More things I’ve found useful for soft playing.
V. Vertical motion of keys is what creates sound. If you’re moving too fast to play softly, “use up” some of your velocity by changing the finger’s angle of attack. Toboggan down a sloping hill to the key instead of diving vertically. Read More
As a child, I had some ability to play pianissimo, at least in slow passages, but was less comfortable in piano. I thought piano ought to be easier than pianissimo, but it wasn’t. Read More
Performing arts offer communication, catharsis, and outlets for expression. Holders of purse-strings—parents, administrators and others—sometimes need reminding that performing arts also teach skills that are valuable in all kinds of work: Read More
Question: I’m lazy :). How can I improve my playing the most, with the least work? -S.T.R., Indiana.
Dear S.T.R., I see you’re not too lazy to ask! To answer your question, 90% of the students I’ve worked with over the years (in the last two years, over 30 students, from 10 countries) showed immediate benefit from two simple activities: dancing and singing. Read More
Can a student become more gifted?
In the ’90s, I had a fascinating conversation with a professor of piano at a Midwestern university where I spent some time. She was Japanese-born; trained in Japan and then at the Paris Conservatory; a superb performer and teacher.
Teaching was close to this lady’s heart, and we were discussing it one day when she said, “Most students are not very gifted, but sometimes I can make them more gifted.” Read More
Arriving back in Los Angeles from a regional piano competition that had only two prizes, I called my teacher.
“It’s Jim!”
“How did you do?”
“I took second prize!”
“Why not first?” Read More
You have that new Beethoven in your hands—kind-of, sort-of. You’ve worked out the technical problems—kind-of, sort-of. And you’re getting nowhere. You have the "What Now?" Syndrome, and you’re wondering what to do next to improve. Read More
From age 8, looking up from my teacher’s piano, I would see Schnabel’s head—my teacher’s teacher—scowling down from the plinth in the far corner. The marble gave weight to his authority and his fame as a Beethoven-player. I used his edition of the sonatas, sometimes wondering if I had to read the footnotes in all three languages to fully understand them.
At 12, I played the "Pathétique" and "Moonlight" sonatas in public, having mislearned them. Read More
I knew that the amazing Leonid Hambro had toured as “straight pianist” to Victor Borge, but hadn’t known he’d also conducted orchestras for the show. Telling me this—ever the provocateur—he added, “If you learn six words in any language, you can rehearse an orchestra.” Read More
