Everyone’s obsessed with the fall-off in piano students

I evade the firing squad at any number of piano ped. forums by sticking to my guns. I say, in some parts of the world there may be a strong Classical music tradition bound up with a formidable work ethic. In remote parts of Romania, for example, and into the hills of Slavic countries, the…

Tchaikovsky’s “Harmonica Player” fits snugly between a Song and Dance

When I first stumbled upon "The Harmonic Player," No. 12, from Tchaikovsky's Op. 39 Children's Album, my first thought was, "Why on earth did the great composer include such tirelessly redundant music with an unimaginative harmonic scheme and belabored melody." For certain, as a stand-alone, it could be easily passed over--- dismissed as a throwaway…

Tchaikovsky’s “Mama” gives double messages

"Mama" is a lyrically spun out tableau evoking the endearing, universally loving mother, but as many can attest, moms may often send out double messages. In Tchaikovsky's Op. 39, Children's Album, MAMA has number 4 status among 24 beautifully descriptive pieces, and with its remarkable dualism, in parallel tenths between the soprano (top line) and…

Piano Instruction: On the way to Velocity, doing the groundwork (Video)

When faced with a composition in Presto tempo, it's best to practice slowly, preferably separate hands, (at first) to secure a good fingering, understand HARMONIC flow (or progressions) and piece out the phrasing, that encompasses articulation and dynamics. In my own baby-step maiden journey this evening through Tchaikovsky's "Baba Yaga" (The Witch), Op. 39, No.…

Sculpting melodic lines over FACETIME

Is this Orwellian? It's well past 1984, and pianists who've steeped themselves in every URTEXT (authentic music edition) known to civilization, are signing on to SKYPE, meeting their students in Alaska, Uganda, Brazil, or even right around the corner. The NEW neighborhood teacher is zoning out on the big screen with a Logitech mini-cam blowing…

Favorite Tchaikovsky piano pieces and their pedagogical value

I made a promise to myself well before the New Year, that I would learn one new Tchaikovsky composition each day from the composer's Op. 39 Children's Album. (24 tableaux) Not that I'm recommending to piano students that they assimilate new music at lightning speed, but for me the challenge was to make a spurt…

Rami Bar-Niv’s Adult Music Camp is for pianists of all levels

Concert pianist, Rami Bar-Niv has a large serving of musical talent that spills into an assortment of activities. He's a well-spring of creativity: performing, teaching, composing and publishing (a book on fingering, no less) while his sheet music is circulated far and wide. Now add to the list, Rami's Rhapsody Camp for Adults wrapped in…

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…

If it sounds like a lark, it must be one (Tchaikovsky’s “Song of the Lark”)

http://youtu.be/Hu43yQUbgcA After I recorded Tchaikovsky's precious tableau from his Op. 39 Children's Album, I discovered a true-to-life rendering by Russian pianist, Igor Galenkov, who delicately imported a bird to embellish his performance. http://youtu.be/sqdVlA7c_bg *** Instruction: The rolling forward wrist motion in Lark http://youtu.be/AXspi9vh3vY ***

Celebrating Beethoven’s Birthday!

Albeit a day later, the composer's music is worth our adulation. Since words cannot amply express the beauty of Beethoven's outpourings, I've selected a favorite movement that speaks volumes about his genius: http://youtu.be/jGJ_4CS_c4M