A Blissful Hauskonzert through a Meet-up Connection

Well, it finally came to pass, and technology reigned, bridging the distance between player and audience. I was naturally present in body and spirit, but my face with its register of emotions was plainly blocked by my piano rack. About 12 hours before the event, I had posted a video revealing the seating arrangement. It…

Piano Technique: Contrary motion scales without side-to-side head tracking

Most piano students insist on playing contrary motion scales like they're watching a tennis match: heads rolling to either side of the net with well orchestrated rows of synched sports aficionados. When applied to the piano, however, this capo paced hyperactivity will most likely impede fluidity and encourage note errors. One of my adult students,…

A Day in the Life of a Traveling Piano Teacher (Videos)

I take a once a week journey to Rockridge where I teach a private piano student. The 51B bus that I catch in Downtown Berkeley following my gym workout, travels along College Avenue, crossing into Oakland, California. Destination: a lovely two-story home on a tree-lined block, with a sub-level add-on designed specifically for its chief…

A Home Piano Concert draped in technology (Video attached)

I had a rip-roaring morning! Art, my next-door neighbor, who puts up with my round-the-clock practicing, was invited precisely at 11 a.m. to listen to my rehearsal in prep for my house concert set for next Saturday night. And naturally, as whimsical as everyone knows me to be, I did a MAN in the STREET…

Piano Study: Voice parceled learning takes patience but it’s worth the effort

I always tell my adult students to spot practice where they have troublesome measures, and to take the time to voice pieces in detail. In Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata middle movement, Allegretto, the composer has created a chamber music effect---not an operatic framing--and the very character of his ensemble is one of balanced voices. I hear…

This Week’s Favorite You Tubes!

My first selection is a Juilliard graduation commencement address that's both grounded and inspiring. Joyce Di Donato, mezzo soprano, having received her honorary Doctorate resonates at the podium with wisdom and a touch humor--definitely worth sharing with a universe of musicians who can benefit from a perspective refresher and attitude-changer from time to time. http://youtu.be/qctdpdk-LhI…

Two Adult Piano Students have an Arpeggio fun fest!

My two J's, back-to-back adult pupils, had a rollicking time practicing their arpeggios from legato to staccato. Both had epiphanies about wrist, forearm, and finger staccato in their transitions from whirly, swirly playing to crisp releases. For J(2) "weeping willow" arms allowed a stream of uninterrupted funneled energy that fueled his C Major romp over…

My afternoon at the San Francisco Symphony with Yuja Wang, Pianist

It was a shock to my nervous system to hear a LIVE concert! I had been getting so used to iPod fed classics and You tube streamed performances that I forgot what I was missing. From my seat at terrace right, almost hanging over the stage, I heard amazing instrumental clarity and orchestral color, though…

Piano Repair: Taking the noise out of my pedal!

Israel Stein, Registered Piano Technician, whose feats of repair have earned him national recognition, descended upon my humble abode like the fix-it fairy, and banished my sustain pedal noise forever! (Count on it for the years remaining in my playing lifetime) Trouble-shooting as he went along, Stein diagnosed the problem and followed through in graduated…

Piano Instruction: Piecing out and Practicing J.S. Bach Little Prelude in F, BWV 927

One of my colleagues who filmed a tutorial on this gem, called it a "BEGINNER" composition, yet, in truth, it's not in the easy column. It demands a fluent technique and a thoughtful approach to learning that includes harmonic analysis, blocking, understanding counterpoint, making sensible decisions about articulation, and shaping phrases. Therefore, this "LITTLE" Prelude…