Piano Pride
“I’m so proud of myself!,” said Marty. She has been taking class piano since August. Before that, she had a few lessons, played the violin, and taught herself the basics.…
Scales. What?
I remember trying to learn scales hands together. Four in one hand then 3 in the other my teacher said. F is like C except there is a 4 on…
Touch & Go
Megan sighed, “I’ve never been able to play louder with one hand and softer with the other. I just can’t do it.” We had been working on balance of layers…
Playing With Wolfgang: A Little Un-Coordination (plus a bonus)
Early in my college career, I was working on the Bach Toccata in E Minor and getting totally frustrated. I watched my fellow students breeze through their Bach. I was…
Artist Portrait: Matthew Odell
I had the great pleasure of doing this latest Artist Portrait interview with pianist Matthew Odell—and face to face too! He is an energetic and down to earth person who…
Looking in the Mirror
Last week, I was given the gift of seeing myself and my teaching from without on two different occasions. Firstly, Matthew Odell was at the college to do a workshop…
Artist Portrait: Reuel Meditz
This Artist Portrait comes to you in a bit of a different format. Because of Reuel's tour schedule, we were unable to video Skype our interview. So, we talked on…
Galumphing With Mr. Hanon
Inspired by Steven Nachmanovich’s book, Freeplay, my friend and mentor, Dr. Lisa Zdechlik talks a lot about galumphing as we learn. (you know- the playing part of playing piano) We…