Practicing J.S. Bach’s Gigue from French Suite No. 5 in G, BWV 816

My "block-headed" journeys continue. They take me through landscapes of chordal outlines solidifying my learning. In J.S. Bach's A minor Invention 13 I'd recently absorbed organized clusters of notes in my palms as they moved in harmonic rhythm, while featherweight thumbs became little rulers, measuring and spacing out distances between inverted chords. Once unraveled, these…

Piano Technique: Be a Blockhead when learning Bach

Blocking techniques can help to solidify tricky passages in Bach's A minor Invention (13), especially if intelligent decisions are made about landscaping broken chords with thumb shifts weaving through them. Examining measures 9 through 13 for example, I devised a blocking routine that helped me gain note security while contouring phrases with a supple wrist.…

J.S. Bach, the piano, harpsichord and early music tunings

Elaine Comparone, a well-regarded harpsichordist rendered a dance movement from J.S. Bach's French Suite No. 5 in G, (BWV 816) that I'd performed on the pianoforte. In the Loure, (written in G Major) I was immediately struck by a pitch disparity between our respective instruments. While Loure was composed in the key of G Major,…

Emma Leiuman, pianist, shares thoughts on sound imagination and tone production

In the midst of a heated Internet-driven controversy that surrounds playing a single note at the piano, Emma Leiuman explores "sound imagination" wedded to fluid physical motions that expand ideas about the universe of expressive piano playing. In a detailed narrative, the pianist, schooled in the great Russian musical tradition, shares her awakenings and technique…

Mac, me and Mozart: a continuing 4-hand journey

I haven't mastered the split screen on iMovie 11, but I decided to aim my camcorder at Mac and Steinway to get the same effect. Basically I recorded Primo first and on playback added Secondo to Mozart's final 4-hand movement, Sonata 1, K.318-Allegro Molto. Needless to say, it's valuable to learn both parts when contemplating…

When two hands play a 4-hand Mozart Sonata

Last night, I challenged myself to have a double duo identity. I separately recorded the bass and treble parts of Mozart's Sonata No. 1, K. 318, scored for 4-hands at one piano. Logistics-wise, I had to decide which part to render first as the playback for the other's insertion. But that wasn't fair to either…

Playing J.S. Bach: Sing, Shape, and Phrase—it’s not rocket science

Having been submerged for 48 hours in mega-science minded theories of playing the piano, I managed to E-merge as the piano teacher I knew before the deluge--refusing to believe that my fingers are throwing hammers at the strings, or obeying the irrefutable laws of Physics. Notwithstanding what Emanuel Ax, and Cedarville University *ProfessorJohn Mortensen are…

Does approaching notes in different ways at the piano affect tone production?

Emanuel Ax, well-known concert pianist and teacher asserts that one note struck cannot be varied by physical approach (except for volume) and I'm assuming duration (a clipped staccato release vs. a lingering sustain without pedal) Yet he didn't provide enough specific details about duration, dynamics, and how delays into notes using supple wrist motions could…

Shame on WQXR F.M. for shining a spotlight on Kids’ dislike of Bach’s music

I can't fathom why a historically great NYC-based Classical music station like WQXR F.M. would choose to feature a big-splash juvenile ONLINE thumbs down to a J.S. Bach masterwork! http://www.wqxr.org/#!/story/three-nyc-kids-give-bach-big-thumbs-down/ My published comment criticized the posting: "This is a waste of space considering that WQXR has been a fountain of great music for decades. I…

Lesson supplement videos assist Transfer Students in their transition to a new teacher

Most transfer students that I've encountered over the years better brave the change from one teaching style to another, by watching recorded views of their lessons. Because there may be a tad of anxiety associated with approaching the piano in a different way than previously learned, watching instructional excerpts that focus on the piano as…