Category Archives: video performances

Skyping piano lessons with an iMac, Logitech cam, and Yeti mic (videos)

Posted on March 30, 2012 by

Here’s my set-up for Skyped piano instruction. A travel itinerary minus airport delays and x-ray scanners included stop-offs in Pennsylvania, Sydney, Australia; Portland Oregon, and London, England. Lessons have been scheduled as needed. A Power Point-less presentation offers more: *** … Continue reading →

Posted in Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, pianist, piano, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Skype, teaching piano, video instruction, video performances, video supplementation of piano lessons, virtual piano lessons, virtual piano teaching, word press, word press.com, wordpress, wordpress.com, Yeti mic, Yeti microphone, you tube, you tube video, yout tube | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Piano Lesson: An adult student continues her Beethoven “Fur Elise” learning process (Video)

Posted on February 25, 2012 by

These are excerpts from today’s lesson where we covered: 1. Broken chord blocking; refreshing inversions of the Tonic as applied to practicing Fur Elise. 2. Voice balancing: fleshing out the treble (soprano) melody, on page 2 (F Major section) Using … 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 →

Posted in blog, blogger, blogging, blogging about piano, blogs about piano, classissima, classissima.com, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano studio, Fresno CA, Fresno California, Gillock "Flamenco", Gillock composer, Hal Leonard, Hal Leonard Music Publishing, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, mind body connection, mindful piano practicing, MTAC, music teachers association of california, musical phrasing, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin, phrasing at the piano, pianist, pianists, piano, piano addict, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano lessson, piano pedagogy, piano playing and relaxation, piano practicing, piano practicing motivators, piano recital, piano repertoire, piano studio, piano study, piano teacher, piano teaching, piano teaching repertoire, piano technique, piano tutorial, Piano World, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, playing piano, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, singing tone legato, slow mindful practicing, slow piano practicing, Steinway M, Steinway piano, video performances, William Gillock, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The piano teacher as conductor–sometimes shaping gestures help a student phrase better (Video)

Posted on February 3, 2012 by

I couldn’t resist an opportunity to conduct my student playing the Bach Invention 13 in A minor today. She’s preparing two selections for a competitive Baroque event coming up in two weeks, and the second offering is the Prelude in … Continue reading →

Posted in MTAC, muscular memory, music, music and heart, music teachers association of california, musical inspiration, musical phrasing, New York City, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin, Oberlin Conservatory, phrasing at the piano, pianist, pianists, piano, piano blog, piano blogging, piano blogs, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano lessson, piano pedagogy, piano playing and breathing, piano playing and phrasing, piano playing and relaxation, piano practicing, piano recital, piano repertoire, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano studio, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano technique, Piano World, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, Russian piano teacher, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, shirley s kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, shirley smith kirsten blog, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, studying piano, swinging arms in playing piano, Teaching Bach two part inventions, teaching piano to children, The art of phrasing at the piano, the art of piano playing, video performances, videotaped replay, videotaping at piano lessons, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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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Down to the wire: An 11-year old piano student prepares for a competitive Baroque event (VIDEO) with a tender flashback

Posted on January 27, 2012 by

Claudia has made significant gains this year. She’s shaping her phrases more, and becoming ear-attentive and physically responsive to the music she plays. Today, she made additional headway with J.S. Bach’s Prelude in C minor, BWV 847. Coming into her … Continue reading →

Posted in Baroque music, Central California MTAC Baroque Festival, classissima.com, J.S. Bach, J.S. Bach Prelude BWV 847, Johann Sebastian Bach, Journal of a Piano Teacher from New York to California, MTAC, MTAC Baroque Festival, MTAC.org, pianist, pianists, piano, piano addict, piano blog, piano blogging, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano lessons and parental support, piano pedagogy, piano playing and phrasing, piano practicing, piano repertoire, piano scales, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano studio, piano teacher, piano teachers, piano teaching, piano teaching repertoire, piano technique, piano warm-ups, Piano World, piano world-wide, pianoaddict.com, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Uncategorized, video performances, videotaping a piano performance and self analysis, videotaping at piano lessons, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Aikido and Piano are a good match for Sakura (Video) (Note the rolling forward wrist motion in Kabalevsky’s “Galop”)

Posted on December 22, 2011 by

Aikido Main article: Aikido Aikido shihōnage technique. “Aikido (合氣道:あいきどう aikidō?) is a modern grappling-based Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba (植芝 盛平 Ueshiba Morihei, 1883 – 1969). The art consists of “striking”, “throwing” and “joint locking” techniques and is … Continue reading →

Posted in Aikido, Galop by Kabalevsky, German, Japan, Japanese, Kabalevsky, Kabalevsky Op. 39 Children's pieces, mind body connection, mindful piano practicing, mindful practicing, MTAC, music, music and the breath, Op. 39 Children's Pieces by Kabalevsky, phrasing at the piano, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano pedagogy, piano playing and breathing, piano playing and phrasing, piano playing and relaxation, piano practicing, piano practicing motivators, piano repertoire, piano student, piano teacher, piano teaching, piano technique, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, playing staccato at the piano, practicing the left hand at the piano, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Taekwando, Teach Street, teaching piano to children, video performances, whole body listening, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment