The Hidden Life of the Humble Arabesque
Spring 2020; Vol. 12, No. 1
In a letter of July 1910 to Jacques Durand, Claude Debussy announced that, as an artist, he was “accustomed to living among apparitions.” Exactly what form those apparitions took is anybody’s guess, but some may well have appeared in the form of arabesques, and not...
Checking In: Mindful Body Awareness for Pianists
Spring 2020; Vol. 12, No. 1
“You have pneumonia.” It shouldn’t have been a surprise. A cold reared its ugly head just as the school year started, but I had to push ahead. No daycare the week that classes start? Stay up late to write your syllabi! Feel like you might...
Thirty Years of Teaching with Technology: Was it Worth It?
Spring 2020; Vol. 12, No. 1
Now that we have entered the third decade of the twenty- first century, I find myself looking back at the previous three decades and wondering: Did technology deliver on its implied promises? With advances in music technology, do piano students learn music faster, enjoy their...
Spring 2020: New Music & Materials
Spring 2020; Vol. 12, No. 1
Dennis Alexander’s Concertino for the Young is an attractive and engaging solo with piano accompaniment that closely mimics classical concerto style. This work, accessible for a later-elementary piano student, is written in typical concerto form with fast first and third movements and a slow second movement. Traditional...
September 2018: Variations
September 2018; Vol. 10, No. 5
The music of life Serious illness visited my husband last winter. Our lives suddenly became a round of doctor appointments, surgery, tests, treatments, and continual bad news. My husband and I have received thoughts, prayers, food, visits, gifts both serious and funny, cards, and people’s heartfelt love. We are grateful beyond...
Seymour: More Than an Introduction
September 2018; Vol. 10, No. 5
My Introduction to Seymour My earliest exposure to Seymour Bernstein came during childhood, after hearing several student performances of his beloved impressionistic suite, Birds. Inspired by one of Bernstein’s own pupils, Birds charts the progress of a precocious student named Christopher as he moves towards...
An Interview with Seymour Fink, Master Technician
September 2018; Vol. 10, No. 5
“But that’s the way my professor showed it to me!” Her eyes were open wide, her voice a wail. I was talking to a young teacher whose student had just played—poorly—in an international festival. In a subsequent masterclass I tried to show her a more efficient, better sounding way...
Performing Chopin in the Style of Chopin?
September 2018; Vol. 10, No. 5
Interest in historically-informed performance continues to evolve as scholars and serious-minded pianists gain more knowledge regarding nineteenth-century performing styles. Though much progress has been made in this field, a question still remains: Is there a definitive performance practice that enables pianists to play the works...
Music Together: Creativity in Preparation for the Book
September 2018; Vol. 10, No. 5
Children are excited by sound, they want to make sound, and they want to explore possibilities and express themselves at the keyboard. Children are brilliant— until someone tells them they aren’t. When faced with too many rules and layers of abstract concepts at the beginning...
Deciphering Chopin’s Shorthand in the Posthumous Mazurka in F minor
September 2018; Vol. 10, No. 5
If someone had told me a decade ago that I was going to produce the first (and, so far, only) published reconstruction of Chopin’s posthumous Mazurka in F Minor that includes every uncanceled measure of the composer’s sketch, I would have laughed. But apparently when...
September 2018: Pupil Saver
September 2018; Vol. 10, No. 5
From the “Motivating Bookshelf Logan is sitting on the piano bench, his mother behind us. Logan and I are discussing repertoire for both short- and long-term goals. Logan is in soccer, tennis, robotics, piano, violin, and a plethora of church activities. Following a polished performance of...
Breath: Teaching Piano Students How to Utilize a Vital Tool
September 2018; Vol. 10, No. 5
Breathing is the only function of the autonomic nervous system that can happen both consciously and unconsciously. Research has shown the many benefits of practicing controlled breathing techniques such as stress relief and improved functioning of the immune system.1 When applied in a pedagogical setting,...
What are We Learning in Piano Study?
September 2018; Vol. 10, No. 5
Revealing beneficial intersections In recent years, education in the United States has seen an increased focus on STEM, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. At Clavier Companion, we always look at the “M” in STEM and think that it should stand for music....
September 2018: First Looks: New Music Reviews
September 2018; Vol. 10, No. 5
New Music Reviews Editor’s noteHo, ho, ho! The holidays are on the horizon. We know how it is for piano teachers (we’re teachers ourselves). We frantically run to the music store, hoping to snag our favorites before the teacher with 120 students cleans out the...
September 2018: Questions & Answers
September 2018; Vol. 10, No. 5
As students return to their studies this fall, we offer timeless advice from Frances Clark’s book Questions and Answers, the compilation of her original monthly column in Clavier.1 Every fall I feel the need for a shot in the arm to get me motivated for the...