Self-learners transition to Piano lessons

Over decades of teaching, I've observed that "autodidacts" who embark upon formal lessons, experience a common awakening related to the piano as a "singing" instrument with its well of tone/touch discovery. Their epiphanies about the cosmos of piano tone and color are also shared among some transfer pupils who were previously unexposed to varying dimensions…

Navigating those skinny black keys without fear!

Looking back to my earliest piano lessons in an early 20th century townhouse attic space in the Bronx, off Kingsbridge Road, I recall my happiest moments floating through all white key melodies. It was a Diller-Quaile par duo journey with Mrs. Vinagradov, a very warm and encouraging Russian teacher, who sang line by line lyrics…

Time to size down to one grand piano!

With space shrinking in what I affectionately call my "pod," I'm parting with my nightingale singing Baldwin that's sister to a neighboring Steinway. Sitting pretty at 5'5," its voice swims around a room inundated with computers, an elliptical, a digital keyboard, and hoards of Urtext editions. The moment has arrived, therefore, to acquire well-needed breathing…