Piano Lessons- Music Theory Lessons

Active Tones and Restive Tones are the foundation of Western Harmony. If you haven’t seen it already, I really recommend watching a previous video I made about resolution:

This topic relates to it very well.

A long time ago before there was tonality, notes would meander around and there were some pretty melodies but you didn’t have notes with different power than others. All notes were essentially equal.

The best way to demonstrate the power behind tonality is to play a major scale and stop on the 7th note. Go to your piano and try this, you will find that you simply can’t stop – it might drive you crazy – but you will need to resolve and hit that last note. Modal music was much different because there were no raised leading tones – which meant you didn’t really need to resolve.

So getting back to the question, what are the Restive Tones? They are the 1, 3, and 5 notes in your respective key. If you play the other notes in the key you will find that they need to be resolved to either the 1, 3, or 5.

So what are the Active Tones? These are the other notes in your key besides the 1, 3, and 5. They are the notes that when played must be resolved to one of the restive tones.

When I first received this question from a viewer I thought immediately how the pedals can add color to your music. Then I began to think about the subject and realized that there are other ways to add color to your music beyond simply relying on the pedals. Certainly the impressionist music of Debussy and Ravel make creative use of pedals to color the music, but what is possible with the hands alone?

When it comes to Hymns there is a general rule of thumb: once you can one you can pretty much play any of them! However, before you reading level has progressed it could be difficult to play any of them. The key to playing hymns is understanding the structure.

The first thing you must do is figure out what key you are in. Make sure you take note of the key signature and figure out what the tonalities are. It’s a lot like detective work trying to figure out the correct chords – and don’t worry, I will provide some helpful tips to allow you to avoid the music theory part of this.

Generally, these pieces are choral writing – soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. Typically with your hands, you will play two voices with the left hand and two voices with the right hand. One secret is that it will be easier to play three voices with the right hand and just the bass with the left hand. This can be a little tricky because with choral writing the soprano and alto parts are always in the treble clef and the tenor and bass are always in the bass clef. However, choral writing always has a bigger distance between the bass and the tenor – from the bottom note to the other three notes than any other voices; it is often times more than an octave. Redistributing the hands is one way to make hymns a little easier.

Another valuable tip for approaching music above your reading level is to simplify the music. If you just want to get through something or gain some benefit from music above your reading or skill level this can be a helpful tool. You must remember that the melody and bass are fundamental – the bass is the structure and the melody is the song. To simplify the music, simply play only the top and bottom lines. In the video embedded above I provide an example of this. Say you are in a church setting and someone hands you some music, you won’t have time to learn it. However, if you just play the top and bottom lines and have a choir singing along with you, it will sound fine.

The good news is that by simplifying the music you will start to gain a better understanding of how the music is structured. This enables you to flesh out the inner voices much easier than you think. Maybe just add the alto voice eventually and leave out the tenor line. Experiment and see what works for you; expand and embellish your playing at a comfortable level.

Just remember that the most important thing is to get the melody and bass. If you can play those you will be in good shape. Once you feel a bit more comfortable start adding the other parts in gradually.

This past weekend I had the honor of teaching and performing for a group of talented young piano students in Escondido California on behalf of the MTAC (Music Teachers Association of California). This opportunity has given me time to reflect upon the importance of music education and I have some thoughts I would like to share with you.

This really is a great topic to cover and there is a ton of information for you. There are two distinctly different types of repeated notes: slow repeated notes and fast repeated notes. I’m going to cover both of these techniques for you.

Let’s start with fast repeated notes. The easiest way to handle a fast note played over and over again would be to use two hands. However, for most music, this is not going to be an option. Most of the time you will have to learn how to handle fast repeated notes with one hand, and the only way to achieve this is by changing fingers. You MUST change fingers in order to play the notes fast enough.

The most important thing is finding a fingering that works for you. Typically, 3-2-1 is a very good fingering for playing fast repeated notes. In the video above I demonstrate this on one of Scarlatti’s sonatas. I provide some additional instructions specifically on how to approach this; if you have time to watch, you may appreciate this.

Another thing to keep in mind when approaching fast repeated notes is that upright pianos will not be able to handle it. Not all grand or baby grand pianos can even handle the high level of repetition needed and the piano will need to be regulated well in order to play fast repeated notes.

So how is it done? It is absolutely essential to keep your fingers right over the keys. There isn’t time to make any extra motion, so keep your fingers hovering very close to the keys. Also, keep your hand relatively stable, curve your fingers (keep them rounded) and try to hit the middle of the key. It’s best to practice slowly, with a metronome, and work your way up to speed slowly.

For tips on how to play repeated notes both fast and slow, please check out this additional video:

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.