Why play Czerny and Hanon when you can play Beethoven? In this lesson, Claire Huangci shows how Beethoven's Rondo a capriccio, the so-called "Rage over a lost penny," presents a series of etudes to improve your strength and dexterity. Part Gypsy dance, part glorified study piece, Huangci walks you through every new section and variation, tackling each new technical challenge in turn. Whether you aspire to work the piece up to tempo, or just want fun patterns to practice slowly, this piece is sure to develop your fundamentals – scales, arpeggios, chords, ornaments, slurs, phrasing, articulation, dynamics, and pedal.

Join Claire Huangci for a delightful tutorial on a delightful piece, Mozart's Twelve Variations on "Ah vous dirai-je, Maman," also known as the "Twinkle Variations."<br><br>The work is a picture of innocence and joyful, heartfelt enthusiasm, while at the same time it presents a series of musical and technical obstacles for the intermediate pianist to develop their taste as well as their chops. Huangci makes her way through the theme and all 12 variations in order, performing each before offering practical tips on phrasing, dynamics, fingering, practice techniques, sound and character, and much more!

One hallmark of Chopin's genius was his ability to write simple, memorable melodies within intricate compositional designs. In other words, he's one of the rare composers to strike a balance between popular styles and high art forms. His Nocturne in E-flat, Op. 9 No. 2 typifies this. As Claire Huangci demonstrates, this piece is rightfully famous for its dreamy atmosphere and yearning lyricism. The challenge is to control the polyphony of the left hand in an effortless way that supports the singing voice in the right hand. Huangci first offers techniques for choreographing the left hand, then both hands together, and demonstrates interpretive possibilities within the ornamented repetitions of the theme. The final section presents specific technical and expressive challenges, each of which Huangci addresses in turn.

Join Claire Huangci for a look at Chopin at his most soulful in this in-depth lesson on his first Nocturne in B-flat minor, Op. 9 No. 1.<br><br>Huangci has lived with Chopin's Nocturnes since she was a child, much the same way Chopin himself lived with the Nocturne genre his whole life. Chopin begins his first Nocturne with one of the most intoxicating melodies he ever composed – the start of a brooding bel canto aria. Huangci shows how your touch influences the phrase, and gives tips on controlling the left hand underneath the right hand's ornamental filigree. The B section requires a longer sense of line, and the ability to create variety in repetition, before giving way to the "heart of the piece": a placid passage requiring the utmost stillness and delicacy. Huangci demonstrates how to draw these contrasting moods and characters from the keyboard, and how to bring closure to the work after a final outcry.

The six pieces of Debussy's Children's Corner are studies in tenderness and imagination. While not overtly virtuosic, the music is beyond the reach of children. Rather, like Schumann's Kinderszenen, Debussy's suite are works for more mature players to revisit the wonder and enchantment of childhood. Join Claire Huangci as she walks you through the suite, one piece at a time, and shares her secrets on how to color and choreograph its memorable characters.

Rachmaninoff is most famous for his mighty piano concertos, in which he puts forward his full arsenal of virtuosity, color, and lyricism. He often had different compositional priorities in his solo piano works, but his B-flat Prelude Op. 23 No. 2 is an exception. As pianist Claire Huangci reveals in her lesson on the piece, this is "a piano concerto in 4 minutes" – perhaps the most daunting of the 24 preludes technically speaking, but so rich and rewarding in its power and narrative that it's worth taking on the challenge. With Huangci's expert guidance in matters of character, technique, and practice, you will find this Herculean piece a little more human and approachable.

In this lesson, American pianist Claire Huangci guides you through one of Rachmaninoff’s most popular piano works, his Prelude in C-sharp Minor, Op. 3, No. 2. <br><br>Huangci discusses this prelude section by section. When you practice the “sighing motif” of the A section, she advises you to imagine your fingers as needles, which will help you to bring out the motif’s top voice with a precise, vocal tone quality. Huangci invites you to view the B section as a “huge, two-page crescendo.” To avoid rushing through this section, she encourages you to sing along with the melody and embody the phrasing with subtle, rhythmic body language. <br><br>To conquer the bridge section, you will learn to practice the descending chordal gesture in fragments, first playing six notes, then twelve, then eighteen, etc. When you practice the prelude’s climax, Huangci dissuades you from interpreting the score too literally. If you try to play “fortissississimo,” you will risk creating a harsh, banging sound. To help you to avoid this pitfall, Huangci will demonstrate how to create drama through body language and rubato.

Join celebrated international virtuoso Claire Huangci for an in-depth lesson on one of Rachmaninoff's most intoxicating piano works, the Prelude in G-sharp Minor from Op. 32. Huangci begins by workshopping each hand separately, balancing the "cello line" in the left with the shimmering right-hand accompaniment. She then explores the work section-by-section, pairing insightful technical analysis with practice tips and probing the piece's expressive and colorful sides to unlock interpretive strategies.

In this lesson, American pianist Claire Huangci guides you through Scarlatti’s Keyboard Sonata in B Minor, K. 27. She begins by teaching you how to evoke the sound of a harpsichord on the piano by lifting your fingers before striking each note in a staccato-like style. This “crispy” touch, you learn, will serve you well in Scarlatti’s music. To imitate the harpsichord even more, Huangci encourages you to use the pedal very sparingly, because a blurred sound will inhibit the clarity and evenness of your playing – which, she tells you, should sound like a Swiss clock. <br><br>You will also learn tricks for tackling technical and musical challenges that appear frequently in Scarlatti’s work: hand-crossings, trills, and repeated notes. To execute hand-crossings, Huangci advises you to relax your body (especially your upper arm) and to practice accenting different notes (first the high ones, then the low ones). To execute trills in Baroque music, you don’t need to play as many notes as possible – phew! Instead, Huangci advises you to pick a number of notes that you wish to play within the trill and focus your energy on playing that number consistently. Finally, don’t feel obliged to play repeated notes with one hand – distribute them between your two hands, but make sure that you don’t accent one note more than the other. <br><br>By the end of the lesson, you will be well on your way towards developing the dexterity and sensitivty required to execute this enduring masterpiece.

In this course, Claire Huangci teaches how to play repeated notes starting with 1 finger all the way to using all 5. She teaches how to balance speed with power and the correct way to use the finger, wrist and arm.

In this course, Claire Huangci teaches one of the most difficult technical challenges at the keyboard: leaps. She talks about leaps in their most basic form, and progresses to discussing the psychology of some of the most difficult in the repertoire.