Category: California

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A Day with Two Piano Finalists

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

A Kawai and Chickering were in a tight race, until one took off and surpassed the other. My whole Saturday was consumed with evaluating two pianos: a practically brand new "Kawai" 5'1" grand and a larger, nearly 5'8" size "Chickering," 1980. The Kawai captured my interest because a smaller studio upright of the same brand… Continue reading A Day with Two Piano Finalists

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Fighting for a Dream Piano (Hopefully it should not come to this)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

This writing, true to the last detail is meant to give piano buyers a heads up about how to handle a situation where an Oral Agreement may be breached by a seller. The following ad was placed at the on line Fresno Bee Classifieds website: Published 07/12/07 00:00:00 PIANO Baldwin Baby Grand cherry, xlnt cond… Continue reading Fighting for a Dream Piano (Hopefully it should not come to this)

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Piano Instruction: Playing Diminished 7th chords and arpeggios (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVZyIhTXmag In order to understand how a diminished chord is formed a student needs to know the difference between a Major and minor third. A Major third has two consecutive whole steps from a starting note so for example, C to E creates a Major third. If a student sings C to D to E,… Continue reading Piano Instruction: Playing Diminished 7th chords and arpeggios (Video)

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DREAM PIANO: Overview and Acknowledgments

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

My two-year long romp on the piano finding trail with York as my professional companion and consultant had been worth all the time spent in, around and under pianos. How else would I have acquired knowledge about the piano’s harp, or cast iron plate were it not for his having the bravado to dismantle it… Continue reading DREAM PIANO: Overview and Acknowledgments

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Recording on a SLEEPER Dream Piano

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

On a whim, I had decided to make an hour long trip to Visalia about 50 miles south of Fresno to sniff out the stock over at the “Piano Gallery.” (This was before it went out of business) A medium size establishment in an upscale shopping mall, it was owned by “Ginnadiy Merkerin,” a Russian… Continue reading Recording on a SLEEPER Dream Piano

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From Chords to Gym and Back: You Tube Video

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

This video tells all. It was one of my hair brained ideas to embed a trip to Bally's Gym in my piano tutorial on the subject of playing blocks of robust chords using upper body weight transfer -- energy streaming down the arms, through supple wrists into the fingers. Naturally, warming up on the Gravitron… Continue reading From Chords to Gym and Back: You Tube Video

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A Piano Teacher’s Worst Nightmare!

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

In a routine Yahoo e mail search for a Kawai USA technician I had spoken with a year ago, I stumbled upon a document that I had drafted out of sheer desperation. It related to the decline of my sustain pedal which had been mercilessly pounded by a student who had serious impulse control problems.… Continue reading A Piano Teacher’s Worst Nightmare!

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Teens, popular music then and now, Taylor Swift, throw in Five for Fighting “100 Years”

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Today was by no means a first for me, a long-haired musician raised on Bach, Beethoven and Brahms teaching a teen some pop tunes by John Ondrasik and Taylor Swift while I sailed through the universe of "Liz on Top of the World" with another student. Videotaping portions of piano lessons was the natural result… Continue reading Teens, popular music then and now, Taylor Swift, throw in Five for Fighting “100 Years”

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Full Blown You Tube Addiction!

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

My struggle to grapple with You Tube demons and completely eradicate them!

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A Day in El Cerrito and my return to Fresno

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

To El Cerrito and back, and what happens in between, in greater detail.