“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...

Happy New Year Friends! I hope this finds you well, and feeling at least somewhat optimistic about 2021. Last year was admittedly...

In the last month I have seen the 2020 film adaptation of the Jane Austen novel Emma twice; once in the theater, and a second time last...

I recently came upon the song Tico Tico in a book of songs played by the French Gypsy jazz guitarist, Django Reinhardt, and fell in love...

“We’ll take a cup of kindness yet for auld lang syne” Though you might be busy practicing your Christmas carols such as I Saw Three Ships...

Blog.UpperHandsPiano.com One of the primary differences between experienced pianists and beginners is in the fluidity of the hand moving...

I have had many requests for easy sheet music to Debussy’s Clair de lune, and so have transposed it to C and simplified it for the...

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...

Resolve! blog.UpperHandsPiano.com If you’re like me, you love making new year’s resolutions. The year ahead is a clean slate, filled with...

Piano Brain! UpperHandsPiano.com/blog I am studying the effects of piano lessons on the brain at the University of Washington, and have...

You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks ― Winston S. Churchill Today while I was...

Dear Piano Peeps: Today I hope you will join me in pledging to play the piano at least 10 minutes every day for the next 30 days (January...

I am fascinated by the concept of practice, because it has been such a charged word for me in the past. As a young child it was a...

summer hydrangeas Now that July 4th has passed, you might be thinking about things you would like to accomplish this summer. Many...

blog.UpperHandsPiano.com Dear Friends: I sometimes turn to moving music to get me through a difficult time, or to reflect my feelings of...

blog.UpperHandsPiano.com I had several lovely piano teachers growing up. The teacher that influenced me the most was Mildred Portney...

Pledge To Play 10 Minutes A Day Today we start our pledge to play 10 minutes a day, for 30 days. Even if you can’t commit to playing...

UpperHandsPiano.com/blog Dear Piano Lovers! I love that January is the time of year for new goals and added resolve. If you are reading...