PIANO LESSONS, BOULDER.

My dear friends, Bach's Well Tempered Clavichord is a treasure trove of sublime music. One of my favorites is the sixth  Prelude and Fugue in D Minor in both books. To-day I would like to share with you some thoughts on the prelude in D Minor from Book One. Like so much of Bach's music, it sends one into a trance-like state. The triplet pattern in the right hand is repeated relentlessly till the very end , culminating with four cadential chords crowned with a Tierce de Picardi . This repeated pattern without a single break is what builds up a cumulative, hypnotic state. At the same time the music is noble ,inward looking and meditative. But the left hand has an equally important role to play. The pedal point on the tonic with which it starts is a clear indication that the music is going to be serious ( as is also the key of D minor itself). But then the left hand starts to move in fifths and thirds and seconds etc. and begins to have a life of its own. It is supre

Here we have to imagine a child reading a book such as Robinson Crusoe and dreaming about distant, exotic places.  In 1838 ,when this piece was written, Europe was still colonising the world and travelers were writing about strange and exotic people and customs. You will find on you tube performances of the Kinderscenen by the greatest pianists in the world. But in my opinion the best, most ideal performance is by Clara Haskill. Please listen to it. There are also dozens of edited versions of this piece, but you will be surprised by what you discover if you get the Urtext. I advise you to study the Kinderscenen only form an Urtext - Henle, Wiener Urtext etc. This is the only piece for which Schumann has written metronomic speeds, and they are astonishingly fast. Not one great artist plays this piece at the speed that Schumann has indicated - 108 to the quarter note. I myself like playing it at 80. Enjoy the delicate, bell-like quality of the melody notes and make sure that you p

It is important that teachers make their students take the Performance and Theory examinations of various world famous colleges like the Royal Academy of Music, London, the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, the Trinity College of Music, London, and the Royal Conservatory of Music , Toronto. Preparing for these exams gives the student a thorough grounding in every aspects of piano study - Technical work (which includes scales, chords with inversions, arpeggios and cadences, as well as Etudes), Repertoire, Sight Reading and Ear Tests.  There are usually ten levels of examinations, followed by Degree exams. There are similar levels in Theory exams, giving the student a thorough grounding in the Rudiments of Music and at higher levels, Harmony, Counterpoint and Music History. The certificates thus obtained are also for valuable for getting scholarships in all college applications, and especially so if the student wishes to Major in Music.

My Dear Fellow - Music - Lovers, Welcome to my blog. I would like to begin with one of the most beautiful and beloved of piano pieces, Schumann's Kinderscenen. Schumann composed this exquisite set of piano pieces when he was secretly engaged to the famous pianist Clara Wieck. He wrote to her,  "My dear Clara, you sometimes tell me that I appear to you to be like a child,. Very well, I have put on my baby clothes with bows and ribbons and composed a set of thirteen pieces which I have collectively called Scenes of Childhood. I think that you will like them, but when you play them you must forget that you are a great virtuoso." Clara replied, " You ask me to forget that I am a virtuoso when I play these pieces, but I have had to summon up all my artistry (alle meine Kunst) to  play them." And indeed they demand artistry ! So even if your are an amateur playing these little jewels of music for your own pleasure, even if your technique is limited, you have