How to Dismiss a Student with Kindness
May 2017; Vol. 9, No. 3
A studio full of hard-working and well-mannered students is every piano teacher’s dream. But few teachers actually have the opportunity to live this dream for their entire careers. The truth is that most teachers have at least one student that they do not enjoy teaching. It...
Lock in Theory with iReal Pro
May 2017; Vol. 9, No. 3
Developing technical skills builds strong players. Working through technical challenges can be more beneficial when combined with theory concepts and exponentially more engaging when locked into a groove. Fellow Clavier Companion contributor and improvisation specialist Bradley Sowash recommends developing scale playing with backing tracks that he generates in an...
Jascha Spivakovksy: Rediscovered Romantic
May 2017; Vol. 9, No. 3
Our appreciation of pianists of the past is based primarily on their recordings. How amazing it is that in this age of digital technology we can listen to the actual playing of pianists born and trained in the nineteenth century—including pupils of Liszt and pianists who...
Perfectly Managing Imperfection
May 2017; Vol. 9, No. 3
Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.Vaclav Havel I am listening to seventeen-year-old Olivia play her college audition pieces: a Chopin Ballade and a Bach Prelude and Fugue. I...
I Failed to Plan
May 2017; Vol. 9, No. 3
I try not to use clichés in this column, but lately I’ve been reminded of the ubiquitous quote, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” As commonplace as this saying is, it holds great truth. Some say this proverb dates back to Benjamin Franklin, though...
In Memoriam: Robert Vandall
May 2017; Vol. 9, No. 3
Robert Vandall, a beloved composer and teacher, passed away on Feburary 9, 2017. Vandall was born on February 15, 1944, in Ohio, and he earned music degrees from Baldwin-Wallace College and the University of Illinois. He owned and operated the Vandall Piano Studio for thirty-eight years,...
News and Notes: May/June 2017
May 2017; Vol. 9, No. 3
Actors at the piano Musicians are occasionally disappointed to see inaccurate portrayals of instrumentalists performing in the movies or on TV. For close-up scenes of a character playing a musical instrument, many actors use hand doubles, or act out a performance which is later overdubbed by...
Autumn 2020: Recordings
Autumn 2020; Vol. 12, No. 4
Frederic Chopin’s music is among the most performed and oft-recorded of its genre. This presents an interesting challenge for modern pianists: how might one approach the music of a composer whose performance traditions are so well-established? Here, Viv McLean invites us to explore the complex and...
Autumn 2020: Book Reviews: Yoga in the Music Studio
Autumn 2020; Vol. 12, No. 4
As a yoga practitioner for almost two decades, I was thrilled to learn about Yoga in the Music Studio and eager to dive into reading Lesley McAllister’s recent release. McAllister makes an impassioned case for combining yoga study with musical study, clearly conveying how the first enhances the...
Chopin and the Keyboard: Extracts from Fryderyk Chopin: A Life and Times
Autumn 2020; Vol. 12, No. 4
As a child Chopin was precocious. He was writing verse at the age of six and composing music from the age of seven. His very first composition was a Polonaise in G minor (1817). The piece may be compared with anything that Mozart was writing...
Autumn 2020: New Music and Materials
Autumn 2020; Vol. 12, No. 4
(S3) SAPLINGS: 21 INTERMEDIATE PIANO SOLOS published by Red Leaf Pianoworks While presenting at and attending the Canadian Music Teachers Conference last summer in Winnipeg, I was introduced to a new collection hot off the press called Saplings. This collection is written with the intermediate pianist in mind...
Autumn 2020: Pupil Saver: Tarantella by Paul Beaumont
Autumn 2020; Vol. 12, No. 4
Luke, a busy straight-A student as well as a wrestler, needed a piece that would get him excited to practice. While searching for a virtuosic, late- intermediate recital piece, I came across Tarantella by Paul Beaumont. Even those who are familiar with this piece might ask,...
The Nuts and Bolts of Teaching Piano Duet Repertoire: John Corigliano’s Gazebo Dances for Piano Four Hands
Autumn 2020; Vol. 12, No. 4
I. Introduction Piano duets constitute an integral part of the keyboard literature and are central to the development of specific musicianship and keyboard skills for students of all levels. The twentieth century offers an array of fascinating works by composers that employed a variety of...
The Fantasie-Impromptu’s Forgotten Companion: Ferdinand Hiller’s Hommage à Baroness d’Este
Autumn 2020; Vol. 12, No. 4
Ferdinand Hiller (1811–1885) is not a name often recognized today, but he was well known as a composer, pianist, and conductor in his day. He spent the early years of his career in Paris and became a close friend to Frédéric Chopin when the latter...
Improvisation: The Classical Way
Autumn 2020; Vol. 12, No. 4
Improvisation and classical piano are made for one another; since Beethoven, however, their relationship has been long distance at best. Many classical pianists are aware of the great feats of extemporaneous performance of the past masters, but few have tried their hands at the practice....