Category Archives: singing tone legato

Piano Technique: A Bouncy Scale workout with forward arm rolls and supple wrist motions–Enjoy the romp! (Videos)

Posted on May 3, 2012 by

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 … Continue reading →

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Abby Whiteside and playing beyond the fingers as a point of departure (Videos)

Posted on February 26, 2012 by

From WIKI: Abby Whiteside (1881–1956) was an influential American piano teacher. She challenged the finger-centric approach of much classical piano teaching and instead advocated a holistic attitude in which the arm and torso are the conductors of a musical image … Continue reading →

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Teaching Gillock’s delightfully appealing, Later Elementary Level music: “The Glass Slipper” (Video)

Posted on February 4, 2012 by

I have no reservation about the immense teaching value of William Gillock’s music from elementary through advanced levels. And while the titles in the first few volumes appeal to children, the pieces can be universally enjoyed by piano students of … Continue reading →

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Playing through Chopin’s B minor Waltz with its sighing motif (Video commentary)

Posted on February 2, 2012 by

Last night I sat myself down at my imperfectly regulated Steinway M grand and managed to sigh several times through torrents of phrases crafted by design and inspiration to tug at the heartstrings. And in the video below, I journeyed … Continue reading →

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A Lesson in Progress with an adult student: Debussy Arabesque No. 1 (shaping, looping, wrist dips, swinging elbows in and out) VIDEO

Posted on December 23, 2011 by

By all accounts, this hard-working pupil should be the next “Student of the Week” because of his six continuous years of applied practicing that has brought him from playing the Clementi Sonatina in C, Op. 36 for which he suffered … Continue reading →

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A Skyped supplement to piano lessons (Video)

Posted on December 20, 2011 by

Here’s an example of a Bay area student taking a Skyped piano lesson to supplement her regular weekly meetings with me. These work well, particularly if a pupil has to catch up from a vacation period absence, or needs reinforcement … Continue reading →

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Mozart memories, reflections and revisits (Videos)

Posted on December 11, 2011 by

Andante: second movement, Mozart Sonata K. 545 played on my Steinway, 1917, M. **** My relationship to Mozart and his music began with the violin. At the Merrywood Music Camp in Lenox, Massachusetts, only a stone’s throw from Tanglewood, I … Continue reading →

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