Musicality, Pedaling, Technique
Fingering chords with a physically challenged student
I have a 66-year-old student who is having difficulty playing chords with finger 1, 3, 5. Her fourth finger has limited upward mobility. We had lesson number 6 today. Would it be terrible to adapt and let her play chords with fingers 1, 3, 4?…
Modifying chords for students with small hands
Today I encountered a challenge with my 6 year old trying to learn Bishop Street Blues. He can do Jackson Blues and understands the concepts and the 12 bar progression and the concept of replacing the I, IV, and V chords with other chords. BUT.…
Music in college after Simply Music
I had a parent of a fifth grader ask me today what happens after the foundation levels, and whether there are any piano competitions in Simply Music, and whether/how any study might count for college credit. I promised to check in with more experienced…
Relating to the Broader Physical Aspects of Playing Piano
On July 13th, Laura wrote a series of questions. Neil Moore briefly responds to these. 1) Bench Height: if I don’t have an adjustable bench, how do I deal with students who are smaller and have very bent arms to play (looks very uncomfortable). On…
Accompaniment 1 – Ratios
First hiccup in this program and I would love some advice! Just working with a pupil through the Triads, both Black and White, and the concept of the 1-2 Ratio for the 4/4 Time Signature(4 on the top line). I feel our issue has come…
Getting the Alma Mater Blues Rhythm
I’ve noticed that a number of my students have trouble getting the rhythm right in Alma Mater Blues. The left and right hands are properly coordinated but the RH is played evenly rather than with a swinging feeling when the hands are played together. However,…
What About Technique?
Had 40 people at an FIS last night and the wife of a local traditional teacher was in the group (not a nice woman, but that’s another story) and asked at the end of the Q & A section —“What about technique?” I did not…
A Dialogue on Being “Rhythmically Challenged”
Recently, a general question was asked, and in the email the words “rhythmically challenged” were used as a metaphor. It prompted an email exchange that is worth reading. I have provided a digest below. Kind regards, “… I would like to hear from the experienced…
Playing with Expression
I have a student who is playing all of the right notes for her songs, but is lacking in musical expression of those songs. For example, she plays a “lullaby” type song the same way she plays the blues. And it sounds really good on…
Developing Expression
Sheri emailed me about how I develop musicality with my students. She said, “I haven’t worked much formally with my students in expressing the musicality of pieces. I wonder if you could share with me some of what you do to formally train the musicality.…