Category Archives: autumn

Autumn Nocturne, Tranquility in Season

Throughout my many years of teaching, students have often brought in one of Chopin’s Nocturnes and asked me to teach them how to play it. In order to help a student get started with the learning process, I realized early … Continue reading

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Autumn Serenade – How Could I Have Missed This Musical Treasure?

During my years of working as a solo pianist, one of the greatest challenges that I faced was answering a request for a song that I didn’t know. I suppose that at one time or another every musician must deal … Continue reading

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Autumn in New York – Will the Real Vernon Duke Please Stand Up?

In many of my previous blog posts, I have mentioned the fact that finding sources of inspiration is absolutely critical to your musical vitality. During the years when I was actively composing concert (i.e. classical) music, a somewhat unusual way … Continue reading

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September Song, Nostalgia in Tune

When I’m working with a student who is learning the play one of the standards from the American Popular Songbook, I always help her in the arranging process by first identifying all of the ii-V-I and ii-V chord progressions. As … Continue reading

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Early Autumn – When Does Fall Really Begin?

About three weeks ago, my 5 year old grandson, Nick, asked me why there were some leaves falling from the tress. “Papa, I thought that this was summer,” he said. Always curious as to why and how things work the … Continue reading

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