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My wish for my students in 2020

12/31/2019

For my amateur students I hope they find joy in practicing.

For my ambitious students that they maintain their joy in their Olympic level commitment.

A happy student knows which camp they belong to.

Happy New Year,

David

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Ornaments in Bach

12/25/2019

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Even though Bach left us with this, in performance there are nuances to consider. Tempo will one modifier of what we see above.

Check out this article from Strad Magazine for further details and explanations.

https://www.thestrad.com/playing-and-teaching/how-i-interpret-bach-tomas-cotik-on-ornaments-trills-and-appoggiaturas/9879.article

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Piano Practice Weekly Planner/Journal

12/10/2019

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Feel free to download and use sheet.

Notice this sheet emphasises completion of goals not endless repeating drudgery. Once you can securely play one of your goals or task, move on. Start each session with a quick review of some or all of your completed work before starting up something new.

Let me know how this works for you.

David

weekly piano practice planner pdf
File Size:	573 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

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Classical piano etudes for early advanced players

12/3/2019

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My decades old copy of Opus 821 by Czerny. Still on the piano.

When I want to work on my tone, I go here. When I want to work on the different physical moves required in piano performance I go here.

This work covers all the keys in very short 8 measure exercises. I'm able to work on finger independence, arm weight, rotation, octaves, staccato, legato, portato, drop, thrust, dynamics, balance, and tone.

Last weekend I attended the National Ballet of Canada's performance of "etudes". It is a 45 minute ballet of bar moves and set pieces to the etudes of Czerny. It was fun to recognize many of the pieces. It was instructive to hear the music interpreted by the dancers.

Click here for a free copy: https://imslp.org/wiki/160_kurze_Übungen,_Op.821_(Czerny,_Carl)

Happy practicing.

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"If you're not enjoying your practicing, change it until you are" Tom Heany

12/2/2019

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I highly recommend this book for adult students and parents of young piano students. This book thesis is that piano practice should be as fun as shooting hoops on the driveway. Why is shooting hoops so much fun for a kid? To quote Heany:

He's interested.
He's in control.
He wants to be there.
He enjoys all the motions he's going through.
He gets instant feedback.
He has immediate satisfaction with every success.
He's imagining himself to be better than he is.

I bought the book from Kindle.

Best,

David

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Tips, free lessons, and inspiration

My wish for my students in 2020

Ornaments in Bach

Piano Practice Weekly Planner/Journal

Classical piano etudes for early advanced players

"If you're not enjoying your practicing, change it until you are" Tom Heany

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