The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025; Community. Creativity. Impact.
Spring 2025; Vol. 17, No. 1
The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 will convene for the thirteenth time this summer, in-person on July 23–26, 2025, in Lombard, Illinois, just outside of Chicago, and online on June 7–8, 2025. As part of the Frances Clark Center, the conference has been recognized for its...
How an Alternatively Sized Keyboard Transformed my Artistry and Life as a Musician and Teacher
Autumn 2024; Vol 16, No. 3
I get asked this question a lot when I perform on an alternatively sized piano keyboard that better fits my hands. This well-meaning comment reveals inherent biases against using a smaller keyboard for greater artistic possibilities. Does playing on a smaller keyboard in some way...
How Important Are Editions for the Earliest Repertoire?
Keyboard Companion Autumn 1994; Vol. 5, No. 3
Original manuscripts have evolved from Johann Sebastian Bach, whose hand-written copies (with occasional smudges) contain almost no markings, to Beethoven, who added not only precise dynamic markings and articulation but also included tempo markings from the newly-invented metronome. The highly-detailed scores of Ravel, Bartok, Kabalevsky,...
Size is key
September 2015; Vol. 7, No. 5
We expect so much in our lives to be tailor made to fit our individual sizes and needs. This morning, we got up, put on well-fitting clothes and shoes, and popped on our prescription glasses or contacts. We got into our cars and adjusted our seats, steering wheels,...
2015 Clavier Companion Collegiate Writing Contest Runner-Up: Survival of the fittest: A reevaluation of traditional scale and arpeggio fingerings
January 2016; Vol. 8, No. 1
Fingering holds a foundational place in fine piano technique. In the words of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, “More is lost through poor fingering than can be replaced by all conceivable artistry and good taste.”1 For many pianists, traditional fingerings for scales and arpeggios are chiseled in...
2019 NCKP Preconference Highlights
Summer 2019; Vol. 11, No. 3
NCKP has eleven subcommittees, comprised of leaders in each of the following subcommittee areas: collaborative performance, collegiate pedagogy teaching, creative music making, inclusive teaching, independent music teachers, music in early childhood, research, students and young professionals, teaching adults, technology, and wellness. Over seventy-five individuals serve...
A Trip Down Memory Lane: An Unmarked, Homemade Tape Recording Leads to a Reassessment of Salon Music and What Constitutes Musicality
September 2012; Vol. 4, No. 5
It started out as a “name that tune” exercise. In January 2010, my husband and I flew to New York to attend the annual Chamber Music America conference. During our visit, we had brunch with my brother Marc, a rock guitarist. In the course of...
Summer 2022: New Music and Materials, Recordings
New Music & Materials: Grade Level Descriptions DREAMS AND IMAGINATION: 10 ORIGINAL PIANO SOLOSarranged by Carolyn Miller, S 1-2 “It is my hope that students will mentally paint a picture in their minds of what the title describes before performing the pieces.” Student’s imaginations will...
