Author Archive

Playing for fun

After a long day of teaching, I watched some TV tonight with my husband to unwind. One of our favorite shows is "According To Jim". The episode we watched tonight was about his daughters Gracey and Ruby, who were in a basketball team that 'plays for fun', and at the end of the game, everyone [ READ MORE ]

Rewarding Students

Recently I heard from a former student who is now herself also a teacher of beginner students. She told me about a new incentive system she put in place to encourage students to practice more: they get 'normal' stickers during their weekly lessons, and at the end of the month, if they have been practicing [ READ MORE ]

Weak Fingers

Recently a friend who lives overseas asked me whether or not a used piano would be a good starting piano for her son. The piano in question is a Young Chang upright; a family member was told by their piano teacher to upgrade to a better brand, due to the student having "weak fingers", and [ READ MORE ]

Perfection

Recently an adult student said to me during her lesson: "Do you know what I realized, it will take years before I can perfect these pieces". I am happy that she has come to this revelation - she has set a higher standard for herself; knowing there is room for improvement is the first step to [ READ MORE ]

Piano Notes – Studio Newsletter May 2010

New Student Welcome to new student Andreas Shaefer, age 7, to the studio. Summer Recital June 26 Registration deadline: May 15 see April newsletter for details Piano Journal Recently I was very impressed by a new student, Adalee Koshiol (6th grade), when she showed me her Piano Journal. I had mentioned to her that she [ READ MORE ]

Chopin Nocturne F sharp major Op15 No 2

Words of inspiration from Chopin: “Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties.” “There are certain times when I feel more inspired, filled with a strong power that forces me to listen to my inner voice, and when I feel more need than ever for a Pleyel piano.” “[…] in a [ READ MORE ]

Playing from Memory

The issue of memory playing has haunted musicians for centuries. For some, it comes naturally; for others, it is an eternal struggle. Is it necessary to play from memory in order to give a professional, musical and convincing performance? Absolutely not. In fact, it was not the norm to perform from memory in Bach, Mozart, [ READ MORE ]

Learning from CD

“I believe that interpretation should be like a transparent glass,  a window for the composer’s music” – Vladimir Ashkenazy – Russian conductor and virtuoso pianist I have a new student in my studio who is extremely musical, has self-taught to play many popular songs from watching YouTube videos, but is just beginning to learn to [ READ MORE ]

Method books

One of the nice things about social networking (facebook, twitter, myspace) is that you learn something new everyday. Today while browsing my friends' updates on facebook I came across this quote: "The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too [ READ MORE ]

Finding a Piano Teacher

Today I heard from a former student whom I taught at East End Arts Council while I lived on Long Island, New York. I was very glad to hear from her mom that she is now doing very well with her new teacher. This was not always the case. She had a different new teacher [ READ MORE ]

Sheet Music Plus Featured Sale
Apple iTunes
Content Protected Using Blog Protector By: PcDrome.