A different view of Bach and the piano (Prelude in C) Video

On a whim, I decided to keep my Mac at a distance from the Steinway, walk over to the piano without being too conspicuous, and offhandedly play the Bach Prelude in C from the Well-Tempered Clavier. Since I hadn't yet mastered the editing side of iMovie, I figured a majestic lead into the playing would…

Everything but the kitchen sink on video: How to make an iMovie with any sanity

I was experimenting once again with the iMac's iMovie plopping myself down at Haddy, (my Haddorff piano) at the first opportunity after lessons were over today. In the process of exploring and refining recording conditions here at home, I decided to take my Yeti, not Big Foot, but a spiffy looking silver plated mic to…

A Skyped Piano Lesson in Progress: Practicing Mazurka by Maria Szymanowska (Videos)

My third SKYPED Piano Lesson is brought to you in living color. The adult student framed by an iMac, is one of my regulars up in El Cerrito (Bay area USA) and since I'm unable to travel to her home to teach more than once a week, extra Virtual-based practice is desirable. (We worked on…

Piano Technique and Weight Control: Bringing out and balancing voices (Video) Teacher, Shirley Kirsten

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCck4ZFNeQI When students do routine scales and arpeggios as warm-ups to their tour de force pieces, I like to spice things up a bit by playing around with voicing and weight control. (Yes, you heard me right) I'll surprise them by asking for the Left hand notes to be fleshed out, while the Right ones…

Piano Instruction: Practicing the Schubert Impromptu in Gb, Op. 90 in Steps (4 videos)

It's obvious that I'm a novice at video editing now that I'm on my own, but I managed to put together 4 videos demonstrating a step-wise approach to practicing the Schubert Gb Major Impromptu. I parceled out voices beginning with the soprano (melody) and then continued to the bass and alto using blocking techniques. Fingering…

The Piano Universe of Discussion Boards, Digital Feedback, and Self-analysis (Video)

I love to scan the Boards at Piano World, UK Forums, Piano Street, Piano Addict, and other stop-off points such as My Music Life Blogspot and Color in my Piano to get a feel for the concerns of piano students at all levels of study. This form of feedback that flows in and out of…

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

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…

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

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…

A Piano Room with a View

I thought of E.M. Forster's novel as an inspiration for this blog, but "The Hills are alive with the Sound of Music" would have more aptly described what I was writing about. Every week, a breathtaking view of the El Cerrito Hills streams into my piano room through an open, maple-paneled door. Depending on the…

Piano Instruction: Spot Practicing, Presto Agitato movement 3, Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RraBDtDo9Nw Beethoven's C# minor Sonata, Op. 27, No. 2, the "Moonlight") RELATED: https://arioso7.wordpress.com/2011/04/03/piano-instruction-out-of-a-rut-with-spot-practicing/