Tag Archives: El Cerrito

Piano Instruction: Clementi Sonatina in C, Op. 36 No. 3 (parts 1 and 2) and a Skyped lesson-in-progress recorded by camcorder

Posted on July 20, 2012 by

Supplements to Skyped lessons come in two forms. I will either send an unlisted mid-week video to a long-distance learner as a brush-up, or I’ll upload public videos that can be universally shared. Both help me crystallize how I will … Continue reading →

Posted in Clementi Sonatina Op. 36 no. 3, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, long distance piano learning, piano, piano lessons, piano lessons by Skype, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, skyped piano lessons, teaching piano online, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Phrasing at the piano: Listening to the ends of notes as they flow into others

Posted on June 23, 2012 by

I’ve chosen Burgmuller’s “Tender Flower” as the springboard to explore attentive listening and its relationship to phrasing. At the outset, the right moment to begin a piece is a challenge. The player has to experience the whole dimension of silence … Continue reading →

Posted in attentive listening, Burgmuller Tender Flower, El Cerrito piano studio, Friedrich Burgmuller, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, Just Being at the Piano by Mildred Portney Chase, phrasing at the piano, pianist, piano, piano study, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, 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

Piano Lessons: Catching up with Rina, age 5

Posted on June 13, 2012 by

Rina has reached a turning point in her piano studies, just 10 months into them. She’s playing the Reinagle Minuet, coordinating bass and treble lines. This is NOT ROTE playing, or any Suzuki variant. Rina knows the music alphabet forward … Continue reading →

Posted in "Tales of a Musical Journey", Irina Gorin, teaching piano to children, word press, you tube | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Debussy Arabesque No. 1 blends well with East Bay seascapes (Video)

Posted on June 5, 2012 by

I couldn’t resist the temptation to embed Bay panoramas in a Debussy soundtrack. It followed my journey along the scenic Amtrak 711 route. A new set of vistas were framed by a whizzing train’s marred window. Yet the mood paintings … Continue reading →

Posted in Claude Debussy, Debussy, Debussy Arabesque no. 1, El Cerrito piano studio, piano, piano playing, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, you tube, you tube video, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

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

Burgmuller’s beautiful “Tendre Fleur” flows in and out of flower portraits (VIDEO)

Posted on May 17, 2012 by

On my walk from the El Cerrito Hills to BART Del Norte I snapped these pictures and interspersed them in my reading. Composed in the Romantic era, “Tender Flower” (English Tr.) is a gorgeous miniature that says so much in … Continue reading →

Posted in Burgmuller, classissima, classissima.com, El Cerrito, El Cerrito piano studio, Friedrich Burgmuller, piano, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Tender Flower by Friedrich Burgmuller, walk to El Cerrito piano studio, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube video, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

My childhood “Fur Elise,” past teachers, yearbook entries, and present mentoring (Video)

Posted on May 16, 2012 by

I named one of my daughters, “Elise,” in honor of Beethoven’s famous composition. That’s how much I adored the music. A companion piece since childhood, I managed to squeak through the notes at age 8 when enrolled at a quaint … Continue reading →

Posted in "Fur Elise" by Beethoven, classissima, classissima.com, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, Ludwig Van Beethoven, pianist, piano, piano instruction, piano lessons, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, word press, word press.com, wordpress, you tube video, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Piano Technique: A Bouncy Scale workout with forward arm rolls and supple wrist motions–Enjoy the romp! (Videos)

Posted on May 3, 2012 by

Scales can be a great workout routine if you let your arms loose, dip your pliant wrists and go with the flow. And it’s a great cardio. (No treadmill or weights required) Just apply principles of balance and buoyancy. Here … Continue reading →

Posted in phrasing at the piano, pianist, pianists, piano, piano arpeggios, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano instrruction, piano instructor, piano lessson, piano playing, piano playing and breathing, piano playing and phrasing, piano playing and relaxation, piano practicing, Piano Street, piano student, piano studio, piano study, piano teacher, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano technique, Piano World, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, POWHOW, POWHOW instruction, POWHOW piano instruction, scale fingerings, scales, scales and arpeggios, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Kirsten certified piano instructor at POWHOW, Shirley Kirsten on POWHOW, Shirley Kirsten teaches classes at POWHOW, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, singing tone legato, studying piano, teaching piano, technique, video piano instruction, virtual piano lessons, virtual piano teaching, whole body listening, word press, word press.com, wordpress, you tube, you tube video, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Part THREE: Guess what happened on the way to my El Cerrito Piano Studio? (Photos!)

Posted on April 25, 2012 by

There was no rooster greeting me for the past two weeks as I wound my way from Bart Del Norte into the El Cerrito Hills. The “cockadoodledoo” had been a welcome embellishment to my time-honored walk and I wondered what … Continue reading →

Posted in El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano studio, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, pianist, piano, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, walk to El Cerrito piano studio, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Part TWO: Guess what happened on the way to my El Cerrito Piano Studio? (Video)

Posted on April 11, 2012 by

I’m no country bumpkin, but as I departed Bart’s El Cerrito Del Norte station, I felt like one. Last week I ran into a turkey, most likely separated from the pack. And as it daintily climbed up the steps of … Continue reading →

Posted in blog, blogger, blogging, blogging about piano, blogs about piano, El Cerrito piano studio, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, piano, piano technician, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, taking a walk in El Cerrito, wild turkeys in El Cerrito California, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube video, yout tube | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment