Scales can be a great workout routine if you let your arms loose, dip your pliant wrists and go with the flow. And it's a great cardio. (No treadmill or weights required) Just apply principles of balance and buoyancy. Here are snatches from an adult student's lesson (Legato and staccato playing with slow motion replays)… Continue reading Piano Technique: A Bouncy Scale workout with forward arm rolls and supple wrist motions–Enjoy the romp! (Videos)
Category: scale fingerings
Piano Technique: More wrist-forward rolling motion in Sonatina by Clementi Op. 36 no. 1 Vivace (Videos)
In two videos, I flesh out the need for a rolling forward wrist motion in playing the last movement of Clementi's well-known Sonatina in C, vivace. In addition, a 3/8 meter designation in rapid tempo requires the "feeling" of ONE impulse per measure not three. And this sense of ONENESS suggests CIRCLES of motion which… Continue reading Piano Technique: More wrist-forward rolling motion in Sonatina by Clementi Op. 36 no. 1 Vivace (Videos)
Warm-up routines with an adult piano student (Video)
This pupil is into her fourth year of study and plays the Chopin Waltz in A minor, and Beethoven's "Fur Elise." Here is a sample of our weekly warm-up routine using pentascales (five finger positions) in Major and minor, followed by a designated 4 octave scale built up from quarters, to 8ths, to triplets, to… Continue reading Warm-up routines with an adult piano student (Video)
The Complete Piano Work-out in 3 parts (Videos)
Most of my late intermediate and advanced students know the routine at lessons. The first twenty minutes are spent warming up in the Key they've been assigned the previous week. Once seated at the piano, they're ready for a challenging kinetic whirl around the keyboard as scales and arpeggios dance through the cosmos in various… Continue reading The Complete Piano Work-out in 3 parts (Videos)
More ideas about Piano Technique and Mental Imagery (Playing into a Bowl of Molasses)
Continuing my practice of videotaping my Thursday evening lesson, I reviewed the footage and discovered some catch words that helped me clarify ideas about technique and fluency. While it may sound a bit outlandish to think of the piano as a "bowl of molasses," the image alone helped my adult student approach the keys with… Continue reading More ideas about Piano Technique and Mental Imagery (Playing into a Bowl of Molasses)
Learning and Memorizing Clementi Sonatina in C, Op. 36, No. 1, Mvt. 1 (Video)
I begin by playing the Sonatina, first movement and then I map out the composition to advance thoughtful learning and memorization. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNuMbp_q9X0 RELATED: https://arioso7.wordpress.com/2011/06/17/memorization-at-the-piano-how-to-improve-your-skills/
Piano Technique and Weight Control: Bringing out and balancing voices (Video) Teacher, Shirley Kirsten
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCck4ZFNeQI When students do routine scales and arpeggios as warm-ups to their tour de force pieces, I like to spice things up a bit by playing around with voicing and weight control. (Yes, you heard me right) I'll surprise them by asking for the Left hand notes to be fleshed out, while the Right ones… Continue reading Piano Technique and Weight Control: Bringing out and balancing voices (Video) Teacher, Shirley Kirsten
How to Improve Sight-reading at the Piano
A universal complaint among piano students relates to sight-reading. They find themselves stumbling through the first playing of a brand new piece, not knowing if an end is in sight. The faltering, (wrong note, right note in treble and bass clefs) can keep a "reader" so contained in one measure at a time, if not… Continue reading How to Improve Sight-reading at the Piano
Scouting a Piano Teacher
I have to thank "Lisa" for generating this idea for a new blog. Sometimes, the fountain runs dry until a student experience, teacher-related crisis, or musical event renew the supply. Let me think about this whole issue of picking and choosing the "right" piano teacher. (Applies to adult student-seekers as well) Hmm... I probably covered… Continue reading Scouting a Piano Teacher
Letting my hair down with a snatch of “Let It Be!” (VIDEO)
The piano room was a mess yesterday with music strewn about. Two '60-'70's era Beatles albums were excavated from a pile of sheet music, hard bound theory texts, and Urtext editions of Beethoven's sonatas. Foraging a big carton of stuff like this was a trip down memory lane. My very old Yamaha guitar, a prized… Continue reading Letting my hair down with a snatch of “Let It Be!” (VIDEO)