Today I started learning Liszt’s O quand je dors to play with a friend. As I sightread the piece and began to write in fingerings, I split up an arpeggio between my hands. Easy. I arrived at my solution instantly; it is second nature to me now. Yet I didn’t always know how to divide … Continue reading Divide and Conquer
Piano
Sliding Around
Playing piano is all about illusion. Playing piano with a limb difference is all about illusion and resourcefulness. If you need to do the work of ten fingers with fewer than ten fingers, it makes sense that each finger will have to play more notes in compensation. Depending on your limb difference, there … Continue reading Sliding Around
Comedy or inspiration?
About ten years ago, a video by comedian musicians Aleksey Igudesman and Hyung-ki Joo went viral in the piano world. It was called “Rachmaninov Had Big Hands”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93JiXloIhn4 This was not the first time anyone has ever tried to play the piano with pieces of wood. The inspiration for Igudesman and Joo could have come … Continue reading Comedy or inspiration?
It All Started Here
I kneeled on the sofa, my elbows crossed over the armrest, my neck craned forward, my eyes glued to the piano. Emily was having a piano lesson and I had been invited to watch. As my best friend learned new melodies and chords, I moved my fingers simultaneously, imagining what it might be like to … Continue reading It All Started Here
Another Way to Play 