Tag Archives: teaching piano to children

A Piano Student Practices his own Musical Creation (Video)

Posted on October 31, 2012 by

A composing activity stimulates a 9-year old student’s mind and imagination Continue reading →

Posted in Berkeley CA, composing at piano lessons, El Cerrito CA, piano students as composers, piano teaching and composing, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What to do in a 90-minute piano lesson? ( A 9-yr. old meets the challenge) Videos

Posted on October 25, 2012 by

Fritz is a bundle of energy. He comes to his 45-minute lesson each week before soccer practice and has an additional roster of sports activities that keep him in tip- top shape. Into his third year of piano study, his … Continue reading →

Posted in Berkeley piano studio, composing at piano lessons, El Cerrito piano studio, piano students as composers, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, you tube video, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Irina Gorin’s Tales of a Musical Journey is reviewed in the FALL 2012 Statewide MTAC Magazine

Posted on October 10, 2012 by

Here’s the link rather than copy/paste. The article is ONLINE! The you tubes are nicely embedded within the writing. http://www.mtac.org/cmt/CMT2012FallTalesMusicalJourney.pdf Now the icing on the cake: Irina needs to make the rounds to branches around the State to sell her … Continue reading →

Posted in "Tales of a Musical Journey", California Music Teacher Magazine, Irina Gorin, MTAC, music teachers association of california, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube video, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Rina, 5, practices “The Hunting Call” by Gurlitt

Posted on August 23, 2012 by

Rina grabbed an opportunity to sit at the “big” piano yesterday afternoon to practice Gurlitt’s “The Hunting Call.” A sparkling little piece, Gurlitt’s gem is the third in a sequence that I pulled from Faber’s Developing Artist series, Preparatory Piano … Continue reading →

Posted in Cornelius Gurlitt, piano instruction, piano lessons, piano teaching, teaching piano to children, The Hunting Call by Gurlitt, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Piano Technique: The Spongy Wrist is a great shock absorber and singing tone supporter

Posted on August 18, 2012 by

Rina, age 5, and Emily, 13, both learned about the supple wrist and how it nurtures a beautiful singing tone at the piano. Continue reading →

Posted in classissima, classissima.com, El Cerrito piano studio, piano, piano instruction, piano lessons, piano playing, piano teaching, producing a singing tone at the piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smth Kirsten, whole body listening, whole body music listening, you tube, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Piano Technique: Turning a door knob helps a 9-year old piano student in her practicing (Videos)

Posted on July 25, 2012 by

I use various motions extracted from daily life to teach fluidity in piano playing. In this particular example lifted from a lesson-in-progress, Ilyana, 9, applies a door knob-turning gesture to smooth out a passage from William Gillock’s “Splashing in the … Continue reading →

Posted in "Splashing in the Brook" by Gillock, piano, piano instruction, piano lessons, piano technique, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, teaching piano, William Gillock, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Rina, 5, moves right along in her piano studies (Videos)

Posted on July 13, 2012 by

Rina takes to piano like a duck in water. Yesterday, she began her lesson with a five-finger romp through D Major and minor, adding chords to her repertoire. Did I say “chords?” It’s every child’s dream to play more than … Continue reading →

Posted in Diller-Quaille duets, Diller-Quaille piano materials, piano, piano instruction, piano learning, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano pedagogy, piano playing, piano playing and breathing, piano playing and phrasing, piano practicing, piano practicing motivators, teaching piano to children, 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

Growing piano technique in baby steps: Rina, 5, advances to hands together five-finger positions (adding in 10ths)

Posted on May 10, 2012 by

Rina may not know the words “pentascales” and “tenths,” but she has the intelligence to notice when her fingers move up and down together, playing the same notes an “octave” apart. With a sound knowledge of the music alphabet in … Continue reading →

Posted in "Tales of a Musical Journey" by Irina Gorin, acoustic piano, arioso 7, blog, blogger, blogging, blogging about piano, blogs about piano, children's music, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano instruction, El Cerrito piano studio, emotion in music, fingering and phrasing at the piano, fingering and piano technique, five finger positions at the piano, five finger warm-ups, Irina Gorin, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, Just Being at the Piano by Mildred Portney-Chase, legato playing at the piano, mental imagery, mindful piano practicing, mindful practicing, molto cantabile, MTAC, MTAC.org, New York City, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin, Oberlin Conservatory, pentascales, phrasing at the piano, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano playing, piano playing and relaxation, piano practicing, piano studio in El Cerrito, piano study, piano teacher, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing five-finger positions, playing legato at the piano, playing piano, playing staccato, playing staccato at the piano, playing the piano, POWHOW, POWHOW instruction, POWHOW piano instruction, POWHOW.com, practicing a piece in 7 different emotions, practicing arpeggios, practicing piano, practicing piano with relaxation, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace, Rina, Rina 4 takes piano lessons, Rina takes piano lessons, rotation in piano playing, scales, shirley kirsten piano teacher in El Cerrito, Shirley Kirsten teaches classes at POWHOW, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Skype a piano lesson to Australia, Skype piano lessons, slow mindful practicing, slow piano practicing, teaching piano to young children, teaching Rina piano, teachinig piano to young children, technique, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Excerpts from my POWHOW TOP NOTCH TONE TUTORIAL! (webcam piano instruction)

Posted on April 29, 2012 by

Snatches from our first class! We’re working on sculpting a beautiful musical line in a five-finger position. RELATED: http://www.powhow.com/classes/shirley-kirsten A POWER Piano POWHOW LAUNCH: http://arioso7.wordpress.com/2012/04/28/a-power-piano-powhow-launch-live-webcam-class-instruction/ AVOIDING PENCIL POINT PLAYING http://arioso7.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/piano-technique-avoiding-pencil-point-playing/

Posted in pianist, piano, piano instruction, piano lessons, Piano Street, piano teaching, Piano World, piano world-wide, playing piano, POWHOW piano instruction, POWHOW.com, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten certified piano instructor at POWHOW, Shirley Smith Kirsten | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment