What Time Is It?

Everywhere you look, you’ll find advice on how to play the piano: “Do this,” “Do that,” Don’t do this,” Don’t do that,” Practice scales,” “Don’t practice  scales,” etc, etc, etc. Most of it is probably good advice, but I don’t think I’ve ever read anything about taking an occasional break. Getting some rest. I don’t … Read More

Earlier this week, a 13-year old piano student of mine handed me a nice, handmade note card. It said “Thanks for being such a wonderful teacher!” It was a nice gesture, of course, but something else about the note made me smile. It’s hard to describe, but the handwriting was “alive” and I could imagine the smile … Read More

What gets you to sit down at the piano, day after day? Or rather, when you don’t get to it on a particular day, what’s the reason (other than a full schedule, of course)? When I was a college freshman, I liked to linger after English class and speak with the teacher, Steve Straight. (Hi Steve, … Read More

Like snowflakes, no two major scales look alike. Sure, they have the same internal structure, but because the keyboard has an asymmetrical pattern of black and white notes they all look and feel a little different. This can be a little frustrating when you first learn all the scales (“How many sharps are in B … Read More

No deep thoughts for today.  Just a little “shock and awe” at the piano, courtesy of the great Art Tatum. The whole thing is amazing, but the real fireworks begin at 1:50. Art Tatum: Song of the Vagabonds (live recording, 1945) Hold on to your seatbelt! Here’s something I posted about piano technique. Take your left … Read More

When you’re struggling to learn piano, it may seem like you’ll be sludging up hill forever. Believe me, I know the feeling! But also believe me when I tell you it will get easier. You just have to get up over that hill. Yes, there will be another hill, but it’s not the same kind … Read More

If you’re like most pianists, you can play in a few keys like C, F and G very well. You’re good in D, A and Bb too, but you have to think about the sharps and flats a little. However, when you see sheet music in a “hard” key like Db, there are just too … Read More

I get lots of questions about how to practice piano “better.” It’s a good question and indeed, I’ve spent this past week discussing various aspects of a recent study that identifies “effective” piano practice techniques. While this type of advice can certainly help us, there’s a bigger picture that is even more important: You need … Read More

It’s Sunday night and I just came home after playing in a wonderful concert just outside of New York City, in Armonk, NY. I played a short solo piano set in which I performed my Pachelbel’s Canon Rag (get your free download here) and improvised on the theme from Bach’s Musical Offering. But what struck … Read More

As pianists, we’ve probably all heard the injunction to “practice slowly, and gradually increase the tempo until you can play your piece at the correct speed.” This might sound good, but it’s actually not the best way to practice. What you want to do is vary the tempo, according to what’s needed at each moment. … Read More