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A return to the basics of relaxed arms, hands, and supple wrists in a 4-note arpeggio romp

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

It’s always a pleasure to re-enter the cosmos of a self-hypnotically induced journey across the keyboard in seamless arpeggiated streams. The experience of Oneness produced by well-contoured strands of wave-like, root-third-fifth-root progressions, is surely like dancing lithely across the keyboard. It hearkens back to my most beloved piano teacher, Lillian Lefkofsky Freundlich, who emancipated my… Continue reading A return to the basics of relaxed arms, hands, and supple wrists in a 4-note arpeggio romp

piano

Arpeggios filled up a week of wildfires!

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

With unhealthy air quality alerts and record breaking temps keeping many Californians indoors, my own piano practicing was strategically planned to offset unexpected environmental changes. (Unlike those residing in the hills who received a RED FLAG evacuation warning, I could, in the flats, cling to my Steinway in a closed door, sealed window space–Ugh!) An… Continue reading Arpeggios filled up a week of wildfires!

piano

A Lesson in Breathing into scales and arpeggios

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I vividly recall my first exposure to the art of breathing through musical phrases. It was at Merrywood Music Camp in Lenox, MA where I played second violin in a string quartet coached by Boston Symphony Principal violist, Eugene Lehner. The Berkshires nestled cabin that reverberated with Mozart’s G Major chamber offering, K. 387, was… Continue reading A Lesson in Breathing into scales and arpeggios

piano

(HD) Piano Gym Romps through Arpeggios!

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Besides my daily elliptical workouts, I add in piano routines that mobilize the arms, wrists and fingers with full blown natural breath support. Enlisting free flowing energy coming down relaxed arms and supple wrists, one experiences a player’s “high” that fuels a sense of well-being streaming into other activities. Most of my students will devote… Continue reading (HD) Piano Gym Romps through Arpeggios!

piano lesson, piano technique

Scales and Arpeggios are front and center with their telltale history of avoidance

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

It’s inevitable that I’ll introduce a technique-heavy blog with a time worn story about an authoritarian piano teacher who fist-drummed beats to my very shaky C Major scale. (I was 7) The only perk paired with the metronome mandatory, 4-octave lesson opener, was my being able to pick the latest scale practiced. (Without a hint… Continue reading Scales and Arpeggios are front and center with their telltale history of avoidance

adult piano studies, adult piano teaching, piano teacher, piano teaching, piano techique

Piano Technique: Practicing well-shaped scales and arpeggios (videos)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

It’s always disheartening when students forego their scales and arpeggios at lessons, choosing instead, to dive immediately into repertoire. In their zeal to immerse themselves in the Masterworks, they neglect a pivotal Circle of Fifths journey that’s wedded to keyboard geographies, key relationships, and much more. As a child, I reviled scales like most beginning… Continue reading Piano Technique: Practicing well-shaped scales and arpeggios (videos)

adult piano instruction, piano, piano blog, piano teaching, singing tone legato

Creating a seamless, singing tone legato through arpeggios and scales

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

My students are often amused by my prompts that frequently include “oohs,” “ahhs,” and “wah’s,” among other spaced out sounds, to prevent consonant sounding notes or hard-liners from interrupting a smooth, “sighing” stepwise descent to the tonic. And from this universe of impromptu effusions, I’ve created a self-styled language, that, at times, has incorporated barnyard… Continue reading Creating a seamless, singing tone legato through arpeggios and scales

piano, piano instruction, piano technique

Fluid Arpeggios: No hand twisting, with floating arms and an economy of motion

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Piano Technique: Arpeggios LOCATION: From: Berkeley, California To: Sydney, Australia I continue to learn from my students as I view close-ups of their arms, wrists, hands/fingers in motion across the keyboard. Most of my epiphanies occur over Skype or Face Time where I pinpoint technical problems that are MAGNIFIED by the webcam. I might use… Continue reading Fluid Arpeggios: No hand twisting, with floating arms and an economy of motion

F Sharp Major scale, online piano instruction, piano, piano blog, piano blogging, piano instruction, piano learning, piano playing, piano teaching, Shirley Kirsten

A London piano student fine tunes her F# Major scales and arpeggios (staccato and legato)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Yu has been my Skype student for a few years now and she’s made big gains in producing a singing tone with supple wrists, relaxed arms, and hand/finger weight transfer. Today she assiduously practiced her F# Major Scale and Arpeggio, energizing forearm and wrist staccato. Using “cupped hands” for her power driven forearm staccato on… Continue reading A London piano student fine tunes her F# Major scales and arpeggios (staccato and legato)

arpeggios, blog, blogger, blogmetrics, classissima, piano, piano blog, piano blogging, piano technique, scales, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten

Piano Technique: Stabilizing tempo, presence of mind, and breathing through scales and arpeggios

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

This has to be one of my favorite reciprocal teaching/learning videos because it fleshes out the importance of breathing through scales with mindful concentration. Framed by a singing pulse, the scale becomes a model for all playing. Here’s B minor in Contrary Motion (legato) with my annotations that reference the BREATH and mindfulness. Important Prompts:… Continue reading Piano Technique: Stabilizing tempo, presence of mind, and breathing through scales and arpeggios