillock, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The piano teacher as conductor–sometimes shaping gestures help a student phrase better (Video)

Posted on February 3, 2012 by

I couldn’t resist an opportunity to conduct my student playing the Bach Invention 13 in A minor today. She’s preparing two selections for a competitive Baroque event coming up in two weeks, and the second offering is the Prelude in … Continue reading →

Posted in MTAC, muscular memory, music, music and heart, music teachers association of california, musical inspiration, musical phrasing, New York City, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin, Oberlin Conservatory, phrasing at the piano, pianist, 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 recital, piano repertoire, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano studio, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano technique, Piano World, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, Russian piano teacher, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, studying piano, swinging arms in playing piano, Teaching Bach two part inventions, teaching piano to children, The art of phrasing at the piano, the art of piano playing, video performances, videotaped replay, videotaping at piano lessons, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Playing through Chopin’s B minor Waltz with its sighing motif (Video commentary)

Posted on February 2, 2012 by

Last night I sat myself down at my imperfectly regulated Steinway M grand and managed to sigh several times through torrents of phrases crafted by design and inspiration to tug at the heartstrings. And in the video below, I journeyed … Continue reading →

Posted in classissima, classissima.com, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, legato playing at the piano, phrasing at the piano, pianist, pianists, piano, piano blog, piano blogging, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessson, piano pedagogy, piano playing and breathing, piano playing and phrasing, piano playing and relaxation, piano practicing, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano studio, piano teacher, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano teaching repertoire, piano technique, piano technique and the singing tone, Piano World, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, playing the piano with a singing tone, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, singing tone legato, slow mindful practicing, slow piano practicing, Steinway M, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, string player, studying piano, swinging arms in playing piano, Teach Street, teaching piano, technique, tempo rubato, The art of phrasing at the piano, the art of piano pedaling, the art of piano playing, video performances, video uploading, videotaping a piano performance and self analysis, violin, virtual piano lessons, virtual piano teaching, What pianists can learn from string players, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Practicing knotty piano passages, and tips on how to avoid fatigue while boosting technique (Videos)

Posted on January 28, 2012 by

At my You Tube Channel site, I routinely pick up comments daily, and the majority center on piano technique. While I lay no claim to being an expert in this complex universe, my trial and error practicing over decades has … Continue reading →

Posted in Baroque era music, Chopin, Chopin Nocturne in F Major Op. 15 No. 1, classissima, classissima.com, harmonic analysis, harmonic rhythm, how to boos piano technique, Martha Argerich, pianist, pianists, piano, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano lessons and parental support, piano masterclasses, piano pedagogy, piano playing and breathing, piano playing and phrasing, piano playing and relaxation, piano practicing, piano repertoire, piano repertoire for intermediate level students, piano student, piano students who drop out, piano studio, piano teacher, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano teaching repertoire, piano technique, piano technique and the singing tone, piano tutorial, piano world-wide, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, playing the piano, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace, publishersmarketplace.com, Romantic era music, Romantic era piano repertoire, Romantic music, Scarlatti Sonatas, Scarlatti Toccata in d minor k. 141, Seymour Bernstein, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, Teach Street, teaching piano, trills, Twenty five Progressive pieces by Burgmuller, videotaping a piano performance and self analysis, videotaping at piano lessons, whole body listening, whole body music listening, With your own Two Hands by Seymour Bernstein, word press, wordpress.com, You and the Piano Seymour Bernstein, You and the PIano Seymour Bernstein on You Tube, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Debussy Arabesque No. 1 and the back story (Video)

Posted on December 16, 2011 by

Speaking of pianos, and decisions about which to use, I decided to give Haddy Haddorff another opportunity to sing like a nightingale. This was a late-into-the-night sound exploration following an earlier trip to the Mac Store at Fresno’s Fashion Fair … Continue reading →

Posted in arioso7, authorsden, blog, blogger, blogging, blogs about piano, Claude Debussy, Debussy, Debussy Arabesque no. 1, Debussy Arabesque No. 1 by Claude Debussy, Fresno California, Haddorff, Haddorff piano, Haddorrff console piano, pianist, piano, playing piano, Steinway and Sons, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, The art of phrasing at the piano, word press, wordpress.com, Yeti microphone, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Picking the right piano to record a selection (Videos)–”Fur Elise” by Beethoven

Posted on December 15, 2011 by

I’ve heard stories about great pianists such as Richter obsessing over a choice of piano for a concert. Allegedly, he was very fussy, and sometimes regretted the one he picked out for a recital. But when he found himself playing … Continue reading →

Posted in "Fur Elise" by Beethoven, blog, blogger, blogging, blogs about piano, Classical era, classical music, comparing a Haddorff to a Steinway, cultivating the singing tone at the piano, emotion in music, Haddorff piano, Haddorrff console piano, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano maintenance, piano maintenance in small communities, picking a piano for a concert, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Steinway and Sons, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, teaching Fur Elise, Yeti microphone, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment