Video: A valuable tool for teachers
July 2015; Vol. 7, No. 4
Playing the piano is much like driving a car. When you drive a car, you have a destination in mind, and you focus your attention simultaneously on both the route and the moment-by-moment actions that will bring you to your destination. Along the way, you...
Alan Fraser discusses piano technique
July 2015; Vol. 7, No. 4
It must have been something in the air, in the early years of the last century. From Australia to Israel, independent thinkers were looking for solutions to make living physically in the modern world easier. What does it take to live comfortably and pain-free? How can...
Steps to teaching improvisation
July 2015; Vol. 7, No. 4
If you are a regular reader of this column, you probably already teach creativity alongside traditional reading skills. However, if you are wondering how to structure this aspect of your lessons, you are not alone. After speaking on this topic, it’s not uncommon for teachers...
An arranging workshop
July 2015; Vol. 7, No. 4
Time certainly flies when you’re having fun. I realized this year that my first published arrangement was copyrighted in 1984. Math was never one of my strongest subjects, but I think that means I’ve been at this for more than thirty years. That adds up...
The great compensator
July 2015; Vol. 7, No. 4
A full range of expressive gestures evocative of other instruments is always at our disposal. We pianists are constantly grappling with the fact that our instrument cannot truly sustain tones. A few fractions of a second past its production—marked by a meteoric rise in loudness—every...
Finding the “soul” of your foot: The nuances of pedaling
July 2015; Vol. 7, No. 4
When I was a young piano student, I reveled in the joy of hearing two clashing harmonies blur together under one pedal. In my teenage years, much like my peers, I loved to pedal emotionally, often liberally and with fervor as the beauty and passionate music of...
A heavenly, bravura piece
July 2015; Vol. 7, No. 4
I am often confronted with the need for intermediate literature that will not only motivate students, but cover up any deficiencies they might have (I am sure we have all had this experience). Case in point: I had a transfer student who could barely sight-read,...
Making Money, Making Space
November 2014; Vol. 6, No. 6
I am excited to be bringing you the first in a series of columns devoted to the business of piano teaching! Whether you are new to teaching or have been teaching for fifty years, I hope these columns will bring a fresh perspective on how...
Behave Yourself at the Keyboard!
November 2014; Vol. 6, No. 6
Gustav Mahler used to shock his audiences by leaping high into the air while conducting his orchestra, and pianist Vladimir DePachmann would interrupt a recital with derogatory remarks about famous pianists in attendance. These behaviors by musicians are only two examples from a long list...
Comping 101 – Accompanying Students
November 2014; Vol. 6, No. 6
Accompanying students is an enjoyable way to transfer musicality from veteran to rookie efficiently without so much “teacher talk.” For students, it • tightens up their sense of time; • helps them listen while playing; • enables them to feel more like “real musicians”; •...
New music: A journey to a “slightly different place”
November 2014; Vol. 6, No. 6
It wasn’t so long ago that many musicians feared the piano was losing its way in serious music. The repertoire had not grown significantly in the 1950s and 1960s, and technology was increasingly favored by composers on the cutting edge. But commissions for new works...
November 2014: Pupil Saver: Tango!
November 2014; Vol. 6, No. 6
The intoxicating South American rhythms of Kevin Olson’s alluring solo, Tango Argentino (FJH), transport the listener to sunny climes. This piece is loaded with technical variety and sophisticated harmonies, but is without any overwhelming complexity for the performer; it should easily perk up those sluggish...
The Professional Contributions of Louise Goss
September 2014; Vol. 6, No. 5
The professional contributions of eminent American piano pedagogue Louise Goss are countless. Her tireless efforts, along with those of Frances Clark, include the establishment of arguably one of the first piano pedagogy programs in the United States at Kalamazoo College in Michigan, the creation of...
Louise Goss: In Memoriam
September 2014; Vol. 6, No. 5
In April, the world of piano pedagogy lost a legend. In the following pages, friends and colleagues of Louise Goss pay tribute with remembrances and recollections. In the “old days,” all senior piano majors at Oberlin were required to take piano pedagogy. I will never...
Teaching Tips from Louise Goss
September 2014; Vol. 6, No. 5
Louise Goss was a superb clinician and speaker. She had great clarity in her thinking about musical learning and an extraordinary vocabulary, but the quality that stood out above all else was her immense practicality. Most of these quotes are excerpts from transcripts of her...