Lola Astanova, Virtuoso Pianist

Lola Astanova, Virtuoso Pianist, originally from Tashkent USSR now in New York City

Take a sparkling musical talent, infuse it with unyielding spirit, then add beauty, elegance and passion and the result can be called Lola Astanova.  Born in Tashkent in the former USSR, Lola’s music career began at the age of six when her mother gave Lola her first music lesson.  A few months later, Lola set on a professional music path, working with renowned professors Tamara Popovich, Mark Rusak and the "godfather” of the Russian piano school Lev Naumov whose pianistic lineage traced back to Franz Liszt. (See Source)

These are comments she posted in response to questions from her listeners:

Question:

I notice, when you are playing scales and/or arppegios at your tempo (fast -lol), how should I curl my fingers? Or should I? Especially, the 5th finger... Ive notice pianist like Keith Jarrett. When he plays, his 5th finger is curled up. No matter how much I practice trying to hold my fingers in those positions, they end up pointing straight out. What could I do to improve this (if it needs to be improved)...? Thank you so much!! PS - I LOVE your sense of fashion! You're the best!

Lola Astanova responded:

Thanks for the complements. As for your question, I'm not sure that curling any finger one way or another should be a concern or a goal. Everybody must find their own natural way around the keyboard. If you are struggling with one finger than the issue is, probably, broader, and you may need to go back to some basic hand positioning exercises.

Lola Astanova on learning a new piece:

Learning a new piece is a multi-step process. What I recommend doing first is learning the text in the score with great precision and without any emotional involvement, especially when it comes to well-known pieces or those that you are dying to play. Once you've done that, your intellectual and interpretational analysis will more come naturally and with greater depth.

Lola Astanova about curling fingers:

Never curl your fingers like a rainbow... It's a bad habit and it does nothing for your speed or delicate playing at fast tempos. When you curl your fingers you lose speed and consistent accurate motion. TEST 1: Curl your fingers like a rainbow and wiggle them up and down quickly. NOW: leave them un-curled, slightly arched being closer to being straightened and wiggle your fingers. THE DIFFERENCE in speed will be noticed instantly. Keep your hands straight when you play ;)

Rainbow Piano Technique - "Bugle Call" Trial

I spent some time today experimenting with my kids….they are being so patient with me as I keep changing things around on their piano lesson books. I adjusted the colors even more because when I put them on the piano there wasn’t enough contrast. I also am waiting to put colors on the black notes until they start using those piano keys just to keep it more simple looking for them. Riley, my 12 year old commented, “Okay mom (monotone)…..” after I asked him to try out a newly colored song. After he got done he said, “Sorry mom I am not much help because I just sight read the whole thing and memorized it and didn't look at the colors.” I watched him play it on the piano for the first time and just buzzed right through it, peeking every so often at some of the colors :). I am so glad that he does have a really good ear...the second time through went even better.  

Here are the colors I used on the piano keys. They look a little different when you print them out than what they show on the screen with my printer. I stuck with the basic colors on the white keys (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown) and then lighter shades on the black keys (light blue, grey, pink, light orange, light green.) It is similar to what Annie Wang does in her Rainbow Piano Technique books except I used the same colors every octave and the lighter shades are further away from their darker counterparts. These colors also go really well with the basic colors of a Crayola marker set of which I have many (just got a couple more for $.01.) I took a marker and colored in their regular piano lesson book. At first I was a little worried about coloring in their book but I figured if it ends up helping, it is worth it.

I get really frustrated with either having to write the letters or the finger numbers in their books in order for them to learn the pieces. In the end they don’t really learn the music, they are just playing it enough times with help from me during our piano lessons that they end up memorizing it.

As I have been experimenting with the colors they are paying more attention to the keys and the sheet music and can play it after a couple of times through on their own. Sometimes I have to correct their counting or fingering but I take into consideration that they are looking at new things, i.e. colors on the page and on the keyboard for the first time.

                                                                                                  "Bugle Call"

                                                                                                 Bastien Piano Basics

                                                                                                 Piano Book Level 1

                                                                                                  by James Bastien

I “colored” a couple of songs for each of them after they went to bed tonight. I find that they are playing through them faster than I can color them. I tried coloring the stems of the notes and then circling the notehead on the whole notes but that was a little crowded so I am trying for the first time tonight just putting a dash above the treble staff or below the bass staff showing the color.

It does take a lot of time with the songs as long as they are for my kids, but it is cheaper than buying new books. A huge advantage is that I can start leaving off certain colors one by one at their pace to eventually get away from the colors all together.

I have my two kids in different piano lesson method series because they are at the same level and they were competing a lot. They started memorizing the songs while listening to the other one practice so when it was their turn to practice the piano they were just playing the songs by ear, and of course messing up in the same places (kinda funny when I think of it).

I find that they are turning into better sight-readers using this Rainbow Piano Technique. I have found that sightreading is the MOST valuable of all the skills I have as a musician. I have to pull teeth for them to play with style and dynamics right now but once I get them comfortable with the new note-learning method we will work on that. I don't want to throw too many things at them at the same time and frustrate them.

Let me know what you guys think..... 

Lacey

Amazing Kid Musicians 

Rainbow Piano Technique - The First Day!

Are you trying the Rainbow Piano Technique? What age(s) are the students? How did it go on the first day? What worked the best? I received this advice from Annie, the author, regarding older children but see that it would apply to all ages.

Dear Lacey
Thank you for your interest in our book again. I am sure your kids will enjoy it.  My suggestion for your older kids is letting them play and try first, and you can do the last correction, like fingerings and articulation.  Remember to do it slowly.Not too much practice,but do it slow and accurately. Good luck
Annie

Words from a master teacher for sure!

Lacey

Rainbow Piano Technique - Let's Try it Together

Is there anyone interested in trying out the Rainbow Piano Technique with me? I just ordered the books tonight and can't wait to get them. I am going to try this with my nine and twelve year old. I am really curious if this will increase their independance and confidence. I will post our experiences periodically if anyone is curious. I think that it would be awesome to do it with others as well. Anyone want to?

Lacey Holzbauer

Richard, Age 3, Piano

Richard, Age 3, Piano, Pasadena California

I ran across a very intriguing piano teaching method for young children the other day and I am very excited to try it with my little girl, Addison, when she starts taking piano lessons with me. (She is only 12 months so it won't be for a little while yet.)

The method is named the "Rainbow Piano Technique." The creator is Annie Wang the mother of the young pianist Richard Hoffman. The LA Times wrote a story on him which included the following quote. "His shiny leather shoes dangled from the piano bench -- his legs too short to touch the ground. By the third piece of his first piano recital, one of his shoelaces had become untied." (See Source)

The following video is of Richard playing the piano when he was three years old. At that point he had been playing for approximately 9 months. Enjoy!

Teaching From The Kitchen

As a mommy private piano teacher I am always wondering whether I correct my kids when they are practicing or wait until the next piano lesson. I wish that I had time to sit down with them everyday and guide them through the learning process, but with all the other mommy and wife things to do every day that isn't possible for me.

Reader Comment: Tips for Teaching Your Own

I have an almost 6-year-old who has been wanting to learn the violin for about 2 years now. I teach kids her age, but have been really hesitant to start her. Thanks for the tips. Maybe I should try again (when her broken elbow is healed).

Kierst

Reader Comment: Teaching Your Own Kids

I used "right now I'm not Mummy, I'm your teacher" today and we had our first good lesson in a while. THANKS!

Also, though, for me it helps to relax a little and realize that it IS going to be different with him than it is with the others. I can't spend all day bossing him around or he'll hate music and hate me. So sometimes he goes a week without going near the piano, but othertimes he gets all jazzed up when his friends are over for lessons that he pulls his books out and demands a lesson as soon as they leave.

One of my former teachers once said, about teaching her own daughter, "all week long we work on our mother-daughter relationship, only to start over again every Saturday morning." Realizing that it IS different, has helped me a lot.

boysrus

"I am not your mommy right now, I am your teacher"

I have taught my own two children for many years on both the piano and the cello. One thing that seemed to really work for us was to start with a conversation just the two of us on the couch, not the piano bench or cello chair. We talked about learning a new instrument and why they wanted to learn. We talked about what it means to "take lessons" and practice and what it is going to look like. I told them what I do when I teach other kids and that I am going to treat them the same way. At the beginning of each lesson I reminded them, "I am not your mommy right now, I am your teacher." When they would start to throw a fit I would remind them that I am treating them just like I do all of my other students. At the end of the lesson I give them a big hug and say, "Guess what? I am your mommy again." It is hard at times to separate the roles, but the more I treated them like a student of mine during the lesson than my own child, I had more luck.

Lacey Holzbauer