Insights

The widely-spaced arpeggios in m. 11 are carefully considered with three-dimensional principles and practice strategies.

01:29

Timing and effortless movement help us capture the lilt and spirit of this Spanish dance.

01:40

Proceeding to a new section of a piece calls for careful and effective practice.

01:37

The B section of this famous piece often is played poorly. Why?

01:22

What did Chopin really mean when he used hairpins?

01:45

Sliding facilitates three-dimensional motion in two-note slurs.   

01:17

Playing fast repeated chords benefits from organizing groupings and using the vibrato technique.

01:25

Momentum and three-dimensional shaping are key to bringing this waltz to life.

02:23

The large chord in m.6 presents a special pedaling challenge that is easily remedied.

00:53

The tremolo figure in the left hand is broken down for effective practice incorporating the basic vibrato motion.

01:44

The composer’s hairpins provide clues to playing with greater sensitivity and lilt in this waltz.

01:57

The “Turkish band” figures in the left hand become effortless when we cultivate a “small” hand integrated with the vibrato technique.

01:30

Focus on repeated notes, sforzandi, and agogic accents leads us to the elegant character of this dance.

01:45

In just four measures, Liszt provides us with opportunities to interpret portato, legato, dolce, and hairpins; each marking has a meaningful effect on expression.

01:56

Leon Fleisher’s fingering advice is combined with the vibrato technique to produce the dynamic sweep needed at the opening of the finale of Schumann’s concerto.

01:22

Does sforzando only mean a “loud” note or chord?

01:48

The Vibrato Technique makes playing repeated chords easy, even in elementary-level music--and helps us inflect gestures more musically and stylistically.

01:10

Here’s a great trick for playing the problematic trill near the beginning of this famous piece.

01:29

Finger substitutions allow us to maintain legato, and the vibrato technique helps us play effortlessly and with better rhythm.

02:00

Finger staccato combined with three-dimensional elements (quiet hand, shaping, vibrato) helps project the musical character of this elementary piece with ease.

01:18

A whole-body approach includes releasing your hand after each ‘plucked’ attack and keeping it ‘small’ with quick jumps. Play jumps of any interval without ‘reaching’ and keeping the hand tense. (And look for an appearance by Leo the kitten!)

01:23

In this exciting final piece of Bartok’s Three Folksongs, the left hand’s large rolls are challenging. Release your hand to keep it small, so you can accompany the right-hand melody in time.

02:03

Sixteenth notes in the left hand are often played with fingers only. Passages like these become much easier when you choreograph them with three-dimensional shaping.

02:19

Integrating rotation with active fingers and three-dimensional movement facilitates this pianistic figure that becomes commonplace in Mozart and others, in the generations after Handel composed this work.

02:42

How do we use the Vibrato Technique to help us play rhythmically? Whole-body gestures allow us to play the piano easily; in turn, our music becomes more free.

01:55

The opening measures of this Sonata instill anxiety, right when we instead need confidence and good coordination. This Insight offers steps to master this passage, and to apply this process to double notes encountered in other repertoire.

01:58

What is the difference between a dynamic accent and an agogic accent? How do we play accents to aid the character of the music?

01:42

How do we engage elementary students in improvisation?

03:24

It's never too early to teach the Quiet Hand!

02:42

We can cultivate the sensation of "letting go" from the very first lessons.

00:46

Good sitting posture, the Quiet Hand, a supple wrist, and a good preparatory lift and drop are all important aspects of optimal coordination to cultivate from the very beginning.

02:00

This is an extended interactive lesson segment that, upon closer examination, deals with many more things than counting and tapping.

10:05

After tapping and saying, "both, right, left," it's easier to proceed to counting with numbers.

00:59

Often, teachers are presented with "teachable moments," such as what occurred during Allison's presentation of voicing chords.

01:43

Hand over hand arpeggios help elementary students to better understand chords and work on well-coordinated, whole-body movement.

01:15

Even in early scale playing, we strive for economy of motion and musical listening.

02:25

The Basic Vibrato Motion can even be learned by very young pianists. It contributes to building a solid foundation for a wide variety of more advanced pianistic gestures, and can be applied immediately in elementary pieces that use repeated notes.

02:14

The Carr Gavotte provides an opportunity to observe many three-dimensional concepts in a musical context.

02:02