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

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...

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...

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...

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

To reawaken love and beauty when life feels overwhelmingly painful, we can turn to our music. This gorgeous theme from the 2nd movement...

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

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...

blog.UpperHandsPiano.com Venezuelan virtuoso pianist/composer Teresa Carreño (1853-1917) believed that pedaling is like mixing paints on...

blog.UpperHandsPiano.com Dear Piano Peeps: One of the keyboard skills we need to develop is dynamic balance; and that is the ability to...

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...

blog.upperhandspiano.com THE MECHANICS OF REPEATS Repeated sections in music cause confusion for many students. Especially when they...

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...

Hello Piano Lovers: blog.UpperHandsPiano.com Today I’d like to delve further into the question, why should we improvise? Firstly, if you...

blog.UpperHandsPiano.com Dear Piano Friends: Today I would like to begin exploring the possibility of you improvising. Don’t panic. A...

blog.upperhandspiano.com I have a brilliant former student named Brendan Cohn-Sheehy with whom I consult on my music and the brain...

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...

blog.UpperHandsPiano.com Why would we want to listen to angry music? When we’re feeling mad we want to connect with something that...

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