Category: Steinway grand piano

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Piano Lesson: W.A. Mozart Rondo Alla Turca: Allegretto from Sonata, K.331 (Videos)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

In my instructional video, I discuss how Mozart's light-hearted Rondo is formed and ways to practice it. (The Rondo has a redundant "A" section, interspersed with contrasting B, C, D, etc. musical material) There's a dualism of "A" minor/"A" Major in this concluding movement, not to mention a very moving "D" section interlude in F#… Continue reading Piano Lesson: W.A. Mozart Rondo Alla Turca: Allegretto from Sonata, K.331 (Videos)

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A new member of the piano family has arrived: “Haddy,” 1951 is home! (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Yesterday was a sight to behold. My Haddorff, 1951, a stunning new acquisition, with an old world timbre (though it still needs a thorough maiden tuning in its new abode), was wheeled on a dolly, wrapped in blankets through the streets of Northwest Fresno. Traffic yielded, and two drivers jumped out with cameras. Two business… Continue reading A new member of the piano family has arrived: “Haddy,” 1951 is home! (Video)

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Piano Practicing: Re-doing and Refining

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Studying piano, playing through the great piano literature, requires revisiting, re-doing and refining our work. This undertaking should not carry a value judgment that what preceded was poor or inadequate. Those adjectives do not belong to the process of learning. After all, we do not fault babies for crawling before walking because we realize it's… Continue reading Piano Practicing: Re-doing and Refining

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Piano Instruction: Flexible wrist, rolling forward motion for shaping groups of notes in Burgmuller’s “Inquietude” (VIDEO)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEAm3TYmSIk I've chosen Burgmuller's E minor "Inquietude" (Restlessness) from the composer's Twenty-Five Progressive Pieces, to demonstrate a spring forward movement of the wrist used with groupings of three slurred 16th notes that permeate the selection. I also enlist syllables, "da-lee-dle" to assist with shaping the 3-note figures. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyzhVZJODn0 The Schirmer edition is below. I use… Continue reading Piano Instruction: Flexible wrist, rolling forward motion for shaping groups of notes in Burgmuller’s “Inquietude” (VIDEO)

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The Art of Phrasing at the Piano: Starting the process with Beginners (Videos)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

For some unexplained reason, my earliest piano studies never included the art of phrasing. My primer teacher stressed naming notes, finding them, affixing correct fingering and counting out robotic beats. I knew nothing about feeling a melodic landscape; putting the vocal model center stage in my playing, and breathing through contoured musical lines. My pieces… Continue reading The Art of Phrasing at the Piano: Starting the process with Beginners (Videos)

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Appealing piano repertoire for students: Ballade by Burgmuller (Video) and a Lesson-in-Progress

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

http://youtu.be/JKFxWVFRK4M A piece that's popular among piano students and often steers them back on course, is Burgmuller's "Ballade." In previous blogs, I highlighted "The Chase," "Harmony of the Angels," and "Tarentelle," from this Op. 100 Collection of 25 Progressive Pieces. Burgmuller's tableau in C minor, ("Ballade") seems to capture the spirit of Halloween in its… Continue reading Appealing piano repertoire for students: Ballade by Burgmuller (Video) and a Lesson-in-Progress

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Piano Technique: Thumb Shifts in Playing Scales and Arpeggios (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk7Bnd6xD9Y The great pianist, Josef Hofmann, imparted words of wisdom when he answered the following question posed by a student that related to the thumb and piano technique: "What is the matter with my scales? I cannot play them without a perceptible jerk when I use my thumb. How can I overcome the unevenness?" The… Continue reading Piano Technique: Thumb Shifts in Playing Scales and Arpeggios (Video)

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Piano Instruction: Teaching Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata, Movement 1 (VIDEO)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGJ_4CS_c4M Beethoven didn't attach "Moonlight" to this first movement of his very popular C# minor Sonata. (Music critics often invented these tags that stuck over centuries) The composer, himself, said his opening was like a fantasy, "quasi una fantasia," and he took particular care to compose his Adagio Sustenuto movement in alla breve, which meant… Continue reading Piano Instruction: Teaching Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata, Movement 1 (VIDEO)

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Making Pianistic Compromises: Schubert Impromptu in Eb, Op. 90

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHFOPFzUxUw I was struck by a post at Piano World.com about making compromises when playing difficult passages. The writer referred to a technically challenging Chopin work: "But I simply cannot manage to get every note in on the two long runs, the first of which comes on measure 15. When trying to play to speed,… Continue reading Making Pianistic Compromises: Schubert Impromptu in Eb, Op. 90

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The MTAC Celebration Festival, Anna Magdalena Bach, and Meeting Keith Snell (VIDEO)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Last weekend I journeyed to the Fresno State University Music Building to monitor Room 1 for the Celebration Festival sponsored by the Fresno branch of the Music Teachers Association of California. Every February students from our city and surrounding areas are invited to play one or two pieces in a selected cubicle, (basically a music… Continue reading The MTAC Celebration Festival, Anna Magdalena Bach, and Meeting Keith Snell (VIDEO)