July 2016: Questions and Answers
July 2016; Vol. 8, No. 4
Q: If a family with an active child is trying to decide among competing, high-quality extracurricular activities such as martial arts, dance lessons, guitar lessons, art classes, horseback riding, or piano lessons, what would be your arguments in favor of piano lessons? A: Let’s face it....
July 2016: Winds of Change
July 2016; Vol. 8, No. 4
In the heat of this political season, the airwaves are full of talk about systems that don’t work, about reform. I recently gave a political speech of sorts at the MTNA national conference, not carried by any of the networks, in which I said that...
Spring 2021: First Looks: Book Reviews: Where Are All the Black Female Composers? and Why is My Piano Black and White? by Nathan Holder
Spring 2021; Vol. 13, No. 1
Review by Vanessa Cornett When I first held these books in my hands and leafed through their cheerful pages, the same thoughts kept running through my mind. This is how we rock the boat. It’s time. Are we ready? I sincerely believe the answer is yes. Music study can instill...
Spring 2021: First Looks: New Music & Materials
Spring 2021; Vol. 13, No. 1
GRADE LEVELS Level 1: Beginning, five-finger patterns & simple rhythms Level 2: Easy, scales & simple syncopation Level 3: Intermediate, beginning counterpoint & complex rhythms, Bach Notebooks, Bartók Mikrokosmos I–II Level 4: Late Intermediate, technical & rhythmic sophistication, Bach Inventions, Bartók Romanian Folk Dances Level 5: Difficult,...
Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity: Piano Lessons In the VUCA Era
Spring 2021; Vol. 13, No. 1
2020 was clearly unprecedented. We faced enormous challenges including COVID-19, a tense social justice climate, and record- breaking environmental disasters, just to name a few. Politically, Americans experienced palpable polarization arguably not felt since the 1960s. Undoubtedly we all have been profoundly affected; likely in vastly...
A Pianist’s Reflections from Germany
Spring 2021; Vol. 13, No. 1
The first coronavirus lockdown in Germany came relatively early. By the last week of March, everything nonessential was basically shut down, including restaurants, bars, and schools. Berlin suddenly seemed to revert back to the way it was when I arrived here in 1999: a sleeping...
Spring 2021: Pupil Saver: Adagio in F Minor by Chevalier de Saint-Georges
Spring 2021; Vol. 13, No. 1
Can you imagine performing a piece by a Black composer who was born into slavery? What a piece of history you would have at your fingertips! Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745–1799) was a virtuoso violinist, conductor, and composer. Born in Guadeloupe, his father was a wealthy plantation owner...
Professional Associations: Your Indispensable Resource for Musicians’ Health Information
Spring 2021; Vol. 13, No. 1
As an eager college student majoring in piano, I felt it was a badge of honor to practice eight hours a day on the weekends. I thought I was doing what every dedicated music major was supposed to be doing. In those days there was...
Celebrating 70 Years of Composing: An Interview with American Icon Eugénie Rocherolle
Spring 2021; Vol. 13, No. 1
Rocherolle’s impressive musical output over her long career is both broad and substantial. She has composed a total of 678 individual pieces and 108 collections for solo piano as well as chamber music with piano. In addition, Rocherolle has published some forty choral pieces, four...
Spring 2021: Questions and Answers
Spring 2021; Vol. 13, No. 1
Q: I’ve enjoyed your Frances Clark Center webinars on preparation activities. I am unsure of what activities I should do with and without the keyboard and would appreciate some specific ideas and guidance. A: The key element in preparation activities is experience! Before encountering a new musical...
How’s the Connection : Relational Lessons Online and In the Studio
Spring 2021; Vol. 13, No. 1
These are words I have spoken countless times over the last ten months as I have adapted to the realm of online piano teaching. Some days lessons flow seamlessly without incident or interruption, and I feel inspired, confident, and extremely proud of my students. Other...
I Wish I Could Answer That
Spring 2021; Vol. 13, No. 1
Playing the piano can mean searching out middle ground, and that ground may be similarly ill-defined, well-nigh slippery, or even mired in paradox. Let’s start with the easy examples. I’m not sure that it’s particularly more difficult to play non-legato than staccato. But a portamento...
Teaching the Tough Ones: Why It’s Worth It
Spring 2021; Vol. 13, No. 1
When I was a kid, I wasn’t the best student in the class. I certainly wasn’t the smartest, and I was terrible at tests—which made school very hard for me. My mother tells me that, until the third grade, I had a terrible time processing....
Reflections on the Frances Clark Center 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients
Summer 2021; Vol. 13, No. 2
The Lifetime Achievement Award has only been bestowed ten times since 1983. It is the Frances Clark Center’s highest honor and is presented to individuals who have made substantial and enduring contributions to the field of piano pedagogy. At the NCKP 2021 Virtual Piano Conference, four individuals will be honored...
NCKP 2021 Conference and Preconference Previews
Summer 2021; Vol. 13, No. 2
In our spring 2021 issue we previewed some of the daylong preconference sessions in which attendees of the virtual conference can participate in July. Below, we follow-up on two more exciting preconference days and highlight a new conference track featuring presentations in Spanish and Portuguese, with...