Back in the days of full-time teaching, my stock phrase “The Metronome Is Your Friend,” delivered brightly and somewhat theatrically, was infallibly met with a… Continue reading The Metronome is Your Friend
Practicing
Getting off to a Good Start
Flashback to the 1990s: I was hanging around between rounds of a piano competition and overheard a participant asking a judge why she has been… Continue reading Getting off to a Good Start
A Chopin Etude as a Warmup?
Chopin’s Etude Op. 25 No. 1 is great for practicing arm relaxation. However, the entire piece is long and difficult to get through for a… Continue reading A Chopin Etude as a Warmup?
Making the hardest parts easier: perspective, planning, practice.
When we learn a new piano piece, there is often a particular stretch which gives us the most trouble. It’s usually toward the end, one… Continue reading Making the hardest parts easier: perspective, planning, practice.
Rachmaninov Warm-Up
Today I was practicing one of my favorite pieces by Sergey Rachmaninov – Variations on a Theme by Corelli, Op. 42 – and it occurred… Continue reading Rachmaninov Warm-Up
Bach: The Energy Between the Voices
What is so special about J.S. Bach’s music? For us keyboardists it’s the contrapuntal texture which can be maddeningly difficult yet exhilaratingly uplifting. The synthesis… Continue reading Bach: The Energy Between the Voices
Beethoven Warm-up: Octaves and Broken Chords in Both Hands
Back in my college days I used to start my practice sessions by going over the most difficult parts of the repertoire I was preparing.… Continue reading Beethoven Warm-up: Octaves and Broken Chords in Both Hands
Minding your Ps and Qs (Pauses and Quarters)
Here is a tip which will go a long way toward refinement of your playing: let go of single accompaniment notes at the precisely designated… Continue reading Minding your Ps and Qs (Pauses and Quarters)
Fourth Finger Exercise
Here is an excellent exercise from the Russian piano tradition passed down to me from Vladimir Feltsman. It works on our weakest finger, the 4th,… Continue reading Fourth Finger Exercise
How to Approach Sight Reading for Yourself or With Your Students
Sight reading is a very important skill which is often neglected during piano lessons and while practicing because of time constraints. It’s way at the… Continue reading How to Approach Sight Reading for Yourself or With Your Students
Listening for the Bass in Chopin
While the melody is the focus in Chopin’s pieces, Vladimir Feltsman often remarked that he isn’t hearing the bass notes when students played for him.… Continue reading Listening for the Bass in Chopin
Warming Up
Here is an exercise Vladimir Feltsman showed us a couple of times at his SUNY New Paltz master classes. It uses all five fingers in… Continue reading Warming Up