El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano studio, Fresno, Fresno California, piano technique, piano tutorial, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace, Rimsky-Korsakov, self-analysis, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, talkclassical.com, teaching piano, technique, word press, wordpress.com

Should a piano teacher be able to play pieces assigned to students?

This question, posed on numerous Internet piano forums, elicited varied opinions from teachers and students. One participant asked about Dorothy Delay, who taught some of the most celebrated violinists at the Juilliard School. When this esteemed mentor had reached an advanced age, would she have been able to demonstrate challenging technical passages for her pupils?… Continue reading Should a piano teacher be able to play pieces assigned to students?

"A Room with a View", "The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music", Bay area, blog, blogger, blogging, E.M. Forster, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano studio, Molly Goldberg, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano room, piano society, piano student, piano studio, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, South Bronx, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, Uncategorized, video performances, word press, wordpress.com

A Piano Room with a View

I thought of E.M. Forster's novel as an inspiration for this blog, but "The Hills are alive with the Sound of Music" would have more aptly described what I was writing about. Every week, a breathtaking view of the El Cerrito Hills streams into my piano room through an open, maple-paneled door. Depending on the… Continue reading A Piano Room with a View

arpeggios, blog, blogger, blogging, California, Circle of Fifths, classissima, classissima.com, creative learning environment, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano studio, Fresno, Fresno California, fresno filmmakers alliance, great pianists of the past, Internet, keyboard technique, Major and minor scales, mind body connection, MTAC, music teachers association of california, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, piano, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano pedagogy, piano practicing, piano student, piano warm-ups, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace.com, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Steinway grand piano, Steinway M grand piano, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Piano Technique: Thumb Shifts in Playing Scales and Arpeggios (Video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk7Bnd6xD9Y The great pianist, Josef Hofmann, imparted words of wisdom when he answered the following question posed by a student that related to the thumb and piano technique: "What is the matter with my scales? I cannot play them without a perceptible jerk when I use my thumb. How can I overcome the unevenness?" The… Continue reading Piano Technique: Thumb Shifts in Playing Scales and Arpeggios (Video)

Circle of Fifths, classissima, classissima.com, composing, Creative Fresno, El Cerrito California, Faber Primer Piano Adventures, five finger positions, Fresno California, Internet, Keith Snell, memoir, MTAC, Music Teachers Asssociation of California, music theory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin, Oberlin Conservatory, pentachords, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano instruction, piano instructor, piano lessons, piano pedagogy, piano repertoire, piano student, piano teacher, piano teaching repertoire, piano tutorial, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace.com, Randall Faber, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Steinway and Sons, Steinway M grand piano, Tanglewood Music Festival, Teach Street, teaching piano scales, teaching piano to teenagers, teaching scales, technique, Theory, traditional piano teaching, uk-piano-forums, Uncategorized, video performances, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Music Theory and Piano Study: It doesn’t have to be drudgery

Music Theory doesn't have to be drudgery If I turn the clock back to my early days as a piano student, I can say without a doubt that I absolutely HATED “Music Theory” or anything remotely related to it. And I can clearly thank my very pedantic teacher, Mrs. Schwed for this aversion. She made… Continue reading Music Theory and Piano Study: It doesn’t have to be drudgery

6 degrees of separation, Albert Appel, Appel Farm in Elmer New Jersey, Appel Farm Music Camp, Audrey Bookspan, authorsden, blog, blogger, blogging, camp memories, chamber music, chicken coops, classissima, classissima.com, Elmer New Jersey, Facebook, Martin Bookspan, memoir, Micky Bookspan, modern dance, Mozart g minor piano quintet, music and heart, Natalie Hinderas, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin Conservatory, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano society, Piano Street, playing piano, publishersmarketplace.com, Ravel Quartet in g minor, Ravel String Quartet in F Major, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, South Jersey, summer arts camp, summer music camp, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, Temple University, Toby Appel, Toby Appel, Toby Appel violist, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, worst nightmare, you tube, you tube video

Appel Farm Music Camp and the Chicken Coops

Was I dreaming? Did I wake up in a chicken coop on a hot and humid July morning? The summer before I was a Merrywood camper, encapsulated in a forest of pines bordering Lenox, Massachusetts. A short journey to Tanglewood for a Sunday morning BSO rehearsal, was followed by a breakfast of sizzling waffles and… Continue reading Appel Farm Music Camp and the Chicken Coops

Aiden the Cat, authorsden, blog, blogger, blogging, California, cat, cats, classical music, classissima, classissima.com, Creative Fresno, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano studio, Facebook, Fresno, Fresno California, fresno filmmakers alliance, humor, Lillian Freundlich, pianist, piano, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano pedagogy, piano practicing, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano teacher, piano teaching repertoire, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace.com, satire, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, willy wonka and the chocolate factory, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

In a Piano Teacher’s Arsenal: The Magic bullet piece (VIDEO with Aiden Cat joining in)

There's always a piece of music lurking somewhere that can save a young student from quitting piano. For those of us who teach the great masterworks, passing a cultural legacy to the next generation, we know lickety-split when it's time to break out our ammunition: the magic bullet piece. Example: An 11-year old had gotten… Continue reading In a Piano Teacher’s Arsenal: The Magic bullet piece (VIDEO with Aiden Cat joining in)

adult piano students, adult piano students say the darndest things, Amazon, attorney, baseball, blog, blogger, blogging, Classical era, classical music, classissima, classissima.com, Creative Fresno, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano studio, Faber Primer Piano Adventures, football, Fresno, Fresno California, Fresno Famous, fresno filmmakers alliance, humor, MTAC, music, music and heart, Music Teachers Asssociation of California, music theory, New York City High School of Performing Arts, Oberlin, Oberlin Conservatory, pianist, piano, piano addict, piano lesson, piano lessons, piano pedagogy, piano practicing, piano repertoire, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano technician's guild, piano warm-ups, Piano World, pianoaddict.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, satire, scales, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Steinway and Sons, Steinway grand piano, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, teaching piano scales, teaching piano to teenagers, teaching scales, Uncategorized, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com

PULLS AND TUGS: Two sides of the piano student/teacher relationship

There are two sides to every story, so in all fairness I've posited a number of situations that crop up in the piano lesson environment, with an analysis from the Teacher and Student's point of view. In some instances, I've substituted PARENT for STUDENT where I think it applies. RESOLUTIONS of various issues are explored.… Continue reading PULLS AND TUGS: Two sides of the piano student/teacher relationship

6 degrees of separation, Appel Farm in Elmer New Jersey, Bach D minor piano concerto, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Hartt College of Music, Hartt School of Music, Lukas Foss, Norman Rockwell, piano lessons, piano pedagogy, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano teacher, piano teaching repertoire, Pierre Monteux, playing Brandenburg concerto no. 5, samoors, Saturday Evening Post, talkclassical.com, Teach Street, technique, teenagers, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com

A Breathtaking Merrywood Music Camp Finale!

If I let my imagination run wild, I would frame this writing around Robin Hood. The backdrop was the Merrywood Music Camp, nestled in the Berkshires in a dense forest where a friendly outlaw could easily rob from the rich in Lenox, and retreat into the pines, practically unnoticed. Merrywood was a stone’s throw from… Continue reading A Breathtaking Merrywood Music Camp Finale!

arpeggios, authorsden, Franz Schubert, harmonic analysis, music theory, Piano Street, piano student, piano teacher, piano teaching repertoire, piano technique, piano warm-ups, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace.com, Schubert Impromptus, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, Steinway and Sons, Steinway grand piano, Steinway M grand piano, talkclassical.com, teaching scales, uk-piano-forums, video performances, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Piano Instruction: A Slow Practice Approach to the Schubert Impromptu Op. 90, no.2 in Eb Flat Major (Video)

In Tempo reading: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHFOPFzUxUw Slow practice build-up approach: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8AYC4WemeE This Romantic era Impromptu will always benefit from the type of slow practicing that permits careful shaping of phrases, attention to dynamics and other nuances. In the video, I magnify the contours of the work through a deliberately behind tempo approach. Many students will say, that… Continue reading Piano Instruction: A Slow Practice Approach to the Schubert Impromptu Op. 90, no.2 in Eb Flat Major (Video)

100 years, 6 degrees of separation, 77 Sunset Strip, adult piano students, Amsterdam Avenue and 74th Street, arpeggios, athletic coaching, athletic training, authorsden, Bach Inventions, Baroque music, Baroque trills, Beatles albums, Beethoven, blog, blogger, blogging, boxing, boxing lessons, California, Caroline Scheer, casio privia 110, cdbaby, Classical era, classical music, Classical period sonata, classissima, classissima.com, Creative Fresno, El Cerrito, El Cerrito California, El Cerrito piano studio, Facebook, Facebook friend, five finger positions, five finger warm-ups, Five for Fighting, Forever and Always, Fresno, Fresno Famous, fresno filmmakers alliance, Gospel Music, Guitar Center, humor, keyboard technique, Major and minor scales, memoir, mind body connection, MTAC, music, music and heart, Music Teachers Asssociation of California, piano, piano addict, piano instruction, piano lesson, piano scales, piano society, Piano Street, piano student, piano teacher, piano teaching repertoire, piano tuning, piano warm-ups, Pianostreet.com, pianoworld, pianoworld.com, playing piano, popular music, publishers marketplace, publishersmarketplace.com, Ralph Cato, satire, scale fingerings, scales, Shirley Kirsten, Shirley Kirsten blog, Shirley Smith Kirsten, sparring partner, Steinway and Sons, Steinway M grand piano, Steinway piano, Steinway studio upright, talkclassical.com, Taylor Swift, Teach Street, teaching piano scales, teaching piano to teenagers, teaching scales, technique, teenagers, The Beatles, Uncategorized, video performances, whole body music listening, word press, wordpress.com, you tube, you tube video

Letting my hair down with a snatch of “Let It Be!” (VIDEO)

The piano room was a mess yesterday with music strewn about. Two '60-'70's era Beatles albums were excavated from a pile of sheet music, hard bound theory texts, and Urtext editions of Beethoven's sonatas. Foraging a big carton of stuff like this was a trip down memory lane. My very old Yamaha guitar, a prized… Continue reading Letting my hair down with a snatch of “Let It Be!” (VIDEO)