Month: February 2011

6 degrees of separation, adult piano students, Bay area, blogger, blogging, California, classical music, classissima.com, Creative Fresno, Douglas Freundlich, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano studio, Facebook, Fresno, Fresno California, Hanon studies, humor, keyboard technique, Major and minor scales, memoir, mind body connection, MTAC, music, music and heart, Music Teachers Asssociation of California, musicology, New York City, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano pedagogy, piano practicing, piano scales, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano teaching repertoire, piano technique, piano warm-ups, playing piano, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace.com, scale fingerings, scales, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Steinway and Sons, Steinway M grand piano, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, teaching piano scales, technique, Theory, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Piano teachers, students, and reluctant farewells

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

  Lillian Freundlich *** For many piano teachers who've nursed along students from Primer toddlerhood to an Intermediate level confidence-climbing phase, through to the Advanced, smooth riding finish with flashy fingers, the pupil's farewell is an emotional event. Of course, it depends on the circumstances of the departure and who is saying goodbye to whom.… Continue reading Piano teachers, students, and reluctant farewells

Baroque trills, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano studio, Elaine Comparone, essercizi, Facebook, Frederic Chopin, Fresno, Fresno California, Juilliard, keyboard technique, memoir, mind body connection, music, music and heart, music appreciation classes, music history, Music Teachers Asssociation of California, my space, New York, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin, Oberlin Conservatory, pentachords, performance anxiety, piano, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano pedagogy, piano practicing, piano scales, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano teacher, piano teaching repertoire, piano technique, piano warm-ups, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace.com, scales, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Steinway grand piano, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, Steinway studio upright, talkclassical.com, teaching scales, the natural minor scale, trills, uk-piano-forums, video performances, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

More trills, but bucolic and serene: Scarlatti’s d minor “pastorale” K. 9 (VIDEO)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Domenico Scarlatti Sonata K. 9 in d minor (the "pastorale") http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Qk88Sn9kHk The trills in K. 9 are far different than those permeating Scarlatti's sonata K. 159 in C Major. The latter has a robust horn call opening with a lavish assortment of ornaments. The bright sounding Major tonality creates a dazzling brilliance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zUmr0vl_-c By contrast… Continue reading More trills, but bucolic and serene: Scarlatti’s d minor “pastorale” K. 9 (VIDEO)

adult piano students, blog, blogger, blogging, Circle of Fifths, classissima, classissima.com, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, f# minor scale, Fresno California, humor, Major and minor scales, mental imagery, Mildred Portney Chase, mind body connection, music, music and heart, Music Teachers Asssociation of California, my space, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin, Oberlin Conservatory, Oberlin Conservatory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, piano, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano pedagogy, piano student, piano teacher, piano technique, piano warm-ups, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Steinway and Sons, Steinway grand piano, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, Teach Street, teaching piano scales, teaching scales, technique, the natural minor scale, Theory, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Piano Instruction: Learning the F# minor scale (video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc9_wRE4MN8 I made this video after plunking the "devil" beside Bb Major in my previous blog, so if you review the basic approach in that post, you'll get my sway about scales in general. It's always better to think in GROUPS rather than individual notes. For F# minor in its Natural or PURE form, let's… Continue reading Piano Instruction: Learning the F# minor scale (video)

adult piano students, athletic coaching, athletic training, blog, blogger, blogging, California, Circle of Fifths, classissima, classissima.com, Creative Fresno, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano studio, Facebook, Fresno, Fresno California, gymnastics, humor, keyboard technique, Major and minor scales, mind body connection, music teachers association of california, Music Teachers Asssociation of California, my space, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, Oberlin Conservatory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano pedagogy, piano practicing, piano student, piano teacher, piano technique, piano warm-ups, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace.com, satire, scale fingerings, scales, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Steinway and Sons, Steinway grand piano, Steinway M grand piano, Teach Street, teaching piano scales, teaching scales, technique, Theory, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

The most reviled scale for piano players!! (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Bb C D Eb F G A Bb C D Eb F G A Bb *** Last night I had a rap session with a student on the subject of his favorite scale. And it quickly dawned on me that this whole area of discussion, while definitely out of the mainstream and not a life… Continue reading The most reviled scale for piano players!! (Video)

6 degrees of separation, adult piano students, Album for the Young, Apple iPhone, arpeggios, Art Linkletter, athletic coaching, athletic training, attorney, authorsden, Baroque music, Bay area, blog, blogger, blogging, boxing, boxing lessons, California, Cato, cd baby, cdbaby, Children's pieces, Circle of Fifths, Classical era, classical music, classissima, classissima.com, counterpoint, Creative Fresno, crossed hands, diminished 7th arpeggios, diminished 7th chords, Domenico Scarlatti, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano studio, essercizi, Facebook, Fig Garden Village, five finger positions, five finger warm-ups, Fresno, Fresno California, Fresno Famous, fresno filmmakers alliance, gymnastics, humor, Internet, iPad, iPhone, keyboard technique, kids say the darndest things, lawyer, Major and minor scales, memoir, mind body connection, MTAC, MTAC Baroque Festival, music, music and heart, music history, Music Teachers Asssociation of California, musicology, my space, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, pentachords, piano, piano addict, piano finding adventure, piano instruction, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano teacher, piano teaching repertoire, piano warm-ups, Piano World, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace.com, Ralph Cato, satire, scale fingerings, scales, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, sparring partner, sports, Steinway grand piano, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, Teach Street, technique, Theory, trills, tritone, uk-piano-forums, video performances, videotaped replay, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Adult piano students say and do the darndest things.

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I remember Art Linkletter's show, "Kids Say the Darndest Things," which made me think of a few adult piano students and their hauntingly memorable words. Yesterday, for example, I was forewarned by a 70-year old pupil, that I should expect a call from her during the night about the key of "F# minor." What impending… Continue reading Adult piano students say and do the darndest things.

arpeggios, athletic coaching, athletic training, California, cdbaby, classissima.com, counterpoint, Creative Fresno, Domenico Scarlatti, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano studio, Elaine Comparone, essercizi, Facebook, Fig Garden Village, five finger positions, five finger warm-ups, Fresno, Fresno California, fresno filmmakers alliance, gymnastics, harpsichord, humor, Internet, keyboard technique, Major and minor scales, mind body connection, MTAC, MTAC Baroque Festival, Music Teachers Asssociation of California, musicology, my space, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, Old Fig Garden in Fresno, pianist, piano, piano pedagogy, piano practicing, piano room, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano teacher, piano technique, piano warm-ups, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld.com, ping pong balls, publishersmarketplace.com, scales, Scarlatti, Scarlatti Sonatas, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, sports, Steinway and Sons, Steinway grand piano, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, technique, Theory, trills, uk-piano-forums, video performances, videotaped replay, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Piano Technique: Big Leaps, Crossed Hands, and shifty eyeballs (with slow motion video replay)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZxNy1VeOjk up tempo: http://youtu.be/t-3D6-s5qok Be prepared to exercise your eyeballs minus head movements when tackling large leaps, especially those hand-over-hand acrobatics that are intrinsic to many of Domenico Scarlatti's sonatas. In the first video I've isolated a few of these jumps from Sonata K. 113 in A Major, demonstrating what I've found to be the… Continue reading Piano Technique: Big Leaps, Crossed Hands, and shifty eyeballs (with slow motion video replay)

arpeggios, athletic coaching, athletic training, authorsden, Baroque music, Bay area, California, classical music, classissima.com, counterpoint, Creative Fresno, crossed hands, diminished 7th arpeggios, diminished 7th chords, diminished chords, Domenico Scarlatti, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano studio, Elaine Comparone, essercizi, Facebook, five finger positions, five finger warm-ups, Fresno, Fresno California, Fresno Famous, fresno filmmakers alliance, gymnastics, harpsichord, keyboard technique, Major and minor scales, mind body connection, music, music and heart, music teachers association of california, Music Teachers Asssociation of California, musicology, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Northwest Fresno, Oberlin Conservatory, Oberlin Conservatory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, ornaments, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano teacher, piano technique, piano warm-ups, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace.com, pyrotechnical exercises, Ralph Kirkpatrick, repeated notes, scales, Scarlatti, Scarlatti Sonatas, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, talkclassical.com, technique, Theory, trills, uk-piano-forums, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Domenico Scarlatti Sonata (Toccata) in D minor, K. 141 with reams of repeated notes (VIDEO)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQiaWoJaUfQ Domenico Scarlatti never fails to come up with a flashy pyrotechnical escapade that can make or break a player in progress. I know, because I've walked the plank with this piece until I was able to reverse my fortune and run with it happily into the horizon. Any number of times those repeated notes,… Continue reading Domenico Scarlatti Sonata (Toccata) in D minor, K. 141 with reams of repeated notes (VIDEO)

"Just Being At the Piano", "The Inner Game of Tennis", 6 degrees of separation, Amtrak station, Apple iPhone, athletic coaching, athletic training, authorsden, Bach Invention, Bach Inventions, Bach Two Part Inventions, Baroque music, Bay area, Beethoven, Beethoven Moonlight Sonata, California, classical music, classissima, classissima.com, counterpoint, Creative Fresno, cyber technology, Domenico Scarlatti, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano studio, email, essercizi, Facebook, five finger positions, five finger warm-ups, Fresno, Fresno California, Fresno State University, gymnastics, humor, Internet, iPhone, J.S. Bach, J.S. Bach two part Inventions, keyboard technique, Major and minor scales, memoir, Mildred Portney Chase, mind body connection, MTAC, MTAC Baroque Festival, music, music and heart, Music Teachers Asssociation of California, musicology, my space, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Northwest Fresno, Oberlin Conservatory, Old Fig Garden in Fresno, pentachords, performance anxiety, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano pedagogy, piano room, piano society, piano student, piano teacher, piano teaching repertoire, piano technique, piano warm-ups, Piano World, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld.com, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace.com, pyrotechnical exercises, satire, Scarlatti, Scarlatti Sonatas, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, sports, Steinway and Sons, Steinway grand piano, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, talkclassical.com, technique, uk-piano-forums, video performances, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, Yamaha piano, you tube, you tube video

The Big Baroque Festival!

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I cleared most of my Saturday morning lessons so I could be on time for a special rehearsal at Fresno State. I took no chances given the steady rain these past few days that caused dangerously deep puddles along Shaw Avenue. The inevitable flow of traffic to crowd-jamming Bulldog games would also be a time… Continue reading The Big Baroque Festival!

arpeggios, Baroque music, California, camera tricks, classical music, counterpoint, Creative Fresno, Domenico Scarlatti, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano studio, five finger positions, Fresno, Fresno California, harpsichord, humor, keyboard technique, mind body connection, MTAC, music, music and heart, music teachers association of california, Music Teachers Asssociation of California, musicology, my space, New York, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Northwest Fresno, Oberlin Conservatory, ornaments, pentachords, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano lesson, piano pedagogy, piano practicing, piano student, piano teacher, piano technique, piano tutorial, piano warm-ups, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace.com, Romantic era music, Romantic music, Rondo form, talkclassical.com, technique, uk-piano-forums, video performances, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Domenico Scarlatti Sonata in A, K. 113–in leaps and bounds

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yh09WH_g7wo I can always use an extra pair of hands to navigate the Baroque composer's technically challenging sonata It's a real workout playing Domenico Scarlatti's essercizi or sonatas. The impossible leaps, crossed hands, trills and syncopation that permeate the composer's music require a daredevil to take on the challenge. Scarlatti will sometimes defy a player… Continue reading Domenico Scarlatti Sonata in A, K. 113–in leaps and bounds

"Just Being At the Piano", 19th Century music, 20th Century music, arpeggios, Bach Invention, Bach Inventions, Bach Prelude in C Major, Bard College, Baroque music, Beethoven, California, Circle of Fifths, Classical era, classical music, Classical period sonata, classissima.com, counterpoint, Creative Fresno, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, Exposition in piano sonata, gymnastics, Internet, J.S. Bach, John Browning, Juilliard, keyboard technique, music, music and heart, Music Teachers Asssociation of California, musicology, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano lesson, piano pedagogy, piano practicing, piano room, piano scales, piano student, piano teacher, piano teaching repertoire, piano technique, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, Romantic era music, Romantic music, Rondo form, Rosina Lhevinne, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Steinway and Sons, Steinway grand piano, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, technique, tempo rubato, The Well Tempered Clavier, uk-piano-forums, Van Cliburn, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Great Piano Teaching Moments

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

This remarkable piece of film footage inspired a stream of others. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ur7SoOVRhk Nadia Boulanger (b.1887-d.1979) the esteemed teacher, composer, theoretician, organist, pianist, taught and influenced so many great musical creators such as Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copeland, Virgil Thomson, Walter Piston and Philip Glass. From Wikipedia: "Boulanger's teaching methods included traditional harmony, score reading at the… Continue reading Great Piano Teaching Moments