From Pop to Bach, A 9-yr old makes it over easy

Fritz, a sparkling kid who loves football, soccer, and video games especially where he's devising offensive field strategies, comes to the piano with bundles of energy. These can be channeled into a piece he's gung ho to learn, like "Hall of Fame" by Sheehan, O'Dononghue, Adams, and Barry. As it played out, Fritz's mom, downloaded…

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…

A Well-known Haydn Piano Sonata is pinned!

I don't mean to inject pins into this post, but it amply introduces Haydn's vibrant Sonata no. 35 in C Major. Yesterday, as I diligently embarked upon learning this masterpiece, I had to deal with basic housekeeping matters: How to practice the pages-long first movement without breaks in continuity? My short-term solution: http://youtu.be/g7vP3mqg8WM Harpsichordist, *Elaine…

Piano Technique: Sports analogies weave in and out of Five-Finger positions (Videos)

Piano warm-ups are filled with vibrant, athletic energy!

An Adult Piano Student’s Epiphany

Yesterday, I was greeted by the following riveting e mail: "I'm so excited that I'm beginning to understand scale degrees. "Can't wait to be back at the piano to practice. Return late tonight." The adult student, into her 4th year of formal study with me, had decided to buckle down and integrate her theory knowledge…

Mozart is a Challenge in any shape, size or form

Tips on learning a Mozart gem!

A Love Story Woven on a Chopin Canvas

A few years ago, I received a telling message through my Authors Den website. John Bidwell, a spirited short story writer and poet, shared more than a literary connection with me. He waxed poetic about his late mother and father, Eleanor and David, who were pianists and 1950's classmates at Oberlin. (my alma mater) A…

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…

A Skype piano lesson-in-progress bundled with technique and Romantic era phrasing

Despite the imperfection of the media environment, there's intrinsic musical and pedagogical value in web-cam-driven piano lessons.

My Favorite J.S. Bach Little Preludes

I've been practicing a slew of them at the instigation of a go-getter Skype student who sends these in droves. It means I have to set everything aside and dive in, to keep up with the turnover. I had one other adult student who rivaled the importer of Baroque beauties. She loved Chopin so much,…