Piano performance: The moment of creation can be deceiving and how we can learn from video playbacks

I was telling a musical friend about the discrepancy between what we think we're hearing during our own performances and what bears out in a review of our self-made recordings. This is why teaching and learning opportunities abound in comparing one reading to another by way of video/audio replays. It's not only our own playing…

Piano Lesson to Brazil: Trills and Spills (Beethoven Presto, “MOONLIGHT” Sonata)

This was a SKYPE Day to remember! Not a sinking ship, but a catastrophic event at a musical climax. The Brazilian student, in good form, however, was SAVED by the NEAPOLITAN! He rendered the UNEXPECTED with show-stopping emphasis! Bravo, cavalheiro! Here's the snatch on You Tube: (A CRASH HEARD 'Round the WORLD!) http://youtu.be/OvdiASfJU14 Life isn't…

Attentive listening, singing, and awareness of harmonic rhythm improve phrasing at the piano

I notice a common thread among many piano students, young and old. They tend to play measure to measure, doting heavily on downbeats as if the first beat of each bar begs for reinforcement. Perhaps a Marching Band might fall prey to stepping through a muddy football field with over-emphasis, just to make sure everyone…

Should a piano student be a carbon copy of the teacher?

The whole universe of music teaching and learning became crystallized when I found myself bouncing ideas back and forth with two parents of Suzuki-trained children on a blog COMMENTS forum. First, I questioned the purist form of the Japanese imported "method" to the piano that delays note-reading to conform with the acquisition of language. Babies,…

Piano playing at its most inspirational level

Divine music-making from a seasoned pianist in a memorable retrospective

Comparing Interpretations of Bach Prelude in C minor, BWV 847 (Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1)

Over a year ago, I posted a tutorial about the harmonic rhythm of Bach's C minor Prelude (WTC I) to help myself and others navigate strings of 16th notes with an awareness of shape, direction, and resolution. This was my springboard to learning the composition and it remains a good reference. http://youtu.be/yAa8YcW7lMI However, my you…

Pianist, Martha Argerich waxes poetic about her career, old age, and more

I was entranced by an interview conducted with Maestra Argerich on the eve of the 2009 Nobel Prize ceremonies in Stockholm. She was to give a concert, playing the Ravel piano concerto, but graciously paused to share her deepest thoughts and musings about music, life, communication, getting old and more. The interviewer was on the…

I have to practice to keep up with my piano students

I have one particular adult pupil who's pushed the envelope to its limit. He sends me demanding "new" pieces he wants to learn in short order. Not that I necessarily approve of the rapid turnover of compositions, but I have no choice but to ingest them quickly and THOROUGHLY so I can be of help…

Into the Hills with the Sound of Music –a Baldwin Acrosonic “acoustic” sings

The video attached to this writing validates the beauty of music-making on a well-maintained, though 1940s vintage era acoustic piano. Baldwin Acrosonics were the Cadillacs of the spinet and console variety pianos. They had a noticeable innovation compared to their sister-size instruments. (A deeper sound chamber, especially noted in the consoles that measured 40" or…

The piano learning process at all levels of study

In spite of my having studied piano for decades, each learning experience is filled with challenges that I must approach with a glut of patience. A new composition has its own form, architecture, harmonic rhythm, fingering that requires a big reserve of self-acceptance in a deadline-free frame. To the contrary, many of my students, who…