Piano Teaching: Diagnosis and Treatment in Cyber

The miracle of technology allows a micro-review of a student's physical relationship to the keyboard, magnifying problems that need thoughtful remedy. Today, I felt akin to a radiologist examining x-rays in great detail, looking for areas of concern, if not glaring pathology. A student whom I teach Online, was having difficulty playing a D Major…

My new Overhead webcam view adds fingering clarity and choreography

A You Tube glimpse of Bach Scholar's set-up for piano lessons by Skype clarified the right overhead keyboard view. Instead of enlisting a clip-on cam that provided an abridged and inverted view of the the keys, I secured a horizontal Alzo mount for my Targus 60" tripod, that gives a perfect planet keyboard panorama. THE…

A Piano Teacher’s Hodgepodge Life with its ups and downs!

Today I was greeted by a rare Piano Ped. Forum Facebook post that celebrated a positive private teaching day. Teacher C. reported that all students had arrived on time for lessons, paid their fees pronto, and actually practiced. Bravo! Reams of peers LIKED the morsel of good tidings, except for one who JOKINGLY remarked, "Thanks…

Apple Inc.’s latest MAVERICKS UPGRADE is a disaster for Online piano teachers! (Watch the video)

It all started with a FACETIME hitch. Out of the blue, the popular FACE to FACE application tanked when I ACCEPTED an incoming call. Three beeps and a hasty shutdown! Disconnected! Kaput! finished! A CALL back from my END produced the same. Three more reminders of NADA!!! The only solution was switching off to SKYPE…

Piano Technique: Picking up Arpeggio Speed with blocked and unblocked note groupings

I uploaded two videos today that focus on practicing strategies for playing brisk paced arpeggio (G Major). The first is an after hours tutorial that I recorded by FACETIME SCREEN RECORD. The screen, framed by Millennium technology art nouveau, features my Arius YDP 141 digital piano as its centerpiece. The second video sample is a…

Parceling out voices in Chopin’s Nocturne in F Major, Op. 15

Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass scoring in Chopin's hauntingly beautiful F Major Nocturne (opening section) begs for an artistic examination through voice parceling. One cannot just paste the left hand onto the right, deferring entirely to the soprano. (soloist) Meandering chromatics weave through the alto, tenor, and bass, creating unexpected harmonic events that influence melodic shaping,…

Adult sneak peek piano technique

These lesson videos-in-progress reinforce practicing approaches to warm-ups, giving a student an additional angle of the teacher's hands. I. Crispy Cracker Staccato (D Major scale) Forearm generated at FORTE level followed by "lighter" finger strokes at "piano" dynamic. Forte=Big Projection, Piano=Soft FLASHBACK video, (A Major scale in Staccato) before my relocation to Berkeley--same student LIVE,…