Piano and Music Videos

Can't find what you're looking for?

Welcome to LivingPianos.com. I’m Robert Estrin. Today we’re talking about why it’s so important to practice your scales and arpeggios in four octaves. You might think playing scales is just the same thing over and over again. If you can play them in one octave, can’t you just repeat that pattern in another register? It might seem that way, but the reality is more nuanced.

The Angle of the Hands Matters

When you play in the lower or higher registers of the piano, the angle of your hands changes. This shift impacts your technique. If you only practice in one part of the keyboard, you’re not fully developing the flexibility and control needed to navigate the entire instrument. Practicing across all four octaves helps you gain fluency moving up and down the keyboard smoothly and confidently.

Posture and Bench Positioning Are Key

To practice four-octave scales and arpeggios effectively, make sure you’re sitting properly. If you’re too close to the piano, your arms and wrists are forced into awkward angles, making it difficult to play evenly across the keyboard. Sit back far enough so your arms can extend comfortably in front of you. This posture allows for better movement from one end of the piano to the other. Many students make the mistake of sliding side to side on the bench as they play. While this might help you reach the keys temporarily, it’s not a sustainable solution. Instead, find a central position on the bench with the correct height and distance so you can access the full keyboard without shifting your body constantly.

Use the Metronome and Take Your Time

When you’re ready to begin, start slowly with the metronome. Work through your scales and arpeggios at a comfortable tempo. Focus on accuracy and evenness. Gradually, you’ll build speed and confidence. Practicing all major and minor scales and arpeggios over four octaves might seem overwhelming at first, but it doesn’t have to be. Take one scale per week. If you stick with it, you’ll eventually cover them all. There’s no rush. You have your entire life to enjoy playing the piano! And the benefits of mastering these foundational exercises are enormous.

The Long-Term Rewards

If you’ve already gone through the process of learning all your scales and arpeggios, you know how transformative it can be. It dramatically improves your technique, your sight-reading, and your overall ease at the keyboard. Share your experience in the comments on LivingPianos.com and YouTube. Your journey can help encourage others who are still working toward this goal. For those of you still in the process, be inspired by those who have completed it.

A Solid Foundation for Musical Freedom

Learning all your scales and arpeggios is a game changer. When you’ve already mastered them, you don’t have to relearn them every time they appear in your pieces. And practicing in all octaves gives you a solid technical foundation. You’ll be amazed at how much easier music becomes when the patterns are already second nature. The time you invest in this kind of practice pays off many times over, giving you a sense of fluency and freedom at the keyboard that far exceeds the effort you put in.

Thanks again for joining me, Robert Estrin, here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

Why You Must Practice Your Scales and Arpeggios in 4 Octaves

Welcome to LivingPianos.com. I’m Robert Estrin, and today I will show you how to achieve a beautiful singing sound using the pedals. This subtle technique can make a significant difference in your piano playing, transforming percussive note transitions into smooth, lyrical lines.

Establishing a Solid Foundation

First, it’s essential to practice with good fingering and without the pedals. This ensures you can connect musical lines with your fingers before relying on the pedals. A solid foundation is crucial for achieving a coherent performance.

Understanding the Sustain Pedal

The sustain pedal, when depressed, creates an echo quality. To avoid a harsh attack, depress the damper pedal slightly after playing the note. This technique enhances sustain without overwhelming the sound. Watch the video to see this technique demonstrated!

Demonstration:

Without Pedal: Play the note without using the pedal.
With Pedal Before Note: Play the note with the pedal already depressed.
With Pedal After Note: Play the note, then depress the pedal after the attack to create a more balanced sound.

Using the Una Corda Pedal

The una corda (soft) pedal shifts the action, making the hammers strike only two strings, resulting in a warmer tone and softer attack. All three strings vibrate sympathetically, enhancing the sustain.

Demonstration:

Without Soft Pedal: Play the note without using the soft pedal.
With Soft Pedal: Engage the soft pedal before playing the note to hear the difference.

Combining Both Techniques

For a richer tonal palette, combine the soft pedal with the sustain pedal. Play the note with the soft pedal engaged and then depress the sustain pedal after the note’s attack.

Demonstration:

No Pedals: Play the note without any pedals.
Soft Pedal Only: Engage the soft pedal before playing the note.
Sustain Pedal After Note: Depress the sustain pedal after the note’s attack.
Both Pedals: Engage the soft pedal before and the sustain pedal after playing the note.

Experiment and Explore

Experiment with these techniques on your grand piano. Upright pianos may not have the same tonal effects, as their left pedal changes the touch rather than the tone. Many digital pianos also model these physical effects, so try them out to see what you can achieve. By using a combination of pedal techniques, you can craft a musical line with a singing quality, enhancing your overall performance.

I am Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store. Thanks for joining me! For premium videos and exclusive content, you can join my Living Pianos Patreon channel! www.Patreon.com/RobertEstrin.

Contact me if you are interested in private lessons. I have many resources for you! Robert@LivingPianos.com.

How to Achieve a Singing Sound with the Pedals

Welcome to LivingPianos.com. Robert Estrin here with one of the most fundamental aspects of music and harmony: what is an inversion? In a recent video, I explained triads, the most fundamental chord. I have a future video about seventh chords and expanded chords. But first, let’s delve into inversions.

The Concept of Inversions

In 1722, John Philipp Rameau first articulated that chords can be inverted. But what does this mean? Sometimes you see chords with different intervals, but Rameau stated that all chords are built upon the interval of the third. If it’s not a third, it’s an inversion.

Let’s take a C major triad: C, E, G. What happens if you put the E on the bottom? Now you don’t have thirds. Instead, you have a third (E to G) and a fourth (G to C). This new arrangement is the first inversion.

Identifying Inversions in Music

These inversions are identified differently in harmonic analysis and sheet music. If you invert the chord again, with G on the bottom, you get a fourth (G to C) and a third (C to E), creating a second inversion of the C major triad.

In sheet music, these would be labeled simply:

C major: C
First inversion: C/E
Second inversion: C/G

In harmonic analysis, it’s more detailed:

Root position: C major
First inversion: C major 6 (or 6/3)
Second inversion: C major 6/4

Seventh Chords and Their Inversions

Seventh chords are a bit more complex due to having four notes. For example, a G7 chord (G, B, D, F) in C major:

Root position: G7
First inversion: G7/B
Second inversion: G7/D
Third inversion: G7/F

In harmonic analysis:

Root position: G7 (or 7)
First inversion: G7 6/5
Second inversion: G7 4/3
Third inversion: G7 4/2

Remember, these notations reflect the intervals:

6/5: a sixth and a fifth above the bass note
4/3: a fourth and a third above the bass note
4/2: a fourth and a second above the bass note

Practical Application

Understanding inversions helps in harmonic analysis and playing from lead sheets. For example, a dominant seventh chord, the most popular type, is assumed when you see a notation like G7 without further specification.

Conclusion

Inversions are essential in understanding chord functions. All seventh chords can be inverted and named in the same way, whether they are major, minor, or diminished. You can identify the root of the chord by arranging notes in thirds, giving you insight into chord function and resolution.

I hope you enjoyed this music theory primer. Let us know in the comments if these videos are helpful. This is LivingPianos.com, your online piano store. Thanks for joining me!

For premium videos and exclusive content, you can join my Living Pianos Patreon channel! www.Patreon.com/RobertEstrin

Contact me if you are interested in private lessons. I have many resources for you! Robert@LivingPianos.com

Understanding Inversions in Music

Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today’s question is: Can you make a crescendo on a chord on the piano? How many of you have seen a held chord with a crescendo on it in your score? How can you possibly do something like that? Did the composer not understand the physics of the piano, or were they just crazy?! Why would they ever write a crescendo on a held chord? Well, there are some very good compositional reasons for this, and I’m going to show you how you can achieve the effect of a crescendo on a chord on the piano!

Sometimes you will see a crescendo on a held chord in your score.

As an example of this, I’ve pulled up Grieg’s Lyric Pieces. In the third one, called Watchman’s Song, near the very end, there is a held chord with a crescendo on it. What is meant by that crescendo? Well, the composer is trying to show you that this phrase is not ending gently. It’s moving forward. There are some things you can do to achieve this effect; one way is with the use of the sustain pedal.

The sustain pedal can create the sense of a crescendo on a held chord.

When you use the pedal on a chord, you get a little bit of a sense of growth in the sound as all the other strings of the piano can resonate because the dampers are lifted. When you play it and gently move forward right at that point, you almost get the sense of a crescendo. You can play the chord a little bit louder in anticipation of the crescendo, pedaling very soon after the initial attack to get more of a booming sound. Whereas usually the way to pedal chords is to pedal just as the chord starts fading away to mitigate the dying away of the chord thereby increasing the sustain. But when you’re trying to get a downright crescendo, put the pedal down very soon after the initial attack. Your attack should be stronger than it would be without a crescendo. Keep things moving forward, almost anticipating the next chord to try to get the sense of a crescendo.

Indeed, you can get the effect of a crescendo on a chord!

Even though physically it’s not really possible, you can get the effect of a crescendo by utilizing the pedal, anticipating the crescendo a little bit early, and letting the music move along through the crescendo. That’s what the composer intended. They weren’t out of their minds. It wasn’t like they didn’t understand the physics of the sound of a piano. I’m sure Grieg understood! You can hear the effect that it creates when you follow the composer’s intentions. After all, the piano is an instrument of illusion. There’s so much we do with the piano that you wouldn’t think is possible. Just getting a singing line out of a percussion instrument, where every note is dying away, is a huge challenge. So this is what you must do. Think of what the composer intended and find a way to achieve it with the way you approach the music and how you apply the pedal. I hope this has been helpful for you! Thanks again for joining me, Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

For premium videos and exclusive content, you can join my Living Pianos Patreon channel! www.Patreon.com/RobertEstrin

Contact me if you are interested in private lessons. I have many resources for you! Robert@LivingPianos.com

Can You Make a Crescendo on a Chord on the Piano?

Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. The subject today is about finding musical solutions to technical problems. My teacher, John Ogden, tied for first prize in the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition with Vladimir Ashkenazy, two legendary pianists. I remember John Ogden talking about how he really was taken with Ashkenazy’s performance of the famous first Chopin Etude in C major Op. 10, No. 1, and how he had a lightness to it that he thought was really an interesting way of approaching the piece, because so many people play it really strong. Then I remember hearing an interview with Ashkenazy, who had rather small hands, saying his approach to that etude is because of the nature of his hands. It just falls under his hands better playing more lightly. John Ogden didn’t realize that this was a technical consideration. Ashkenazy came up with a beautiful, musical solution to a technical challenge. This is what it’s all about in piano playing!

Find what works for you with your physiology, your psyche, and your makeup, and find something that is musical.

There is no absolute when it comes to how something should be played. You want to find a way that you can accommodate the music. It’s the same with everything in life. Everybody has a different gait. The way you walk is not the same as the way I walk. Everybody has a unique way of approaching a myriad things in life, and piano playing is certainly no exception. Let’s use the Beethoven Sonatina in G Major as an example. Sometimes students have difficulty with the end of the first phrase because there’s a crescendo, and maybe they don’t have enough strength to be able to pull it off. But there is a great musical solution to this problem! Come way down right at the start of the crescendo so that you can easily achieve it. I think it actually sounds better that way. The crescendo can unfold naturally without having to force anything or struggle at all. This technique applies to a wide range of music.

There are ways you can give your performance more power without expending more energy.

For example, Chopin’s powerful Military Polonaise. Playing that piece in a very loud, strong manner takes a lot of energy. If you take all the repeats, it is a true tour de force, because it goes on and on with very few places where it comes down that much. By coming down wherever you possibly can, it gives you a reserve of energy. You can make it sound more powerful, not less powerful. Having a reserve is the secret to a powerful performance. If you’re at the limit of what you can produce, it sounds weak, no matter how much energy you’re putting into it. But when you have that reserve and you let it go here and there, just little flares of excitement, it leaves the listener wondering how much power is undulating under the surface that could fire up at any time!

Use selective energy in your playing.

For example, by playing the fast chords of the Military Polonaise very delicately, when you land on the strong chords, it gives you a lot of power. By doing this, you have tons of energy reserves. You can play through the whole piece without even breaking a sweat! Trying to play everything strong takes a tremendous amount of energy and bogs you down. Instead, play everything you possibly can lightly. You want to use selective energy, another musical solution to a technical problem.

Discover what works for you and make a convincing case for it.

You can discover countless ways of negotiating scores that are intrinsic to your physiology, instead of struggling for some preconceived notion of the absolute way a piece should be played. That’s what a great performance is ultimately all about. Try this in your playing! Maybe you don’t have a lot of power, or a big reach, or maybe your fingers are so big and clumsy that you can’t play lightly, but there are tons of ways to accommodate your physiology.

We all have our strengths and weaknesses.

My father, for example, had massive hands. Rachmaninoff just came naturally to him. He played all the preludes in a public performance at Lincoln Center! Can you imagine such a thing? It was like nothing for him. But playing a delicate Schubert impromptu was another story, with his big, fat powerful fingers. His secret was to delineate the notes by playing them separated. They weren’t actually as light as you might have thought, but he created the illusion of light fast playing by separating them with staccato fingers. So he found a solution that worked beautifully for fast light pieces that didn’t come naturally to him. Find your strengths in your music and bring them to your interpretation. That’s ultimately what great performing is all about! Thanks again for joining me, Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

For premium videos and exclusive content, you can join my Living Pianos Patreon channel! www.Patreon.com/RobertEstrin

Contact me if you are interested in private lessons. I have many resources for you! Robert@LivingPianos.com

Musical Solutions to Technical Problems

Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. The subject today is about how to create tonal shadings on the piano. The piano is such a great instrument, but it has some inherent limitations that I’m sure you’re all aware of. One such limitation is the fact that the notes fade out relatively quickly. What can you do about such a thing? Well, one of the things you can do is to take advantage of that in your music, and I’m going to show you how to do it!

Here’s a technique that will add continuity to your musical lines.

I’ve talked before about how to create the illusion of the breath on the piano using the weight of the arm. Utilizing this technique gives a rise and fall to the line like you hear from a singer or wind player using the breath. Today I’m going to show you a different technique, and I’m going to use the Chopin A-flat Waltz to demonstrate. In this piece, you have fast notes, then long notes going to shorter notes. As the long notes fade out, you want to catch the next notes at exactly the level the long notes have diminished in volume. By doing this, you can make the long note flow into the following note, creating a very interesting tonal color. The long notes seem to melt into the shorter notes by catching the natural decrescendo of the acoustics of the piano. The quarter note that follows the half note is at the exact volume the half note has reached at that point.

Vladimir Horowitz utilizes this technique a tremendous amount in his recordings.

You can hear how he takes the characteristic of the piano, which for some people is the biggest weakness, and turns it into an amazing strength! He creates tonal colors and shadings that somehow magically work, even though when you try to analyze them they don’t seem to make sense. The point isn’t to play an overarching rise and fall as much as to take advantage of the nuance of the natural tonal properties of the envelope of the sound of the piano. I want you to try experimenting with your music! Let me know how this works for you in the comments here at LivingPianos.com and YouTube. What pieces do you think lend themselves to this sort of tonal shading? We can all experiment together to see what’s possible on the piano by taking its biggest shortcoming and turning it into the sparks of creativity in the tonal shadings in your playing. Thanks again for joining me, Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano
Resource.

For premium videos and exclusive content, you can join my Living Pianos Patreon channel! www.Patreon.com/RobertEstrin
Contact me if you are interested in private lessons. I have many resources for you! Robert@LivingPianos.com