Old World piano playing (1949) with a pronounced wrist break

The supple wrist amounts to a "wrist break" that is discouraged among partisans of the Taubman approach. In the main, they adhere to a forearm-driven piano technique along with rotation, and relaxation . The videos embedded, however, contradict such rigid thinking about the wrist, as demonstrated by the performance of a Polish pianist (1949) A Chopin Mazurka is energized by redundant wrist breaks without incurred injury. As one colleague related in reference to Taubman/Golandsky, "how could decades of Russian teaching so easily be tossed aside."

Launching my new Berkeley Piano Studio! (Video)

Yesterday, a stone's through from Fat Apple's on Martin Luther King Jr. Way, I began my official teaching relationship to Berkeley. It was just weeks after touchdown in the Hopkins neighborhood, a storehouse of delights beckoning me at every corner. I walked myself into the ground with a smile of satisfaction each step of the…

The importance of Sight-singing, Ear-Training, and Theory in Piano Study

Theory and Ear-Training are indispensable ingredients of a well-rounded music education.

My new home in Berkeley, California

My dreams of living in Berkeley have been fulfilled!

Bringing home the Yamaha Arius YDP-141, my NO. 1 ranked digital (Video)

Over a year ago I surveyed digital pianos at Guitar Center and Best Buy, and drooled over Yamaha Arius. It was hands down my favorite electronic of the lot. So why was I investing in a plug-in, when I had three acoustics jammed into my living room? Main reason: I'm moving to the Bay area…

The empty nest: “Haddy” will sing in another home

I will have one less piano in about two weeks. "Haddy" Haddorff, the singing nightingale will nest in a new place starting September 16th. Not to worry, she's on temporary loan to a local piano teacher who will keep her in tune, and vocalizing regularly. I'm Berkeley bound and my new apartment can only accommodate…