The Big one is just around the corner. And you have two
lessons left... if you are lucky! You even played with lots of energy and staccatos today at your lesson. All was going well until you read it... the dreaded notebook of
shame!
"Try putting a little personality into your playing and it will be more interesting." Or this one:
"Try to sound more exciting ...
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"I demand more of myself
than anyone else could ever expect." - Julius Irving
Do you work for carrots? Do you work for treats? How about to impress people? Maybe you just want to dodge guilt.
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Here at Piano Mastermind, we receive many comments and emails from readers and You Tube fans. In an attempt to address everyone's questions, I have
decided to continue our recent discussions on scales by breaking them down further and adding helpful tips from yet another expert.
Mr. Rodney Sikes, famous Russian virtuoso pianist joins us this week on our show to discuss his philosophies on technique ...
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When you play your Scales,
do you feel like you are all thumbs? To find out if your fingering approach works, take this simple quiz:
1. Do you finger your scales based on your phone number (not including the area code)?
2. Do you look at ...
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Easy as
( Pi) or Easy
as
(Pie)?
Easy: uncomplicated, undemanding, unchallenging, effortless, painless, trouble-free,
...
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Congratulations! You have finished! You have at last figured out the impossible.... you can play
your pieces faster and with less effort than you ever thought you could. The mistakes are gone. The learning phase is finally over and you are relieved. Right?
Uh.... Nope. Just when you thought you were the perfect one, the teacher's pet, the wonder pianist it happened... your piece collapsed. I know... at first it was slow. You
thought it was just ...
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Rats. It happened again. This time I had gone way too far. My Graduation Recital was in two weeks, and I had 18 pages of Beethoven staring me in the face. My private lesson that morning
hadn't gone too well either.
"WHAT!" she said. "NOT MEMORIZED" ?!?!?!?!?!????? .
...
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One of my favorite and most prized treats growing
up was a hollow chocolate bunny. Milk Chocolate was the best. I liked them so much, I'd hide them and eat them just an ear or a tail or a foot at a time.
(Death by munching). I didn't feel quite as guilty looking at my bunny if I ate the head off first.
...
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"The notes I handle no better than many pianists. But the pauses between the notes———ah, that is where the art resides." ~
Artur Schnabel, Concert Pianist and Teacher.
My line of teachers happens to include Artur Schnabel, and I am lucky. I have gained much wisdom from the perspective ...
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Piano makes me want to chunk. Yes indeed.
Chunkity Chunk. That's fun to say. What on earth is Chunky Piano?
Wait... I know!
...
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