Happy Spring to those in the Northern Hemisphere! Though it feels like our cold, wet winter will never end here in California, my garden...

Swing rhythm has to do with eighth notes 🎵: it is the long-short “lazy” feel you hear in jazz tunes, as well as country, rock, folk and...

“Chopin Concert” painting by Henryk Siemiradzki (Public Domain) Chopin was only twenty when he composed his Nocturne Opus 9, No. 2 in...

Today is the birthday of Johann Sebastian Bach (though there is some confusion about the date). To celebrate, I have arranged Bach’s...

I hope you had a lovely Valentine’s Day spent with someone you love, or doing something you love to do! (Like eating chocolate?! Playing...

We know that setting goals can be an effective way to focus our practice time. In the past I have held “Pledge to Play: 10 Minutes A Day”...

As promised I have posted Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata (transposed to E minor) pt. 2 on my website today. Have you been playing pt. 1...

To purchase this poster click here You may have heard of the phrase, The Circle of 5ths. It’s a useful tool for musicians to understand,...

I have a piano student who had always wanted to write songs, but just couldn’t seem to get started. When I asked him what he’d like to...

Although we think of Chopsticks as a quirky beginner’s tune, it is actually not that easy to play! Chopsticks is most fun when we play it...

With all of the extra time you now have, it is a great time for you to stick your toe into the pool of songwriting. Ok don’t scream,...

Forget-me-not! Since most of us are confined to our homes with more time to play the piano, I decided to post the complete Rhapsody in...

Piano Friends, I am so excited to offer you a medley of Rhapsody In Blue by George Gershwin! One of the most beloved pieces by an...

It has been awhile since I posted, as I was in France and England for 4 weeks, enjoying amazing architecture, music, art, books, and...

Happy New Year! It is SO EXCITING when a new year’s worth of songs come into the public domain! As of today, all American songs and...

Since this is the month for expressing gratitude, I would like to say that I am deeply grateful for the work I get to do– blogging about...

©Alexey Arkhipov Dreamstime.com A couple of month ago I posted worksheets for learning bass ledger lines, and this month I wanted to...

Dynamic Independence As you progress in your piano studies an issue will eventually come up that we piano teachers call hand...

Play music together! I recently heard author (of Eat, Pray, Love) Elizabeth Gilbert speak about creative work: Everything that is...

blog.upperhandspiano.com I hope you are enjoying luxuriously lengthening days as we launch into summer. My garden is crying out for me to...