by Rebecca Bogart | Oct 13, 2026 | Problem Spots, Leaps and Fingering
A leap is any moment when the next note isn’t already under your hand. You have to let go, travel, and land on the exact key. For a split second you aren’t touching anything, so you can’t creep over to the next note. That’s why leaps feel...
by Rebecca Bogart | Oct 13, 2026 | Practice Science
I was living in San Francisco during the Loma Prieta earthquake. The power went out for 3 days. My friend and I stayed with some of her students, and it was pitch black. In the middle of all that chaos, I sat down at their piano and played the Maple Leaf Rag in the...
by Rebecca Bogart | Oct 1, 2026 | Playing Without Tension or Pain
Sore wrists or achy hands usually start before your fingers touch a key. Your fingers curl and grip just to hold on. Your hands spend a lot of time in awkward positions. That gripping and twisting is the ache you feel later. Strengthening your fingers, and/or trying...
by Rebecca Bogart | Oct 1, 2026 | Learning Pieces Faster
Most of us judge a piece by its grade number, or by how black the page looks. Both can fool you. A page full of sixteenth notes can be easier than it looks, and a quiet, simple-looking page can take months. Difficulty on the page comes down to 7 specific things, and...
