The funniest adult piano student confessions

1) I couldn't get to the piano this week because of my constipated cat. 2) I can't play the Bb scale because it gets all "gummed up." (????) 3) The cleaning lady was vacuuming the piano, inside and out. 4) We were away on a whale-watching expedition in Baja. 5) We changed the clocks so…

A Peak teaching and learning experience!

Piano teachers may complain about students who hardly practice, or come to lessons with a truckload of excuses, but the times we savor are when everything seems to click. Tonight, I had a lesson with an adult student who announced immediately before playing a note that her piece "was in the doghouse." What a tension-relieving…

Chopin Prelude No. 3 in G Major, Op. 28: Is the ultimate tempo within reach?

Without a doubt, Chopin's Prelude in G, Op. 28, No.3, requires a deft Left Hand that can meet the challenge of playing 16th notes in Vivace framing. (extremely quickly) The question is, can most students apply their slow practicing model to the mega-speed zone. In this connection, I often wonder, if there's an inborn disposition…

Happy Birthday, Irina Morozova!

When I first discovered Irina's collection of performances on You Tube, I surely thought heaven had descended to earth. She produced an ethereal singing tone inspired by imagination, but fine tuned with technical fluidity. Without a doubt, her repository of musical insights expanded my own piano learning journey as well as those of her students…

Pianist, Sara Davis Buechner lights up the Berkeley Piano Club with a special tribute

It was an afternoon to remember. Sara Davis Buechner graced the Berkeley Piano Club stage, and mesmerized her audience with a moving tribute to Reah Sadowksky. (1915-2012) She generously dedicated a solo recital "to the memory of one of America’s greatest pianists," who was her friend and inspiration. (All proceeds will benefit the Club's Dorothy…

Piano Technique: Staying CONNECTED while playing staccato

I've picked the B Major Scale with 5 sharps distributed through double and triple black note sequence, to demonstrate wrist, forearm, and finger staccato. In these forays through detached notes, I emphasize how to stay "in touch" and not lose a basic connection to threads of notes. Many ingredients contribute to the creation of a…

Art Kinsey, my piano-loving neighbor, celebrates a special business anniversary

Musicians are often plagued by their living arrangement, particularly when they move from a sprawling private home to a pea size apartment. In my case, relocating to Berkeley, California from the steaming hot Central Valley where I occupied a two-story house, brought an impending dread of living beside a neighbor who would complain constantly about…

Piano Instruction: C Major Scale Mapping

Most students think of C Major as the easiest scale around the BLOCK. But in fact, it's not nearly as patterned or symmetrical as the double and triple black note content scales, B, F# and C# Major (Or their equivalent in FLATS, Db, Gb and Cb) With the ebony laden ones, you can easily place…

Piano Technique Tips: Leaning toward the piano in contrary motion

One of my wise colleagues tipped me off about moving toward the piano when playing scales and arpeggios in contrary motion. After trying it, I integrated the leaning forward motion into my own practicing and naturally, it trickled down to my students in the lesson environment. Here's a demonstration using the E minor arpeggio in…

In Perfect Harmony: Steinway grand and Yamaha Arius digital

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDersM94DbE These two music-makers are currently close companions. I moved Arius out of isolation to a more socially and musically compatible locale well after Steinway Upright 1098 was sold. The space-saving that accrued was particularly beneficial. Now that both grand and electronic live in side-by-side harmony (A 440-wise), I can slip under my acoustic and…