Which one is the student?

One of my students taught me a lesson last week. The lesson We had finished a piece by Kabalevsky, moving on to a waltz by Shostakovich. This was my student’s first lesson on the new piece. New piece Page 1 has no accidentals. But it does have tricky spots. I thought circling those places in [...]

Poll: would you like to see detailed practice notes?

The question is, how many readers would be interested in detailed, play-by-play (sorry!), down-to-the-wire practice notes?  These would pertain to the program I will be performing 3 times in November. Please vote! Your suggestions are always welcome.  Please leave any and all in the comment section below! Thank you!

Why practice?

Do you make progress when you practice?

How Decision Fatigue Can Affect Musicians

We are faced with so many choices every day, we are constantly making decisions. How does decision fatigue affect our practice sessions, rehearsals, and auditions?

Emily’s Movie: Take 2

This is the first update about my work for an upcoming film about Emily Dickinson, the 3rd in a series of documentaries. I have been practicing seven of the Mendelssohn “Songs Without Words” and Beethoven’s “Pathétique” Sonata. Background We will be videotaping in order to make a scratch audio track so the producer can organize [...]

Adult beginner sees the light!

My mother was afraid of the water.  She took swimming lessons for the first time in her late forties.  She must have been very scared. One of my students, an adult beginner, is similarly afraid of the piano.  But she had an “aha” moment this week!  I was so happy for her! Background My student, [...]

Performing focuses my practice

I don’t know about you, but I have an aversion to making a fool of myself in public. Some musicians prefer performing, some recording.  Still others like to play for their own enjoyment. I love performing, and also enjoy recording.  But playing for myself doesn’t quite do it. There is some intangible component to having [...]

‘Tis the season…

Image via Wikipedia …to play the same music over and over! Thanks to my best buddy Louise for the blog post idea!  She wonders how musicians manage to do this several times a day for weeks at a time.  Good question! The easy solution would be to “phone it in.”  I’ve made a personal resolution [...]

Bach-Busoni “Ich ruf’ zu dir”

I discovered something this week.    A few years ago, I learned this piece, then put it away. Along the way, I practiced it from time to time, but still didn’t feel ready to perform it. Motivation Last weekend, a friend passed away.  I had wanted to offer to play for her service, but didn’t [...]

Vision correction, music edition

Image via Wikipedia Did you know that shipbuilders’ bifocals have the reading prescription on top? Did you know that you can ask for what you want in a prescription? After seeing several ophthalmologists, I may have figured it out… for now. A doctor I saw recently really didn’t “get” it.  I was discussing what I [...]