Category: pianist

Beethoven, Beethoven "Tempest" in Dminor Op. 31 no.2, Beethoven Tempest Sonata first movement, blog, blogger, blogging, blogging about piano, Classical era, Classical era piano music, classical music, Classical period sonata, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano instruction, MTAC, musical inspiration, musical phrasing, musical phrasing and breathing, Oberlin, Oberlin Conservatory, pianist, pianists, piano, piano addict, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano pedagogy, piano playing, piano studio, piano studio in El Cerrito, piano technique, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, playing the piano, playing the piano with a singing tone, practicing piano, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley kirsten piano teacher in El Cerrito, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, slow mindful practicing, supple wrist in piano playing, talkclassical.com, teaching piano, teaching piano to adults, video instruction, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube video, yout tube

Piano Instruction: Part FIVE, Beethoven’s “Tempest” Sonata, Op. 31 no. 2 Measures 93 to 158 (Development, Recitative, submerged pedal)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

This is a hauntingly beautiful section of the first movement. After the composer has devoted so many preceding measures to the key of A minor, he decides to travel at quick intervals through a series of different keys. Such fast-paced modulations occur primarily with the return of the crossed-hands portion of the piece, beginning in… Continue reading Piano Instruction: Part FIVE, Beethoven’s “Tempest” Sonata, Op. 31 no. 2 Measures 93 to 158 (Development, Recitative, submerged pedal)

Amtrak 711, Amtrak 712, Bart system in California, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito wild turkey, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, pianist, piano, piano blog, piano studio in El Cerrito, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, shirley kirsten piano teacher in El Cerrito, Shirley Smith Kirsten, taking a walk in El Cerrito, wild turkeys in El Cerrito California, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, yout tube

PART ONE: Guess what happened on the way to my El Cerrito Piano studio? (Photos)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I must have had ESP when I packed my Sony Cybershot Digital Camera into my purse before setting out for Amtrak 711 on Monday. After a 3+ hour journey along the scenic route, I de-trained and caught the Bart at Richmond, inching my way to the Del Norte Station in El Cerrito. Greeted by crystal… Continue reading PART ONE: Guess what happened on the way to my El Cerrito Piano studio? (Photos)

Beethoven "Tempest" in Dminor Op. 31 no.2, classissima.com, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, Oberlin, Oberlin Conservatory, pianist, pianists, piano, piano addict, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano repertoire, piano study, piano teacher, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano technique, Piano World, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace, publishersmarketplace.com, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, slow mindful practicing, teaching piano, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video, yout tube

Piano Instruction, Part THREE Beethoven “Tempest” Sonata in D minor, Op. 31, No. 2

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

This instruction continues from measure 41 through 57, where agitated pairs of 8th notes return, picking up the opening motif. As expected, I use blocking or clustering to keep the redundant figures resilient and bundled with energy. (a forward moving wrist motion is attenuated in rapid tempo, but more exaggerated in the slow practice phase)… Continue reading Piano Instruction, Part THREE Beethoven “Tempest” Sonata in D minor, Op. 31, No. 2

Beethoven, Beethoven "Tempest" sonata op. 31 no. 2, Beethoven Tempest Sonata first movement, blog, blogging, blogging about piano, blogs about piano, Classical era piano music, classical music, classisima.com, classissima, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, pianist, piano, piano lesson, piano teacher, piano teaching, piano technique, playing piano, practicing Beethoven's Tempest sonata movement one, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirleyu smith kirsten, tutorial, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video, yout tube

Piano Instruction: Part TWO, Beethoven’s “Tempest” Sonata, Op. 31, No. 2, Hand Cross-over, with tremolo in the middle voice

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

A tricky chromatic scale with a turn-around at its end ushers in a stormy, impassioned section with cross-over hands. Some players observe the notation to a tee, and avoid these hand-over-hand maneuvers, but I, like many other pianists do the re-arranging in the interests of smoothly trailing a melodic line that starts in the bass… Continue reading Piano Instruction: Part TWO, Beethoven’s “Tempest” Sonata, Op. 31, No. 2, Hand Cross-over, with tremolo in the middle voice

arioso 7, authorsden, interpreting Mozart, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, Kinderszenen, legato playing at the piano, Mitsuko Uchida, Mozart piano Sonata in C K. 545, Mozart Sonata K. 545 Andante, music, music and heart, musical inspiration, phrasing at the piano, pianist, piano, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, talkclassical.com, teaching piano, technique, the art of piano playing, Uchida pianist, W.A. Mozart, whole body listening, whole body music listening, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video, yout tube

In the Piano Universe: Two You Tube Treasures not to miss!

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Every so often, I stumble upon an uploaded You Yube performance that grabs my ears. In this instance, it was a Mozart encore offered by pianist, Mitsuko Uchida, that led straight to a compelling videotaped interview with her. With my antennae up and ready for more sparkle to light up my day, I was amply… Continue reading In the Piano Universe: Two You Tube Treasures not to miss!

Christoph Eschenbach, Classical era piano music, classissima, classissima.com, Claudio Arrau, comparing performances of Mozart Sonata in C K. 545, interpretation of Mozart Sonata in C K. 545, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, Mozart, Mozart Sonata in C K. 545 first movement, pianist, piano, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Uchida pianist, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Comparing performances of Mozart Sonata in C, K. 545, Movement 1, Allegro (Tempo, alone can make a big difference)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Over time, when we return to a piece that is well-learned, and in some cases has become a bit too predictable without a touch of inspiration, a revitalized, updated version might be worth a try. In this regard, I'm always re-recording time-honored pieces periodically, to refresh them. To broaden my perspective, I search You Tube… Continue reading Comparing performances of Mozart Sonata in C, K. 545, Movement 1, Allegro (Tempo, alone can make a big difference)

Anna Magdalena Bach Notebook, Christian Petzold Minuet in G minor, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, Minuet in G minor from Anna Magdalena Collection, pianist, piano, piano addict, Piano Street, piano student, Piano World, playing piano, Skype, Skyping piano lessons, video piano instruction, videotaped piano instruction, word press, you tube

A video supplement to a Skyped piano lesson (Instruction for Minuet in G minor from Anna Magdalena Bach’s Notebook)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Following today's Skyped lesson to Pennsylvania, I created a video to reinforce instruction pertaining to the "Minuet in G minor" from the Anna Magdalena Bach Collection. This composition is attributed to Christian Petzold. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htm1ez09Qf8 My adult student wanted to study this piece which has challenging Baroque-style phrasing and articulation. During our class time today we… Continue reading A video supplement to a Skyped piano lesson (Instruction for Minuet in G minor from Anna Magdalena Bach’s Notebook)

Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, pianist, piano, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Skype, teaching piano, video instruction, video performances, video supplementation of piano lessons, virtual piano lessons, virtual piano teaching, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, Yeti mic, Yeti microphone, you tube, you tube video, yout tube

Skyping piano lessons with an iMac, Logitech cam, and Yeti mic (videos)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Here's my set-up for Skyped piano instruction. A travel itinerary minus airport delays and x-ray scanners included stop-offs in Pennsylvania, Sydney, Australia; Portland Oregon, and London, England. Lessons have been scheduled as needed. A Power Point-less presentation offers more: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkxknMXWdIY *** A Skype lesson-in-progress to Sydney fleshes out a bi-screen video landscape. (two Logitechs in… Continue reading Skyping piano lessons with an iMac, Logitech cam, and Yeti mic (videos)

"Tales of a Musical Journey", "Tales of a Musical Journey" by Irina Gorin, Irina Gorin, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, Minuet by Reinagle, pianist, piano, piano instruction, piano lessons, piano teaching, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, teaching piano to children, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video, yout tube

Piano Lesson: Rina, 5, learns to play legato across five fingers from C to G and back

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Six months of piano lessons: Rina made a big jump today after having had considerable experience playing single, detached fingers for all notes in the music alphabet. In addition she's been rolling pairs of fingers to create a nice legato from note to note. (2-note slurs) I've prepped her with 1,2 and in reverse, 2… Continue reading Piano Lesson: Rina, 5, learns to play legato across five fingers from C to G and back

Andrew Li pianist, Chopin Scherzo No. 1, George Li pianist, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, Mozart Piano Concerto no. 17 in G K. 453, pianist, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

A Musical Family: Andrew Li, 11, follows older brother, George to the piano

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I was awestruck by a You Tube video recommended by George Li, a 16-year old pianist with an impressive performance resume. He had recommended a sample of his younger brother's playing on a Spring Sunday morning. With the family tie-in whetting my curiosity, I didn't hesitate to mouse tap to a special treat: Andrew, 11,… Continue reading A Musical Family: Andrew Li, 11, follows older brother, George to the piano