Bobby De Niro, Broadway theater, Elaine Comparone, Greenwich Village, Group Theater, John Garfield, Manhattan, Marble Hill Projects, New York, New York City, Off Broadway Theater, P.S. 41 in Greenwich Village

Our Family’s Cultural Tradition: The last remnant of my NYC trip (Photos) with an update on the history of Russian piano factories

I scanned the memory card of NYC pics stored in my Sony digital camera and came across my mother, (on the extreme Left) and a few other key family members seated around a decorative party table. We were celebrating mom's 97th birthday at her "baby" sister, Leepie's regal and spacious Greenwich Village apartment off Fifth… Continue reading Our Family’s Cultural Tradition: The last remnant of my NYC trip (Photos) with an update on the history of Russian piano factories

Domenico Scarlatti, Domenico Scarlatti Sonata in C K. 159, New York City, New York City High School of Performing Arts, New York University, Oberlin Conservatory, pianist, piano, piano playing and breathing, piano playing and phrasing, Scarlatti Sonata in A, Scarlatti Sonatas, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, Teach Street, technique, trills, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Trills and Domenico Scarlatti (Video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyXvet9KrLc In a separate writing about crossed hands, large leaps, and other keyboard acrobatics, I'd discussed trills which permeate Domenico Scarlatti's music. Perhaps these precious ornaments evoked the gypsy wails in the surrounding Madrid countryside, or they were part of the performance practice of the Baroque period. I would hedge my bets that hunting horns,… Continue reading Trills and Domenico Scarlatti (Video)

Columbia University football field, Inwood section of Manhattan, Manhattan, New York City, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Park Terrace Gardens in Inwood, pianist, piano, piano lessons, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, the Big Apple, the Bronx, the Hudson River at the tip of Manhattan, The Marble Hill Projects, word press, wordpress.com

My New York City weekend excerpts: The Marble Hill Projects, Park Terrace Gardens, a reunion with my Sohmer upright, and a nostalgic walk along Riverside Drive

When I arrived in Newark Airport this past Friday evening at 10 p.m. I sped off in a spiffy air train on the arm of my protective brother. (He took a snapshot of me in my newly purchased, Calvin Klein leather coat) Surprisingly, most passengers on my plane, bound for Tel Aviv were flip-flopping around,… Continue reading My New York City weekend excerpts: The Marble Hill Projects, Park Terrace Gardens, a reunion with my Sohmer upright, and a nostalgic walk along Riverside Drive

"Did Somebody Say Fresno" compiled by Aviva Kirsten, Big Apple, Fresno the TV miniseries with Carol Burnett, New York City, Panic in Needle Park with Al Pacino, The Out of Towners with Jack Lemmon and Sandi Dennis, visiting the Big Apple, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Feeling like an “Out of Towner,” going back to hometown New York

I’m soon to embark for NYC to attend a Memorial service for my beloved aunt. Only this time around, I’ll be flying out of the San Francisco Airport. (I relocated to Berkeley, California in September 2012 following a 30-year death sentence in Fresno) Two years ago, a movie-threaded narrative plotted all possible outcomes of my… Continue reading Feeling like an “Out of Towner,” going back to hometown New York

Carnegie Hall, Lewisohn Stadium, New York City, Patelson's music shop, Sohmer upright piano, the Bronx

Musical memories of New York City, and my impending trip back home

Today, I'll fly back to New York City for my mother's Memorial, and in a tight 4-day span I'll visit the edifice of my High School of Performing Arts, a designated landmark at 46th and 6th Avenue. Ironically, I recently unearthed a graduation photo that shows me holding a Music award in the presence of… Continue reading Musical memories of New York City, and my impending trip back home

Irina Gorin, muscular memory, music, music and heart, music teachers association of california, musical inspiration, New York City, New York City High School of Performing Arts, New York University, Oberlin Conservatory, phrasing at the piano, piano, piano addict, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano lessons and parental support, piano pedagogy, piano playing and relaxation, piano student, piano studio, piano teacher, piano teaching, piano tutorial, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Teach Street, teaching piano to children, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Rina, age 4, has her THIRD piano lesson using Irina Gorin’s “Tales of a Musical Journey” (Videos in 6 parts)

I enjoyed today's musical adventure with Rina but not all lesson segments are reproduced in completion in order to control length. In instances where my student used her Right Hand, we continued the activity with her Left Hand which is an important component of Irina Gorin's "Musical Journey" through the kingdom of sounds. Every video… Continue reading Rina, age 4, has her THIRD piano lesson using Irina Gorin’s “Tales of a Musical Journey” (Videos in 6 parts)

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

keyboard technique, long distance piano teaching, mental imagery, mind body connection, MTAC, muscular memory, music, music and heart, music and the breath, music teachers associationo of California, music theory, music video, musical inspiration, musical phrasing, New York City, New York City High School of Performing Arts, New York University, Oberlin, Oberlin Conservatory, pentachords, pentascales, phrasing at the piano, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano pedagogy, Piano Street, piano student, piano studio, piano teacher, piano technique, piano warm-ups, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Skype, skyped piano lessons, Skyping piano lessons, slow piano practicing, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway studio upright, summer piano lessons, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, teaching piano, teaching piano scales, teaching scales, technique, Theory, uk-piano-forums, video uploading, videotaped replay, virtual piano lessons, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Skyped Piano Lessons: Using video supplements as reinforcement (Video sent to an 8-year old student)

Today I Skyped a third piano lesson between California and Oregon, and learned that the student I was mentoring was not 10-years old as I had thought all along, but only 8! Dad told me she had 10 months of lessons altogether, wherein I became involved only weeks ago at the father's invitation. But the… Continue reading Skyped Piano Lessons: Using video supplements as reinforcement (Video sent to an 8-year old student)

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?

classissima.com, Claude Debussy, Debussy Arabesque No. 1 by Claude Debussy, Haddorff, Haddorff piano, 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 repertoire, piano studio, piano teacher, piano technique, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, player piano, self-analysis, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, slow piano practicing, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, teaching piano, Theory, uk-piano-forums, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Piano Instruction: Part Two Debussy Arabesque, No. 1, Teacher, Shirley Kirsten (Video #2)

Part two transitions to A Major. (The composition is in E Major) and has a different character though motifs and ideas from the opening section intersperse this portion of the Arabesque. A very noteworthy change that occurs with the modulation to A Major, is a prevalence of chords, some of which move homophonically (in the… Continue reading Piano Instruction: Part Two Debussy Arabesque, No. 1, Teacher, Shirley Kirsten (Video #2)