Rina may not know the words "pentascales" and "tenths," but she has the intelligence to notice when her fingers move up and down together, playing the same notes an "octave" apart. With a sound knowledge of the music alphabet in both directions, she has good cognitive reinforcement. (She also knows "running notes" or 8ths, "long… Continue reading Growing piano technique in baby steps: Rina, 5, advances to hands together five-finger positions (adding in 10ths)
Category: emotion in music
Picking the right piano to record a selection (Videos)–“Fur Elise” by Beethoven
I've heard stories about great pianists such as Richter obsessing over a choice of piano for a concert. Allegedly, he was very fussy, and sometimes regretted the one he picked out for a recital. But when he found himself playing in Siberia and rural parts of the Russian landscape, he rose to the occasion, and… Continue reading Picking the right piano to record a selection (Videos)–“Fur Elise” by Beethoven
Piano Technique: “Butterfly” by Grieg, a revisit (playing and exploring the rolling, rotational motion) videos
I can see the butterfly in my mind's eye in its flight of fancy. But I wish it were as easy to play, as to imagine. Relaxation is the key word here, but not to the point that the 16th-notes become like glissandi--a faint gloss over the keys. First in slow practice tempo you would… Continue reading Piano Technique: “Butterfly” by Grieg, a revisit (playing and exploring the rolling, rotational motion) videos
What’s happened to music in churches, temples and other religious sanctuaries? (2013 update)
On a rainy Sunday morning I was surfing You Tube in search of a spiritually poignant musical offering. One particular posting had been so inspiring that my index finger ached from so many mouse-clicked replays. It was ? "Verum"--The one word lingered in my foggy memory, amply retrieved to reap a reward. Out popped Mozart's… Continue reading What’s happened to music in churches, temples and other religious sanctuaries? (2013 update)
Emotion and Meaning in Music with examples from Beethoven’s piano works (Videos)
As I thumbed through a soft cover copy of Leonard B. Meyer's Emotion and Meaning in Music, a book required for an elective course I took at the City University of New York, I became thoroughly confused by the author's eclectic vocabulary of "absolute music," "theories of continuation," "tonal organization" and the rest. Yet, I… Continue reading Emotion and Meaning in Music with examples from Beethoven’s piano works (Videos)