A Blissful Hauskonzert through a Meet-up Connection

Well, it finally came to pass, and technology reigned, bridging the distance between player and audience. I was naturally present in body and spirit, but my face with its register of emotions was plainly blocked by my piano rack. About 12 hours before the event, I had posted a video revealing the seating arrangement. It…

A Home Piano Concert draped in technology (Video attached)

I had a rip-roaring morning! Art, my next-door neighbor, who puts up with my round-the-clock practicing, was invited precisely at 11 a.m. to listen to my rehearsal in prep for my house concert set for next Saturday night. And naturally, as whimsical as everyone knows me to be, I did a MAN in the STREET…

Piano Repair: Taking the noise out of my pedal!

Israel Stein, Registered Piano Technician, whose feats of repair have earned him national recognition, descended upon my humble abode like the fix-it fairy, and banished my sustain pedal noise forever! (Count on it for the years remaining in my playing lifetime) Trouble-shooting as he went along, Stein diagnosed the problem and followed through in graduated…

Art, Photography, and Music in perfect harmony

Julie Orchard, an intensely dedicated piano student, presented a glass multimedia mosaic at the Subterranean Arthouse last night that blended well with Domenico Scarlatti's music. http://youtu.be/XYM6dV8LfMI In the same spirit, the composer's Sonata in D minor complemented the splendor of Berkeley's springtime foliage. http://youtu.be/WhIvm8VU5ZM LINK: https://arioso7.wordpress.com/2014/04/17/an-adult-piano-student-and-stained-glass-artist-has-a-dual-passion/

Adoption in the old piano universe

Today's good deed was my hands on effort to place a gorgeous sounding old upright in a deserving home. And judging by the attention this Emerson vintage piano eventually received after I played it for well past an hour at a Berkeley thrift store, there may be hope that an old veteran like this, can…

My Steinway upright has a “new” home, and so do I

Model 1098 was eased out my front door by two piano moving Zen masters, Greg and Jeremy. (I'll give them a Yin/Yang Yelp for their artful twists and turns) http://www.mcpianomove.com http://youtu.be/tNexl2D3NsU It wasn't the first time McCrea's picked up or delivered a piano for me. Two years ago, they transported my Kawai GE20 grand from…

My Gold Standard Adult Pupils!

I'm the proud mentor of seven COMMITTED adult piano students, three of whom were TAGGED with body stickers for doing GOOD time at their lessons yesterday. NOTE: None have been coerced by authorities to sign up. (i.e. Parents) Each is a VOLUNTARY admission. (LIVE or in Cyber) Ravi, a thirty-plus chess champion/financial analyst, is one…

Piano Instruction, Mozart Sonata in Bb, K. 281 (first movement)

I explore the Exposition, movement 1, Allegro, and ways to practice within a slow tempo frame: http://youtu.be/JVCnRx5aDz4 Play Through: http://youtu.be/Rgx-AG34iW0 LINK: The Most Reviled Scale https://arioso7.wordpress.com/2011/02/25/the-most-reviled-scale-for-piano-players/

Piano Technique: Geography, choreography, and muscle memory in practicing scales (Video instruction)

Today's lesson by Skype from Berkeley, CA to the UK focused on refining e minor scales. Of particular interest, was the segment, midway, that explored un-snagging a portion of the Harmonic minor form in STACCATO. A valuable technique applied included spot practicing critical areas of difficulty.. i.e. C to D# to E in every octave.…

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…