Category: California

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Piano Technique: Thumb Shifts in Playing Scales and Arpeggios (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk7Bnd6xD9Y The great pianist, Josef Hofmann, imparted words of wisdom when he answered the following question posed by a student that related to the thumb and piano technique: "What is the matter with my scales? I cannot play them without a perceptible jerk when I use my thumb. How can I overcome the unevenness?" The… Continue reading Piano Technique: Thumb Shifts in Playing Scales and Arpeggios (Video)

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The Piano Teacher as Composer: Using my MOONBEAMS collection as an example (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Why not give composing a try? I did. For the most part, you don't need a degree in composition, but a Theory background helps things along with voice leading in the bass part and understanding the rules of notation. Above all, intuition and inspiration are the main ingredients in any creative undertaking. In 1985 I… Continue reading The Piano Teacher as Composer: Using my MOONBEAMS collection as an example (Video)

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Bach to Nature, Part 2: The Avian Shuffle

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I returned to Oso De Oro Park in Fresno, California to film geese, ducks, and gulls doing their lighthearted shuffles. A Baroque March framed the landscape. These birds produced quite a show. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z67Y7QM5jGI Back story: The gates to the lake area were closed, so I was under a considerable handicap in catching the scenes I… Continue reading Bach to Nature, Part 2: The Avian Shuffle

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Bach to Nature: A Paradise of Images Wedded to Music

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

A lake, ducks, geese, and Bach's Prelude no. 1 from the Well Tempered Clavier..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CitNt-sUbOE Backdrop: Oso De Oro Park in Fresno, California. Producers and photographers, Shirley Kirsten and Aviva Kirsten Capturing nature's flow with a hand held video camera. Oso de Oro Park http://fresnofloodcontrol.org/parks/Oso%20de%20Oro%20Park/oso_oro_park.html Sloan Johnson Oso de Oro Lake Park "Since opening in… Continue reading Bach to Nature: A Paradise of Images Wedded to Music

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In a Piano Teacher’s Arsenal: The Magic bullet piece (VIDEO with Aiden Cat joining in)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

There's always a piece of music lurking somewhere that can save a young student from quitting piano. For those of us who teach the great masterworks, passing a cultural legacy to the next generation, we know lickety-split when it's time to break out our ammunition: the magic bullet piece. Example: An 11-year old had gotten… Continue reading In a Piano Teacher’s Arsenal: The Magic bullet piece (VIDEO with Aiden Cat joining in)

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Are Adult Piano Students Stigmatized?

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Here are riveting quotes from two adult students: The Italics are my emphasis. 1) "I feel like I’m in the adult student ghetto, where much latitude is given and few results are expected. We’re all supposed to be doing it 'for fun.' In a way, of course, that’s right. But in another way, if we… Continue reading Are Adult Piano Students Stigmatized?

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Teaching Chopin’s Gb Etude, Op. 25 no. 9: Think pogo sticks, “rollaleedles,” and elbow revolutions

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mvDKuMLEl4 Sometimes a piano teacher has no choice but to talk in silly made up syllables while drawing on playground analogies to get a particular piece off the ground. The Chopin Etude Op. 25 no. 9 in Gb was no exception. An adult student who revisited this warhorse responded positively to "rollaleedles," elbow taps, and… Continue reading Teaching Chopin’s Gb Etude, Op. 25 no. 9: Think pogo sticks, “rollaleedles,” and elbow revolutions

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Letting my hair down with a snatch of “Let It Be!” (VIDEO)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

The piano room was a mess yesterday with music strewn about. Two '60-'70's era Beatles albums were excavated from a pile of sheet music, hard bound theory texts, and Urtext editions of Beethoven's sonatas. Foraging a big carton of stuff like this was a trip down memory lane. My very old Yamaha guitar, a prized… Continue reading Letting my hair down with a snatch of “Let It Be!” (VIDEO)

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Piano teachers, students, and reluctant farewells

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

  Lillian Freundlich *** For many piano teachers who've nursed along students from Primer toddlerhood to an Intermediate level confidence-climbing phase, through to the Advanced, smooth riding finish with flashy fingers, the pupil's farewell is an emotional event. Of course, it depends on the circumstances of the departure and who is saying goodbye to whom.… Continue reading Piano teachers, students, and reluctant farewells

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The most reviled scale for piano players!! (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Bb C D Eb F G A Bb C D Eb F G A Bb *** Last night I had a rap session with a student on the subject of his favorite scale. And it quickly dawned on me that this whole area of discussion, while definitely out of the mainstream and not a life… Continue reading The most reviled scale for piano players!! (Video)