Category: MTAC

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Claudia’s piano lesson in progress: Preparing the Chopin A minor Waltz no. 19, Op. posthumous and Beethoven’s “Fur Elise” for the MTAC Fall Festival

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I returned to the iMac21 for this videotaping in the company of my nifty Yeti mic. (I'm waiting for Y to speak in Star Wars lingo, or double as a cleaning robot) Everything was definitely effortless this time because I opted NOT to edit. I just let the lesson segment run its course without fussing… Continue reading Claudia’s piano lesson in progress: Preparing the Chopin A minor Waltz no. 19, Op. posthumous and Beethoven’s “Fur Elise” for the MTAC Fall Festival

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Excerpts from Rina’s 9th piano lesson, using instruction from “Tales of a Musical Journey” by Irina Gorin

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz31cL5MzC8 Lesson 8 suffered the pangs of loss because of a camcorder shut down so today we switched over to my iMac's iMovie. (I'm still learning the video editing program so apologies for synch-related issues at the track's end) Rina reviewed the musical alphabet and tapped individual notes to various prerecorded CD selections. For "Bear"… Continue reading Excerpts from Rina’s 9th piano lesson, using instruction from “Tales of a Musical Journey” by Irina Gorin

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Rina, 4, brings a toy piano to her lesson; creates her own rhythm; and learns A and B; (7th week of instruction using Tales of a Musical Journey) 5 videos

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Rina surprised me by bringing her precious mini-purple plastic piano that played a salsa rhythm style piece with very fast notes. It was gratifying to watch her spontaneously point to the "big" and "little houses" on her tiny keyboard that comprise "neighborhoods" or "octaves" in Tales of a Musical Journey. This preceded her relaxation movements… Continue reading Rina, 4, brings a toy piano to her lesson; creates her own rhythm; and learns A and B; (7th week of instruction using Tales of a Musical Journey) 5 videos

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Piano Instruction: Going outside the method book track

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Method books on the commercial market have a certain lure because they attempt to conveniently package a set of step-by-step lesson goals through approximately six books that are divided into Lesson, Performance and Theory. A teacher can also choose Technique and Artistry to add to the mix. The basic program outlined in brochures includes branch-offs… Continue reading Piano Instruction: Going outside the method book track

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Highlights from Rina’s 6th piano lesson: Learning and Tapping F’s to music; serenading Aiden cat with C’s

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Rina made a significant leap in progress today, tapping accompaniments to her prerecorded C, D and E pieces. This activity took up the greater part of her lesson and was not videotaped since I'm currently highlighting only new lesson material. For the opening relaxation warm-up, Rina soared around the living room like an eagle as… Continue reading Highlights from Rina’s 6th piano lesson: Learning and Tapping F’s to music; serenading Aiden cat with C’s

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A piano student’s milestones and memories in photos and video

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Today, September 5th, is Claudia's 11th Birthday! She started lessons with me in 2006 when she had just turned 6 after coming to California from Hawaii. I remember her as a shy but wide-eyed child who had studied piano for a year or so. Students who begin piano lessons at a tender age and stay… Continue reading A piano student’s milestones and memories in photos and video

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Stimulating the imagination: choosing piano repertoire that embraces childhood themes (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I was awakened this morning to an inspired Facebook post that featured a six-year old captivated by a delightful piece that amounted to a "playground" of light-hearted chords with engaging harmonies. The piano teacher, Irina Gorin played snippets of Samuel Maykapar's "In the Garden" that seemed to share character kinship with Kabalevksy's Op. 39, Children's… Continue reading Stimulating the imagination: choosing piano repertoire that embraces childhood themes (Video)

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

arioso7: 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

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Piano Playing: How Anticipation can trip you up and what you can do about it. (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Anticipation and its adverse influence on piano playing affect nearly every pianist regardless of level. It's a form of mind-wandering where the player's focus shifts from the here and now to musical events that will take place measures, if not phrases or even pages away. As a metaphor, imagine eating lunch but thinking ahead to… Continue reading Piano Playing: How Anticipation can trip you up and what you can do about it. (Video)

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Aiden Cat Dozes off to Debussy (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Looks like Aiden was out like a light... except for 2 well-timed ear twitches ... otherwise, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Arabesque no. 1 Played on my Haddorff console piano (manuf. 1951) a real musical treasure with divine resonance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0QF8ahBJ88 Aiden's awake-time pics: RELATED: A Purrr-fect Musical Match Made in Heaven http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyY3XSl5Wuc Aiden Cat Joins Ilyana, 8, at the… Continue reading Aiden Cat Dozes off to Debussy (Video)