Category: piano lessons in Berkeley California

acoustic piano, adult piano lessons, piano instructional videos, piano lessons, piano lessons by webcam, piano lessons in Berkeley California, piano technique and the singing tone, piano warm-ups, playing staccato

Piano Technique Tutorials abound this week!

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I often enjoy a splurge of self-produced technique videos to assist my teaching, and to clarify my latest insights. This week I examined Staccato playing, using weight transfer for dynamic variation, as I employed a legato "floating arm" as a model for snipping out a stream of well-connected, scale-wise detached notes. In this undertaking, I'd… Continue reading Piano Technique Tutorials abound this week!

piano lesson, piano lessons, piano lessons in Berkeley California, piano lessons on the web, piano pedagogy, piano practicing, piano teachers, piano teaching

Our individual musical study grows our piano teaching

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

For the past year I've devoted many daily hours to the study J.S. Bach's six French Suites while simultaneously keeping pace with my students' passage through diverse repertoire. The decision to take on this additional musical challenge apart from meeting my basic teacher obligations of being present at lessons; knowing the material assigned, and dispensing… Continue reading Our individual musical study grows our piano teaching

piano instruction, piano instruction and rhythm, piano instruction by Skype, piano learning, piano lesson, piano lesson by Face Time, piano lesson by Skype, piano lessons by webcam, piano lessons in Berkeley California, piano lessons on the web

W.A. Mozart Minuets: Valuable Journeys of Discovery

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

It's easy to be dismissive of the Classical era Minuet form, though in the hands of a wunderkind like Mozart, a set of these 3/4 meter Binary dances springs to life with a myriad of embedded learning and performance challenges. For example, the Minuet in F Major, K. 2 composed by Mozart at age 6,… Continue reading W.A. Mozart Minuets: Valuable Journeys of Discovery

piano lessons, piano lessons by web cam, piano lessons by webcam, piano lessons in Berkeley California, piano lessons on Facetime, piano lessons on the web, piano mentoring, piano repertoire, piano teaching, Romantic era music, Romantic era phrasing, Romantic era piano music, Romantic era piano repertoire

The value of studying short Romantic era Character pieces

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Piano teachers often welcome the opportunity to use student repertoire requests as a springboard to nourish new learning adventures. Such pupil-driven musical endeavors can lead to deep-layered immersions in short, Romantically framed character pieces. The value of dipping into miniature variety compositions encompasses taking on a learning challenge in compact form. For example, Schumann's Album… Continue reading The value of studying short Romantic era Character pieces

blog metrics, blogger, blogging, blogging about piano, blogmetrics, Classical era, Classical music blog, Classical music piano blog, piano lessons, piano lessons by Skype, piano lessons in Berkeley California

“Listen to the Long Notes”

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Five words resonated profoundly through a Masterclass given by Pianist, Andras Schiff at the Juilliard School. They framed a myriad of movements in Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras. Three students offered selections by Bach, Schubert and Schumann. (The event was Live-streamed) While Beethoven did not grace the program, Maestro Schiff's mentoring had far-reaching implications for… Continue reading “Listen to the Long Notes”

Classical music blog, Classical music piano blog, classissima, classissima.com, piano, piano lessons by Face Time, piano lessons by Skype, piano lessons for adults, piano lessons in Berkeley California, piano lessons on the web, piano lessson, piano playing and relaxation, piano playing and the singing tone, youtube.com

When a Virtual Piano Student becomes a Reality!

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

A North Carolina ONLINE piano student comes to Berkeley, California for a LIVE lesson right before the Super Bowl!

breathing and piano lessons, classissima, Mozart, Mozart Sonata in Bb K. 281, Mozart Sonata in Bb K. 281 Rondeau, piano, piano addict, piano blog, piano blogs, piano instruction, piano lessons, piano lessons by Skype, piano lessons for adults, piano lessons in Berkeley California, piano lessons in El Cerrito California, piano practicing, piano student, piano technique, playing the piano, playing the piano with a singing tone, practicing difficult piano passages, practicing piano, practicing piano in slow tempo, practicing piano passages with rhythms, practicing piano with relaxation, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, Shirley Smth Kirsten, Skype piano lessons, skyped piano lessons, Steinway piano, Steinway pianos, supple wrist in piano playing, teaching a piano student about melody, teaching an adult student, teaching piano, teaching piano to adult students, teaching piano to adults, the art of piano playing, whole body listening, whole body music listening, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube video, you tube.com, youtube.com

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

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

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

classical music, classissima, classissima. om, ear training, Fundamentals of Piano Theory by Snell and Ashleigh, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, Mozart Sonata in C Major Rondo Allegretto, Mozart Sonata no. 16 in C Major K. 545, music theory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, pianist, piano, piano instruction, piano learning, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano lessons in Berkeley California, piano lessons in El Cerrito California, piano pedagogy, piano playing, word press, word press.com, wordpress, you tube video, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com

Ear Training and Transposing are intrinsic to piano lessons (examples from an Adult lesson in progress)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

It's not easy to plan a one hour piano lesson to include ear training, solfege and transposing. (They belong together, bundled with Theory, and enrich the learning environment) At the Oberlin Conservatory, Theory, Keyboard Harmony, and Eurhythmics were taught separately. Our piano teachers (applied study) adhered to their rigid routine, rarely fitting solfege, sight-reading, improvising,… Continue reading Ear Training and Transposing are intrinsic to piano lessons (examples from an Adult lesson in progress)

Burgmuller, Burgmuller 25 Progressive Pieces, Burgmuller Inquietude, classissima, classissima.com, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, piano, piano instruction, piano instruction by Skype, piano instructor, piano learning, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano lessons and parental support, piano lessons by Skype, piano lessons in Berkeley California, piano lessons in El Cerrito California, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, word press, word press.com, wordpress, you tube video, yout tube, youtube.com

Sister and brother piano lessons in the Hills

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

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… Continue reading Sister and brother piano lessons in the Hills

Baldwin Acrosonic piano, Chopin, Chopin pedaling, Chopin Waltz in A minor no. 19, classissima, classissima.com, El Cerrito California, pedaling at the piano, phrasing at the piano, piano addict, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano instrruction, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano lessons in Berkeley California, piano lessons in El Cerrito California, piano studio, piano studio in El Cerrito, piano teachers, piano technique, piano technique and breathing, Piano World, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, shirley kirsten pianist, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, Shirley Smth Kirsten, slow mindful practicing, slow piano practicing, studying piano, The art of phrasing at the piano, the art of piano pedaling, The El Cerrito Hills, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube video, you tube.com, yout tube, youtube.com

Into the Hills with the Sound of Music –a Baldwin Acrosonic “acoustic” sings

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

The video attached to this writing validates the beauty of music-making on a well-maintained, though 1940s vintage era acoustic piano. Baldwin Acrosonics were the Cadillacs of the spinet and console variety pianos. They had a noticeable innovation compared to their sister-size instruments. (A deeper sound chamber, especially noted in the consoles that measured 40" or… Continue reading Into the Hills with the Sound of Music –a Baldwin Acrosonic “acoustic” sings