Category: scales

Album for the Young, athletic training, Bay area, California, cat, cats, cd baby, cdbaby, children's music, Children's pieces, classical music, Clowns by Kabalevsky, Creative Fresno, dream piano, Faber Primer Piano Adventures, Facebook, five finger positions, five finger warm-ups, Gallop by Kabalevsky, games, gymnastics, humor, Kabalevsky, Kabalevsky Op. 39 Children's pieces, Major and minor scales, MTAC, music teachers association, music teachers association of california, music teachers associationo of California, Music Teachers Asssociation of California, Music Together, Musictogether.com, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, old upright, pentachords, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano finding, piano finding adventure, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano pedagogy, piano room, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano teacher, piano warm-ups, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld.com, ping pong, ping pong balls, Randall Faber, scales, Schumann's Album for the Young, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Steinway and Sons, Steinway grand piano, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway studio upright, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, technique, Theory, used piano, used pianos, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

The Joy of Teaching Piano to Young Children (Videos)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyY3XSl5Wuc Starting a very young child on a musical journey is joyful, exciting and challenging. The first baby steps taken at the piano will be memorable for both teacher and student, so careful thought and preparation are needed. At the very outset, I believe in nurturing an awareness of the singing tone and how it… Continue reading The Joy of Teaching Piano to Young Children (Videos)

Aeolian piano, Album for the Young, Amsterdam Avenue and 74th Street, antique pianos, antiques, authorsden, bluebookofpianos.com, cd baby, cdbaby, children's music, Children's pieces, Classical era, classical music, dream piano, Facebook, Fig Garden Village, five finger positions, five finger warm-ups, Fresno, Fresno California, humor, keyboard technique, Major Deegan Highway, Marble Hill Projects, memoir, music, music history, music teachers association, music teachers association of california, music teachers associationo of California, Needle Park, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Northwest Bronx, Northwest Fresno, Oberlin Conservatory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Old Fig Garden in Fresno, old upright, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano finding, piano lesson, piano pedagogy, piano room, piano society, Piano Street, piano teacher, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, Pierce Piano Atlas, public school 122, satire, scales, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Sohmer upright, Steinway and Sons, Steinway console, Steinway grand piano, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, Steinway studio upright, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, uk-piano-forums, used piano, used pianos, West San Ramon Fresno, word press, wordpress.com

Housing my Dream Pianos

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I grew up in the Marble Hill projects of the Bronx and lived on the ninth floor. The walls of our housing development were so paper thin that when I practiced on my Sohmer 1922 studio upright, my first dream piano, it would elicit nerve-racking thumps from the neighbor down below. To my embarrassment, I… Continue reading Housing my Dream Pianos

20th Century music, Album for the Young, California, Clowns by Kabalevsky, counterpoint, Creative Fresno, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, five finger positions, five finger warm-ups, Fresno Famous, Gallop by Kabalevsky, gymnastics, humor, Kabalevsky Op. 39 Children's pieces, keyboard technique, Major and minor scales, music, music teachers association, music teachers association of california, music teachers associationo of California, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, pentachords, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano finding, piano lesson, piano pedagogy, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano technique, piano warm-ups, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, Romantic music, scales, Schumann's Album for the Young, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Steinway and Sons, Steinway console, Steinway grand piano, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, Steinway studio upright, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, technique, Theory, video performances, Wild Rider by Schumann, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Piano Instruction: Favorite Children’s Pieces (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I've highlighted three favorite children's pieces by Dimitri Kabalevsky and Robert Schumann that are very catchy, colorful and harmonically engaging. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suVPK_RDxM8 They fall into the category of programmatic music because the character of the compositions match the titles. Even though Schumann and Kabalevsky dedicated their compositions to a youthful generation, the music is quite sophisticated… Continue reading Piano Instruction: Favorite Children’s Pieces (Video)

American Cancer Society Discovery Shop, arpeggios, athletic training, Bay area, California, cd baby, cdbaby, Classical era, classical music, diminished chords, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, Facebook, five finger positions, five finger warm-ups, Fresno, Fresno California, Fresno Famous, gymnastics, music teachers association, music teachers association of california, my space, pianist, piano, piano pedagogy, piano scales, piano technique, piano tutorial, piano warm-ups, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, ping pong, ping pong balls, pyrotechnical exercises, scales, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Steinway and Sons, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, technique, Theory, Uncategorized, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Piano Instruction: Playing Diminished 7th chords and arpeggios (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVZyIhTXmag In order to understand how a diminished chord is formed a student needs to know the difference between a Major and minor third. A Major third has two consecutive whole steps from a starting note so for example, C to E creates a Major third. If a student sings C to D to E,… Continue reading Piano Instruction: Playing Diminished 7th chords and arpeggios (Video)

Aeolian piano, antique pianos, antiques, appraisal piano, arpeggios, Ashburnham, athletic training, authorsden, Bach Invention, Bach Prelude in C Major, Bach Two Part Inventions, Baldwin piano, Baroque music, Beethoven, Beethoven Moonlight Sonata, bluebookofpianos.com, boxing, Brahms, cabinet grand, California, Caroline Scheer, Casio, casio privia 110, cast iron piano plate, cat, Cato, cats, cd baby, cdbaby, Chesterfields, Chopin, Chopin Etude, Christian Zimerman, Classical era, classical music, Classical period sonata, Clavinova, Clinkscale's Makers of the Piano, Connell York, counterpoint, cracked piano plate, Craigs List, CVP509, digital piano, digital pianos, Domenico Scarlatti, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, electronic keyboard, estate sale, Exposition in piano sonata, Facebook, feline, felines, Fig Garden Village, five finger positions, five finger warm-ups, Fresno, Fresno California, Fresno designated landmark, Fresno Famous, Fresno Historical Society, Fresno miniseries, Fresno Piano Store, Fresno State Bulldogs, Fur Elise, General McArthur, Geneva International, great pianists, Guitar Center, humor, Infantry, Irwin Freundlich, J. Fritz piano, J.S. Bach, Japanese Music Institute Berkeley CA, JS Bach, Juilliard, Kawai, keyboard technique, Knight piano, Larry Fine, Lillian Freundlich, Liz on Top of the World, Major and minor scales, Masayuki Koga, Massachusetts, Massachussetts, memoir, mice, Mozart, Mozart sonata in C K545, Murray Perahia, music, music history, musicology, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Okinawa, old upright, Pacific Citizen, Paderewski, Patricia Frederick, Peabody Conservatory, pentachords, pentatonic song, Peter Wolf, pianist, piano, piano auction, piano finding, piano finding adventure, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano maintenance, piano pedagogoy, piano pedagogy, piano repair, piano restoration, piano room, piano scales, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano teacher, piano technician, piano technician's guild, piano technique, piano tuner, piano tuning, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, Santa Monica, satire, scales, Scarlatti, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, snowboard, snowboarding, Steinway and Sons, Steinway console, Steinway grand piano, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, technique, tennis, Terry Barrett, The devil in music, The Frederick Collection, The Meux Home, The Piano Book, The Well Tempered Clavier, Theory, trills, tritone, Tschaikovsky, Tulare and R Street, uk-piano-forums, Uncategorized, US Army, used piano, used pianos, veterans, vets, Victor Thasiah, video performances, Visalia California, Visalia Piano Gallery, Vladimir Horowitz, Waltzing Matilda, Weber upright piano, Well Tempered Clavier, West San Ramon Fresno, Wieser upright piano, Wolf Sound Studio, word press, wordpress.com, World War II, Wurlitzer piano, Yamaha Disclavier, Yamaha Disklavier, Yamaha piano, Yokohama, York, you tube, you tube video

DREAM PIANO: Overview and Acknowledgments

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

My two-year long romp on the piano finding trail with York as my professional companion and consultant had been worth all the time spent in, around and under pianos. How else would I have acquired knowledge about the piano’s harp, or cast iron plate were it not for his having the bravado to dismantle it… Continue reading DREAM PIANO: Overview and Acknowledgments

arpeggios, Classical era, classical music, Classical period sonata, counterpoint, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, humor, Mozart, Mozart sonata in C K545, MTAC, music, music history, musicology, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, pianist, piano, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano pedagogy, piano room, piano scales, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano teacher, piano technique, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, Rondo form, scales, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Steinway and Sons, Steinway grand piano, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, technique, Theory, Uncategorized, video performances, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Piano Instruction: Mozart Rondo: Allegretto, 3rd mvt. Sonata in C, K. 545

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6oSo-WC9OM http://youtu.be/Meb-yhioUIo In this instructional video I analyze the form and musical content of Mozart's Sonata in C Major, K. 545, Rondo: Allegretto, Third movement. (I play behind tempo to make the commentary and musical phrases more understandable) The Rondo, more often than not, is the form used in the last movement of a Classical… Continue reading Piano Instruction: Mozart Rondo: Allegretto, 3rd mvt. Sonata in C, K. 545

California, classical music, Classical period sonata, Connell York, Facebook, Fresno, Fresno California, Fresno Famous, Fresno Piano Store, Geneva International, humor, Kawai, Larry Fine, Mr. York, MTAC, music, NAMM, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Nordiska, Oberlin Conservatory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Peter Wolf, photos, pianist, piano, piano finding, piano finding adventure, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano repair, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano teacher, piano technique, piano tuner, piano tuning, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, Pierce Piano Atlas, satire, scales, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Steinway and Sons, Steinway grand piano, Steinway piano, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, technique, The Piano Book, uk-piano-forums, Uncategorized, used piano, used pianos, Visalia California, Visalia Piano Gallery, Wolf Sound Studio, word press, wordpress.com, York

Recording on a SLEEPER Dream Piano

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

On a whim, I had decided to make an hour long trip to Visalia about 50 miles south of Fresno to sniff out the stock over at the “Piano Gallery.” (This was before it went out of business) A medium size establishment in an upscale shopping mall, it was owned by “Ginnadiy Merkerin,” a Russian… Continue reading Recording on a SLEEPER Dream Piano

arpeggios, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, five finger positions, five finger warm-ups, Fresno, Fresno California, gymnastics, keyboard technique, Major and minor scales, MTAC, music, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, pentachords, pianist, piano, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano pedagogy, piano scales, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano teacher, piano technique, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, pyrotechnical exercises, scales, Teach Street, technique, Uncategorized, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Piano Instruction: Five finger warm-ups in Major and minor (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Most piano students can begin playing five finger major and minor positions between the 6th and 9th month of lessons, if not sooner. Young children learning the basic symbols of notation and rhythm may need a longer period before embarking upon these exercises, although in Faber's "Piano's Adventures," Primer level, a five finger warm-up appears… Continue reading Piano Instruction: Five finger warm-ups in Major and minor (Video)

Aimi Kobayashi, Brahms, Elaine Comparone, Glenn Gould, great pianists, Johannes Brahms, keyboard technique, Liszt, Murray Perahia, music history, Myra Hess, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, pianist, piano, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano teacher, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, scales, Scarlatti, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Steinway and Sons, Steinway console, Steinway grand piano, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, technique, uk-piano-forums, Uncategorized, video performances, Vladimir Horowitz, word press, wordpress.com, Yamaha piano, you tube, you tube video

My Favorite Video Performances of Beloved Pianists: Do you have some to share? (UPDATED)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Update: Approaching still another New Year, I will add more favorite performances by pianists to the group: These inspiring players include Irina Morozova, Cyprien Katsaris, and Georgy Cziffra plus Yeol Eum Son playing Gershwin's "Embraceable You." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENgYKfy6WAs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYY47zdi8So http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdN95IQ83d8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhtDSpI_KVs ****** Since it's the New Year, here are some of my picks, though I'm a… Continue reading My Favorite Video Performances of Beloved Pianists: Do you have some to share? (UPDATED)

arpeggios, Beethoven, Chopin, Chopin Etude, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, Fresno, Fresno California, keyboard technique, Lillian Freundlich, Mozart, Mozart sonata in C K545, MTAC, Murray Perahia, music, music history, musicology, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Peabody Conservatory, pianist, piano, piano auction, piano finding, piano finding adventure, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano pedagogy, piano room, piano scales, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano teacher, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, scales, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, sports, Steinway and Sons, Steinway console, Steinway grand piano, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, Steinway studio upright, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, technique, trills, Uncategorized, used piano, used pianos, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Piano Lesson: An advanced adult Student plays Chopin Etude Op. 25, No. 9

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

We are practicing behind tempo because the student began studying this Chopin Etude Op. 25 No. 9 about two months ago. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzcBrwi6foY "Joy" took piano lessons as a child and young adult, and then had a period without instruction. She started studying with me almost three years ago, and in that time we have explored… Continue reading Piano Lesson: An advanced adult Student plays Chopin Etude Op. 25, No. 9