Tag: Fresno

New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, pianist, piano, piano finding, piano finding adventure, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano pedagogoy, piano repair, piano room, piano society, Piano Street, piano technician, piano technician's guild, piano tuner, piano tuning, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, Steinway and Sons, Steinway grand piano, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, Steinway studio upright, talkclassical.com, uk-piano-forums, Uncategorized, used piano, used pianos, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

A tour of my piano room as prelude to the tuner’s arrival

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoLMyIVP0q8 Awaiting Terry Barrett's arrival to tune my Steinway upright, I decided to have some fun panning about the piano studio, sharing favorite mementos on and off the wall. It might be a bit dizzying with numerous shifting camera angles, but the desired homespun, impromptu feel is there. When Terry gets here, I will do… Continue reading A tour of my piano room as prelude to the tuner’s arrival

C. Bender, Caroline Scheer, Connell York, Fresno, Fur Elise, Holland, humor, J.S. Bach, JS Bach, Knight piano, Mr. York, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, pianist, piano, piano repair, piano teacher, piano technician, piano tuner, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, pianoworld.com, satire, Shirley Kirsten, Steinway piano, Uncategorized, used piano, used pianos, wordpress.com

The Little Knightingale

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

It sang like a nightingale the morning I stroked its keys, yet it has always been a relative unknown in the world of big name pianos such as Steinway, Baldwin, and Yamaha. From an innocuous three-line ad posted on Oodle.com, I discovered that this very Knight piano was for sale, housed in northwest Fresno just… Continue reading The Little Knightingale

El Cerrito, Fresno, humor, pianist, piano, piano instruction, piano teacher, scales, Shirley Kirsten, tennis, Uncategorized, you tube

Alex breaks the choke hold on his scales (You Tube video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Alex, a high school senior and varsity tennis player takes his piano lessons very seriously. He's diligently working on perfecting his technique so nerves won't cause his scales to crash and burn. Today we couldn't have had a better soap opera script in progress, when Alex confessed to losing his composure right before a tennis… Continue reading Alex breaks the choke hold on his scales (You Tube video)

cat, cats, cd baby, feline, felines, music, pianist, piano, piano teacher, pianoaddict.com, Shirley Kirsten, Steinway piano, Uncategorized, you tube

Aiden the Cat Swoons over Chopin’s music (on You Tube)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5MLPxKFl2c I was joined by a surprise visitor while videotaping myself playing the Chopin Waltz in A minor, a composition discovered long after the composer's death. (Cataloged as "Opus Posthumous") I had been tirelessly recording the piece for about 20 times in the sanctity of my piano room, while Aiden had been shuttled off to… Continue reading Aiden the Cat Swoons over Chopin’s music (on You Tube)

JS Bach, Manhattan, pianoaddict.com, Uncategorized, you tube

In the Hot Zone!

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

When I prepare for a you tube posting, I climb the walls. Not only am I in the hot seat when the camcorder is rolling, but I have to worry about the neighbors to my right suddenly deciding to have a slap down, bang out fight. Last night was a perfect example of recording on… Continue reading In the Hot Zone!

cat, cats, feline, felines, piano, piano teacher, Uncategorized

A musical match made in heaven, Aiden cat and Claudia in purrr-fect harmony

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

This evening Aiden decided to share star billing with 8 year old Claudia. It was an encore of sorts, since my student had just completed her lesson and was packing up her music books. Out of  nowhere my angel cat made a soft landing on the piano bench and beckoned Claudia with his serene expression… Continue reading A musical match made in heaven, Aiden cat and Claudia in purrr-fect harmony

Classical era, classical music, Clowns by Kabalevsky, Craigs List, Creative Fresno, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, Facebook, Fresno, Fresno California, Fresno Famous, humor, Kabalevsky, Kabalevsky Op. 39 Children's pieces, memoir, MTAC, music, music teachers associationo of California, Music Teachers Asssociation of California, my space, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Northwest Bronx, Northwest Fresno, Old Fig Garden in Fresno, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano lesson, piano pedagogy, piano room, piano student, piano teacher, Piano World, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, scales, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Steinway and Sons, Steinway console, Steinway grand piano, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, Theory, uk-piano-forums, used piano, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

After the Fall

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

It was easy to predict that I would have violated my own ban on making more you tubes. My cold turkey withdrawal was just an overnight phenomenon eclipsed by my hankering to tweak the tripod, move the camera in all sorts of directions, and get a better angle of the piano for the next posting.… Continue reading After the Fall

Apple iPhone, authorsden, Bay area, California, children's music, Children's pieces, Classical era, classical music, Classical sonatina, Clowns by Kabalevsky, counterpoint, Creative Fresno, diminished 7th arpeggios, diminished 7th chords, diminished chords, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano studio, Faber Primer Piano Adventures, Fig Garden Village, five finger positions, five finger warm-ups, Fresno, Fresno California, great pianists, humor, Internet, iPhone, Kabalevsky, Kabalevsky Op. 39 Children's pieces, keyboard technique, Latour, Lillian Freundlich, MTAC, music, music and heart, music teachers association of california, Music Teachers Asssociation of California, musicology, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Northwest Fresno, Oberlin Conservatory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano lesson, piano maintenance, piano pedagogy, piano scales, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano teacher, piano teaching repertoire, piano technique, piano tutorial, piano warm-ups, Piano World, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace.com, scales, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, sonatina, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, talkclassical.com, technique, uk-piano-forums, video performances, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

A Day in El Cerrito and my return to Fresno

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

To El Cerrito and back, and what happens in between, in greater detail.

Uncategorized

The You Tube thing!

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Waiting for a You Tube upload is agonizing, and the performance preparation is a sweat load of work.

6 degrees of separation, Apple iPhone, arpeggios, Bay area, California, Casio, cd baby, children's music, Children's pieces, Classical era, classical music, Classical period sonata, Classical sonatina, Clowns by Kabalevsky, Creative Fresno, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano studio, Faber Primer Piano Adventures, Fresno, Fresno California, Fresno Famous, humor, Internet, keyboard technique, Major and minor scales, MTAC, music, music and heart, music teachers association of california, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Northwest Bronx, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano pedagogy, piano scales, piano student, piano teacher, piano technique, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Steinway and Sons, Steinway grand piano, Steinway M grand piano, talkclassical.com, technique, uk-piano-forums, video performances, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Musings of a Piano Teacher

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

My journey as a piano teacher from California's Central Valley to the East Bay, and what happened before, in a distant place like New York City.