Dynamic Balance for the Spring Equinox
Happy Spring to those in the Northern Hemisphere! Though it feels like our cold, wet winter will never end here in California, my garden...
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Gaili Schoen
Jun 1, 2022
June Free Sheet Music: Schubert’s Piano Sonata No. 20, Andantino theme
Schubert by Gustav Klimpt In times of pain and suffering, sometimes we just need to play a piece in a minor key. It’s been awhile since I...
Gaili Schoen
Mar 31, 2022
Happy Birthday Bach! (Free Sheet Music & What is Desirable Difficulty?)
Today is the birthday of Johann Sebastian Bach (though there is some confusion about the date). To celebrate, I have arranged Bach’s...
Gaili Schoen
Jan 2, 2021
January Free Sheet Music: Look for the Silver Lining
Happy New Year Friends! I hope this finds you well, and feeling at least somewhat optimistic about 2021. Last year was admittedly...
Gaili Schoen
Jun 14, 2020
Composing – How to Write a Song or Piece, Part 4, Lyrics and Structure
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...
Gaili Schoen
Nov 18, 2018
KEY UP: Moving hands forward on the keys
Blog.UpperHandsPiano.com One of the primary differences between experienced pianists and beginners is in the fluidity of the hand moving...
Gaili Schoen
Nov 1, 2018
November Free Sheet Music: Sonata Pathetique (Adagio cantabile)
To reawaken love and beauty when life feels overwhelmingly painful, we can turn to our music. This gorgeous theme from the 2nd movement...
Gaili Schoen
Feb 7, 2017
Why Do You Play the Piano?
Piano Brain! UpperHandsPiano.com/blog I am studying the effects of piano lessons on the brain at the University of Washington, and have...
Gaili Schoen
Jan 4, 2017
What is a Practice?
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...
Gaili Schoen
Jul 14, 2016
PEDAL PASSION | PEDAL PRACTICE
blog.UpperHandsPiano.com Venezuelan virtuoso pianist/composer Teresa Carreño (1853-1917) believed that pedaling is like mixing paints on...
Gaili Schoen
Feb 12, 2015
The Art of BALANCE at the piano
blog.UpperHandsPiano.com Dear Piano Peeps: One of the keyboard skills we need to develop is dynamic balance; and that is the ability to...
Gaili Schoen
Feb 11, 2015
FAKE BOOKS (Part 2)
Dear Piano People Here is a video to expand on yesterday’s post about how to use FAKE BOOKS. I demonstrate some options for adding left...
Gaili Schoen
Feb 9, 2015
Repeats – Barlines, Dots and Multiple Endings
blog.upperhandspiano.com THE MECHANICS OF REPEATS Repeated sections in music cause confusion for many students. Especially when they...
Gaili Schoen
Feb 6, 2015
White Key Improvisation (Improvising Part 3)
UpperHandsPiano.com/blog I am so pleased to hear that some of you are doing a little improvising. It’s great to try something new, isn’t...
Gaili Schoen
Feb 5, 2015
Finger painting (Improvising, part 2)
Hello Piano Lovers: blog.UpperHandsPiano.com Today I’d like to delve further into the question, why should we improvise? Firstly, if you...
Gaili Schoen
Feb 4, 2015
Improvising part 1
blog.UpperHandsPiano.com Dear Piano Friends: Today I would like to begin exploring the possibility of you improvising. Don’t panic. A...
Gaili Schoen
Jan 31, 2015
Sleep On It
blog.upperhandspiano.com I have a brilliant former student named Brendan Cohn-Sheehy with whom I consult on my music and the brain...
Gaili Schoen
Jan 30, 2015
7 Moving Pieces (For Sadness)
blog.UpperHandsPiano.com Sadness is an inevitable part of life. Though we sometimes wish we could be happy all of the time, it is moments...
Gaili Schoen
Jan 28, 2015
7 Moving Pieces (For Anger)
blog.UpperHandsPiano.com Why would we want to listen to angry music? When we’re feeling mad we want to connect with something that...
Gaili Schoen
Jan 26, 2015
7 Moving Pieces (For Inspiration)
blog.UpperHandsPiano.com Dear Friends: I sometimes turn to moving music to get me through a difficult time, or to reflect my feelings of...
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