An Inside Look at the Life of a Professional Musician
These excerpts from Marcia Butler's memoir The Skin Above My Knee show that even for a professional musician, preparing a new piece can be frightening and all-encompassing. »
Classical piano music amplified™
The Gift of Arranging
Although she didn’t have typical classical piano lessons, Gail Fischler learned chords. She went on to arrange music, including a book of Christmas carols. »
Cast a Spell with Schumann’s Album for the Young
Tips on how to play and interpret the contemplative No. 30 from Schumann’s Album for the Young, and create variety to avoid monotony in the repeating motif. »
Playing Scared: Getting Over Stage Fright
An adult pianist who suffered from stage fright since childhood, Sara Solovitch, author of Playing Scared, decides to take her performance anxiety head on. »
The Chopin Prelude in A Major Amplified
The Chopin Prelude in A Major is a very short piece that offers a wonderful study in dynamics, color, and rubato. Find tips on how to achieve these effects. »
American Grand, PBS Documentary, Created by Amateur Pianist
A film director and amateur pianist describes the making of American Grand, a documentary depicting the drama of taking apart and rebuilding a grand piano. »
Bach French Suite No. 4 Amplified
The Bach French Suite No. 4's Allemande is relatively short, making its contrapuntal demands on the player manageable; get tips on how to play the piece. »
Satie Gnossienne No. 3 Amplified
Gain perspectives on interpreting Satie's Gnossienne No. 3, with its flexible sense of rhythm, lack of measure markings, and colorful written indications. »
Ode to the Piano, a Poem
Mary Jo Balistreri, who has a hearing loss, writes of the piano as an honest friend and lifelong teacher in this uplifting poem dedicated to Nancy Williams. »
Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, First Movement, Amplified
The Beethoven Moonlight Sonata's first movement is not as simple as it seems; find historical context and tips on ways to interpret the piece with rubato. »
Women Composers Celebrated in Classical Piano Recital
AmateurPianists organized a recital featuring piano works by all women composers during Women's History Month. Amateur performers share what they learned. »
The Chopin Prelude in E Minor Amplified
Gain insight into how to play and interpret the Chopin Prelude in E Minor, from using tempo rubato to convey emotion to balancing the right and left hands. »
The Debussy Rêverie Amplified
Multiple perspectives for playing and interpreting the Debussy Rêverie, including communicating the music’s rises and falls through your own breath control. »
Prelude in E Minor, a Poem
During a performance of the Chopin Prelude in E Minor, the feeling of fear brought poet Mary Jo Balistreri’s memory back to a childhood drowning incident. »
Satie’s Gymnopédie No. 3 Amplified
Learn more about how to play and interpret Erik Satie’s Gymnopédie No. 3, which involves a wide spectrum of dynamic contrasts and leaps with the left hand. »
Happy Fingers: An Oscar Winner
After playing piano for a century, Holocaust survivor Alice Herz-Sommer looks back on her life in the Oscar-winning short documentary The Lady in Number 6. »
Poetry for Musicians
Writer William Giraldi reflects on the stanzas of English poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, and how the characteristic “sprung rhythm” relates strongly to music. »
The Making of The Cohen Variations
Pianist Simone Dinnerstein and composer Daniel Felsenfeld discuss the making of The Cohen Variations, with its inner voices and counterpoint, in this video. »
Simone Dinnerstein Plays The Cohen Variations
In this video, Simone Dinnerstein plays The Cohen Variations, a piano solo composed by Daniel Felsenfeld and based on the 1967 Leonard Cohen song “Suzanne.” »
The Fiery and Intimate Piano Duet Pair Anna and Dmitri Shelest
Anna Shelest and her husband Dmitri Shelest are role models for adults learning piano duets. The couple offers tips on playing together as a four hands duo. »
