Iggy Plays Toccata and Fugue in D minor by J.S. Bach
Thursday, July 7, 2022 by Graham Yates | Student Recordings
"You can do anything you put your mind to." In this case, Iggy put his mind to learning this piece thanks to the promise of a PS5 from his dad. Hey, a little bribery never hurts!
Congrats, Iggy, on unlocking two achievements today: earning your PS5 and absolutely crushing this challenge giving you so many valuable piano skills. In particular: perseverance, memorization, chord voicing, control of fast notes and working with a metronome. Simply amazing!
Daniel plays Bach Minuet no. 4
Thursday, May 5, 2022 by Graham Yates | Student Recordings
Daniel (10) performs the fourth Bach Minuet from Suzuki piano book 2 (BWV Anh. 114). He has been diligently working hard through the pieces in Book 2 and is almost to the end! Only a few short weeks ago he was struggling to learn the notes of this piece, and now listen to how confidently he plays. Bravo, Daniel!
Julian Plays "Legends Never Die"
Saturday, April 30, 2022 by Graham Yates | Student Recordings
Sometimes my students give ME and education with their musical choices. "Legends Never Die" was written by Riot Games Music Team for the 2017 League of Legends World Championship and performed originally by Against the Current. I'm sure that means something important to a lot of people, and I'll keep that in mind next time I say something heady like "Chopin's Nocturne in E-flat major, Opus nine Number two."
Hear Julian absolutely rock "Legends Never Die" in this piano solo version!
Chelsey's Suzuki Book 1 recital
Tuesday, April 19, 2022 by Graham Yates | Student Recordings
Congratulations to Chelsey who performed her Suzuki book 1 graduation recital. She practiced to learn all the important artistic skills required to play the pieces in the book, memorized them, and performed them live for her teacher, her mom and the camera - for your enjoyment! We can't wait to start you on the next book, Chelsey!
Julian Plays "Because of You"
Monday, April 4, 2022 by Graham Yates | Student Recordings
Here's Julian playing the Piano Guys song "Because of You" with cellist Hector Moreno. This performance closed one of the recitals held last weekend which marked the first time our students had performed in person since the pandemic. I think Julian really knocked it out of the park with his playing, and especially while honing his skills as a collaborative musician. Congrats Julian and Hector, and all other students who performed that day, on your performance!
Jose's Suzuki Book 1 Recital
Tuesday, November 30, 2021 by Graham Yates | Student Recordings
Jose has completed the first book in the Suzuki series! Here, he performs a selection of 10 pieces, from memory. Listen to that confident legato, especially in the last two pieces (Christmas Day Secrets and Musette) where he navigates two kinds of articulation at the same time. He worked REALLY hard on that! Congrats, Jose, and good luck in book 2!
What We're Working On
Tuesday, October 19, 2021 by Graham Yates | Student Recordings
Julian has just completed learning his first entire multi-movement work. Here is Sonatina in G - all three movements - by Cornelius Gurlitt, from the RCM Level 5 Repertoire book.
Tesla plays "Imperial March" from Star Wars
Friday, September 10, 2021 by Graham Yates | Student Recordings
Tesla, wrapping up a fun duet project from this summer. Stay tuned for more piano duo recordings this fall!
Iggy Plays "The Entertainer"
Friday, July 30, 2021 by Graham Yates | Student Recordings
Here's a way to beat the summer heat: play a ragtime duet! This arrangement of Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer" is just right for a crash course in counting. Way to go, Iggy!
Remote Recital #4 - Spring 2021
Tuesday, May 4, 2021 by Graham Yates | Student Recordings
For this remote recital, students were invited in-person to the studio to record. For many, it was their first time in the new studio space, and also meeting Mr. Graham for the first time in-person! It was also a transitional experience from playing at home on students' own keyboards only for over a year, to having to adjust to another instrument in a flash. A skill and a challenge all pianists can relate to!
Next time (hopefully): live performances!
Program:
00:18 Teagan - Twinkle & Honeybee
01:18 Fiona - Lightly Row & Honeybee
01:55 Nico - Cuckoo & Lightly Row
3:09 Octavia - Cuckoo & Go Tell Aunt Rhody
4:09 Suria - London Bridge & Go Tell Aunt Rhody
5:04 Chloe - Go Tell Aunt Rhody
5:35 Aattoja - Mary Had a Little Lamb & Go Tell Aunt Rhody
6:29 Saaz - Little Playmates & Go Tell Aunt Rhody
07:23 Jose - Allegretto 1 & Chant arabe
08:40 Daniel - Ecossaise & Minuet 1
10:59 Madhav - A Short Story & The Happy Farmer
12:56 Ashley - The Happy Farmer & Minuet 1
15:07 Iggy - Crazy Comics & Courageous Cat
16:10 Khashvi - The Song of Twilight & Left Alone
18:19 Vivica - The Sparkling Brook & The Avalanche
20:40 Anvitha - The Song of Twilight
22:04 Tesla - The Happy Farmer & Sonatina in F (Diabelli)
24:21 Cylee - Sonatina in G (Latour)
25:42 Bruce - Prelude in E minor (Chopin)
28:22 Eleanor - Pomp and Circumstance
29:55 Apoorva - Etude in G (Czerny) & Jumping Competition
33:02 Samaya - River City Blues
34:42 Vince - Mia and Sebastian
36:40 Leena - Blue Habanera
