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But Who Shall Abide the Day of His Coming, Hallejulia Chorus sung by the Silent Monks, Handel's Messiah, Handel's Messiah arranged by Bill Boyd, If God Be For Us, Karen West of Book Passages, Messiah Sing-along at First Presbyterian Church in Fresno, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Smith Kirsten, The Silent Monks, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Handel’s Messiah excerpts arranged for Piano, the Silent Monks, and an embarrassing performance at Barnes and Noble.

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I have to laugh, but not meaning to be sacrilegious. I absolutely adore Handel's Messiah and have always savored the yearly Sing-Along at First Presbyterian Church in Fresno. If it wasn't so difficult to read off the original score with chorus and ensemble, I would be resurrecting these on You Tube, but the page turns… Continue reading Handel’s Messiah excerpts arranged for Piano, the Silent Monks, and an embarrassing performance at Barnes and Noble.

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The come and go, passing through Age of piano study

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

It’s always nice to blog about a devoted cadre of piano students who show up each week prepared for their lessons, wanting to grow and develop in creative directions. Such a pleasing landscape had been presented in REACHING BEYOND, a film tribute to Irena Orlov’s remarkably inspired piano teaching. Her students couldn’t wait to go… Continue reading The come and go, passing through Age of piano study

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Piano practicing, performance, and gym routines: Always Reach Beyond! (Video, Bach Invention 8 in F)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

http://youtu.be/7no8U9pV_SI I take my inspiration from the two Irina/Irena-s, each pronouncing their names slightly differently. Irina Gorin is the ingenious piano teacher from Carmel, Indiana via the Ukraine, and Irena Orlov is from Washington D.C.'s Levine School of Music via Leningrad. They both inspire students to explore and draw out their deepest creative expression. That's… Continue reading Piano practicing, performance, and gym routines: Always Reach Beyond! (Video, Bach Invention 8 in F)

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Piano Technique: Practicing a difficult section in Beethoven’s Sonata Pathetique, Op. 13, movement 1 (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Some piano teachers prefer to improve a student's technique by selecting difficult passages from the mainstream piano literature rather than assign a load of scales, arpeggios and chords that journey around the Circle of Fifths. I still believe the best foundation upon which to build a solid understanding of the piano repertoire is by studying… Continue reading Piano Technique: Practicing a difficult section in Beethoven’s Sonata Pathetique, Op. 13, movement 1 (Video)

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Piano lessons, long nails, and peer pressure

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

One of the loudest protests I'd ever heard, came from a 13-year old piano student who screamed at the top of her lungs on the doorstep of my house. Her mother was trying to clip her overgrown fingernails on the eve of a Middle School dance, and the teen loathed the idea of losing her… Continue reading Piano lessons, long nails, and peer pressure

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Two riveting comments on pay for practicing piano…

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Powerful statements worth pondering: "I agree with you totally that it is abhorrent to pay children to practice, and I’m not sure I know quite why. It just seems that there are certain activities that should be done for their own sake, and money shouldn’t enter the picture. (Yes, art for its own sake is… Continue reading Two riveting comments on pay for practicing piano…

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Highlights of Rina’s fourth piano lesson, 8/25/11: Learning about Rhythm and tapping C’s and Ds to Marches (Videos in three parts)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Rina reached a learning landmark last week when she located "little houses" with two black key roofs across the keyboard. Irina Gorin, in her book, "Tales of a Musical Journey" cleverly marks out seven "neighborhoods" (aka "octaves") that encompass small, and big houses (three-black key roofs) Students explore the geography of the piano with the… Continue reading Highlights of Rina’s fourth piano lesson, 8/25/11: Learning about Rhythm and tapping C’s and Ds to Marches (Videos in three parts)

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Comparing performances of Chopin’s Waltz in C# minor, Op. 64, No. 2 (VIDEOS)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Last night I sat down at my Steinway M grand and quickly shuffled over to my Haddorff (known as "Haddy") fully intending to record some comments on the lovely C# minor Waltz. As I looked at the dotted-eighth/sixteenth figure that permeated the composition making it stand out as unique among Chopin's Waltzes, I suddenly experienced… Continue reading Comparing performances of Chopin’s Waltz in C# minor, Op. 64, No. 2 (VIDEOS)

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A Fourth Skyped Piano Lesson with an 8-yr. old (Excerpts on two videos: supple wrist warm-ups and Chopin Waltz)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I set up two camcorders during today's piano lesson with the intention of capturing views from the teacher and student perspective. If I had more video-editing expertise I would have synchronized multiple tracks like ESPN does for its instant replays, etc. *** With modest video equipment, I recorded an 8-yr. old's 4th Skyped lesson of which… Continue reading A Fourth Skyped Piano Lesson with an 8-yr. old (Excerpts on two videos: supple wrist warm-ups and Chopin Waltz)

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The Complete Piano Work-out in 3 parts (Videos)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Most of my late intermediate and advanced students know the routine at lessons. The first twenty minutes are spent warming up in the Key they've been assigned the previous week. Once seated at the piano, they're ready for a challenging kinetic whirl around the keyboard as scales and arpeggios dance through the cosmos in various… Continue reading The Complete Piano Work-out in 3 parts (Videos)