Awakenings alternately occur between teacher and student, especially if they're collectively open to them. And embracing this sharing spirit, I welcome ideas from pupils about phrasing, technique, etc. since we enjoy a common journey of discovery. By chance, one student brought a "new" fingering for his assigned D Major arpeggio in 10ths, and it worked so… Continue reading An Adult Piano Student teaches the Teacher
Today, the technique portion of a Face Time lesson to North Carolina complemented the main musical course, Chopin's Waltz in A minor, Op. Posthumous. It was a harmonious streaming with thumbs swinging; arms floating; and scale contouring that fed well-shaped Romantic era phrases. It played out as follows: The A minor scale was parceled out… Continue reading Piano technique lesson segments flow nicely into repertoire
With creative juices flowing during a piano lesson by Skype, a teacher can toy with various mental images by webcam that assist fluid technique. "Wrist dipping" through a five-finger position in rapid rhythm required focus on how to avoid the inevitable accent that occurs on framing thumb and pinky. "Soft" landings were therefore isolated and… Continue reading Piano Technique: Wrist dipping and thumb twiddling
Despite the imperfection of the media environment, there's intrinsic musical and pedagogical value in web-cam-driven piano lessons.
