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Sister and brother piano lessons in the Hills

I enjoy my weekly journey to a home way up in the Hills of El Cerrito (neighbor to Berkeley) There, I teach Lucy and Fritz who play a lovely, resonant Baldwin Acrosonic that I advised mom to purchase (over at DC Pianos) Acros happen to be among my favorites in the spinet/console category. The Back… Continue reading Sister and brother piano lessons in the Hills

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Romantic era piano repertoire: A murmuring stream and the supple wrist (Burgmuller creates beauty from simplicity)

"The Clear Stream" from Friedrich Burgmuller's Twenty-Five Progressive Pieces offers a student an opportunity to create limpidly beautiful phrases from unraveled broken chords spun out in triplets. In order to create the "mormorando" (murmuring effect) in the treble, it's best to first block out the "chord" patterns with a "spongy" wrist in slow motion before… Continue reading Romantic era piano repertoire: A murmuring stream and the supple wrist (Burgmuller creates beauty from simplicity)

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The Berkeley Rose Garden draped in photos and music

Today was my maiden journey to the paradise of Roses in Berkeley. No words can amply describe the effect such beauty had upon me. (Taking pictures was irresistible) Burgmuller's "Tender Flower" was the perfect musical framing. http://youtu.be/Som4mPzd9sc P.S. I made a passing cameo appearance amidst the heavenly, terraced bouquets LINK to FB Photo Album https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10200446952169541.1073741827.1628726576&type=1&l=109128a237… Continue reading The Berkeley Rose Garden draped in photos and music

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Piano Instruction: Don’t always accentuate the downbeat– Burgmuller’s music proves it (Video)

http://youtu.be/MgwB3JESuG0 "Inquietude" from Burgmuller's Op. 100 collection of Twenty-Five Progressive pieces, invites a player to examine harmonic progressions as a clue to phrasing a composition that's often pounded to death with unnecessary DOWNBEAT accents. Seymour Bernstein, distinguished pianist, teacher and author, noted in a recent conversation we shared in New York City, that our musical… Continue reading Piano Instruction: Don’t always accentuate the downbeat– Burgmuller’s music proves it (Video)

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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.

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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

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Piano Instruction: “Ballade” by Burgmuller– phrase contouring and curves of energy (Videos)

Burgmuller's Ballade from his Opus 100 Progressive Piano Pieces is often coined "spooks" because of its Halloween-like opener. Composed in 3/8 time, it moves along in ONE, though the performer should not over-emphasize the first beat in each measure. The way the composer slurs and phrases notes suggests another approach. Thinking LONGER lines and phrases… Continue reading Piano Instruction: “Ballade” by Burgmuller– phrase contouring and curves of energy (Videos)

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Development of Piano Technique all bundled into one collection

Instead of pumping out Hanon and Czerny exercises to build so-called finger dexterity, try Burgmuller's Op. 100, Twenty-five Progressive Pieces. Here's a sample of the challenges posed by the composer in each of these showcased Romantic era tableaux: Harmony of the Angels: 1) Arpeggios, or broken chord patterns: for smooth execution and curvaceous lines. If… Continue reading Development of Piano Technique all bundled into one collection

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Pastorale by Burgmuller in lilting two: Op. 100, 25 Progressive Pieces

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibsna1UDJVU A plaintively beautiful piece, Pastorale requires a lilting "feel" of two beats per measure. A flowing melody permeates the voicing, cushioned in sonorous chords. The challenge is not to upstage the treble line as it unfolds. The phrasing in the right hand responds well to the supple wrist and curves of motion while the… Continue reading Pastorale by Burgmuller in lilting two: Op. 100, 25 Progressive Pieces

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The rolling wrist in Burgmuller’s “Harmony of the Angels”

Each of Burgmuller's Op. 100, 25 Progressive Pieces is more enchanting then the next, and bundled into every charmer is a technical goal to be met. In "Harmony of the Angels" it's abundantly clear that the supple wrist must roll forward, and the continuum of triplets from left hand to right must be in an… Continue reading The rolling wrist in Burgmuller’s “Harmony of the Angels”