Tag Archives: Beethoven Fur Elise

How I deal with my performance anxiety? (Video)

Posted on March 8, 2013 by

I prepared a video as a meditation, or spiritual assist for tonight. I’m playing at my house of religious worship. It’s an open MIC event, and I thought it would be a relaxing opportunity for SHARING. Underline that last word … 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 →

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

Piano lesson-in-progress: Shaping a solo for the right hand in Beethoven’s “Fur Elise” ( a “vocal” transition) Videos

Posted on April 21, 2012 by

Marie, an adult student practiced measures 32-40 of “Fur Elise,” enlisting the model of a singer who shapes and nuances phrases with meticulous breath control. While pianists are not operatic performers, they must imagine that their arms, wrists and fingers … Continue reading →

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Beethoven’s Fur Elise with orchestra? or without (Videos)

Posted on March 25, 2012 by

During the night, I stumbled upon a piano solo with orchestra arrangement of “Fur Elise” that included a set of nuanced special effects. First, the pianist, nonchalantly flowed into the first theme to a stream applause, reminding me of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Edvard Grieg, Fur Elise by Beethoven, Fur Elise for solo and orchestra, Georgii Tcherkin, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, Ludwig Van Beethoven, pianist, piano, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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 →

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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 →

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More Tips on practicing Beethoven’s Fur Elise using a rolling motion, weight transfer, undulating wrist, and relaxed arm swing (Video)

Posted on February 18, 2012 by

Today’s lesson with an adult student produced a helpful video that focused on the second section, page 1–but was devoted in large part, to examining measures 9-15 in the following ways: 1) for the execution of a rolling motion across … Continue reading →

Posted in "Fur Elise" by Beethoven, Beethoven Fur Elise, blog, blogger, blogging, blogging about piano, blogs about piano, classical music, classical period piano music, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano lessons, Piano Street, piano technique, Piano World, piano world-wide, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, teaching Beethoven Fur Elise, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Piano Instruction: Connecting a melody through Chords in Beethoven’s “Fur Elise,” Measures 62-77

Posted on May 23, 2011 by

This video contains recommendations for fleshing out a legato melody that runs through chords in the C section, or Stormy part of Beethoven’s “Fur Elise.” (Right hand finger substitutions, etc . explored)

Posted in Beethoven, blog, blogger, Classical era, classical music, Fur Elise, music teachers association of california, New York City High School of Performing Arts, New York University, Oberlin Conservatory, piano, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano practicing, Piano Street, piano student, piano teacher, playing piano | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How long should a piano student stay with a piece?

Posted on May 12, 2011 by

As a teacher, I’ve often pondered this question, concluding that there are varying answers which depend on the advancement and motivation of individual students. Certainly no fixed formula addresses the length of time a pupil needs to fully realize his … Continue reading →

Posted in adult piano students, arpeggios, Beethoven, California, Celebration MTAC Fresno, Chopin Waltz in A minor, Classical era, classissima, classissima.com, Creative Fresno, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano studio, Frederic Chopin, Fresno California, Fur Elise, harmonic analysis, MTAC, music, music and heart, music teachers association of california, music theory, New York City, New York City High School of Performing Arts, New York University, Oberlin, Oberlin Conservatory, philosophy of eduction, piano, piano addict, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano pedagogy, piano repertoire, Piano Street, piano student, piano teacher, piano teaching repertoire, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace, publishersmarketplace.com, self-analysis, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, sightreading at the piano, Teach Street, teaching piano, teaching piano scales, teaching piano to teenagers, technique, word press, wordpress.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments