Top Tips on Performing Well Under Pressure
(Photo by Sophie Zhai) End of the semester recitals are upon us and with the preparations come nerves. Meet pianist Siqian Li who has some well timed advice for students…
Intermediate Harmonic Troubles Untangled
Many of my students are transfers from other teachers or adults coming back to piano. They are good readers and know their basic major and minor scales and progressions at…
Take that Trouble Spot Out of the Box
In a perfect world we would all be perfectly prepared to tackle a piece before we ever attempted to learn it. Spoiler alert! The world is rarely perfect and neither…
Graceful? Simple? Dramatic? Crafting an Effective Ending
I discuss beginnings with my students often. Does the piece open into an ongoing plot like a certain Star Wars film? Must they imagine and set the atmosphere, then let…
Metronome Fail Fix and Yes, It’s Backwards
Have you ever known someone who just couldn’t play with a metronome no matter the tempo? Sorry. That's definitely a DUH question. It's a frustrating problem to have no matter…
When Being a Contrary Pianist is a Good Thing
Do you have contrary elementary level students? I do. I encourage them. It’s not what you think. Contrary motion at the piano trains the ear to perceive 2 voices moving…
Phrasing in Color
I love answering questions! In a earlier post, One Musical Leaf Falling I talked about using color to depict phrasing. This post is a follow up to answer a super question…
Cartwheels, Piano Style
“Oh! It’s like a cartwheel with my fingers,” she said. Oh, yes she did. We have been working on learning our penta-scales and chord patterns in all keys. She has…