Mozart, pianist, piano, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano instruction, piano lessson, piano playing, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, playing piano with expression, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, Sonata in A Major K. 331 by Mozart, whole body listening, whole body music listening, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

The Most Heavenly Piano Music?

Mozart's Theme from his A Major Sonata, K. 331, and Beethoven's Adagio from the Sonata "Pathetique," Op. 13, for me, have two of the most hauntingly beautiful melodies in the piano literature. In particular, Mozart's opening theme that threads through the composer's innovative first movement in Variation form, is a lilting lullaby, played in TWO,… Continue reading The Most Heavenly Piano Music?

Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, phrasing at the piano, pianist, pianists, piano, piano addict, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano pedagogy, piano playing, piano playing and phrasing, piano playing and relaxation, piano playing and the singing tone, piano practicing, piano repertoire, piano study, piano teacher, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano teaching repertoire, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, playing the piano with a singing tone, Rina takes piano lessons, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, slow mindful practicing, slow piano practicing, Steinway M grand piano, studying piano, supple wrist in piano playing, teaching a piano student about melody, teaching piano, teaching piano to children, the art of piano playing, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Lesson planning for a 5-year old piano student–(Video)

Rina who's into her sixth month of study, is ready to learn dotted-half notes. Up to now, she's been saturated with black and white cardboard circles included within a packet along with Irina Gorin's Tales of a Musical Journey instruction. The black notes (quarters) are known as "short" sounds, and the white ones (Half-notes), "long-sounds"… Continue reading Lesson planning for a 5-year old piano student–(Video)

pianist, pianists, piano, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano playing, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano technique, piano technique and the singing tone, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing staccato, playing staccato at the piano, playing the piano, scales and arpeggios, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, slow mindful practicing, slow piano practicing, studying piano, supple wrist in piano playing, swinging arms in playing piano, teaching piano, teaching piano to adult students, teaching piano to children, teaching piano to teens, technique, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Piano Technique: Two nifty warm-up routines, one loopy, the other for zig-zaggers

Claudia, 11, and I do a 20-minute warm-up before she tackles repertoire at her weekly lesson. Today I snatched two routines that might help others with the time-honored, upper arm roll, supple wrist, and elbow swing. Just my bias showing about technique and what I favor in its development. I've presented this one before, but… Continue reading Piano Technique: Two nifty warm-up routines, one loopy, the other for zig-zaggers

acoustic piano, Evgeni Bozhanov, Haddorff piano, musical cat, phrasing at the piano, pianist, pianists, piano, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano buyer, piano finding, piano finding adventure, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano keyboard, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano lessson, piano playing and phrasing, piano playing and the singing tone, piano study, piano teacher, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano teaching repertoire, Piano World, piano world-wide, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, private party marketplace of pianos, private party piano sale, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace, publishersmarketplace.com, Roland digital, Roland digital piano, RolandF110, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, Skype, skyped piano lessons, Skyping piano lessons, Steinway grand piano, Steinway M grand, teaching an adult student, teaching Beethoven Fur Elise, teaching Fur Elise, teaching piano, teaching piano to adult students, teaching piano to children, teaching piano to teenagers, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, virtual piano lessons, virtual piano teaching, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, Wurlitzer piano, Yamaha Arius YDP141, Yamaha Clavinova, Yamaha Disclavier, you tube, you tube video

More and more “piano” students are going Digital. Is it a good idea?

It's sad but true that a glut of former piano buyers who would have considered piano lessons for their children at age 7 or so, have made the choice to invest in a DIGITAL. (known as a DP) Of further testimony to the culture's relatively new fixation on electronic piano technology, are the 35,000 plus… Continue reading More and more “piano” students are going Digital. Is it a good idea?

Fur Elise by Beethoven, pianists, piano, piano addict, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano lessson, piano pedagogy, piano playing and breathing, piano playing and phrasing, piano playing and relaxation, piano repertoire, piano student, piano teacher, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano technique, piano tutorial, piano virtuosos, piano warm-ups, Piano World, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, playing piano with expression, playing the piano, playing the piano with a singing tone, practicing difficult piano passages, practicing piano with relaxation, practicing the left hand at the piano, producing a singing tone legato at the piano, relaxed arms in piano playing, rotation in piano playing, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, sight-singing, slow mindful practicing, slow piano practicing, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, studying piano, teaching Beethoven Fur Elise, teaching piano, teaching piano to adult students, technique, the art of piano playing, video instruction, video performances, video supplementation of piano lessons, videotaping at piano lessons, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Piano Lesson: An adult student continues her Beethoven “Fur Elise” learning process (Video)

These are excerpts from today's lesson where we covered: 1. Broken chord blocking; refreshing inversions of the Tonic as applied to practicing Fur Elise. 2. Voice balancing: fleshing out the treble (soprano) melody, on page 2 (F Major section) Using supple wrist and hand rotation; relaxation of arms. 3. C section--with repeated bass notes, alternating… Continue reading Piano Lesson: An adult student continues her Beethoven “Fur Elise” learning process (Video)

arioso 7, arpeggios for the piano, classissima.com, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, phrasing at the piano, pianist, pianists, piano, piano addict, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano lessson, piano pedagogoy, piano playing, piano playing and breathing, piano playing and phrasing, piano playing and the singing tone, piano practicing, piano study, piano teacher, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano technique, piano technique and the singing tone, piano tutorial, piano warm-ups, Piano World, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, scales for the piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, video instruction, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

The complete WEIGHT VARIED, WEIGHT CONTROLLED Piano workout with Cardio benefit (Video)

Here it is! The latest approach to building a full-bodied piano technique without taking Protein supplements, or gagging on raw eggs. You might even shed a few pounds if you're committed to the regimen. But don't run scared when you see me going into fast forward. That's the AFTER, not the BEFORE. I did my… Continue reading The complete WEIGHT VARIED, WEIGHT CONTROLLED Piano workout with Cardio benefit (Video)

Aiden Cat, cat, feline, J.S. Bach Fugue in C minor BWV 847, Oberlin Conservatory, pianist, pianists, piano, piano addict, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano lessson, piano pedagogy, piano playing, piano playing and breathing, piano playing and phrasing, piano playing and relaxation, piano playing and the singing tone, piano practicing, Piano Street, piano student, piano teacher, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano teaching repertoire, piano technique, piano technique and the singing tone, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, Skype, skyped piano lessons, teaching piano, teaching piano to adults, teaching piano to children, teaching piano to teens, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, Yeti mic, Yeti microphone, you tube, you tube video

J.S. Bach Fugue/Piano Lesson in Progress, (BWV 847 in C minor) plus Aiden Cat begs for affection, feeling left out (Videos)

Claudia, 11, continued practicing Bach's Fugue in C minor, (Well-Tempered Clavier) following a break for the Baroque Festival. We had intensified study of the Prelude in preparation for this event. For today's lesson, our work encompassed the Fugue opening through measure 20. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W55yctLJcWw The manuscript below incorporates the theoretical mapping of Jose Rodriguez Alvira http://www.teoria.com/articulos/analysis/BWV847/index.htm… Continue reading J.S. Bach Fugue/Piano Lesson in Progress, (BWV 847 in C minor) plus Aiden Cat begs for affection, feeling left out (Videos)

arioso7, blogger, blogging, blogging about piano, blogs about piano, El Cerrito California, Franz Josef Haydn, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, Minuet in D Major by Haydn, pianist, piano, piano instruction, piano lessons, piano teacher, piano teaching, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, playing piano with expression, playing staccato, the first piano lesson with a new student, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

The very first lesson with a new Intermediate or advanced piano student: thinking creatively on your feet

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet a new adult piano student who had studied for a few years. Besides having this basic, preliminary information, I had no other tangible clues about her level of playing. The suspense of not knowing what music she would bring was lifted when two contrasting era works… Continue reading The very first lesson with a new Intermediate or advanced piano student: thinking creatively on your feet

pianist, pianists, piano, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lessons, piano lessson, piano pedagogy, piano playing, piano playing and phrasing, piano practicing, piano student, piano study, piano teacher, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano teaching repertoire, piano technique, Piano World, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano with expression, playing staccato, playing the piano, playing the piano with a singing tone, Robert Schumann, scales, Schumann, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, slow mindful practicing, slow piano practicing, studying piano, teaching piano, Wild Rider by Schumann, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Piano Technique: Exploring contrasting emotions when practicing a piece (as Daniil Trifonov, pianist, recommended in his videotaped interview)

I put into "practice" one of Trifonov's recommendations, as I mentored a second year piano student this evening. We started the lesson by playing "happy" and then "angry" consecutive staccato thirds. ("Hopping" from Dozen a Day) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaGlz5pKDZI Eventually after completing our scale and other technical routines, we applied the emotion shifts to the opening of… Continue reading Piano Technique: Exploring contrasting emotions when practicing a piece (as Daniil Trifonov, pianist, recommended in his videotaped interview)

Bach Invention, Bach Inventions, Daniil Trifonov, Fresno California, J.S. Bach, J.S. Bach Invention 13 in A minor, J.S. Bach Prelude in C minor BWV 847, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, MTAC Baroque Festival, Philipp Lorenz Memorial Keyboard Concerts, pianist, pianists, piano, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessson, piano pedagogy, piano practicing, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano technique, Piano World, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, slow mindful practicing, slow piano practicing, studying piano, teaching piano, teaching piano to children, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

A Music Packed Saturday and Sunday! (Video) and NEW PHOTOS!

The MTAC Baroque Festival and Daniil Trifonov's recital at Fresno State cap this weekend's events, giving our city a warm cultural embrace amidst its Bulldog-driven sports fever! First on the line-up, Claudia, 11, will play the Yamaha concert grand piano at the University's recital hall today.(The Steinway is sequestered) She'll offer two Bach selections: Invention… Continue reading A Music Packed Saturday and Sunday! (Video) and NEW PHOTOS!