A survey of current methods: The Music Tree
May 2010; Vol. 2, No. 3
This issue continues Clavier Companion‘s survey of piano methods.1 Each article in this series will have three sections-an introductory synopsis by the Associate Editor, two articles written by teachers who have used the method extensively in their studios, and a response from the authors of the method surveyed in the previous...
September 2011: Questions & Answers
September 2011; Vol. 3, No. 5
Preparing for Liszt The Questions & Answers column of Clavier Companion typically deals with issues related to elementary and intermediate level piano instruction. This issue of our magazine is devoted to a celebration of the bicentennial of the birth of Franz Liszt. Most of Liszt’s...
Educating audiences and ourselves
November 2011; Vol. 3, No. 6
The first program notes I wrote were for my college senior recital. I learned a great deal and enjoyed the process so much I continued to write them for all my solo recitals. In more recent years, I have spoken directly to the audience about...
From the other side of the bench
November 2011; Vol. 3, No. 6
Our musical, mystical mojo Why would someone decide to take on the study of piano in the adult years? Researchers have taken on this question many times. According to Maslow, it is “self actualization.” Schlossberg says it is because of some sort of transition in...
Can young students learn rhythmic flexibility?
November 2011; Vol. 3, No. 6
It has been said by many that in music, rhythm is what happens between the beats. That is true, yet those words don’t sufficiently communicate what we actually experience in rhythm. Much of what we teach is from notation, an inherently artificial and scant symbolic...
Author Response to Robert Pace Keyboard Approach
November 2011; Vol. 3, No. 6
Response to The Robert Pace Keyboard Approach Editor’s Note: Clavier Companion has invited the authors or representatives of each method series reviewed to respond to that review in the following issue. The response to last issue’s review of The Robert Pace Keyboard Approach is presented below. Robert Pace, who passed...
Winning Essay for 2011 Collegiate Writing Contest: Social media, teacher directories, and websites: online marketing strategies for your piano studio
November 2011; Vol. 3, No. 6
In the Spring of 2011, Clavier Companion sponsored its fourth annual Collegiate Writing Contest. College students at any level from any country in the world were invited to submit 1,500 word essays on a pedagogical topic of their choice. The grand prize was publication of the winning...
Liszt at High Altitude
September 2011; Vol. 3, No. 5
You have probably seen the cartoon: Bugs Bunny cracks the knuckles of his three fingers and proceeds to play Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. As a child I longed to perform this music the way Bugs did—with joy, élan, and, yes, like a showoff. Many...
What matters more: talent or effort?
September 2011; Vol. 3, No. 5
Recently I saw a cartoon that showed two smiling parents watching their child as he brushed his teeth. A banner was posted over the top of the bathroom mirror that said, “Congratulations on brushing your teeth!” One parent was looking adoringly at the child, hands...
Did the piano kill Liszt?
September 2011; Vol. 3, No. 5
An interview with Liszt’s great-granddaughter Blandine Ollivier de Prévaux Elyse Mach interviews Madame Blandine de Prévaux at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, October 1970. From left: Dean Randolph Hudson, Mme de Prévaux, Marnie Fournier, Elyse Mach. Seated in foreground is Dr. Richard Wenzlaff, Chair of the...
The completion of De Profundis: Instrumental Psalm for Piano & Orchestra by Franz Liszt
September 2011; Vol. 3, No. 5
The instrumental psalm De Profundis for piano & orchestra by Franz Liszt (Raabe: 668, Searle: 691) is an unfinished, though virtually complete manuscript held by the Goethe and Schiller Archive in Weimar, Germany. It was composed during the late summer of 1834 while Liszt was staying at...
De Profundis Score Examples
September 2011; Vol. 3, No. 5
Note: this is a continuation of the De Profundis article found elsewhere in this September 2011 issue The following score examples will reveal several points of interest about the manuscript (of both Liszt’s original and my transcription). They should provide a clearer understanding of the difficulty of...
Franz Liszt the Teacher
September 2011; Vol. 3, No. 5
Franz Liszt was a legendary pianist, famous for his overwhelming technical prowess and expressive power. Many today do not realize that as a teacher he had a lasting effect upon piano playing throughout Europe and even in the United States. Most of the great pianists...
It’s about time (we discuss rhythm)
September 2011; Vol. 3, No. 5
My previous articles have discussed different aspects of dealing with sounds we make as jazz/pop musicians. These include chord voicings, blues licks, scales, melodic sequences, etc. However, the truth of the matter is that these aspects are only half of the big picture when playing...
How do you help a college piano major with poor reading skills?
September 2011; Vol. 3, No. 5
At first glance, the scope of this issue’s topic may seem limited. The majority of readers are independent teachers working with students before they leave for college. The percentage of their students who major in piano is small. However, the following articles by Dr. Timothy...