This video was produced exclusively for Pianoworld.com

Growing up people used to tell me to play the piano on the tips of my fingers. You might have been told to use rounded fingers, like your holding a ball; for many people, this can be very uncomfortable. This is what we are going to talk about today.

When I was young I was told to play the piano with rounded fingers. I remember watching Vladimir Horowitz in concert and noticed that he seemed to play with flat fingers sometimes; I wondered how this could be. As a child, I had very small, weak hands. When I would play the piano my fingers would collapse which is bad because you can’t control the motion of fingers bent backward. This is one of the reasons I was taught to play with rounded fingers. Eventually, I realized that you don’t have to use any finger muscles to maintain an ideal position at the keyboard! I discovered the perfect piano position which can be maintained with absolutely zero effort. But how is this possible?

If you were to take your hand on a flat surface and let it drop naturally, you would notice that your fingers round naturally. But why is this so significant for the piano? If you put your hand flat on the piano you will notice that some fingers are longer than others; this presents a real problem. However, if you drop the hand and let it fall into its natural position, your fingers will all be in a straight line!

Another important revelation is how while white keys are full-length black keys are only on the half closest to the fallboard. It’s very important to keep your hand at the point at which black keys and white keys meet. Otherwise, you will expend a lot of extra energy and motion going back and forth to hit all the keys.

By using the correct hand position in which you let your fingers fall naturally onto the keys with no effort, and placing your hand at the point at which black and white keys meet, you will utilize the minimal amount of effort to get the maximum amount of sound!

So yes, there is truth to the method of using rounded fingers but there is much more to it. Keeping your hand in a position which is uncomfortable or taxing to maintain will cause unnecessary strain and could damage your hands. Remember; let your hands fall naturally on the keyboard at the magic line at which black and white keys meet. Experiment with this and see how it helps you play in a more relaxed and efficient manner.

Thanks again for joining me and be sure to check out our future videos here at LivingPianos.com

Piano Lessons – Hand Positions

This video was produced exclusively for Pianoworld.com Growing up people used to tell me to play the piano on the tips of my fingers. You might have been told to use rounded fingers, like your holding a ball; for many people, this can be very uncomfo

When I was growing up, I would listen to some of the great pianists such as Horowitz and Rubinstein. I would also listen to some of the pianists from the early 20th century such as Hoffman, Rachmaninoff, and Joseph Levine. I was always so impressed with the pristine finger work. It almost would sound like a string of jewels because of the evenness of the notes, and I always wondered how to achieve that sound. So today’s show is about how to achieve brilliant finger work.

I’m going to regress a little bit more. When I first started studying the piano with my father Morton Estrin, he showed me how to practice scales with raised fingers and often times my students ask me, “Why do I have to raise my fingers?” Let me show you what I’m talking about. With slow scale practice, it’s important for strength to raise the fingers. You may wonder why you would ever want to play that way because obviously when you play quickly, you don’t have time to raise your fingers. The secret to getting the evenness in your scale work and fast finger passages is the release of notes.

For example, if you were to put your hand on a flat surface and just try to lift one finger, some of them are pretty hard to lift. Lift your fourth finger with your hands on a flat surface, and it’s very hard. It’s actually the release of notes that takes more strength than the pushing down of notes! So to strengthen and then to release is the reason for practicing slowly with raised fingers so you’ll practice the release of each note and that will lead to the pristine beauty you can get in fast finger work.

That is one of the secrets for achieving beautiful clarity in your playing. There are many others that I will discuss in future videos in terms of hand position and other practicing techniques. For now, I suggest that you practice very strongly. Practice your scales and your arpeggios slowly with raised fingers then work up gradually faster. As you get faster, your fingers, by necessity, must be closer and closer to the keys until you can play quickly but still have the pristine evenness, so each note is exactly the same length because the raising of fingers accomplishes the release of each previous note. That’s all for today and thanks for joining us! info@livingpianos.com

Brilliant Piano Finger Technique – Piano Lessons

When I was growing up, I would listen to some of the great pianists such as Horowitz and Rubinstein. I would also listen to some of the pianists from the early 20th century such as Hoffman, Rachmaninoff, and Joseph Levine. I was always so impressed w

If you play the piano you know there is nothing better than sitting down and playing a piano that is in tune. Unfortunately, tuning a piano is no easy task. It’s extremely difficult to learn how to tune a piano on your own – it takes tuners years to master the skill – and it can also be pretty expensive (ranging anywhere from $50-$200 or more depending on the tuner and where you live). With this in mind, how often should you tune your piano?

In a perfect world, you would have a tuner living next door and they would come over every day and keep your piano in tune. Because pianos start going out of tune right after being tuned simply by being played. How often you should tune your piano depends upon several factors:

Stability of the environment

keep a piano in a stable environment

Pianos are pretty temperamental instruments and require a decently stable environment to be kept in tune. Like most string instruments, the temperature of the room can drastically affect the tuning of the strings. Unlike most string instruments, pianos will rarely leave the room they are placed in. Keeping your room at a constant and comfortable temperature is one of the best ways to ensure your piano is kept in tune.

 

How much the piano is played

playing a piano makes it go out of tune

Naturally, the more you play your piano, the more it will go out of tune. From the second your piano is tuned, it will start to go out of tune – and playing it only makes it worse! For the average player, they probably wouldn’t notice their piano slowly going out of tune as they practice every so often.

I play the piano every day and actually had to learn how to spot tune notes in order to keep my piano in playing condition. I have the luxury of having piano technicians in the store almost daily and can have them tune my personal piano on a pretty regular basis. This is not the case for the majority of pianists.

If you play your piano every day you might want to think about monthly piano tunings.

If you play your piano a few times a week you could probably get away with 4 tunings a year – one for every change of the season.

If you play your piano a few times a month you then you might be able to have it tuned as little as one or two times a year.

 

Level of refinement required

piano technician working on a piano

The piano has hundreds of moving parts and eventually, they will break down and need to be refined, repaired, or even replaced. All sorts of small problems can lead to your piano going out of tune more frequently.

This is a complex topic and as such should be discussed with your piano tuner or technician to see if they recommend any proactive measures to keep your piano in good shape.

Thanks again for joining us here at LivingPianos, if you have any questions about this topic or any other please contact us directly: info@livingpianos.com (949) 244-3729

When to Tune a Piano – How Often Should you Tune a Piano?

If you play the piano you know there is nothing better than sitting down and playing a piano that is in tune. Unfortunately, tuning a piano is no easy task. It’s extremely difficult to learn how to tune a piano on your own – it takes tuners y

If you play the piano even casually, you probably know that the sustain pedal on the right makes all the notes you play hold until you release the pedal. The other 2 piano pedals are not as clear cut. In fact, only the sustain pedal operates on upright pianos. The other pedals do various things, but seldom what they are designed to do. Even some grand pianos pedals don’t operate the way they are intended.

The left pedal, sometimes referred to as the soft pedal is actually called the une corde pedal for “one string”. Indeed, early pianos had 2 strings for each note and the une corde pedal shifted the action so that the hammers only struck one string. Modern pianos have 3 strings for each note throughout most of the piano. So the une corde pedal shifts the action so that the hammers strike only 2 of the strings squarely. This is significant because it not only makes the notes quieter, but if offers a change of timbre. Upright pianos usually offer a soft pedal that changes the feel, not the sound. It does this by shifting the hammers closer to the strings making it harder to play loud.

The middle pedal is seldom used and even more seldom understood. Most pianos didn’t have functioning sostenuto pedals as they are called until the end of the 19th century. Many European piano manufacturers didn’t include middle piano pedals until well into the 20th century. Like the sustain pedal, the sostenuto pedal holds notes after you release the keys. The difference is that subsequent notes that are depressed will not hold, only the notes that were depressed when the middle pedal is engaged. This is useful in a few scores of Debussy and other 20th century composers. It’s like having a 3rd hand to hold notes in another register without blurring the harmonies with the sustain pedal. However, the sostenuto pedal is only called upon in 20th century music and very few compositions. It is by no means essential but could be important for someone specializing in 20th century piano music.

What Does the Middle Pedal on a Piano Do?

If you play the piano even casually, you probably know that the sustain pedal on the right makes all the notes you play hold until you release the pedal. The other 2 piano pedals are not as clear cut. In fact, only the sustain pedal operates on uprig

Below are 10 of the most common FACTS and FICTION about Steinway and Sons pianos.

steinway and sons factory

Steinway started as a German company.

FALSE: Steinway began in New York by German immigrants. Later they opened a factory in Hamburg, Germany. Today Steinway pianos are manufactured in both New York and Hamburg.

 

 

steinway was owned by cbs

Steinway was owned by CBS in the 1960’s and 1970’s.

TRUE: Steinway was owned by CBS in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Many people agree that the quality of manufacturing was generally lower during this period of time.

 

03_boston

Boston is a lower line piano made by Steinway.

FALSE: Boston is a stencil piano. The name was invented by Steinway to sell pianos through the Steinway dealer network with pianos manufactured by Kawai.

 

04_steinway_action

In the early part of the 20th century, Steinway and Sons treated action parts in a way that made them seize up years later.

TRUE: Steinways from the early part of the 20th century often suffer from a condition known as verdigris. The treatment which was thought to avoid corrosion on action parts caused action parts to seize up and require extensive restoration.

 

05_steinway_action

Steinway used Teflon in their actions so they wouldn’t wear out.

TRUE: During the CBS period of ownership in the 1960’s and 1970’s and even into the early 1980’s, Steinway experimented with utilizing Teflon instead of the usual felt bushings in their actions. Most technicians found it difficult to deal with clicking noises that resulted over time.

 

06_steinway_7foot

A Steinway 7-foot piano is actually 6 feet 10 1/2 inches.

TRUE: Steinway 7 foot pianos are an inch and a half short of 7 feet. The 9 foot concert grand is also an inch under 9 feet.

 

07_steinway_action

All currently produced Steinways have the Accelerated action.

FALSE: New York made Steinways have Accelerated actions. However, Hamburg produced Steinway pianos utilize actions made by Renner and do not employ the Accelerated actions.

 

 

 

08_steinway_factory

A new Steinway direct from the factory is more refined than a Yamaha from the factory.

FALSE: New out of the box, a Yamaha is far more refined than a Steinway. Steinway pianos come to dealers in an unrefined state. It is up to the dealer to have extensive regulation, voicing, tuning and other adjustments to get the pianos playing on a high level.

 

09_steinway_used

Used Steinways represent an excellent value in a high quality used piano.

FALSE: While a good used Steinway piano may be a better investment than a new Steinway, there is a premium you must pay on a Steinway piano compared to comparable pianos from other top tier manufacturers because of the recognition of the name.

 

Steinway is the number 1 selling American made piano.

TRUE: There were only 1600 pianos produced in the United States last year and Steinway produced over 1000 of them.

10 Surprising Facts About Steinway and Sons Pianos

Below are 10 of the most common FACTS and FICTION about Steinway and Sons pianos. Steinway started as a German company. FALSE: Steinway began in New York by German immigrants. Later they opened a factory in Hamburg, Germany. Today Steinway pianos are

tips for practicing piano

Use the music: After you have the piece memorized, you must periodically go back and read the score carefully. I suggest playing slowly without pedal and using the metronome for the most dramatic results.

Practice slowly: Fast practice is like moving in quicksand. You dig yourself into the ground by reinforcing mistakes instead of identifying and eradicating them as you do in slow practice. Slow practice is like putting newsprint under a microscope. You see all the imperfections. This enables you to refine your playing by identifying rough edges.

Practice without the pedal: While the pedal makes everything sound better, when practicing, you can not only hear more critically without the pedal, but you will also be able to quickly hear fingering problems before they become ingrained.

2888760718_f80b63c318Use the metronome: Even in music that has fluidity with the tempo will benefit from metronome practice. You need a reference of time to know how much you are bending the phrase with rubato. Also, when learning difficult passages, it is usual to slow down. Over time you may even overcompensate for difficult passages rushing them. Difficult passages can be mastered by increasing the metronome a notch or 2 at a time to speed up particularly difficult passages.

Take very small sections at a time: It is tempting to try to learn large chunks to save time. The problem is that it becomes overwhelming. If you take tiny sections at a time and master them, you will be able to sustain a productive practice much longer.

piano_playingPractice in chords when possible: Not only does reducing the music to chords help to clarify the structure, it also helps to figure out the best fingering.

Always put corrections into context: Fixing a mistake isn’t enough. After you have mastered a correction, go back and connect the phrase to the preceding phrase. Then go back to the beginning of the section and connect, or you will find your old mistake recurring.

Practicing should be like a fine meal, served in courses: If you divide your practice into different sections of activities, you will be productive longer. First you may do some memorization. Then you can work on refining previously learned material. Then perhaps scales and arpeggios, and then perhaps some sight-reading. Doing any one skill for too long takes much greater mental effort and you may not work at optimum level.

lennon_pianoUse the 80/20 rule: If you focus the majority of your time on the few places that are weak, you will get much better results than practicing equally on all sections of your music.

Be keenly aware of how you feel: It is essential to be relaxed, sitting comfortably at the right distance from the keyboard and at the right height to avoid injury. Also, you should take periodic breaks to stretch or at least take a short walk to keep your body limber. Be aware of any lingering pain and take appropriate steps to avoid injury.

10 Tips for Practicing the Piano

Use the music: After you have the piece memorized, you must periodically go back and read the score carefully. I suggest playing slowly without pedal and using the metronome for the most dramatic results. Practice slowly: Fast practice is like moving

Buying a piano in the under $1000 price point presents tremendous challenges. Years ago the only choice was to buy an old upright. Today there are digital pianos that can offer an alternative. Which is a better choice?

10936987-yamaha-p85-digital-piano-reviewWhile there are many digital pianos on the market for well under $1000, plan on spending $800 in order to get a good weighted action and sound. Yamaha in particular has many models at that price point that are quite good. In fact, spending more offers more features but not necessarily a superior instrument. The exception is the quality of the built in sound system which makes a huge difference in the more expensive models. If you invest in a good stand for stability and utilize a decent quality home stereo system or good computer sound system with sub woofer, you can get very good results without investing thousands of dollars for a high end Clavinova or other digital piano.

No digital piano has the nuance of expression and refinement of touch of a fine acoustic piano. However, most pianos under $1000 require extensive work in order to achieve a high level of playing. However, you may find a high quality console piano that has been sitting in a living room for a long time without being played much. These instruments have fallen out of fashion so sometimes you can find a fine used piano like a Baldwin for a few hundred dollars. Plan on investing at least $100-$300 for regulation, voicing and tuning.

Which offers a better practice instrument? There are advantages to both. A new digital piano will be precise. It also offers the option of practicing with headphones. You can also connect it to your computer for all kinds of applications from music notation to sequencing of compositions with orchestrations utilizing different instrument sounds. It is also portable so you can take your music with you.

baldwin-acrosonic-001The acoustic piano has the benefit of an almost infinite range of expression. While digitals keep getting better, the complex action, interaction of harmonics, pedal subtleties and expression can be invaluable to an aspiring pianist. If you are taking lessons or are considering taking lessons, it is important to invest enough to achieve a minimum level of performance. Otherwise, I suggest you are better off with a decent piano and no lessons rather than an inferior instrument and lessons. Practicing on a bad piano or inadequate digital piano can make lessons unproductive and become a frustrating experience. We are fortunate at this time in history to have a choice of acoustic or digital pianos.

Under $1000 Piano: Which is better, acoustic or digital?

Buying a piano in the under $1000 price point presents tremendous challenges. Years ago the only choice was to buy an old upright. Today there are digital pianos that can offer an alternative. Which is a better choice? While there are many digital pi