Two musical offerings are grief-filled expressions of enduring loss in Newtown, Connecticut.
Category: whole body music listening
The C Major Scale universe: metric and muscle memory; shaping and tapering
The C Major scale is more than meets the "I," if you're the one practicing it!
Two Adult Piano Students explore an undulating wrist motion (Videos)
In the first video, I introduce C Major, 4-note arpeggios rolling through positions or "inversions" in preparation for my lesson with an adult student in El Cerrito, California. C E G C---E G C E---G C E G-- C E G C, and then a turnaround and descent without repeating the highest note. http://youtu.be/TQPXIq6wsNQ Excerpt… Continue reading Two Adult Piano Students explore an undulating wrist motion (Videos)
Piano Instruction: Suggested ways to practice Mozart Rondo: Allegretto, K. 545 in C Major
Having been through years of practicing and teaching this Mozart Alegretto, I have a few epiphanies that might benefit others. In the attached video, I assert that the opening Rondo motif with its lively thirds should not spill into an emphasized downbeat but rather a lifted one. This applies to the overlapping Left Hand as… Continue reading Piano Instruction: Suggested ways to practice Mozart Rondo: Allegretto, K. 545 in C Major
A Purr-fect sedative for a Cat
"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.
Piano Technique: The Spongy Wrist is a great shock absorber and singing tone supporter
Rina, age 5, and Emily, 13, both learned about the supple wrist and how it nurtures a beautiful singing tone at the piano.
Rina, 5, moves right along in her piano studies (Videos)
Rina takes to piano like a duck in water. Yesterday, she began her lesson with a five-finger romp through D Major and minor, adding chords to her repertoire. Did I say "chords?" It's every child's dream to play more than one voice at a time, to fully appreciate the piano as an orchestral instrument. I… Continue reading Rina, 5, moves right along in her piano studies (Videos)
Piano Technique: Rotation, Turnaround, and Curve around of scales, with application to repertoire (Videos)
Piano students, by and large, don't relish playing scales. They would rather eat spinach than practice what they view as tedious, finger-trippers. I have a different perspective. For me, scales are my playground and workout space. They keep me in shape, fine tuning my ears to their internal undulations and curvy turnarounds. They translate from… Continue reading Piano Technique: Rotation, Turnaround, and Curve around of scales, with application to repertoire (Videos)
Phrasing at the piano: Listening to the ends of notes as they flow into others
I've chosen Burgmuller's "Tender Flower" as the springboard to explore attentive listening and its relationship to phrasing. At the outset, the right moment to begin a piece is a challenge. The player has to experience the whole dimension of silence before a first note is played. That silence is not dead, but alive with cues… Continue reading Phrasing at the piano: Listening to the ends of notes as they flow into others
Me, York and Our Great Piano Adventure!
For over a year I was an apprentice to Connell York, 84-year old piano tuner. During our colorful journey on the piano-finding trail, a folksy narrative emerged that informs as it entertains. *** Scenes preview: 84-year old, piana' tuna,' Connell York holds a ten-dollar bill he retrieved in a deep-sea diving expedition under a grand… Continue reading Me, York and Our Great Piano Adventure!
