Piano technique lesson segments flow nicely into repertoire

Today, the technique portion of a Face Time lesson to North Carolina complemented the main musical course, Chopin's Waltz in A minor, Op. Posthumous. It was a harmonious streaming with thumbs swinging; arms floating; and scale contouring that fed well-shaped Romantic era phrases. It played out as follows: The A minor scale was parceled out…

A SKYPE/LIVE Adult piano student recital!

It Finally Happened! My students taking lessons by Skype or FaceTime finally met their LIVE piano-connected peers in an hour-long, music-love ONLINE exchange. The emphasis was sharing in a compassionate setting with a spirit of unconditional support for participants of varying levels and abilities. Introductions preceding the program proved as engaging as each player's musical…

My new Overhead webcam view adds fingering clarity and choreography

A You Tube glimpse of Bach Scholar's set-up for piano lessons by Skype clarified the right overhead keyboard view. Instead of enlisting a clip-on cam that provided an abridged and inverted view of the the keys, I secured a horizontal Alzo mount for my Targus 60" tripod, that gives a perfect planet keyboard panorama. THE…

Piano Study: Does counting out beats have to be robotic? (Videos)

I'm open to a panoply of ideas about teaching piano, and I've often integrated a variety of mentoring approaches based on feedback from colleagues. The latest discussion that caught my attention, centered on "counting beats" in the early learning stages of a new composition. For some the notion of oral "counting" at all in the…

Video supplements for piano students assist practicing

Whether giving piano lessons LIVE or by SKYPE, sending students video excerpts of their lessons-in-progress, or creating a short film that zeroes in on a particular technical challenge, is always helpful. In the old days when I studied with Lillian Freundlich in NYC, a reel-to-reel tape recorder was the standard for memorializing lessons. No tripod…

Top FIVE Piano Lesson by SKYPE Interruptions! (Videos)

Group web cam lessons on Bow-wow ( Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota) Top Notch Tone Tutorial Class 1) out-take http://youtu.be/fONbHGw8zXM 2) out-take http://youtu.be/Fy-6SkVFqMQ 3) Cat jumps out the window (United Kingdom) http://youtu.be/df7Pfg0Fcnc 4) 5 month-old Baby on lap (Alaska) http://youtu.be/D1HDoNAI75A 5) Earthquake! (Brazil) http://youtu.be/I-dbDgapMmA

Piano Technique: Geography, choreography, and muscle memory in practicing scales (Video instruction)

Today's lesson by Skype from Berkeley, CA to the UK focused on refining e minor scales. Of particular interest, was the segment, midway, that explored un-snagging a portion of the Harmonic minor form in STACCATO. A valuable technique applied included spot practicing critical areas of difficulty.. i.e. C to D# to E in every octave.…

Piano Practicing: Breathing into phrases and blocking out passages (Mozart Sonata, example)

I've picked the first two pages of Mozart's Sonata in Bb Major, K. 281, last movement, Rondeau, Allegro to explore breathing and blocking techniques in the learning process. (These principles can be applied to practicing music from a variety of eras) Starting a composition is often taken for granted. Sometimes students will land on a…

Sister and brother piano lessons in the Hills

I enjoy my weekly journey to a home way up in the Hills of El Cerrito (neighbor to Berkeley) There, I teach Lucy and Fritz who play a lovely, resonant Baldwin Acrosonic that I advised mom to purchase (over at DC Pianos) Acros happen to be among my favorites in the spinet/console category. The Back…

Bringing the Keyboard closer to the long distance piano student

Yesterday, my Logitech cam was un-clipped from the Big Mac during a lesson to Greece. The pupil, hanging out on the island of Kos, needed a graphic representation of my hands braving a few difficult measures in Bach's Little Fugue in C Major, BWV 952. It's the composition where the composer challenges the player to…