Category Archives: POWHOW.com

Piano Technique: Focusing on Rotation in arpeggios, and building up a scale (Videos)

Posted on May 27, 2012 by

These are two supplementary videos that I created for adult students between lessons. As previously mentioned, they clarify and reinforce the content of our class, and map out ways to practice. I. ROTATION at the turnaround of a B minor … Continue reading →

Posted in adult piano students, arioso7, blog, blogger, blogging, blogging about piano, blogs about piano, Circle of Fifths, classissima, classissima.com, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano lessons, El Cerrito piano studio, finger staccato, fingering and phrasing at the piano, fingering and piano technique, Journey of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, keyboard technique, MTAC, Oberlin, Oberlin Conservatory, pianist, piano, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano practicing motivators, piano scales and arpeggios, piano study, piano teacher, piano technique, piano technique and the singing tone, piano warm-ups, Piano World, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, playing legato at the piano, playing piano with expression, playing staccato at the piano, playing the piano, playing the piano with long nails, POWHOW, POWHOW instruction, POWHOW piano instruction, POWHOW.com, practicing scales and arpeggios, rotation in piano playing, rotation in piano practicing, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Growing piano technique in baby steps: Rina, 5, advances to hands together five-finger positions (adding in 10ths)

Posted on May 10, 2012 by

Rina may not know the words “pentascales” and “tenths,” but she has the intelligence to notice when her fingers move up and down together, playing the same notes an “octave” apart. With a sound knowledge of the music alphabet in … Continue reading →

Posted in "Tales of a Musical Journey" by Irina Gorin, acoustic piano, arioso 7, blog, blogger, blogging, blogging about piano, blogs about piano, children's music, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano instruction, El Cerrito piano studio, emotion in music, fingering and phrasing at the piano, fingering and piano technique, five finger positions at the piano, five finger warm-ups, Irina Gorin, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, Just Being at the Piano by Mildred Portney-Chase, legato playing at the piano, mental imagery, mindful piano practicing, mindful practicing, molto cantabile, MTAC, MTAC.org, New York City, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin, Oberlin Conservatory, pentascales, phrasing at the piano, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano playing, piano playing and relaxation, piano practicing, piano studio in El Cerrito, piano study, piano teacher, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing five-finger positions, playing legato at the piano, playing piano, playing staccato, playing staccato at the piano, playing the piano, POWHOW, POWHOW instruction, POWHOW piano instruction, POWHOW.com, practicing a piece in 7 different emotions, practicing arpeggios, practicing piano, practicing piano with relaxation, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace, Rina, Rina 4 takes piano lessons, Rina takes piano lessons, rotation in piano playing, scales, shirley kirsten piano teacher in El Cerrito, Shirley Kirsten teaches classes at POWHOW, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Skype a piano lesson to Australia, Skype piano lessons, slow mindful practicing, slow piano practicing, teaching piano to young children, teaching Rina piano, teachinig piano to young children, technique, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Excerpts from my POWHOW TOP NOTCH TONE TUTORIAL! (webcam piano instruction)

Posted on April 29, 2012 by

Snatches from our first class! We’re working on sculpting a beautiful musical line in a five-finger position. RELATED: http://www.powhow.com/classes/shirley-kirsten A POWER Piano POWHOW LAUNCH: https://arioso7.wordpress.com/2012/04/28/a-power-piano-powhow-launch-live-webcam-class-instruction/ AVOIDING PENCIL POINT PLAYING https://arioso7.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/piano-technique-avoiding-pencil-point-playing/

Posted in pianist, piano, piano instruction, piano lessons, Piano Street, piano teaching, Piano World, piano world-wide, playing piano, POWHOW piano instruction, POWHOW.com, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten certified piano instructor at POWHOW, Shirley Smith Kirsten | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Power Piano Powhow Launch! (LIVE webcam class instruction)

Posted on April 28, 2012 by

My first POWHOW class, “Top Notch Tone Tutorial,” brought a group of piano enthusiasts who appeared in their own unique “boxes” eager to learn about touch, tone, and nuance. An inspired pooch even chimed in off camera, but was quickly … Continue reading →

Posted in Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, learning piano, LIVE webcam piano classes, Live webcam piano classes given by Shirley Kirsten, pianist, piano, piano instruction, piano lessons, playing piano, POWHOW, POWHOW.com, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, teaching piano | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Piano Instruction: Pastorale in D Major, K. 415 by Domenico Scarlatti, a stepwise approach

Posted on April 27, 2012 by

The Pastorale in D, included in Margery Halford’s Scarlatti, An Introduction to his Keyboard Works, poses significant musical challenges. In the technical realm, the composer has a tricky landscape of two-note legato figures as offbeats in the treble, and these … Continue reading →

Posted in Baroque keyboard music, classissima, classissima.com, Domenico Scarlatti, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, Margery Halford Scarlatti an Inroduc tion to his Keyboard Works, pianist, piano, piano instruction, piano lessons, Piano Street, Piano World, playing piano, POWHOW.com, Scarlatti Pastorale in D K. 415, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, teaching the works of Domenico Scarlatti, The art of phrasing at the piano, the art of piano playing, video piano instruction, videotaped piano instruction, virtual piano lessons, virtual piano teaching, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, you tube video, yout tube, youtube.com | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Piano Instruction: “Ballade” by Burgmuller– phrase contouring and curves of energy (Videos)

Posted on April 25, 2012 by

Burgmuller’s Ballade from his Opus 100 Progressive Piano Pieces is often coined “spooks” because of its Halloween-like opener. Composed in 3/8 time, it moves along in ONE, though the performer should not over-emphasize the first beat in each measure. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Burgmuller, Burgmuller's Op. 100 Twenty-Five Progressive Pieces, Friedrich Burgmuller, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano lessons, Piano Street, piano teaching repertoire, Piano World, POWHOW.com, Romantic era piano music, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, teaching piano, word press, wordpress.com, you tube | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Piano Technique: Practicing an E Major Arpeggio during a lesson-in-progress (Video with tips on creating a rolling contour)

Posted on April 19, 2012 by

This piano student will gain a lot by reviewing footage taken at her lesson. It provides a practicing framework that zeroes in on the physical/musical aspects of creating a contoured arpeggio. Here’s video where I’m teaching Sakura, 13, who’s studied … Continue reading →

Posted in Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, pianist, piano, piano instruction, piano lessons, piano teaching, piano technique, playing piano, POWHOW, POWHOW.com, practicing arpeggios, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, word press, word press.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments