Category: scales

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When a piano student is not working up to potential, the meeting and e-mail that are needed…

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I was reminded by a reader of my post titled, "When love for the piano dies.." and in that particular writing I focused on situations where certain pressures brought by parents and/or the piano teacher can trigger practicing avoidance, leading to the obvious, piano lesson termination. In these scenarios, mom or dad may live through… Continue reading When a piano student is not working up to potential, the meeting and e-mail that are needed…

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Piano Technique: Practicing a difficult section in Beethoven’s Sonata Pathetique, Op. 13, movement 1 (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Some piano teachers prefer to improve a student's technique by selecting difficult passages from the mainstream piano literature rather than assign a load of scales, arpeggios and chords that journey around the Circle of Fifths. I still believe the best foundation upon which to build a solid understanding of the piano repertoire is by studying… Continue reading Piano Technique: Practicing a difficult section in Beethoven’s Sonata Pathetique, Op. 13, movement 1 (Video)

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Piano Technique: Boosting the Left Hand (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I'm always in awe of pianists whose left hand is equal to the right hand in dexterity, expression, power and reliability. It's the switch hitter thing that's mind-boggling as it also applies to sports. Creaming a ball and sending it into the bleachers from either side of the plate is no small wonder. Mickey Mantle… Continue reading Piano Technique: Boosting the Left Hand (Video)

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Piano Lesson: Playing into “putty” to acquire a singing tone legato–An 8-year old gets deep in the keys (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I decided to explore a variation of Irina Gorin's "jello" image to teach an 8-year old how to produce a deep, resonant singing tone. She'd been studying piano with me for two years and relished the opportunity to plunge her tiny fingers into a wad of putty that I had acquired at the Dollar store.… Continue reading Piano Lesson: Playing into “putty” to acquire a singing tone legato–An 8-year old gets deep in the keys (Video)

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Piano Lesson: Shaping scales and arpeggios with syllables and tempo prompts (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

In this video segment, a 10-year old student warmed up with 3 forms of the D minor scale played in contrary motion in 16ths followed by 32nds. Syllable prompts helped shape these and kept them rhythmically framed. (Tempo variations were enlisted to smooth out playings) With arpeggios, we usually chunk "tunnels" through which the thumb… Continue reading Piano Lesson: Shaping scales and arpeggios with syllables and tempo prompts (Video)

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The Complete Piano Work-out in 3 parts (Videos)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

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)

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More ideas about Piano Technique and Mental Imagery (Playing into a Bowl of Molasses)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

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)

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Learning and Memorizing Clementi Sonatina in C, Op. 36, No. 1, Mvt. 1 (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

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/

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Piano Technique and Weight Control: Bringing out and balancing voices (Video) Teacher, Shirley Kirsten

arioso7: 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

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How to Improve Sight-reading at the Piano

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

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