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New, second blog site at Word Press…

Hallowed ground or a dumpsite of Bezerkeley rental rejects?

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A Purr-fect sedative for a Cat

"Harmony of the Angels" has a soporific effect on Aiden cat while it provided a relaxing prelude to Rina's earliest piano lessons. Students, young and old, love its thread of sonorities.

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A piano student kicks back over the summer playing a Disney selection while I rekindle old musical memories (Videos)

It's not a big deal when a student forgets her scale, arpeggio, and total assignment, then drifts into a casual reading of "When You Wish Upon a Star" from Pinocchio. Albertina, 13, had brought a coffee-table size anthology of popular tunes to her last lesson. It was indexed by Movies Themes, Broadway Show hits like… Continue reading A piano student kicks back over the summer playing a Disney selection while I rekindle old musical memories (Videos)

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Piano Lesson in progress: Beethoven “Tempest” Sonata, Op. 31, No. 2 (shaping the opening phrases) Video

An adult student practiced the transition from the opening Largo broken chord, to grouping double 8th-notes in the Allegro, by blocking them, then unraveling the duple figures. The Adagio that followed required phrasing with an ear toward shaping the line in a different temporal universe before a spill of note-pairs in a tension-building crescendo. Video:… Continue reading Piano Lesson in progress: Beethoven “Tempest” Sonata, Op. 31, No. 2 (shaping the opening phrases) Video

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Part THREE: Guess what happened on the way to my El Cerrito Piano Studio? (Photos!)

There was no rooster greeting me for the past two weeks as I wound my way from Bart Del Norte into the El Cerrito Hills. The "cockadoodledoo" had been a welcome embellishment to my time-honored walk and I wondered what happened to the messenger. Once I had ensnared some video through a wood fence opening… Continue reading Part THREE: Guess what happened on the way to my El Cerrito Piano Studio? (Photos!)

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Piano Lesson: Rina, 5, plays “Frere Jacques” in C Major and “sad” minor, with legato fingering (smooth and connected) Video

Since Rina embarked upon legato playing two weeks ago in a five-finger position "roll" up and down, she's made a nice transition to rendering her pieces in smooth and connected style. The detached-note playing for at least 6 months prepared her for LEGATO. Here's "Frere Jacques" in C Major, and minor.(using Eb) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pzkLrQbjYk Rina "READS"… Continue reading Piano Lesson: Rina, 5, plays “Frere Jacques” in C Major and “sad” minor, with legato fingering (smooth and connected) Video

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Piano Instruction: Chopin Prelude No. 4 in E minor, Op. 28, Teacher, Shirley Kirsten

http://youtu.be/By2h_rr9JSM http://youtu.be/TIWxLbW3Z38 Chopin composed 24 Preludes in Op. 28 exploring 24 different keys (Major and minor) with each Prelude having its own mood and character. In my step-by-step practicing of the E minor Prelude, I start with the Left Hand with its chordal mosaic, and listen attentively for descending chromatic movement between chords. In the… Continue reading Piano Instruction: Chopin Prelude No. 4 in E minor, Op. 28, Teacher, Shirley Kirsten

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Aiden the Cat Swoons over Chopin’s music (on You Tube)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5MLPxKFl2c I was joined by a surprise visitor while videotaping myself playing the Chopin Waltz in A minor, a composition discovered long after the composer's death. (Cataloged as "Opus Posthumous") I had been tirelessly recording the piece for about 20 times in the sanctity of my piano room, while Aiden had been shuttled off to… Continue reading Aiden the Cat Swoons over Chopin’s music (on You Tube)