Published on March 31, 2010 by Michele and Robert Root-Bernstein in Imagine That! “The greatest scientists are artists as well,” said Albert Einstein (Calaprice, 2000, 245). As one of the greatest physicists of all time and a fine amateur pianist and violinist, he … Continue reading →

Sensibility is the ability developed by learning through the senses. In Dr. Kataoka’s book Sensibility and Education  translator Dr. Karen Hagberg explains the Japanese translation of the term: “To Dr. Kataoka “Kansei” (translated as sensibility) is the sum of the five senses, … Continue reading →

    “The task of the teacher is not to put knowledge where it does not exist, but rather to lead the mind’s eye so that it might see for itself.”    

The holon diagram is a developmental hierarchy of piano skill acquisition. It is derived from the Piano Basics teachings of Dr. Kataoka. The basics are always the same regardless of the difficulty level of a piece. The skills are built from … Continue reading →

When parents think about how their childcan learn to play the piano, the first questions that usually come to mind are things like ‘how to learn and memorize the notes?’  and then a little later: ‘how do I get my … Continue reading →

Sensory education is a wonderful research topic for Suzuki Piano teachers.  I would like to focus on the importance of the touch sense in teaching long sounds and it’s application to teaching Twinkle B where a long sound is first … Continue reading →

Dear Parents,Following are suggestions to optimize learning in the lessons:1. Set-UpPlease make a habit to set up your child promptly with their bench/footstool and books, and put the assignment sheet on my piano. Even older children need some help to … Continue reading →

In the post  “On the Rhythm- Part 1″, the beginning steps of listening and feeling rhythm were discussed. Next, when students begin learning a piece, they usually find the correct notes (pitch) first.  The student may also have the general … Continue reading →

The preparation that is done in the last week before a recital or concert is critical to a successful performance.   Following are key points: 1. Listen to the recording as much as possible. Notice when the volume is right … Continue reading →