I slipped up and missed the deadline for my end of 2017 super You Tube picks--realizing a bit late, that readers were celebrating the New Year in different time zones. Piano lovers from Japan and Australia had already popped champagne bottles 18 or so hours before those of us partook on the West Coast--And with… Continue reading Favorite you tube video picks for 2018! (carried over from 2017)
Tag: Romantic music
Sound imagination and tactile, tonal expression at the piano for diverse compositional eras
Often a posted comment about a You Tube video inspires a blog topic that is of interest to pianists and teachers. One such public addition to my Channel quickly streamed into a comparison between two well-known compositions in the piano repertoire. The commenter was asking about the grade "level" of Debussy's The Girl with the… Continue reading Sound imagination and tactile, tonal expression at the piano for diverse compositional eras
A musical journey through a Chopin Waltz in glowing terms
A particular composition that's explored during a piano lesson can afford a multifaceted examination of phrasing. In this beauty-seeking musical cosmos, no singular focus will necessarily supersede others. Instead, a panoply of framing cues or prompts can nourish well-shaped phrases and lines. As I uploaded a lesson video today, I found myself summarizing a journey… Continue reading A musical journey through a Chopin Waltz in glowing terms
Don’t Choke through peak sections of a Chopin Nocturne
Many adult students get bent out of shape when a piece of "night music" blooms with "improvised," decorative passagework at peak expressive levels. Add in prolonged trills with lower notes tied (held down) leading to a decisive crescendo through a tricky chromatic scale, and many players will shrink from the challenge. They'll prefer to skip… Continue reading Don’t Choke through peak sections of a Chopin Nocturne
A balanced piano lesson of Technique and Repertoire
If a student is well-prepared, having devoted quality time during the week to practicing scales, arpeggios, and pieces assigned, a lesson can contain a nice balance of ingredients. Barring holidays, long distance travel and time zone changes, most pupils will devote 15 to 20 minutes of their lesson to technique, and the remaining 40 minutes… Continue reading A balanced piano lesson of Technique and Repertoire
Schumann’s ‘Rocking Horse’ comes with a spring forward wrist
Schumann's Kinderszenen album, (Scenes of Childhood) includes a child-inspired Rocking Horse piece that enlists spring forward wrist motions to help frame its character. If the pianist tightens up and tries to realize third beat accents with a tight jolt of a stiff hand, then it's all over for the player who will tire quickly while… Continue reading Schumann’s ‘Rocking Horse’ comes with a spring forward wrist
An adult student excels: Chopin Waltz in C# minor, Op. 64, No. 2
I'm beaming from ear to ear, as I showcase Julie's progress by way of a recent lesson collaboration. I say collaboration, because students and teachers learn together and gain insights as they take a common musical journey. Julie happens to be indirectly related to me. That is, her mother studied with concert pianist, Ena Bronstein… Continue reading An adult student excels: Chopin Waltz in C# minor, Op. 64, No. 2
Dedicating my birthday to Chopin!
I'm often asked to name my favorite composer, and nearly always, it's the one whose music I'm currently studying and teaching. In this case, Chopin's posthumous Waltz in A minor, discovered by musicologists in the 1950s, is the CHOSEN. http://youtu.be/0fyaPEjVIl0 Not cluttered with reams of intricate runs and fancy ornaments, it's a good first Waltz… Continue reading Dedicating my birthday to Chopin!
Tchaikovsky and his solemn chorale
Last night I discovered one of the most gorgeous hymns composed in the Romantic genre. It is Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's "In the Church," Op. 39, a perfect segue way to Christmas. My diverse journey through the composer's Children's Album has been a potpourri of moods and colors sprinkled through "Sweet Dream," "Playing Hobby-Horses," "Song of… Continue reading Tchaikovsky and his solemn chorale
Piano Instruction: Don’t always accentuate the downbeat– Burgmuller’s music proves it (Video)
http://youtu.be/MgwB3JESuG0 "Inquietude" from Burgmuller's Op. 100 collection of Twenty-Five Progressive pieces, invites a player to examine harmonic progressions as a clue to phrasing a composition that's often pounded to death with unnecessary DOWNBEAT accents. Seymour Bernstein, distinguished pianist, teacher and author, noted in a recent conversation we shared in New York City, that our musical… Continue reading Piano Instruction: Don’t always accentuate the downbeat– Burgmuller’s music proves it (Video)
