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*** (Album for the Young No. 30)
The 30th piece in Schumann’s Album for the Young is one of the composer’s most intimate and tender short pieces, full of harmonic and contrapuntal refinement. Although it is technically accessible to intermediate pianists, it is musically rewarding for more advanced players as well. This From the Ground Up edition delves deeply into the expressive subtleties of the score, with exercises designed to help players experience its musical emotions directly, and develop their own interpretations.
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Ken Johansen
Ken Johansen is a pianist, teacher, and writer based in Baltimore, where he teaches at the Peabody Conservatory. His projects include the iPad sight-reading app Read Ahead, a keyboard harmony textbook Harmony at the Piano, the From the Ground Up series and an advanced sight-reading curriculum.
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<h3> <a href="/content/pages/145-intermezzo-in-a-major-op-118-no-2?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">Fantasy Analysis</a></h3>This collection of videos provides an imaginative, personal narrative on the interpretation of Brahms’s nostalgic Intermezzo in A Major, examining the work section by section and focussing on feelings, ideas and colours.... Read >>
Für Elise
<h3> <a href="/content/pages/140-fr-elise?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">(Bagatelle No. 25 in A Minor)</a></h3>This evergreen miniature of Beethoven scarcely needs any introduction at all, since Für Elise is known to the world at large. What beginning piano student does not itch to play it, pestering their teacher long before they are ready? This video walkthrough and article shows how to use quarantining and... Read >>
Waltz in A minor
<h3> <a href="/content/pages/106-waltz-in-a-minor?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">Trinity College - Grade 4</a></h3>Grieg’s Waltz in A minor is full of character and contrasts, and not without its challenges - especially concerning how to use the pedal. In this video I show how to organise the pedalling in order to make some of the joins possible without covering over Grieg’s slurs and staccato... Read >>
Knight Rupert (Album for the Young No. 12)
Knight Rupert, No. 12 from Schumann’s Album for the Young, Op. 68, is a favourite recital piece for the intermediate player, and great fun to play. The rousing A section contrasts beautifully with the more lyrical B section. This video walkthrough and article shows how to use quarantining and other... Read >>
Allegro (from Fantasia no. 1 in D major)
<h3> <a href="/content/pages/108-allegro-from-fantasia-no-1-in-d-major?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">Trinity College - Grade 6</a></h3>Georg Philipp Telemann's Fantasia in D major, on Trinity’s Grade 6 alternative syllabus, is a worthy piece and a lot of fun to play. This video shows some of the principles involved in making decisions regarding dynamics, articulation, touch and expression and looks at several options for interpretation based on... Read >>
Jacques Ibert - Little White Donkey
Le petit âne blanc (The Little White Donkey) is the second piece from Jacquest Ibert’s set of ten pieces entitled Histoires and requires plenty of imagination to play it with the necessary colour and vibrancy. This video walkthrough and article shows how to use quarantining and other practice tools to... Read >>
Prelude in C minor (BWV 999)
<h3> <a href="/content/pages/158-prelude-in-c-minor-bwv-999?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">ABRSM Grade 4 – A1</a></h3>Built from a harmonic progression and originally written for lute we can recreate some of the resonance of that instrument either by short touches of pedal, or by overholding some notes of the broken chords.... Read >>
Minuet in D major, K. 355
<h3> <a href="/content/pages/109-minuet-in-d-major-k-355?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">Trinity College - Grade 7</a></h3>Mozart’s Minuet in D, K. 355 features chromaticism that is surprising even to our ears (imagine what it must have sounded like to the listener of the day!). The piece is conceived as an ensemble piece for string trio, and we need to have this sound in our ear as... Read >>
Diabelli - Moderato Cantabile (from Sonatina in F major, Op. 168 No. 1)
<h3> <a href="/content/pages/98-diabelli-moderato-cantabile-from-sonatina-in-f-major-op-168-no-1?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">Trinity College - Grade 5 (Alternative)</a></h3>The first movement (Moderato) of Diabelli’s appealing Sonatina in F is a model of sonata form in miniature, an ideal way to teach form and structure to the intermediate pianist. In this video I demonstrate the art of finger pedalling in the left hand alberti patterns and show how to... Read >>
Invention in D Minor No. 4 (BWV 775)
Bach's Inventions (in two parts) and the Sinfonias (in three parts) were written for the Bach’s eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann and are played throughout the world by intermediate players and concert artists alike. This video walkthrough and article shows how to use quarantining and other practice tools to approach two... Read >>
Ecossaise in E-Flat (No. 4 from Six Ecossaises, WoO 83)
<h3> <a href="/content/pages/157-ecossaise-in-e-flat-no-4-from-six-ecossaises-woo-83?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">ABRSM Grade 3 – A1</a></h3>A lively dance in 2/4 time, an ecossaise is actually the French word for “Scottish”! Flexibility in the right hand is necessary to avoid tension, and flexibility in the pulse (while not indicated in the score) is essential to bring grace and elegance at the start, and then some forward... Read >>
Intermezzo in E-Flat (Op. 117 No. 1)
This set of pieces was described by Brahms as “lullaby to my sorrows” and the first of the set of three certainly conveys a sense of a rocking motion. In this video, Graham Fitch demonstrates how to bring out the melody in the inner (middle) voices of this piece.... Read >>
Bruch - Moderato from Sechs Klavierstücke (Op. 12, No. 4)
<h3> <a href="/content/pages/114-bruch-moderato-from-sechs-klavierstcke-op-12-no-4?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">ABRSM Grade 6 – B1</a></h3>Max Bruch’s delightful Moderato from Sechs Klavierstücke (Op. 12, No. 4 ) is set for ABRSM Grade 6, list B. In this video I demonstrate in detail the techniques of quick cover, springboarding and selective landing to assist you in mastering the LH jumps so that you can focus on... Read >>
Intermezzo in B minor (Op. 119 No. 1)
<h3> <a href="/content/pages/101-intermezzo-in-b-minor-op-119-no-1?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">Trinity College - Grade 8</a></h3>In 1893, Brahms wrote his last work for the piano, a set of four piano pieces, op. 119. The Intermezzo in B minor is the first piece of the set. As a composition it is full of riches, arousing keen interest in composers and scholars (including Arnold Schoenberg) as they... Read >>
From the Ground Up
From the Ground Up is a series devoted to learning individual pieces using outlines and reduced scores that help you to practise more effectively, memorize more consciously, and interpret music more creatively.... Read >>
Beethoven on Board
Presented by pianist and captain of The Piano Boat, this series features detailed walk-throughs for Beethoven's piano sonatas, exploring background, style, interpretation, technical challenges and practice methods ultimately for each work.... Read >>
Fantasy in D Minor K397
This video provides a section by section waltkthrough of Mozart's Fantasy in D Minor K397 (sometimes referred to as Fantasia).... Read >>
Lyric Pieces
<h3> <a href="/content/pages/2-lyric-pieces?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">(Op. 54)</a></h3>Grieg wrote his famous Nocturne (Night Piece) in the summer of 1891 during his annual country retreat to the Norwegian mountains and fjords. Along with five other pieces, he included the Nocturne in Book V of his Lyric Pieces, Op. 54.... Read >>
Prelude in B Minor (Op. 28 No. 6)
<h3> <a href="/content/pages/113-prelude-in-b-minor-op-28-no-6?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">ABRSM Grade 6 - B2</a></h3>Chopin’s dark, somber Prélude in B minor is much more difficult to play than it looks. This video demonstrates how to approach this piece technically and musically with particular attention to the pedalling which requires a lot of thought... Read >>
Tarantella (No. 4 from Musiques d’enfants, Op. 65)
<h3> <a href="/content/pages/159-tarantella-no-4-from-musiques-denfants-op-65-?bundle_url=online-academy&last_viewed=true">ABRSM Grade 5 – C3</a></h3>Prokoviev’s Music for Children was composed in 1935 and contains 12 pieces with descriptive titles. The Tarantella is one of the best examples of this type of dance piece, featuring spinning patterns in both hands and plenty of quirky harmonic and rhythmic features that make Prokoviev’s style so engaging.... Read >>