"Harmony of the Angels" has a soporific effect on Aiden cat while it provided a relaxing prelude to Rina's earliest piano lessons. Students, young and old, love its thread of sonorities.
Category: undulating wrist in piano playing
Piano Technique: The dipping wrist, and how it defies convention (Videos)
One of my adult students echoed a belief that has resonated for generations in piano studios across the country, if not the world. The OLD school of thought was that you played piano with a rigid, arched hand, and if you slipped into a longer, relaxed curve, or dared to DIP your wrist below the… Continue reading Piano Technique: The dipping wrist, and how it defies convention (Videos)
Piano Instruction: Mozart Minuet and Trio in G, K. 1 (Videos)
Composed when Mozart was just 5, this charming Minuet and Trio has a variety of rhythms and melodic shapes which pose a challenge to the player. The singing tone reigns in any rendering, and the shift of mood embedded in echo phrases as well as a transition to a Forte Trio require varying degrees of… Continue reading Piano Instruction: Mozart Minuet and Trio in G, K. 1 (Videos)
Piano Technique: Practicing dip/roll motions, and dead weight fat lady to skinny dipper for diminuendo (Videos)
I show my 13-year old student, Albertina how to dip/roll the last measures of Burgmuller's frenzied Ballade, while applying weight control to taper a phrase. (diminuendo) We're on the final lap of preparation for Saturday's Spring Recital! http://youtu.be/FjaKqpnUq08 ONLINE Webcam piano classes and Instructional schedule: http://www.powhow.com/classes/shirley-kirsten Play through: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTR0BIMxCdA
Practicing tips for Beethoven’s “Tempest” Sonata, Op. 31 No. 2, Part ONE: (Video)
Because I found myself rambling on and on about the first page, I decided to compartmentalize the instruction to make it easier to absorb. And since I played the "Tempest" years ago, the surest route to my restoring the piece to a respectable performance level, was to practice it from the ground up in slow… Continue reading Practicing tips for Beethoven’s “Tempest” Sonata, Op. 31 No. 2, Part ONE: (Video)
Piano Technique: An adult student works on rolling forward wrist motions in Two, Three, and Six-note groupings (Video)
This particular student has come a long way in the six years we've worked together, and as always been the case, I've probably learned more from her than in reverse. From my second piano, I can gaze over at my pupil sitting at the grand and grasp a whole body in-motion perspective of her playing.… Continue reading Piano Technique: An adult student works on rolling forward wrist motions in Two, Three, and Six-note groupings (Video)