Month: March 2012

legato pedaling, pianist, piano, piano instruction, piano lessons, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, teaching piano, the art of piano pedaling, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

The Art of Piano Pedaling: Filming Fur Elise down below (Videos)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I decided to take a nose dive with my iMac desk top and place it way down by my feet because today an adult student continued her IN DEPTH study of legato pedaling. She was specifically practicing the C section of Beethoven's "Fur Elise," that I coin, the "stormy" part. (It has the tremolo, and… Continue reading The Art of Piano Pedaling: Filming Fur Elise down below (Videos)

"Tales of a Musical Journey" by Irina Gorin, Journey of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, piano, piano addict, piano blog, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano masterclass, piano masterclasses, piano playing, piano playing and breathing, piano playing and phrasing, piano playing and relaxation, piano playing and the singing tone, piano practicing, piano student, piano study, piano teacher, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano technique, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, playing piano, practicing piano, practicing piano with relaxation, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, supple wrist in piano playing, teaching piano, teaching piano to children, technique, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Irina Gorin, creator of Tales of a Musical Journey, shares her thoughts about braving a new piano teaching universe

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

From Irina Gorin: “An expert is a person who makes all mistakes possible in a very specific field and learns from those mistakes. So I could probably consider myself getting close to being an expert in teaching children. But I hope there are many more mistakes and learning experiences ahead." This riveting quote set in… Continue reading Irina Gorin, creator of Tales of a Musical Journey, shares her thoughts about braving a new piano teaching universe

"Tales of a Musical Journey" by Irina Gorin, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, pianist, piano, piano instruction, piano lessons, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Piano Lesson: Rina 5, shuffles rhythms on the music rack and practices Minuet by Reinagle

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Rina has completed 6 months of piano study. During this time, Tales of a Musical Journey by Irina Gorin has nicely framed our collective learning process. (The singing tone is the underpinning of this instruction and how to produce it) In the first video, you will note our rhythm shuffling and clapping. Rina sets the… Continue reading Piano Lesson: Rina 5, shuffles rhythms on the music rack and practices Minuet by Reinagle

alica delarrocha, Artur Rubinstein, Daniel Barenboim, pianists with big hands, pianists with little hands, Shirley Smith Kirsten, teaching piano, The art of phrasing at the piano, the art of piano pedaling, the art of piano playing, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube

Piano Technique: The big hand/little hand controversy (Videos)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I don’t know how many times I’ve been asked the same question by either parents, or people I meet on Amtrak. It’s about “piano fingers,” “hand size,” and the best physiological fit for the keyboard. Next in line are queries about tone deafness and "perfect pitch." The stereotypes are: A great pianist has God-given perfect… Continue reading Piano Technique: The big hand/little hand controversy (Videos)

Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, Mozart, Mozart Sonata in A Major K. 331, pianist, piano, piano instruction, piano lessons, piano playing, piano teaching, playing piano, playing piano with crossed hands, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Piano Technique: Here come the crossed hands in Mozart Sonata in A Major, K. 331 (Variation 4) Videos

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Breathe a sigh of relief if you've managed to brave the difficult parallel octaves in forte legato! (Variation 3) Mozart is not done. He challenges you in Variation 4 with left-hand-over-right maneuvers. So be ready to relax your wrists and arms. Otherwise, you're in for a bumpy ride. Count your blessings that Domenico Scarlatti had… Continue reading Piano Technique: Here come the crossed hands in Mozart Sonata in A Major, K. 331 (Variation 4) Videos

Barbicon in London England, Cal Performances in Berkeley CA, classissima, classissima.com, FAME NYC HS of Performing Arts, Grammy awards, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, Murray Perahia, Murray Perahia poet of the piano, New York City High School of Performing Arts, pianist, piano, playing piano, Schubert Impromptu Op 90 in Eb, Sony recording, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video, Zellerbach Hall, Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley

Grammy award winner Murray Perahia shines at Zellerbach Hall! Encore, Schubert Impromptu Op. 90 in Eb in two “live” performances (Videos)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Murray Perahia, Poet of the Piano Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley is a regular stop for Murray Perahia, who happens to be my former classmate at the New York City High School of Performing Arts (The "FAME I wanna live forever school"). I've already reminisced about "P.A." and Murray's inspiring musical presence: https://arioso7.wordpress.com/2012/01/15/murray-perahia-pianist-is-in-a-league-of-his-own-videos/ For those of… Continue reading Grammy award winner Murray Perahia shines at Zellerbach Hall! Encore, Schubert Impromptu Op. 90 in Eb in two “live” performances (Videos)

Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, Mozart Sonata in A Major K. 331, parallel octaves in legato at the piano, pianist, piano, piano lessons, piano technique, playing parallel octaves, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, third variation Mozart Sonata in A Major K. 331

Piano Technique: playing parallel octaves in LEGATO (Video and score attached) OPINIONS from 3 pianists

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

It just so happens that Mozart's Variation 3 of his Sonata in A Major, K. 331, presents the challenge of playing parallel octaves in LEGATO (smooth and connected) And to make the task even more complex, the composer uses the A minor tonality, with F# and G# inserted into the passage fleshing out the MELODIC… Continue reading Piano Technique: playing parallel octaves in LEGATO (Video and score attached) OPINIONS from 3 pianists

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Music Works: An El Cerrito Mom and Pop Charmer is worth a visit

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

A quaint music shop with decorative window dressing caught my eye during a walk from Del Norte Bart to a Mosier Avenue copy center. A red wooden treble clef, like the swirl of a barber shop icon, wooed me across the street for a closer look. My curiosity was rewarded by reams of ukeleles hanging… Continue reading Music Works: An El Cerrito Mom and Pop Charmer is worth a visit

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arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

An important reminder to piano buyers.

Arioso7's Blog (Shirley Kirsten)

Fujie’s Suzuki Digital piano, purchased at Costco, predated her starting lessons with me. Prior to entering my sanctuary with its two Steinways and wall-to-wall, piano emblem nick knacks, she had been enrolled at Fresno State’s Group classes. Seated at her electronic station with a full deck of 88s mounted on particle board platforms, among rows of students with headsets, she came to  realize that this path to learning piano was compromised. In her own words, it was an “espresso packaged short cut.” I would validate her opinion when I gazed at the pricey book she had bought for the course. It advanced far too quickly, leaving Fujie and others lost and out in the cold. In addition, students taking this class had no real opportunity to explore the tonal resources of a real, acoustic piano since the electronic keyboards had a steely, hyper brilliant tone, not significantly modified by touch.

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Piano Technique: An adult student works on rolling forward wrist motions in Two, Three, and Six-note groupings (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

This particular student has come a long way in the six years we've worked together, and as always been the case, I've probably learned more from her than in reverse. From my second piano, I can gaze over at my pupil sitting at the grand and grasp a whole body in-motion perspective of her playing.… Continue reading Piano Technique: An adult student works on rolling forward wrist motions in Two, Three, and Six-note groupings (Video)