Today we have an answer to a viewer question about how to practice Chopin’s Ocean Etude. Chopin wrote two books of etudes, brilliant works. Incidentally, there are two types of etudes in this world, those that strictly exercise, and those that explore technical problems in great pieces of music. And the Chopin etudes are certainly in the latter category of monumental compositions that tackle different technical challenges.
All posts by Robert Estrin
What is Music Pollution? Part 2
This is a response to our first video about Music Pollution which got a great response from all of you!
To summarize our first video, I explained that music being played everywhere you go actually harms music appreciation more than it enhances it. Music is an art form that is meant to be listened to and treasured, not something that should be relegated to the background. In this entry I want to address some other issues with background music I’ve noticed and how it continues to degrade the artform form we all love.
The other day I was stuck on the phone listening to “hold music” which consisted of the same thirty second loop playing over and over. The quality of the music was terrible over the phone. The song itself was just repetitive noise and for some reason the music is about ten times louder than the voice of the caller. Who can possibly appreciate this?
If you were to go back to the Baroque era, you’d find that most musical instruments of the time were very quiet. The clavichord is an instrument that is so quiet that you can barely even hear it from across a small room! The harpsichord – which was the most robust keyboard instrument of the time, was also not nearly as loud as the modern piano. These instruments were meant to be enjoyed in close and intimate settings with quiet audiences.
As time went on, louder instruments developed and eventually electronic amplification came about and instruments could fill entire stadiums with sound! The original amplification methods were crude and distorted. But as technology has advanced, the sound quality has gotten better and better. But how engineers have dealt with amplification are troubling.
How many times have you gone to a club to listen to a group only to find that the amplification was so loud that the music was no longer enjoyable? You might even have to stick ear plugs in your ears in order to tolerate the sound at a level that doesn’t harm your hearing. Even in movie theaters the sound can be pumped up so high that it’s beyond a level of comfort. I often wonder if this could possibly be enjoyable for anyone.
When technology was more limited, louder was better. With technology today the range of volume is nearly unlimited and sound engineers now are faced with having to control the level of volume with their ears and not the indicators on their technology. Unfortunately, there are engineers who do sound more by eye (looking at gauges) than by ear!
Equalization curves allow you to make something loud but still enjoyable and not damaging to the ears. By emphasizing certain frequencies and de-emphasizing others you can achieve a pleasing level of sound even with very high volume. Some forward thinking restaurants will actually turn down the vocal spectrum of their audio which enables music to play in the background while facilitating conversation at the table.
We live in an age where the art of music goes far beyond the creation of the music itself. How music is played or presented has become an art form itself. Sound engineers are part of the musical performance and in many instances are integral to the experience.
I’m not sure how as individuals we can convey the idea that something doesn’t have to be deafeningly loud to be enjoyable. Some acoustic instruments require amplification in order to be heard. But often times it’s amplified beyond a comfortable level.
This is a very important topic to me and I would love to hear from all of you. If you have any questions about this topic or any others, please contact us at: Info@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729
The Periods of Classical Music Part 4: Impressionist
Welcome to the final part of our four-part series – the eras of Classical music. First we covered the Baroque Era with its beautiful counterpoint and ornamentation. Then we moved on to the Classical Era with its wonderful structure. Last time we covered the Romantic Era and its freedom of expression and larger orchestration.
So what separates impressionist music from the other eras? If you’ve ever seen any of the impressionist artwork – such as Monet – you immediately notice the creative use of colors, dots, blurs and other techniques that form these dream-like images that often have a sense of motion to them. This amazing effect is recreated in the music of the era as well.
A lot of the great Impressionist composers (Debussy, Ravel, Fauré, Messiaen, etc.) were from France – which is really the epicenter of Impressionism. There is a real beauty and complexity to the music of this era that almost conjures up images in the mind with its textures.
In the video provided with this article, I perform some of the different movements in the Children’s Corner Suite of Debussy. It’s remarkable to hear the complexity and depth of sound in each movement – the variety of compositional techniques is awe inspiring. Each of the movements evokes completely different images and thoughts in the listener. But how is this possible? It’s the writing.
If you look at the scores of Impressionist piano music you will notice that some of them even have three different staves to fit all the notes in! Hands are divided in creative ways, the middle pedal is used extensively to hold notes you can’t hold with just two hands. There is a great level of complexity and depth to this music that goes beyond Romantic era music. Impressionist music also has different tonalities and modes. It’s not just major and minor – there are whole tone scales that cover different clusters of sounds as well as a great variety of modes. All of these amazing sounds which color the music are attributes of Impressionist music.
Thanks so much for joining me on this four-part series of the Periods of Classical Music. I’m Robert Estrin Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729
The Periods of Classical Music Part 3: The Romantic Era
Thanks again for joining me for my four-part series on the periods of classical music. First we covered the Baroque Era, and then we covered the Classical Era. Today we will be covering the Romantic Era of Classical Music which was prevalent during much of the 19th century.
Something you might notice through this four-part series is that Classical music generally became more complex as time went on – then things break down to simplicity and the cycle starts again. This is something that is true for almost all art forms – whether it’s painting, architecture, music, etc. Someone will come along and create something incredibly influential and succeeding generations feel they have to “top” those previous efforts. But how do you top something? Typically adding more or bigger elements – in other words; making it more complex.
In the Romantic Era the size of the piano grew – so did the size of the orchestra. More instruments were introduced, forms were extended – there were four and five-movement works instead of the typical three. The Romantic Period is marked by the growing sense of bigger music – both written and performed.
The Romantic Era is also marked by its growth in personal expression. There is much more freedom to the music than past eras. What do I mean by freedoms? There are dozens of examples but I’m going to use a very specific one here. Rubato is a technique developed during the romantic period that really separated itself from Baroque and Classical music. In the past two eras, structure was incredibly important and you would not want to stray from the time or rhythm written on the score too much. This is not necessarily the case with much Romantic music.
Often times Romantic era music can sound much more improvised and the structure lends itself to much more freedom of expression. I give an example of the Chopin Nocturne in the video provided with this article. I have an entire video dedicated to playing and understanding Rubato. Rubato is basically a give and take in the pulse of music – never gaining or losing time. You can drag or speed up slightly as long as the time remains intact. It’s a complex idea and if you have the time to watch the video posted at the beginning of this paragraph you may enjoy it.
Romantic era music on the piano can also be characterized by a liberal use of the pedal. It can be used to add emotion and color the music much more than past eras. No matter what instrument you play in the Romantic period, there is much more freedom of expression. You should listen to numerous performances of the same piece of Romantic period music and see the vast differences in each of the interpretations – you might not even believe it’s the same piece of music!
Well, thanks again for joining me and I look forward to presenting the final part in the series of the Periods of Classical Music. Robert Estrin Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729
The Periods of Classical Music Part 2: The Classical Era
Welcome to the 2nd part in my four-part series on the Periods of Classical Music. Last time we discussed The Baroque Era, known for its counterpoint and ornamentation. Today we will be talking about the Classical Era.
Not to be confused with the genre of classical music – which is a broad term for all four parts of these era’s – the classical era itself is well defined by artists like Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Schubert, and others.
The classical period came directly after the Baroque era; signaling a drastic change in the style of music. While the Baroque was known for its decadence and complexity of the music, tastes began to change. Towards the end of Bach’s career, he was composing music that was so complex, it was becoming too complicated for most people’s tastes. In fact, his sons would eventually become more famous composers than him.
Bach’s sons, like many composers of the classical era, were writing in new forms – called Sonatas. If you want a more thorough explanation of the Sonata format, watch this video. To be brief, the sonata is a structured form – like A B A B A (but a little bit more complex).
In the video attached to this article, I play Mozart’s K332 F Major Sonata to demonstrate the form and contrasting themes which lie beneath the Sonata format. The structure of this piece, in particular, is very regular – you have one theme in the key of the piece (F major) and then you have a contrasting theme (in this piece it’s the relative D minor).
When performing classic era music – specifically Sonata’s – you must delineate between your two themes and make sure that each stands on its own. And while clarity was an important part of Baroque music, it’s equally as important when it comes to classical period music. The difference is, instead of clarity between counterpoint (as with the Baroque), it’s more a clarity of structure – the different sections of the piece should be very well defined.
While the Baroque era had a tapestry of sound, the classical era has definite sections which are clearly delineated from one another. How these sections relate to one-another gives the piece it’s structure and it’s important to maintain this. If you start to stray from the structure the piece will lose its luster and sound incorrect.
Thanks again for joining me, Robert Estrin Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729
Does an Old Piano Soundboard in Good Condition Need to be Replaced?
QUESTION:
Thank you for the YouTube video on replacing soundboards. I’d like to know your opinion on something if you don’t mind, which will be one of many opinions I’ve been gathering to make sense out of this.
I am having my 1927 Steinway M restored by a very skilled rebuilder. He examined my piano and told me that the soundboard is in great shape. I’ve also been in contact with the piano technician that maintains our school pianos who is also familiar with my tech’s work (and highly recommends him). This tech is urging me to replace the soundboard because it has been under x tons of tension for 90 years and since the piano will be dismantled, that’s the time to do it.
I’m not sure what to do. My technician said it would almost be a crime (and a waste of money) to throw a soundboard in this condition into the trash just to replace it for the sake of replacing it (I kind of agree, but I don’t have enough technical knowledge about soundboard aging to say that’s the route I should go with). My rebuilder also has a great reputation for crafting soundboards for pianos that need it. My concern is that the piano IS 90 years old, and if I kept the old soundboard, what longevity can I expect going forward? I’d hate to have to send the piano to a rebuilder again just to do the soundboard 20 years down the line, if you know what I mean.
So I guess the overarching opinion I’m asking for is this: in a vintage piano such as mine, if the soundboard is in generally great shape, is it best to replace it for the sake of the longevity of the overall instrument or does it not really matter as long as it is humidified and cared for properly?
It’s an expensive undertaking to have a piano restored, and I’d hate to have to drop another $15K in a few decades because I didn’t do something when I should have…
Just looking for some thoughts from another source.
ANSWER:
You are asking a great question. I will share this answer with others facing similar challenges. There are different schools of thought on replacing soundboards. For example, any piano of this age sent to Steinway to rebuild will get a new soundboard no matter what condition it’s in. Yet there are those who believe that you are fundamentally altering the piano by replacing the soundboard. What is the right course of action?
The fact is, even brand new Steinways have varying quality of soundboards from one piano to the next. It is as much art as science crafting a soundboard in a piano. So, if you replace the soundboard in your piano, only then will you discover what sound the instrument will have.
There are no guarantees with soundboards. You could get a new soundboard and have problems down the line – or not. Environment plays a critical role in soundboard longevity.
Even if the soundboard on your piano had cracks or separation of the seams, a good rebuilder can rework the board and get excellent results if done properly. If the soundboard on your piano has no issues and exhibits good crown essential for proper tone, I personally would feel comfortable utilizing it when rebuilding the piano. If the piano is in good enough condition to assess the quality of the tone, that would be extremely valuable in determining the best course of action. If the piano projects a powerful, sustained tone into the high register, then it will probably do a good job for you after rebuilding.
Just be certain that the fundamental structure of the soundboard is impeccable – no warping or serious separation from the ribs. Another important point is to go with the rebuilder’s recommendation. You wouldn’t want to have a rebuilder who believes you need a new soundboard to restore your piano without replacing the soundboard. If the rebuilder has confidence in the results they can achieve with the existing soundboard, you should be in good shape.
Even utilizing the original soundboard, the piano will be fundamentally different when the work is completed. Some people feel more comfortable knowing what they are getting.
