My note: I've listed links to blogs posted about these performers. PIANO Grigory Sokolov Complete piano recital, Theatre de Champs Elysee (for astounding fusion of technique/lyricism/wide dynamic palette--having everything and anything at his disposal to draw upon from his rich musical repository) http://youtu.be/o7qUMHm3LOI Irina Morozova: Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11,… Continue reading My Top You Tube Picks for 2013, What are yours?
Tag: Irina Gorin
Playing the piano expressively with a full gamut of emotions (Blogged from Mo’ Joe’s Cafe in southwest Berkeley)
Today I attended a well-promoted "Shut Up and Write Meet-up." The environment: An easy jazz backdrop with companion coffee mocha, whip cream swirl. No cell phone ring-tones or e-mail heart-song alerts. Just a noisy backdrop--children, adults, plates, forks, your order's ready, name calling. My project: I was riveted to a post at Facebook's The Art… Continue reading Playing the piano expressively with a full gamut of emotions (Blogged from Mo’ Joe’s Cafe in southwest Berkeley)
Irina Gorin’s Tales of a Musical Journey is reviewed in the FALL 2012 Statewide MTAC Magazine
Here's the link rather than copy/paste. The article is ONLINE! The you tubes are nicely embedded within the writing. http://www.mtac.org/cmt/CMT2012FallTalesMusicalJourney.pdf Now the icing on the cake: Irina needs to make the rounds to branches around the State to sell her stuff and give "live" presentations. Keep the phone lines open!
Technique is creatively woven into the piano learning environment from the very beginning of study
A discussion is intensifying on Facebook's "The Art of Piano Pedagogy" about teaching technique as a separate sphere of learning, versus an inseparable part of the total music-making process. I tend to embrace a style of teaching that fuses all ingredients together. This bias does not rule out quality time I assign students to practice… Continue reading Technique is creatively woven into the piano learning environment from the very beginning of study
Piano Technique: The Spongy Wrist is a great shock absorber and singing tone supporter
Rina, age 5, and Emily, 13, both learned about the supple wrist and how it nurtures a beautiful singing tone at the piano.
Piano Lessons: Catching up with Rina, age 5
Rina has reached a turning point in her piano studies, just 10 months into them. She's playing the Reinagle Minuet, coordinating bass and treble lines. This is NOT ROTE playing, or any Suzuki variant. Rina knows the music alphabet forward and in reverse; understands up and down, steps and skips, and plays LEGATO five-finger positions… Continue reading Piano Lessons: Catching up with Rina, age 5
The Right Age for a Child to Start Piano Lessons (Videos)
Is there a right time in a child's life to embark upon piano study? The answer is not clear as I've discovered from years of teaching. With technology creating an environment in which children as young as two or three are propped up at electronic keyboards hooked into big-size computer screens, the whole area of… Continue reading The Right Age for a Child to Start Piano Lessons (Videos)
Piano lessons should be tailor-made for each student (Videos)
I've come to the conclusion that no full-proof piano method, or method book can be applied across the board to beginning students or those at any level of study. Each pupil is so unique that an individualized growth and development plan is needed. By example, I faced a dilemma when a new adult student who… Continue reading Piano lessons should be tailor-made for each student (Videos)
Piano Technique: The dipping wrist, and how it defies convention (Videos)
One of my adult students echoed a belief that has resonated for generations in piano studios across the country, if not the world. The OLD school of thought was that you played piano with a rigid, arched hand, and if you slipped into a longer, relaxed curve, or dared to DIP your wrist below the… Continue reading Piano Technique: The dipping wrist, and how it defies convention (Videos)
Growing piano technique in baby steps: Rina, 5, advances to hands together five-finger positions (adding in 10ths)
Rina may not know the words "pentascales" and "tenths," but she has the intelligence to notice when her fingers move up and down together, playing the same notes an "octave" apart. With a sound knowledge of the music alphabet in both directions, she has good cognitive reinforcement. (She also knows "running notes" or 8ths, "long… Continue reading Growing piano technique in baby steps: Rina, 5, advances to hands together five-finger positions (adding in 10ths)
