Piano Lessons- Music Theory Lessons

This is a gem of a piece that many students choose to learn. If you have the opportunity to view the attached video, there are many insights and tips that you may find helpful.

The biggest problem I see students encounter when it comes to this piece is playing the rhythm correctly. Specifically, when a piece is slow like this one, it’s hard to tell how long to hold longer notes – most of the time the long notes end up getting robbed of time which takes away from the peaceful aesthetic of the piece.

When it comes to slower pieces like this one, holding the notes long enough is essential in achieving the right mood, but how do you practice something like this? Well, if you look at my piano you will always see a metronome. More than that, practicing with a metronome without the use of the sustain pedal keeps you honest in your playing both rhythmically and melodically. This is an essential practice routine for any serious musician.

Keep in mind that the pedal is not meant to connect notes you can connect with the hands. Instead, the pedal can be an incredibly expressive device once you know what you can and cannot connect with the fingers.

You can really understand different facets of ensemble playing by watching the accompanying video.

Playing piano with other musicians can sometimes be a challenge. There is plenty of music written for multiple instruments and the piano is an extremely popular accompanying instrument. There are a couple of challenges that every pianist will face when playing with other musicians: playing at the right level and playing with synchronization. I’m going to cover these topics in this article for you.

The first thing I want to address is cueing. You might hear some musicians perform a countdown and while this works in some musical styles, it is not standard in classical fare. You’ve probably seen a conductor move his or her arms cueing a large orchestra and everyone comes in precisely together! How is this possible? The motion he/she performs is precise – the upstroke will indicate the speed and the downstroke will let you know when to start. If the conductor raises his hands quickly it will indicate a faster tempo. My wife Florence Estrin provides an excellent example of how cueing works in the above video.

The secret to giving a correct cue is to count in your head. You must know the speed you’re going to play before your first note and you must share this visually with your fellow musicians.

There are a number of things you must do when playing piano with other musicians to ensure that everything sounds cohesive. One of the biggest challenges is not playing too loud, particularly with softer instruments like flute or viola. For example, in the video above I play a forte selection with Florence on the flute. If I were to play a true forte as I would as a soloist, I would overwhelm the sound of the flute. A great way to approach this is with an accented approach – have a bigger sound on the first notes and letting the flute line sing out above as the notes sustain.

On the other side, I’ve seen a lot of pianist play too timidly with other instruments – like a true accompanist instead of a collaborator. After all, if the music is written for two instruments they will both be intended to share the spotlight. You must learn to play with them, not against them. You will make the sounds fit with each other and practice together until it sounds like you are truly performing as one.

Another thing to be aware of is timing. Many times people will instinctively follow the soloist and they will find themselves getting lost. You must anticipate the timing of the soloist and play with them, not follow them or you will fall behind.

Hopefully, this provides some useful information for you. When you watch the video you will see examples of cueing as well as balancing with a soloist.

You might not have heard of the band-aid approach to practicing music and that’s OK. It is an effective practice technique I came up with years ago and continue utilizing. It increases effectiveness to practicing and I share it with all my students.

When it comes to practicing, I strive for efficiency. I want to get as much done as I possibly can within the time I have. I wish I could practice all day long but my schedule rarely permits it – instead I have to find times to practice and make sure that I get as much benefit from it as I can in the time that I have.

There are many practice techniques available and there are dozens of problems musicians face in their playing and development. This technique is really designed to help you zero in on a specific problem you are having. As a musician, you will encounter specific problems in some areas of your music. This is where you will want to focus most of your energy.

So how do you use this technique? Start with a piece of music and play it through until you have a problem. Let’s say you missed a note. Now instead of starting from the begging of the piece and playing it over again, jump to right where the problem is. Keep working on your trouble section until you iron out the correction. Play it many times over and over again until you can play it effortlessly. Then go a measure or two before your trouble phrase and play it from there many times until it comes together nicely. Then, play the entire section or piece again. Basically, you are putting a bandage on the problem area and making sure it sticks!

This question comes from a viewer (Jay) who asks about deciphering different music symbols. If you’ve read a lot of music then you know there are a ton of symbols and there will undoubtedly be some you are not familiar with.

I have several videos based on the subject of where to put your piano. But now I’m going to address specifically putting a piano in a basement. The issue is about the extremes of temperature and humidity the piano may be subjected to. This is a concern with pianos going anywhere. Pianos thrive in a stable environment of around 45-50% humidity. Minimal changes of temperature or humidity are ideal. It’s best to treat the room. Basements provide special challenges. The good news is that basements can be somewhat stable in terms of temperature because of the geothermal effect.

However, many basements can be extremely moist, and if you have any issues whatsoever with basements ever becoming wet, I would not put a piano down there under any circumstances. If it’s impossible to treat the room with dehumidifiers and possibly even humidifiers, the next best thing is a Damp-Chaser system which sits under the piano or behind the piano on uprights. They provide stability by either heating up rods to take out humidity or even adding humidity from a water tank. This is a possible solution if treating the room is not practical.

To recap, the ideal environment is to put the piano in a room that is stable in regards to temperature and humidity. If you’re in a room that is not particularly stable, try to treat the room. And lastly, if you can’t do either of those, at least get a Damp-Chaser System. Once again, I hope this has been helpful and thank you for joining us! Robert Estrin at LivingPianos.com

The Sonata is one of the most enduring musical forms of all time. I am not talking about the single movement Baroque sonatas of a composer like Scarlatti, but the Classical era form of Mozart, Haydn and later with Beethoven and still later the great Romantic composers like Schumann, Brahms and beyond. So what is so special about this form?

First, the sonata is a multi-movement work. I am discussing the form commonly referred to as Sonata-Allegro form which is usually the first movement of a sonata which is generally fast (Allegro). This form is not only pervasive in sonatas, but in symphonies, concertos, string quartets, piano trios, and many other musical compositions. So, what is it?

In its simplest description, it is kind of an A – B – A form, in which music is presented, new material is offered, and the original music returns. But that isn’t quite accurate. It’s more of an A – B – C form with some added structure. Here is, in a nutshell, the Sonata form:

A. Exposition

– Theme 1. in the tonic key (the key of the piece)

– Theme 2. in the dominant key (the key starting on the 5th note of the key of the piece).

– The Exposition Repeats-

B. Development: This is a free development of both themes

C. Recapitulation

– Theme 1. in the tonic key (the key of the piece)

– Theme 2. in the tonic key (so the movement ends in the key it started in!)

It is remarkable how many pieces of music adhere to this form to one extent or another. It’s not as if there was some book, “How to Write a Sonata” that everyone read! It’s just that this structure is incredibly enduring for musical exploration. It is actually the exceptions to these rules that make pieces stand out! In fact the example of the famous C major Sonata of Mozart K.545 that I utilize doesn’t follow the rules quite right. It doesn’t have the first theme in the recapitulation! It does have a statement of the first theme in the sub-dominant (the 4th note of the major key) at the end of the development and the recapitulation starts right in with the 2nd subject (second theme).

There are so many great compositions that are structured this way that you will be astounded once you start analyzing pieces you know.

People often ask me what the difference is between New York and Hamburg made Steinway pianos. Researching this online may offer some perspective but really the choice between the two may be more a matter of personal preference than anything else. That being said, there are some key differences between the two manufacturers of Steinway pianos that may interest you.

The history of the Steinway family is pretty fascinating and for a detailed description, I would suggest viewing their official story on their website. The family was actually a group of German immigrants who came to New York. They began piano manufacturing in New York and later opened a factory in Hamburg, Germany. Both of these factories have been producing pianos for over a hundred years.

Overall, the pianos coming out of each factory are incredibly similar. Both factories produce nearly all the same models today; which is not something they have always done. For most of the 20th century, New York Steinway was producing the model L while Hamburg was producing the model O. Both of the pianos are the same size, 5-foot 10 1/2-inches, but they have different scale designs. Earlier in the 20th century, New York Steinway was also producing Model O’s but they then switched to the L. Recently the L model was discontinued and now they only produce the Model O in both factories. Recently New York Steinway started producing the model A (6-foot 2-inch) which was only built in Germany, however, it was built in New York early in the 20th century. (There was also a model termed the “stretch A” which measured 6-foot 4-inches.) The model C (7’ 6” in size) is only built in Hamburg Germany even today.

One of the biggest difference between the two different factories is the actions. New York makes their own actions while Hamburg utilizes Renner (an esteemed German action manufacturer). The New York Steinways have unique design elements only available on the Steinway made actions including the Accelerated Action.

Another difference between the two factories is that Hamburg Steinway’s tend to have slightly thicker soundboards than their New York counterparts. This means that the Hamburg Steinway’s are a little bit more subdued and it takes a bit more effort to get a larger sound out of them (depending upon voicing).

Ultimately the difference between New York and Hamburg Steinways comes down to the individual piano.

Some people appreciate the higher degree of refinement of German Steinways direct from the factory. However, with the proper preparation, these differences may not be so great. This means that American Steinway technicians play a very important role in each dealer getting the pianos to play on the highest possible level.

I hope this sheds some light on the similarities and differences between New York and Hamburg Steinway pianos.

As musicians, we practice and perform as a part of our daily routine. Just like any other professional, we have our tools of the trade that we must keep intact. For me it’s my hands – I couldn’t imagine hurting my hands and being unable to play the piano. Now accidents can happen and there is no way to protect yourself 100% of the time but there are some great tips for every musician in order to prevent injury while playing your instrument.

Think holistically:

Staying healthy is paramount to everything else. Every morning I do Yoga to loosen up. I try to eat right as well as take walks and exercise when I can to keep myself in good shape. This goes a long way toward preventing injury while playing your instrument – being out of shape can lead to more frequent injuries.

Many instruments are different but the same principles remain for all of them. As a violinist you have to hold your instrument in an awkward position – the same goes for flutists and other wind instruments. Having to hold an instrument for long periods of time can really take a toll on you. This is why posture is so important. As you know, I play the piano, so posture is a bit different, but it still matters in holding a position for long periods of time without causing injury. You’ll want to make sure that the bench is the appropriate height – your arms should reach out in a straight line and touch the keys. Your hands should rest comfortably between the white and black keys and you will want to make sure you are sitting in a position where you won’t have to reach in an uncomfortable position to play keys further away from you. You must be able to move about freely. Every instrument is different but learning your optimal posture is essential on your instrument.

The most important thing you can do is be comfortable. Don’t sit in any position that will cause a strain and don’t force yourself to sit or stand in a way that is uncomfortable for you. If you are playing a solo recital make sure to adjust your seat and get comfortable before playing. What seems like an eternity to you will be nothing more than a few seconds to the audience. It’s perfectly fine to take your time before playing a performance – both you and your audience will appreciate the extra time you take to prepare yourself!

Another thing that is essential in the life of a musician is to take frequent breaks. This means getting up and walking around, stretching, doing whatever you need to do to get back into a comfortable atmosphere. Don’t overdo it with practicing, sometimes the best thing you can do is to walk away for a few minutes and rejuvenate.

It’s also a good idea to vary your repertoire as well as your practice technique. For example, if you’ve been working on scales for a while do something completely different like sight-reading or memorization. This will help to prevent fatigue and will keep your mind and body fresh and moving all the time.