Making Pianistic Compromises: Schubert Impromptu in Eb, Op. 90

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHFOPFzUxUw I was struck by a post at Piano World.com about making compromises when playing difficult passages. The writer referred to a technically challenging Chopin work: "But I simply cannot manage to get every note in on the two long runs, the first of which comes on measure 15. When trying to play to speed,…

Appel Farm Music Camp and the Chicken Coops

Was I dreaming? Did I wake up in a chicken coop on a hot and humid July morning? The summer before I was a Merrywood camper, encapsulated in a forest of pines bordering Lenox, Massachusetts. A short journey to Tanglewood for a Sunday morning BSO rehearsal, was followed by a breakfast of sizzling waffles and…

In a Piano Teacher’s Arsenal: The Magic bullet piece (VIDEO with Aiden Cat joining in)

There's always a piece of music lurking somewhere that can save a young student from quitting piano. For those of us who teach the great masterworks, passing a cultural legacy to the next generation, we know lickety-split when it's time to break out our ammunition: the magic bullet piece. Example: An 11-year old had gotten…

The MTAC Celebration Festival, Anna Magdalena Bach, and Meeting Keith Snell (VIDEO)

Last weekend I journeyed to the Fresno State University Music Building to monitor Room 1 for the Celebration Festival sponsored by the Fresno branch of the Music Teachers Association of California. Every February students from our city and surrounding areas are invited to play one or two pieces in a selected cubicle, (basically a music…

PULLS AND TUGS: Two sides of the piano student/teacher relationship

There are two sides to every story, so in all fairness I've posited a number of situations that crop up in the piano lesson environment, with an analysis from the Teacher and Student's point of view. In some instances, I've substituted PARENT for STUDENT where I think it applies. RESOLUTIONS of various issues are explored.…

A Breathtaking Merrywood Music Camp Finale!

If I let my imagination run wild, I would frame this writing around Robin Hood. The backdrop was the Merrywood Music Camp, nestled in the Berkshires in a dense forest where a friendly outlaw could easily rob from the rich in Lenox, and retreat into the pines, practically unnoticed. Merrywood was a stone’s throw from…

Are Adult Piano Students Stigmatized?

Here are riveting quotes from two adult students: The Italics are my emphasis. 1) "I feel like I’m in the adult student ghetto, where much latitude is given and few results are expected. We’re all supposed to be doing it 'for fun.' In a way, of course, that’s right. But in another way, if we…

Scouting a Piano Teacher

I have to thank "Lisa" for generating this idea for a new blog. Sometimes, the fountain runs dry until a student experience, teacher-related crisis, or musical event renew the supply. Let me think about this whole issue of picking and choosing the "right" piano teacher. (Applies to adult student-seekers as well) Hmm... I probably covered…

Teaching Chopin’s Gb Etude, Op. 25 no. 9: Think pogo sticks, “rollaleedles,” and elbow revolutions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mvDKuMLEl4 Sometimes a piano teacher has no choice but to talk in silly made up syllables while drawing on playground analogies to get a particular piece off the ground. The Chopin Etude Op. 25 no. 9 in Gb was no exception. An adult student who revisited this warhorse responded positively to "rollaleedles," elbow taps, and…

Piano Instruction: A Slow Practice Approach to the Schubert Impromptu Op. 90, no.2 in Eb Flat Major (Video)

In Tempo reading: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHFOPFzUxUw Slow practice build-up approach: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8AYC4WemeE This Romantic era Impromptu will always benefit from the type of slow practicing that permits careful shaping of phrases, attention to dynamics and other nuances. In the video, I magnify the contours of the work through a deliberately behind tempo approach. Many students will say, that…