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Recommended Articles

Elderly woman in red dress playing piano

Piano, a Poem

by | Nov 8, 2022 | Best poems and short fiction on piano,Recommended | 0 Comments

In this poem consisting of a single sentence, Dan Howell draws on a lived experience to describe the sound of an older woman playing.

Dr_Marshall_Chasin_Customizing_Hearing_Aids

Dr. Chasin’s Checklist for Optimizing Your Hearing Aids for Music

by | Jan 21, 2019 | Recommended,Wearing hearing aids | 44 Comments

For musicians with hearing loss, we offer this expert-verified checklist to take to your audiologist to create a better music program on your hearing aids.

Best_apps_for_adult_piano_students

Best Piano Apps for Adult Students

by | Jan 16, 2017 | Piano apps,Recommended | 7 Comments

What are the best apps for adult piano students and amateur pianists?

Joyce_Morton playing her piano

Top 5 Tips for Wearing Hearing Aids and Making Music

by | Sep 28, 2015 | Musicians with hearing loss,Recommended,Wearing hearing aids | 15 Comments

For every decibel that amateur pianist Joyce Morton has lost in hearing, she has gained double the wisdom about how to keep on making music despite her hearing loss.

Debussy portrait on Franc

The Debussy Clair de Lune Amplified

by | Jun 3, 2013 | Debussy,Recommended | 2 Comments

The Claude Debussy Clair de Lune, released in 1905 and today a favorite of piano students and concert pianists alike, presents the challenge of an emotional interpretation.

Abstract yellow oil painting

Hearing Health Affirmations

by | Mar 14, 2013 | Coping with hearing loss,Recommended | 8 Comments

Affirmations, those positive statements I chant to myself, are one of my secret pleasures.

How to find a good piano teacher

How to Find a Good Piano Teacher: Getting Started

by | Jan 14, 2013 | Finding a piano teacher,Recommended | 5 Comments

The question I receive most often from readers of GRAND PIANO PASSION™ is whether I might be able to recommend a good piano teacher.

A Fresh Approach in Adult Amateur Piano Competitions

by | Dec 17, 2012 | Piano performance tips,Recommended | 2 Comments

The Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition judges amateur adult contestants on the basis of a submitted video. The philosophy underpinning the competition is that pianists often lack the time and funds to travel long distances simply to compete.

Reflections on a Grand Passion

Scene of Sonoran Desert with saguaro cactus, with bright blue sky overhead.

Deserting the Piano: A Personal Essay

by | Apr 2, 2013 | Claiming your passion | 10 Comments

I am at East Coast Piano, a boxy, windowless warehouse store on New Jersey’s Route 46, because my husband, David, has insisted.

Carnegie Hall

Visualization for Carnegie Hall

by | Oct 15, 2012 | Claiming your passion | 1 Comment

For my performance at Carnegie Hall, I wanted to infuse my music with the same emotion I experienced at home.

Piano_strings_Frank_Schramm

Classical Piano Music in a Brownstone

by | Sep 10, 2012 | Claiming your passion | 6 Comments

On New Year’s Eve in 1986, a crowd wearing pointed party hats pressed against the velvet ropes outside a Manhattan club.

Steinway piano keys

Hope for Adult Piano Lessons

by | Jul 11, 2011 | Claiming your passion | 0 Comments

An adult piano student considers her music ugly, a holdover from her childhood. Then when looking to buy an antique Steinway, she instead leaves with hope.

Classical Piano Music Amplified

The Chopin Prelude in A Major Amplified

The Chopin Prelude in A Major Amplified

While the Chopin Prelude in A Major only lasts 16 measures and takes about one minute to play, it is a wonderful study in imagination of dynamics, color, and rubato. I explore this work from multiple perspectives here, as part of GRAND PIANO PASSION™’s well-regarded Classical Piano Music Amplified™ series.

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The Liszt Un Sospiro Amplified

The Liszt Un Sospiro Amplified

A closer look at the Liszt Un Sospiro reveals patterns in the rolling arpeggios, an Impressionistic quality, and some historical background on the piece. The most striking part of Un Sospiro is its ethereal and poetic qualities, with its rolling arpeggios and flowing melodic line creating an atmospheric mood.

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Popular Articles

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Decode Fast Music with This App

by | Nov 6, 2017 | Piano apps,Recommended - Popular | 0 Comments

If you’ve ever listened to a professional recording of a piece you’ve been working on for your piano lessons—say Yuja Wang playing Schumann’s The Smuggler—you’ve probably been struck by the obvious: she plays the piece way faster than you do. She plays some passages so fast you can barely process the notes and rhythms in order to see how you should practice.

Hamsa hand in front of piano

Sight Read Without Looking Down

by | Jun 19, 2017 | Piano technique,Recommended - Popular | 0 Comments

Looking down at our hands as we play breaks the continuity of reading, prevents us from looking ahead, and undermines concentration. Yet for many piano students, even some who have played for years, it is a frequent temptation.

Nancy Williams plays piano showing her hearing_aid

I Reveal My Hearing Loss…at a Piano Recital

by | Dec 6, 2016 | Coping with hearing loss,Recommended - Popular | 2 Comments

When I went back to the piano in my early 40s, I decided not to mention my hearing loss to my new teacher, Stephen.

Up close lily pad

Videos to Visualize Bach’s Counterpoint

by | May 21, 2013 | Bach,Piano theory,Recommended - Popular | 0 Comments

The Music Animation Machine helps pianists visualize the counterpoint in Bach with videos showing each of the voices.