Building a piano lesson around J.S. Bach Invention 4 (d minor)

The scale of D minor (Harmonic form) feeds nicely into the study of Bach's Invention 4, BWV 775, and within this Baroque inspired universe, Alton, (Life Begins at 77) continued his musical journey. First my play through of the Two-Part Invention http://youtu.be/jZ5jbiLUhHQ A capsulized compositional analysis http://youtu.be/LTtM2DsJsk8 And a Summary of lesson goals for the…

Chopin’s Nocturne in E minor, Op. 72, No. 1: Rotation, voicing, phrasing

Many students believe their hands are too small to navigate the E minor Nocturne. Seeing awkward intervals inside of broken chords that often span beyond an octave, they have a fixed mindset that the Left Hand (in this composition) must pre-stretch the distance between the lower and upper most note to insure ACCURACY, at least.…

A Romp through F# Major scales and arpeggios

F# Major, from a certain perspective, happens to be one of the easier scales to play because it falls into patterns of triple black and double black keys with thumbs meeting in between. In fact, both hands have mirror fingers on the black notes. That's why piano teachers will often introduce the F# Major scale…

Piano Technique: Practicing Arpeggios in 10ths, and in Contrary motion

I've selected broken chord chains or arpeggios (harp-like figures) that have symmetries between the hands when played in 10ths, and separately in contrary motion. Taken together, these are not pedantic exercises, but expressive romps over many octaves culminating in a rotation at the turnaround to the descent in pleasing contour. In the second instruction, my…

Piano Technique: How to organize and practice a Major scale in 6ths

I chose the Ab Major scale as my springboard for this demonstration. Its KEY SIGNATURE has the mnemonic BEAD (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db) I recommend practicing the scale hands alone at first in its Root position to clarify fingering. Then by playing up the scale in the Right Hand to the sixth note, we land…

Piano Technique: A styled staccato with a dipping wrist

I find that adding supple wrist dips to staccato within any dynamic range helps to style and shape lines, phrases, etc. Here's it's first executed within a scale framework. A cat cameo appearance is the opener. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXKU2qKdaMw Now a sample of shaped staccato in the soft range, played after a nicely contoured legato. (just snip…

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.…

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.…