Nancy M. Williams, Founding Editor

When You Need a Quiet Piano

When You Need a Quiet Piano

Ricker Choi is an accomplished amateur pianist from Toronto, Ontario. In the last five years, he has placed in amateur piano competitions from Boston to Berlin.

Burgmüller’s Opus 109 Amplified

Burgmüller’s Opus 109 Amplified

In this practice video, I play the first section of The Pearls, Burgmüller Opus 109. Unfortunately, my extended pinky problem made an unwelcome appearance.

Losing Control in Adult Piano Lessons

Losing Control in Adult Piano Lessons

Matthew Harre, one of the most well-known teachers of adult piano lessons in the Washington DC area, prescribes scales, patience, and practice like many of his music-teaching brethren.

This Sounded So Much Better at Home

This Sounded So Much Better at Home

This past August, when our music director, Julie, asked me to play during the Offertory, I decided to dust off a Chopin piece in my repertoire, the Nocturne in E-flat Major.

Book Review: What to Listen for in Music, by Aaron Copland

Book Review: What to Listen for in Music, by Aaron Copland

The intelligent listener—not to mention the intelligent student of adult piano lessons—”must hear the melodies, the rhythms, the harmonies, the tone colors in a more conscious fashion. But above all, [s]he must, in order to follow the line of the composer’s thought, know something of the principles of musical form.”

Taking Adult Piano Lessons from Chopin

Taking Adult Piano Lessons from Chopin

Today we remember Frédéric Chopin primarily as a composer, yet he also made his livelihood by teaching adult piano lessons. The number of professionals that he taught during his  lifetime amounted to no more than 20. The rest were amateurs with a passion for the piano.

Body over Mind When Performing

Body over Mind When Performing

For over a year, while studying Chopin’s Raindrop Prelude in my adult piano lessons, I often stumbled into an A-flat trap. In the expansion of the dreamy, opening melody, I launched off a bass A-flat into nowhere, flummoxed on which notes I should strike next.

Hope for Adult Piano Lessons

Hope for Adult Piano Lessons

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.

The Case of the Extended Pinky

The Case of the Extended Pinky

Last summer, when I clicked through photographs for my website, I noticed something amiss on the shots of my hands at the piano. The pinky of my right hand, rather than cupping over the keys, jutted straight out, flexed with an unnatural tension.

Feeling Is First in the Chopin Nocturne in C-sharp Minor

Feeling Is First in the Chopin Nocturne in C-sharp Minor

Around a year ago, when I began studying the Nocturne in C-sharp Minor, I felt awed by how Chopin had packed in the notes a plaintive sadness. In contrast, in my childhood home, although Mom never articulated a rule on the matter, feelings were prohibited.

Press Record to Improve Your Sound

Press Record to Improve Your Sound

Several years ago, my piano teacher, Stephen Wu, suggested in his low-key manner that I record myself when I practiced. I allowed a lot of time to elapse before I finally worked up the courage to follow his suggestion, despite his occasional, gentle reminders.

My Debut of Chopin’s C-sharp Minor Nocturne

My Debut of Chopin’s C-sharp Minor Nocturne

When I awoke this past Sunday morning, I could feel a familiar clipped breathing and tight chest from performance anxiety.  I was scheduled to play the Chopin Nocturne in C-sharp minor in public for the first time, at a mid-morning service at my church.