CELEBRATING Adult piano students!

I sent a few questions to adult students and this is the first of many responses I will be posting. A video of a lesson in progress is a point of reference: The pupil is working on J.C. Bach's Prelude in A minor, second section, which contains a series of modulating chords or secondary dominants.…

A Heart-wrenching blend of Music and Memoir

A one-woman show playing at the Berkeley Rep (adapted and directed by Hershey Felder) is so emotionally riveting that it must reach Broadway and beyond. In The Pianist of Willesden Lane, Mona Golabek weaves a dramatic wartime story in music and words, producing a unique theatrical experience. With the expressive framing of the Grieg Piano…

Shaping a melodic line through chord blocking (Schumann Little Etude no. 14)

To block out sonorities that spring from spun out, undulating broken chords, can provide a peak learning experience. In a baby-step advance, especially, where finding a melodic thread, may consist of a one-hand alone approach at first, the pleasure to follow, comes with cushions of harmony. One of my adult students, just launched her journey…

A fusion of art and music in The Magic Link: Piano Albums by Schumann and Tchaikovsky

Rada Bukhman, pianist, teacher, and fine artist, brings a wealth of talent to her latest undertaking. Her "infinite love affair between music and fine art" is the springboard for a journey through the related compositions of Robert Schumann and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Both composers produced colorful albums for the young that have a remarkable affinity…

Delightful Piano Arrangements of Jewish Holiday songs

Robert Schultz has done a Mitzvah, (blessing) in compiling a pleasing group of Jewish Holiday songs for Intermediate level students. For Chanukah, which shares a table setting with Thanksgiving this year, (the menorah sits beside a fully dressed turkey), Schultz has included two particularly engaging selections: "LICHVOD HACHANUKAH" (about baking potato latkes), and "S'VIVON" (Spinning…

Piano Study: Does counting out beats have to be robotic? (Videos)

I'm open to a panoply of ideas about teaching piano, and I've often integrated a variety of mentoring approaches based on feedback from colleagues. The latest discussion that caught my attention, centered on "counting beats" in the early learning stages of a new composition. For some the notion of oral "counting" at all in the…

A message to music students and parents

This says it all: I thank my dear friend and colleague, Louise Hullinger for posting this gem. And here's another treasure from Kurt Vonnegut: "Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to…

A winning collection of Nutcracker selections arranged for piano!

An inquiry at the Facebook Art of Piano Pedagogy forum drew my immediate attention. A supermom pianist/teacher and mentor to her grandson, was eager to feast the youngster on Nutcracker delights and wanted some guidance. She had noted the child's enthusiasm to notch himself into a challenging musical arena, so why not recommend a colorful…

Piano Lessons for children: A triad of cooperation

Embarking upon a musical journey with a child requires more than one boarding passenger. While a student eases onto the piano bench, front and center, parents are truly in the driver's seat. They need to provide necessary support for an undertaking that has lifetime value. Otherwise, registered ambivalence about the role of music in the…

Piano Gym and remedial practice

I put myself out there in the piano gym arena not as a paragon of perfection but as a work in progress. The growth process counts most to me, along with the joy of fine tuning it. That's how I approached a set of warm-up arpeggios that needed remediation as snags arose. http://youtu.be/h7qwt_O5fbk A few…