Tag Archives: piano teacher

“Flamenco” by Gillock is a winner! (Intermediate Level piano repertoire)

Over the years, Gillock’s music has sparked the enthusiasm of piano students who sometimes need a kick start piece to lift them out of a rut. “Flamenco” can be such a game changer! For Fritz, age 9, who’s infatuated with … Continue reading

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Heart Attacks and Haydn!

I couldn’t help but chuckle at a stream of advertising overlapping my Haydn D Major, Hoboken XVI 37 Sonata. “FOUR SIGNS OF A HEART ATTACK” The Google ad, as it ran, uncannily tracked KILLER passages in this composition that would … Continue reading

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Piano Lesson: Teaching “GAME” by Kabalevsky, Op. 39 Children’s Pieces (Videos)

Vibrant musical miniatures are learning enticements for piano students. In this spirit, Dimitry Kabalevsky, a Twentieth Century Russian composer, shines in his collection of Children’s Pieces (Op.39) that run the gamut of emotions, from sad expressions of human nature, “Waltz” … Continue reading

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No Skimming the surface in piano warm-ups and a Chopin exchange with a sixth-grader

Lucy started piano about four years ago in El Cerrito, a short Bart ride from Berkeley, my current residence. A transfer student, she’d been immersed in Bastien primers and hand-outs of various patriotic pieces. Note-reading skills were minimal. Over time, … Continue reading

Posted in Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, piano, piano instruction, piano lessons, piano lessons in Berkeley California, piano lessons in El Cerrito California, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

From Pop to Bach, A 9-yr old makes it over easy

Fritz, a sparkling kid who loves football, soccer, and video games especially where he’s devising offensive field strategies, comes to the piano with bundles of energy. These can be channeled into a piece he’s gung ho to learn, like “Hall … Continue reading

Posted in "Hall of Fame", piano instruction, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Knee-jerk technology brings the keyboard closer to an Online piano student

By reassigning a web cam to my knee, I was able to assist a student with a nagging measure. Continue reading

Posted in classissima, classissima.com, Logitech camera, Logitech camera and piano lessons, Mozart Sonata in C Major K. 545 Allegro, piano lessons, piano lessons by Skype, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Skype piano lessons, taeching piano by Skype, Uncategorized, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

J.S. Bach and tempo in his Little Preludes

How do we make decisions about the time frame reference of Bach’s music? Continue reading

Posted in Angela Hewitt, Bach's tempos in clavier music, Baroque music tempo, classissima, classissima.com, dance-like tempo in Baroque keyboard music, Elaine Comparone, Glenn Gould, Halida Dinova, Harpsichord Unlimited, Harpsichord.org, J.S. Bach's tempos, Johann Sebastian Bach, piano, Quantz, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Launching my new Berkeley Piano Studio! (Video)

Yesterday, a stone’s through from Fat Apple’s on Martin Luther King Jr. Way, I began my official teaching relationship to Berkeley. It was just weeks after touchdown in the Hopkins neighborhood, a storehouse of delights beckoning me at every corner. … Continue reading

Posted in classissima, classissima.com, Dennie Mehocich violin teacher, El Cerrito piano studio, Fat Apples in Berkeley California, piano instruction, piano lessons, piano lessons in Berkeley California, piano teacher, you tube, you tube video, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Supplement to a Skyped lesson (Chopin Waltz in B minor) Video

It’s invaluable to send videos to SKYPE students between lessons. 1) It fills in some of the gaps associated with long distance transmission where variations in volume and clarity might temporarily interrupt instruction. 2) It’s a summation of what transpired … Continue reading

Posted in Chopin Waltz in B minor, classissima, piano, piano tutorial, playing piano, skype piano lesson, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Skyped Piano Lesson in Progress: Between California and Greece (Chopin Waltz in B minor)–Video

Reaching across the ocean to Greece? This was a first. London, maybe or Alaska? But connecting up with a piano student within range of the Parthenon was unthinkable. In fact, he now lives in Kos, an island with many sites … Continue reading

Posted in Bullfinch's Mythology, classissima, classissima.com, George Friedrich Handel, Gluck Orfeo and Eurydice, Greek mythology, Icarus, piano lessons by Skype, Rodin the Thinker, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Skyping piano lessons, wordpress.com, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment