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 24, 2018
Mise en place
I just finished reading an interesting book called Practice Like This: 35 Effective Ways To Get Better Faster by Jonathan Harnum, PhD....
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 MECHANICSÂ 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...
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