Appealing Piano Repertoire for the Advanced Beginner

Three selected short pieces offer musical enticement for students who've survived the method book phase and need rejuvenating connections with the masters, albeit via contemporaries of the glittery Classical era giants. In one instance, I discovered a gem dating back to the Elizabethan era. It happens to be a re-do of "Go No More A'Rushing,"…

Revisiting Schubert Impromptu in Eb, Op. 90, No. 2

Since I have two students immersed in this gorgeously spun out Impromptu, my review has been perfectly timed. http://youtu.be/daHh9E1rNos Schubert's composition challenges the player to be lyrical through swaths of triplets. These roll out as fast but contoured melody. Laying a good learning foundation requires attentive listening and a well-conceived fingering tied to Slow practicing.…

The funnies of finding the right piano student

Ever heard of takelessons.com or related web links that hook up teachers and students? It's like Match.com when it comes to a mountain of challenges. Here's an On SITE sample where a music teacher BIDS for a job, like a construction worker. (Teacher Quotes are purchased as Credits) The student SPECS A Request From South…

Sustain pedaling by Webcam

Sometimes shuffling three Logitechs can be an art, especially when a cyber piano student needs a particular view to assist practicing. Last night, I lucked out, angling my elevated cam so it captured the sustain pedal and keyboard in perfect visual/auditory harmony. I was subsequently able to RECORD a demonstration on Quicktime MOVIE, which is…

Instruction and Comparative performances of Beethoven’s Bagatelle in G minor, Op. 119 No. 1

Wikipedia: "The Eleven Bagatelles, Op. 119 were written by Ludwig van Beethoven between the 1790s and the early 1820s. By the end of 1803, he had already sketched Bagatelles Nos. 1 through 5 (along with several other short works for piano that he never published). In 1820, he composed the last five bagatelles of Op.…

Piano Lessons: A raw adult beginner moves along

Each piano student shapes his own journey with the help of a cooperating teacher. For one particular pupil, who came to his first lesson not reading a note of music, his burning desire to learn ignited a playful romp through a set of duets. These are sourced from Faber's Accelerated Adventures for the Older Beginner.…

Teaching piano by Skype in a foreign language

The brave new horizon technology that launched our webcam mentoring journey around the world, adds an instant language translator by Skype. As the need arises, a piano teacher can tap into a downloaded CATFISH application and preselect English to Spanish, or any paired lingo combo that's pertinent to the student's country of origin. Last night…

Piano Technique: Picking up Arpeggio Speed with blocked and unblocked note groupings

I uploaded two videos today that focus on practicing strategies for playing brisk paced arpeggio (G Major). The first is an after hours tutorial that I recorded by FACETIME SCREEN RECORD. The screen, framed by Millennium technology art nouveau, features my Arius YDP 141 digital piano as its centerpiece. The second video sample is a…

Piano Lessons by SkYPE: a FUR–st for two furry friends

Two unexpected guests dropped in for a keyboard visit this evening! Another preceded them: Link: Top FIVE PIANO LESSON BY SKYPE INTERRUPTIONS https://arioso7.wordpress.com/2013/07/27/top-five-piano-by-skype-lesson-interruptions-videos/

By FACETIME or SKYPE, Quicktime recorded snippets assist piano students

My amazement grows in big spurts when I discover new options to aid piano students who take lessons over Skype or Facetime. Two of mine, have poor SKYPE transmission, while FACETIME hums along with clarity. This circumstance motivated me to explore the FACETIME Record option, whose SKYPE analog I'd mastered as CALL RECORDER. Last night,…