Warm-up routines with an adult piano student (Video)

This pupil is into her fourth year of study and plays the Chopin Waltz in A minor, and Beethoven's "Fur Elise." Here is a sample of our weekly warm-up routine using pentascales (five finger positions) in Major and minor, followed by a designated 4 octave scale built up from quarters, to 8ths, to triplets, to…

Local Piano Competitions and the judges

I don't like being labeled a sore loser because it indicates an unwillingness to accept a loss gracefully. And I'm not talking about myself as much as piano students who practice arduously in preparation for local competitions and expect to be judged fairly. And then again, what is really "fair" when it comes to assessing…

Tutorial: Shared ideas about practicing J.S. Bach Invention 13 in A minor (BWV 784) Videos

As I observed an 11-year old student work on this Invention at lessons, I came up with some ideas to improve the performance landscape. These included an awareness of the dualism of rolling arpeggiated 16ths and detached 8th notes in the opening. More often than not, the arpeggios can sound too flat if the whole…

A taboo subject: When the “other” piano teacher snatches your student

A pupil snatch is usually a covert, behind the scenes operation.

The Cult of Haddy Haddorff, her dual personality, and lovesick owners

"Haddy" Serious, but exalted in Bach.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkH5p4E2lTE Affording a dreamscape of beauty in Debussy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv1WpPXSQx8 These are her remarkable polarities. Depending on the weather, and internal environment, she can either raise you up, or let you down. But even with her intermittent note-lazy landscape, she will always sing heart songs. I happen to be in…

Piano Lesson in progress: Fugue in C Minor, BWV 847 (Video)

Claudia S., age 11, identified and practiced the Subject, Tonal Answer, and Counter-subject 1 and 2 of the Fugue BWV 847. She learned how to make a difference between portato and staccato as she examined form, structure, and phrasing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvXZKI6HLIY

Debussy Arabesque No. 1 and the back story (Video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv1WpPXSQx8 Speaking of pianos, and decisions about which to use, I decided to give Haddy Haddorff another opportunity to sing like a nightingale. This was a late-into-the-night sound exploration following an earlier trip to the Mac Store at Fresno's Fashion Fair Mall. The Yeti mic was not registering--no sound--no explanation, though it was properly connected.…

Piano Lesson: Rina, 4, climbs the staircase, and then learns about happy and sad in music

The first video below showcases the partial content of today's lesson. Because I am a staunch believer in introducing black keys early on in the course of piano study, I explored mood affect in music and lowered the E of "Frere Jacques" to E FLAT. Rina was basically exposed to the "minor" mode without a…

Picking the right piano to record a selection (Videos)–“Fur Elise” by Beethoven

I've heard stories about great pianists such as Richter obsessing over a choice of piano for a concert. Allegedly, he was very fussy, and sometimes regretted the one he picked out for a recital. But when he found himself playing in Siberia and rural parts of the Russian landscape, he rose to the occasion, and…

The most popular blog explores piano teacher/student relationships

I've been aware that this particular writing seems to touch a nerve, or strikes a chord of recognition among piano teachers, parents and students: https://arioso7.wordpress.com/2011/03/09/pulls-and-tugs-two-sides-to-the-studentteacher-piano-lesson-relationship/ It's only rival in popularity on my roster has been "Funeral for a Cracked Plate," a real life soap opera about a piano buyer who slipped up by ordering a…