An informative chat with a whimsical piano technician (REGISTERED, of course)

I had a delightful exchange with John Peters, RPT, about pianos, restorations, repairs, machine vs. aural tunings, and all that sprung from his wild imagination. For instance, John communicates an intense passion for tuning.. "I get paid to "meditate," he insists. Then he quickly veers off with a one-liner about fixing squeaky pedals. "I pour…

Piano Practicing: Breathing into phrases and blocking out passages (Mozart Sonata, example)

I've picked the first two pages of Mozart's Sonata in Bb Major, K. 281, last movement, Rondeau, Allegro to explore breathing and blocking techniques in the learning process. (These principles can be applied to practicing music from a variety of eras) Starting a composition is often taken for granted. Sometimes students will land on a…

Comparone plays Bach on the harpsichord with a palette of emotions

I must admit that I usually experience the "minor" key with poignant intensity, but when I heard Elaine Comparone's most recent performance of J.S.Bach's celebrated D minor concerto, I felt her inner smile radiate through ripples and waves of luscious phrases even as a tragic dimension blanketed the work. Comparone's tapestry of moods, feelings and…

Mommas and Babies in the Music World

At a Skype lesson to Alaska

My Journey to Ifshin’s in El Cerrito, CA where violins, unlike pianos are thriving!

I headed over to the premier string HAUS in the Bay area today to bring my 1799 vintage German violin back to life. For years it had been laying at the bottom of my closet, layered over with two portable digital pianos and an old computer. This was a violin selected by my teacher, the…

The Psychology of buying and selling a piano

I was hanging off the Gravitron at gym, as I shared inquiries about my FOR SALE Steinway with a personal trainer. Anonymously wrapped, my adventures seemed woven with psychological threads. In the first place, BANNER ads with MODEL AND PRICE were easy to digest, even without a DIGEST to memorialize all the details surrounding my…

Mozart at dusk and daybreak (evading the wrath of neighbors)

I hadn't realized I violated curfew as I recorded the first half of Mozart's G Major Sonata, K. 283 (Presto) on Mac21 last night starting at dusk. Here in my Berkeley apartment complex, washing machines, dryers, and all music must cease at 10 p.m. meaning my video/audio track had ostensibly gone down the drain in…

Piano Instruction: Burgmuller, The Storm, “L’Orage” Op. 109 No. 13 (Expect turbulence)

Don't let this be a one-night stand piece but rather a long-term relationship. I dared to overnight it as prep for a new student who tossed it my way, but upon reflection, I sat down at the piano, and produced an instruction (both helpful to myself and those diving headlong into this "stormy" composition) L'Orage…

Piano Lessons: Creativity, composing, and diversifying

Fritz, one of my young piano students, had been saddled with a long lesson due to his sister's absence so he thought the "extra" time would be spent spot practicing the knotty measures of his Bach Minuet. Or he anticipated the same with his Boogie piece that had become a rich dessert following the main…

Piano Instruction, Don’t wake the “Sleeping Child,” Schumann Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 12

Often contemplative, lyrical pieces like lullabies, are bigger challenges to play than lightning bolt fast and furious etudes, final sonata movements etc. "Sleeping Child" is its own poster child for fostering relaxed breaths, flowing musical poetry, and bigger energies beyond the fingers. It's essentially a task not to wake the baby, with obtrusive, unwanted accents.…