The following teaching video produced by Irina Gorin, confirmed my belief that a singing tone springs from the imagination along with a consciousness about the physical means to achieve it. On both accounts, Gorin succeeded in the company of a six-year old piano student. The transformation of his C scale from a vertical, poked out set of notes to deeper, denser, singable playing was noticeable along with his improved wrist flexibility.

In my own teaching demonstrations, I’d embraced the idea that a pianist is sculpting phrases as he is molding clay. In a similar context, I enlisted the image of playing into a bowl of molasses or soft clay, as impetus to create “volume” or density in phrasing. (Here’s an adult student “feeling” her way through five notes)

Continuing my practice of videotaping my Thursday evening lesson, I reviewed past footage and discovered some catch words that helped me clarify…