Tag: piano study

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Piano Study: Exploring the full gamut of emotions on the way to mastering a new piece (Videos)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Taking piano lessons should be a deep-level growth experience with a metaphorical tie-in to life. This means that pieces studied and technique applied should be interwoven to realize emotions of sadness, happiness, grieving, elation, disappointment and whatever comes to mind in the full panoply of human feelings. This is why hearing the word “fun” tossed… Continue reading Piano Study: Exploring the full gamut of emotions on the way to mastering a new piece (Videos)

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Growing piano technique in baby steps: Rina, 5, advances to hands together five-finger positions (adding in 10ths)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

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)

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Piano Technique: playing parallel octaves in LEGATO (Video and score attached) OPINIONS from 3 pianists

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

It just so happens that Mozart's Variation 3 of his Sonata in A Major, K. 331, presents the challenge of playing parallel octaves in LEGATO (smooth and connected) And to make the task even more complex, the composer uses the A minor tonality, with F# and G# inserted into the passage fleshing out the MELODIC… Continue reading Piano Technique: playing parallel octaves in LEGATO (Video and score attached) OPINIONS from 3 pianists

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More Tips on practicing Beethoven’s Fur Elise using a rolling motion, weight transfer, undulating wrist, and relaxed arm swing (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Today's lesson with an adult student produced a helpful video that focused on the second section, page 1--but was devoted in large part, to examining measures 9-15 in the following ways: 1) for the execution of a rolling motion across four notes with a slight crescendo through B-C-D to E (B C and D form… Continue reading More Tips on practicing Beethoven’s Fur Elise using a rolling motion, weight transfer, undulating wrist, and relaxed arm swing (Video)

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When the piano teacher is absent between lessons, a You Tube video can fill in the gap (Fur Elise and chord voicing)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Lately, students have benefited from receiving supplemental video instruction during the interval between their weekly lessons. By videotaping parts of their sessions and uploading to You Tube, they can often make their daily practice time more efficient. Today, for example, I tilted my iMac so it focused on my piano, which is the Steinway upright… Continue reading When the piano teacher is absent between lessons, a You Tube video can fill in the gap (Fur Elise and chord voicing)

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The Piano Repertoire: Does making fingering/hand adjustments constitute a “swindle?”

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Seymour Bernstein, author of With Your Own Two Hands, remarked that "Chopin wrote out an outline for an intended method of teaching piano. And when he died he left it to Charles Alkan who never finished it. Wouldn't you think that Chopin would stress at the beginning that everything depends upon a deep emotional involvement… Continue reading The Piano Repertoire: Does making fingering/hand adjustments constitute a “swindle?”

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Local Piano Competitions and the judges

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

I don't like being labeled a sore loser because it indicates an unwillingness to accept a loss gracefully. And I'm not talking about myself as much as piano students who practice arduously in preparation for local competitions and expect to be judged fairly. And then again, what is really "fair" when it comes to assessing… Continue reading Local Piano Competitions and the judges

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Piano Technique: Practicing a difficult section in Beethoven’s Sonata Pathetique, Op. 13, movement 1 (Video)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

Some piano teachers prefer to improve a student's technique by selecting difficult passages from the mainstream piano literature rather than assign a load of scales, arpeggios and chords that journey around the Circle of Fifths. I still believe the best foundation upon which to build a solid understanding of the piano repertoire is by studying… Continue reading Piano Technique: Practicing a difficult section in Beethoven’s Sonata Pathetique, Op. 13, movement 1 (Video)

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Piano Technique: Producing a beautiful singing tone using jello as an image

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

The following teaching video produced by Irina Gorin, confirmed my belief that a singing tone springs from the imagination along with a consciousness about the physical means to achieve it. On both accounts, Gorin succeeded in the company of a six-year old piano student. The transformation of his C scale from a vertical, poked out… Continue reading Piano Technique: Producing a beautiful singing tone using jello as an image

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Piano Lessons: After a long summer break, where to begin? (Videos)

arioso7: Shirley Kirsten

The first lesson with a student who took the whole summer off for one reason or another is a challenge. I repeatedly ask myself should we pick up where we left off and drag out the last sonatina that became time worn well before its time or start a completely new musical project. One student… Continue reading Piano Lessons: After a long summer break, where to begin? (Videos)