In the first video, I introduce C Major, 4-note arpeggios rolling through positions or "inversions" in preparation for my lesson with an adult student in El Cerrito, California. C E G C---E G C E---G C E G-- C E G C, and then a turnaround and descent without repeating the highest note. http://youtu.be/TQPXIq6wsNQ Excerpt… Continue reading Two Adult Piano Students explore an undulating wrist motion (Videos)
Month: January 2013
A Well-known Haydn Piano Sonata is pinned!
I don't mean to inject pins into this post, but it amply introduces Haydn's vibrant Sonata no. 35 in C Major. Yesterday, as I diligently embarked upon learning this masterpiece, I had to deal with basic housekeeping matters: How to practice the pages-long first movement without breaks in continuity? My short-term solution: http://youtu.be/g7vP3mqg8WM Harpsichordist, *Elaine… Continue reading A Well-known Haydn Piano Sonata is pinned!
Piano Technique: Sports analogies weave in and out of Five-Finger positions (Videos)
Piano warm-ups are filled with vibrant, athletic energy!
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 the emotion-packed farewells, but gave short shrift to the preliminaries of finding these instructors in the first place so perhaps I should amplify my journey and what I learned from it.
My very first piano teacher, already critiqued in another blog, was on faculty at the “progressive” music school in the Bronx, off Kingsbridge Road. So there was little if any choice in the selection. She came with the program.
Mrs. Vinagradov was kind, caring, encouraging, and knew how to play the Diller-Quaille accompaniments to my two-note melodies without missing a beat. That was what…
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For some unexplained reason, my earliest piano studies never included the art of phrasing. My primer teacher stressed naming notes, finding them, affixing correct fingering and counting out robotic beats.
I knew nothing about feeling a melodic landscape; putting the vocal model center stage in my playing, and breathing through contoured musical lines. My pieces were flat-liners.
By the time a bass clef staff popped up on the pages of John Thompson’s Pixie platitudes, expanding my sketchy musical universe, I had no idea what to do with these new notes besides naming and locating them.
From my Beginner perspective, such unwelcome bass line strangers had no other role than being feebly attached to the right hand part. The black sheep of my musical cosmos, they owned a non grata status along with the black notes.
To say that I had no idea how to PHRASE these bass line notes, would…
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My Top You Tube Picks for 2013, What are yours?
My note: I've listed links to blogs posted about these performers. PIANO Grigory Sokolov Complete piano recital, Theatre de Champs Elysee (for astounding fusion of technique/lyricism/wide dynamic palette--having everything and anything at his disposal to draw upon from his rich musical repository) http://youtu.be/o7qUMHm3LOI Irina Morozova: Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11,… Continue reading My Top You Tube Picks for 2013, What are yours?
George Li’s offical website illuminates his musical accomplishments while it resonates with gratitude for a community that has supported him over the years. A page link to a “family” circle of parents, teachers, mentors, and others, sends a heartwarming message that it takes a village to raise and nurture a musician as incomparably gifted as George.
A photo tribute to Li’s piano teachers that dates back to the pianist’s early years of study includes an equal tier of love and appreciation for all.
Each mentor is uniquely honored for having contributed to George’s musical development.
Still, an assortment of prizes and concert appearances could otherwise dominate his web profile.
Examples:
“In July, George Li performed Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Cleveland Orchestra and won first prize in the Cooper International Competition 2010. His generous prize package included $10,000, a full four-year scholarship to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music…
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An Adult Piano Student’s Epiphany
Yesterday, I was greeted by the following riveting e mail: "I'm so excited that I'm beginning to understand scale degrees. "Can't wait to be back at the piano to practice. Return late tonight." The adult student, into her 4th year of formal study with me, had decided to buckle down and integrate her theory knowledge… Continue reading An Adult Piano Student’s Epiphany
A timely comment was posted at my blog site which echoed my own frustration at times about teaching piano. Here’s the spark for my current writing and it comes from a music instructor in Vancouver:
“I do have the odd students who don’t practice and never improve, and then get frustrated at their lack of progress. It’s been frustrating as a teacher because the kids are too young to understand that the reason they are not doing well is because they are not practicing, and the reason they don’t enjoy piano lessons is because they are frustrated. If they just practiced once in a while, they’d be happy!”
In a spirit of collegiality and sharing, I admit that I experience the same with younger students who are enrolled in lessons by their parents. These kids have no choice in the matter.
Some moms and dads have the idea that the…
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Mozart is a Challenge in any shape, size or form
Tips on learning a Mozart gem!
