Alvin Ailey Dance Company, American Ballet Theater, ballet, ballet accompanist, Boston Ballet, California, Chapman University, choreography, color guard, dance accompanist, dance musician, Fresno, Fresno California, Hong Kong, Hubbard Street, Mark Morris Dance Group, Orange County High School of the Arts, Riverside Community College, Segerstom in Southern California, University of California Irvine, Vladimir Malakhov, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

A former piano student carves out a unique life as a dance accompanist or is it “Freeway Gypsy?”

For Becca Wong, her career path seemed predestined. Having had a firmly rooted music and dance background in her native Hong Kong prior to her arrival in California, she was at least predisposed to a future vocation celebrating the arts. Her enrollment in the Royal Academy of Dance, allied to the British school system, added… Continue reading A former piano student carves out a unique life as a dance accompanist or is it “Freeway Gypsy?”

"Did Somebody Say Fresno?! " Part V, Fresno, Fresno CA, Fresno in the movies, Hollywood movies that mention Fresno, poor piano maintenance in Fresno, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Uncategorized, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Fresno isn’t such a bad place, after all (“Did Somebody Say Fresno?! Part V” on You Tube)

Not to be a stage mom, but my daughter, Aviva is having a good time doing her thing archiving Hollywood movies that more than mention Fresno. (She's just released, "Did Somebody Say Fresno?!" Part V.) Producer/video editor all in one, Ms. Kirsten makes a blockbuster cameo appearance in the opening, evoking Alfred Hitchcock's movie-making days.… Continue reading Fresno isn’t such a bad place, after all (“Did Somebody Say Fresno?! Part V” on You Tube)

Cantata 78 by J.S. Bach performed at the First Moravian Church in New York City, classissima, classissima.com, Elaine Comparone, emotion in music, First Moravian Church in New York City, Fresno, Fresno California, Kol Nidre, memoir, Mozart, music and heart, music in churches, music in Jewish temples, music in religious services, music in synagogues, musical inspiration, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace, publishersmarketplace.com, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Steinway M grand piano, the Crystal Cathdral, the Crystal cathedral, W.A. Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, word press, wordpress.com, Yom Kippur, you tube, You Tube Cantata no. 78 performed at the First Moravian Church in New York City, you tube video

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)

Fresno, Fresno California, piano maintenance, piano maintenance in small communities, piano repair, piano technician, piano technician's guild, piano tuner, piano tuners, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, word press, wordpress.com

The original article in the Piano Quarterly that inspired an examination of the piano tuner/technician landscape

RELATED: https://arioso7.wordpress.com/2011/11/05/treading-on-hallowed-ground-the-challenge-of-maintaining-fine-pianos-after-a-personal-tragedy/ https://arioso7.wordpress.com/2011/11/06/the-voices-of-piano-technicians-around-the-country/

19th Century music, authorsden, blog, blogging, Chopin pedaling, Chopin Waltz, Chopin Waltz in A minor, Chopin Waltz no. 19 in A Minor op. posthumous, classissima, classissima.com, Creative Fresno, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano studio, Frederic Chopin, Fresno, Fresno California, mind body connection, mindful piano practicing, mindful practicing, MTAC, muscular memory, musical phrasing, musical phrasing and breathing, pedaling at the piano, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano playing and phrasing, piano playing and relaxation, piano teaching, piano technique, Piano World, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, the art of piano pedaling, word press, wordpress.com, Yeti microphone, you tube, you tube video

Piano Lesson: Refining the pedaling in Chopin’s Waltz no. 19 in A minor (Op. Posthumous)

Pedaling and its refinement were under consideration following an adult student's initial reading of the Chopin Waltz. This piano lesson was transmitted by Skype to Sydney, Australia. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Fn1xBSuep0

blog, blogger, blogging, Chopin, Chopin Prelude Op. 28 No. 4, Chopin Preludes, Chopin Preludes Op. 28, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano studio, Fresno, Fresno California, Haddorff, Haddorff piano, mind body connection, MTAC, Murray Perahia, muscular memory, music, music and heart, music teachers association of california, musical phrasing, New York City, New York City High School of Performing Arts, New York University, Oberlin, Oberlin Conservatory, phrasing at the piano, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano repertoire, piano room, piano society, piano studio, piano teacher, piano technique, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, Romantic era music, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, teaching piano, uk-piano-forums, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Piano Instruction: Chopin Prelude No. 4 in E minor, Op. 28, Teacher, Shirley Kirsten

http://youtu.be/By2h_rr9JSM http://youtu.be/TIWxLbW3Z38 Chopin composed 24 Preludes in Op. 28 exploring 24 different keys (Major and minor) with each Prelude having its own mood and character. In my step-by-step practicing of the E minor Prelude, I start with the Left Hand with its chordal mosaic, and listen attentively for descending chromatic movement between chords. In the… Continue reading Piano Instruction: Chopin Prelude No. 4 in E minor, Op. 28, Teacher, Shirley Kirsten

Aiden Cat, Aiden the Cat, blog, blogger, blogging, classissima, classissima.com, digital piano, digital pianos, Fresno, Fresno California, Haddorff, Haddorff piano, musical cat, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano studio, piano teacher, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Skype, skyped piano lessons, Steinway and Sons, Steinway grand piano, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, Steinway studio upright, Uncategorized, word press, wordpress.com

The view in my living room with an iMac, Tripod, Three Pianos, and Aiden cat

This about sums it up. Now that the iMac arrived right after Haddy Haddorff replaced a digital keyboard, Aiden cat found space for himself dwindling, yet he still managed to plop himself right in the middle of the muddle. RELATED: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5MLPxKFl2c Aiden cat sits in on a concert...

blog, blogger, blogging, California, ear training, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano studio, Fresno, Fresno California, mind body connection, MTAC, Murray Perahia, muscular memory, music, music and heart, music and the breath, music history, music teachers association of california, music theory, New York City, New York City High School of Performing Arts, New York University, Oberlin, Oberlin Conservatory, phrasing at the piano, pianist, piano, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano pedagogy, piano practicing, piano teacher, piano teaching repertoire, piano technique, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, sight-singing, slow piano practicing, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, teaching piano, teaching piano to children, technique, Theory, uk-piano-forums, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Should piano students listen to recorded performances of pieces they are first beginning to learn?

I was thinking of Palmer's edition of Chopin, an Introduction to His Music, and when I first purchased it years ago there was no inserted CD of recorded selections contained in the album. With subsequent published editions, a CD popped into an envelope, beckoning a player to sample another pianist's interpretation of music he had… Continue reading Should piano students listen to recorded performances of pieces they are first beginning to learn?

blog, blogger, blogging, Classical era, classical music, Classical period sonata, Classical sonatina, classissima, classissima.com, Clementi Sonatina Op. 36, Clementi Sonatina Op. 36 no. 3, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano studio, Fresno, Fresno California, keyboard technique, long distance piano teaching, mind body connection, MTAC, muscular memory, music and heart, music and the breath, music memorization, music teachers associationo of California, music theory, musical inspiration, musical phrasing, New York City High School of Performing Arts, New York University, Oberlin, Oberlin Conservatory, phrasing at the piano, piano, piano addict, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano pedagogy, Piano Street, piano student, piano teacher, piano teaching repertoire, piano tutorial, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, singing tone legato, slow piano practicing, sonatina, Teach Street, teaching piano, uk-piano-forums, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Piano Instruction: Common student problems related to playing Clementi Sonatina, Op. 36, No. 3, Spiritoso (Video)

The student I'm currently teaching by Skype has received a number of supplemental videos from me that target problems universal to those learning Clementi Sonatina, Op. 36, No. 3. In this video, geared for teachers as well as students, I define areas in the first movement, Spiritoso, that need particular focus for improvement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_q_vUSLIDI As… Continue reading Piano Instruction: Common student problems related to playing Clementi Sonatina, Op. 36, No. 3, Spiritoso (Video)

feline, felines, Fresno, Fresno California, MTAC, music, music and heart, music and the breath, music teachers association of california, musical cat, New York City High School of Performing Arts, New York University, Oberlin Conservatory, phrasing at the piano, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano pedagogy, piano practicing, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano studio, piano teacher, piano technique, piano tutorial, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, self-analysis, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Skype, Skyping piano lessons, slow piano practicing

My First Skyped Piano lesson from California to Oregon

I must say I was skeptical going into this until I watched the Skype screen enlarge an 8-year old to nearly life-size proportion as she sat comfortably at her piano. Her dad, a tech savvy parent with an ability to guide me through the basics of Skyping, was co-director with his web cam weaving around… Continue reading My First Skyped Piano lesson from California to Oregon