Category: mindful piano practicing

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Revisiting an old piano piece learned years earlier

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I find my current musical journey down memory lane to be joyful and challenging--especially as I cut and paste the Mozart Rondo: Allegro, K. 311 pages to fit comfortably on the piano rack. (Deja Vu, Haydn C Major Hoboken XVI35--Haydn pinned and unpinned) I wrote to a musician friend during the height of my frustration.… Continue reading Revisiting an old piano piece learned years earlier

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Growing piano technique in baby steps: Rina, 5, advances to hands together five-finger positions (adding in 10ths)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

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)

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Irina Morozova’s inspiring words flow through a lesson with an adult student (Beethoven’s Fur Elise-in-progress) Video

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

"From watching great pianists it is obvious that they incorporate quite different movements to achieve the same goals, because people do not play piano with fingers but rather with the mind and the ear. Again, it is the clear image of what kind of sound one wants to achieve, combined with the knowledge of how… Continue reading Irina Morozova’s inspiring words flow through a lesson with an adult student (Beethoven’s Fur Elise-in-progress) Video

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Burgmuller’s “The Return”–like a light opera, with interspersed drama (videos)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

"The Return" from the composer's Twenty-Five Progressive Pieces, Op. 100, is ear-catching. Like an Offenbach opera replete with an Overture, it delights in a set of lighthearted staccato chords that spill into a passionate MINOR sequenced interlude, setting the heart afire. Extinguished by the revisit of Eb Major punctuations, the music drifts off by authentic… Continue reading Burgmuller’s “The Return”–like a light opera, with interspersed drama (videos)

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Piano Technique: Rina turns 5 and plays two-note Legato slurs (slow motion, soundless replays)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

The Good News: Rina just celebrated her big FIFTH birthday, and bestowed a lovely portrait of herself draped in a smile over her precious piano. Thank You for the beautifully framed photo! *** OTHER: Today, technology failed me once again, but this time I outsmarted the devilish, on/off again iMac movie program. So what if… Continue reading Piano Technique: Rina turns 5 and plays two-note Legato slurs (slow motion, soundless replays)

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Piano Instruction: A charming, quick-paced piece for late elementary students, titled “Clowns,” by Gillock (VIDEO)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Continuing my tribute to the prolific and talented composer, William Gillock, I've snatched "Clowns" from Volume Two of his Accent on Gillock collection. (published by Willis Music Company) Not to be long-winded about my approach to teaching this sprightly composition, I simply outline a step-wise practicing routine. 1) Since the melody is divided between the… Continue reading Piano Instruction: A charming, quick-paced piece for late elementary students, titled “Clowns,” by Gillock (VIDEO)

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Teaching Gillock’s delightfully appealing, Later Elementary Level music: “The Glass Slipper” (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I have no reservation about the immense teaching value of William Gillock's music from elementary through advanced levels. And while the titles in the first few volumes appeal to children, the pieces can be universally enjoyed by piano students of all ages. In this spirit, I picked out "The Glass Slipper" from Accents on Gillock,… Continue reading Teaching Gillock’s delightfully appealing, Later Elementary Level music: “The Glass Slipper” (Video)

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Aikido and Piano are a good match for Sakura (Video) (Note the rolling forward wrist motion in Kabalevsky’s “Galop”)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Aikido Main article: Aikido Aikido shihōnage technique. "Aikido (合氣道:あいきどう aikidō?) is a modern grappling-based Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba (植芝 盛平 Ueshiba Morihei, 1883 – 1969). The art consists of "striking", "throwing" and "joint locking" techniques and is known for its fluidity and blending with an attacker, rather than meeting "force with force".… Continue reading Aikido and Piano are a good match for Sakura (Video) (Note the rolling forward wrist motion in Kabalevsky’s “Galop”)

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Mozart memories, reflections and revisits (Videos)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Andante: second movement, Mozart Sonata K. 545 played on my Steinway, 1917, M. http://youtu.be/PPYKK3hOjnk **** My relationship to Mozart and his music began with the violin. At the Merrywood Music Camp in Lenox, Massachusetts, only a stone's throw from Tanglewood, I encountered Eugene Lehner, first violist of the Boston Symphony when I played second violin… Continue reading Mozart memories, reflections and revisits (Videos)

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Piano Lesson Excerpts: Practicing the Bach Invention 13 in A minor (Videos)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

This morning, Claudia, 11, practiced the J.S. Bach A minor Invention behind tempo, (in slow motion) to improve her musical/technical understanding of the composition. She worked on "weaving"/shaping the main idea or subject, which is a broken chord figure. The interaction between hands or voices (there are two them) was a particular focus, as it… Continue reading Piano Lesson Excerpts: Practicing the Bach Invention 13 in A minor (Videos)