Piano Lessons- Music Theory Lessons

This question makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up! It’s a horrifying thought to someone like me having spent my entire life listening, learning and playing classical music. So is it possible that Classical music is dead?

You could ask, is Shakespeare dead? Technically yes. Really though, the work of Shakespeare is something that has permeated throughout Western Civilization for centuries and still holds relevance in our modern society. While he might not be front and center, Shakespeare is still an icon and will be remembered and revered for centuries to come. So what does this have to do with classical music?

Like Shakespeare, most of the great classical composers lived hundreds of years ago. In recent years there have been less and less classical composers in the public eye. So what does this mean for the genre of classical music?

Technology has always dictated the advancements in culture – not just technical innovations, but structural ones as well. For example, the Sonata Allegro form is an invention that came about and was adopted by Mozart and Haydn and countless others. In their time it was a great innovation in musical form. So what would happen if Mozart was alive today? What would his form of expression be? He probably wouldn’t be writing sonatas anymore. Music and art has always been about expression and expression changes over time. So what period are we in now?

If you look at classical music and how it evolved over time throughout the nineteenth century, many of the advancements in music were enabled by the advancements in the instruments. The piano became a robust instrument capable of playing to audiences of thousands instead of the intimate settings of the previous century. Flutes were made of metal instead of wood offering a louder sound as well. In fact, all the instruments of the orchestra became more refined and bigger in volume. The orchestra itself grew substantially in numbers and variety of instruments As a result, the music got more complex and was composed on a grand scale.

Where we are today is interesting. The idea of the concert hall and the symphony orchestra is something that is still prevalent in our society which pays homage to the great composers of years past mostly. This type of performance is not going away anytime soon but there are new means of expression at their infancy. While 19th century music ushered in the modern piano (almost), the symphony orchestra and the concert hall, 20th century technology offered electrified and amplified instruments and recording technologies. The seminal album by the Beatles, Sargent Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is an example of music co-written and produced not for performance, but as a recorded musical expression. With the integration of people through the internet, could we be that far from collaborative music on a global scale? Already, popular forms of music have utilized snippets of recordings of others in re-mixes. So, instead of trying to compose yet another great symphony, it is possibly more likely that the next great outpouring of creative energy will be in new forms of music we can only begin to imagine.

There will always be traditionalists – Brahms and Rachmaninoff were conservative in their times. In short, classical music is alive and well! It’s not the same as it was in the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries but classical music will be here for generations to come. However, music will continue evolving by revolutionaries expanding the genre with both mixing elements of styles from around the world as well as utilizing emerging technologies in innovative ways.

Rubato is a technique typically used during Romantic period music, such as Chopin, Schumann, and other composers. It is not something used as much during baroque or classical era music: Bach, Mozart, Haydn, and others.

Simply put, Rubato is a give and take in the timing of music – it adds an expressive element. Some people make the mistake of gaining or losing time when it comes to implementing rubato; this is not what rubato is at all. Instead of gaining or losing time, it’s simply playing ahead or behind the beat but always coming back to the correct time. This provides an incredible amount of tension and release to the music.

In the video example above I play the Chopin Nocturne in b-flat minor both with rubato and without. You will notice that you can tap along to the beat of the music whether I am playing with rubato or not. This is something to keep in mind, when playing rubato. You should be able to tap along rhythmically even with the give and take of the beat.

If you lose the pulse, your music will die. What does this mean? It’s not the eight notes; it’s the longer notes that create the pulse of the music. When playing rubato it is important to keep the pulse.

My father demonstrates rubato playing with the metronome getting ahead and behind of the metronome without losing a beat! This is an incredibly difficult skill to master but it can bring your music to new levels. The secret to playing good rubato involves being able to feel the large beat and not just the subdivisions. You will find that you have a lot of freedom to mold the tempo and add an expressive element while keeping the pulse alive!

This is a loaded and controversial topic that’s bound to elicit a strong response out of many of you. The relationship between drugs and music is very long and complex but there are some interesting aspects we can explore in this topic.

Neurologically, a lot of drugs (such as alcohol and marijuana) suppress certain parts of the brain. We’ve all heard of the simplistic idea of a left-brain and right-brain as it pertains to critical thinking and creativity. Certain drugs will suppress certain parts of the brain and some people – including musicians – like to experience this effect.

Drugs are of huge cultural significance as well and have been around for thousands of years. Caffeine is a drug taken by billions of people every single day and just like other drugs it affects the brain and body in different ways. When it comes to music, drugs – specifically mind altering drugs like alcohol, marijuana and others – have had and continue to have a dramatic effects on the musical world and musicians who inhabit it.

Charlie Bird Parker was one of the groundbreaking pioneers of be-bop jazz who was a drug addict. This affected musicians and people around him as they emulated his musical style as well as his drug use. It goes further than this when you look at the world of rock and roll and bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones who glorified the “sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll” movement. These circumstances were much more cultural than anything else. But did it effect their music?

Drugs will not make you a better musician. Certain people might benefit from inhibiting certain analytical parts of their brain that allows them to lose inhibitions adding spontaneity to their music, but it doesn’t make them better musicians. You would not be able to take drugs to increase your learning or develop better skills but you might be able to improvise with a little bit more freedom of expression at first.

The downside to drug use is very well documented in the music world. While it might allow certain musicians to be more “creative” it does have it’s share of negative effects. Jimi Hendrix, Keith Moon, Ric James, Charlie Parker, and many more musicians have died as a result of their drug use. It is not something to take lightly.

Drug use is not a yes or no type of question. Many people enjoy listening to music either in their home or at live events and have a few glasses of wine or beer or sometimes smoke marijuana. Even legal drugs require a level of balance to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

This is an incredibly tough question and to be honest there is no definitive answer but I’m going to provide some insights for you. You would think that because there are twelve different notes there might be twelve different scales; but things are a bit more complicated.

While it’s true that there are twelve different notes and twelve different major scales, you also have to consider minor scales. With minor scales you have two forms of each scale, the harmonic and the melodic, so you now have 36 scales. Are we done yet? Not even close.

The the next thing you have to consider are modes. This becomes a little tricky because modes are scales that simply start on different notes. For example, if you have no sharps or flats you could be in C major. And while you can play a C major scale using no sharps or flats you could just as easily start on D and play no sharps or flats and have a completely new scale – called the Dorian mode. You could also start on E and play the Phrygian mode also with no sharps or flats. This can be applied to all seven notes which gives you seven more scales (or more accurately, modes) to consider. Then you can start adding sharps or flats and the numbers quickly become overwhelming as the possibilities for scales are immense.

Here is a quick chart for reference. It’s not 100% complete as there are scales that can be made by using modes of melodic minors and much more but this is a good reference point for you:

– 36 Major and Minor Scales
– 72 Additional Modes
– 12 Blues Scales
– 12 Diminished Scales
– 12 Pentatonic Scales
– 12 Whole Tone Scales
– 12 Chromatic Scales

We welcome your comments of additional scales not considered in this list!

You may have heard of a square grand piano, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you haven’t. Square grand pianos are an interesting side note in the development of the piano. They have a unique design that looks like a coffin when closed. But are they good instruments?

This is a very interesting topic and one that is relevant to the reality of modern day piano building. There was a time when piano actions were made entirely of wood parts but with advances in technology come newer and cheaper alternatives. Today we are going to discuss whether or not plastic actions are as good – or better – than their wooden counterparts.

If you’ve ever looked at a piano action you notice the sheer complexity of it – there are literally thousands of parts. For centuries, piano actions were made out of wood. As time went on and plastics became better, some piano companies began experimenting with putting plastic into their actions in order to cut down on costs.

Early attempts at incorporating plastic parts in actions in the 1950s and 1960s – were wrought with problems because the plastic would become brittle and break over time. These piano actions can be a nightmare to work on and generally should be avoided.

In recent years plastics have come a long way. In fact, Wessel, Nickel & Gross have invented a carbon fiber action that has no wooden parts at all! These actions play differently from traditional actions and are very high quality and can be found in new Mason & Hamlin pianos.

Generally, companies started to rely on plastic parts in their actions because they are easier and cheaper to mass produce. This is not technically a bad thing but most of the companies that are cutting costs are using plastic for some parts of their actions and not all of them. This can cause problems because wood will expand and contract with changes in the weather and room climate – yet plastic will not. This can create problems in some situations with notes hanging up. If you live in a place with widely different temperatures sometimes an all wood or all synthetic action will be a better choice for you.

Another issue with plastic actions are new designs and technologies that require new skill sets to work with. A wood action has been the standard for so long that any reputable piano technician should be able to work with them. When it comes to plastic actions or carbon fiber actions, you might have to search for someone who is familiar with those particular actions and possibly have access to spare parts if necessary.

There are many great companies like Kawai and Mason & Hamlin that utilize plastic and synthetics in their piano actions and they have had great results. However, the vast majority of great pianos in the world still utilize wooden actions – such as Hamburg Steinway and Bösendorfer (which both use Renner Actions made entirely out of wood).

More than anything, it’s finding the right piano and action for you. You should certainly be wary of actions that mix wood and plastic in more extreme climates but overall there are new technologies available that are worth your consideration.

I highly encourage everyone to watch the accompanying video with this article. It provides excellent visual representations of the Neapolitan 6th chord as well as a demonstration of how it can be utilized in your music.

Neapolitan 6th might sound like a strange name, but it’s a beautiful chord that can enhance your music. Even if you haven’t heard the name, you’ve probably heard the chord. But what is it exactly and how can you utilize it in your music?

The Neapolitan 6th can function like a IV chord. Sometimes composers will substitute a II 6 chord for the IV chord. So in the key of C major, instead of the IV chord, F – A – C, you have the first inversion of the II chord which has the F on the bottom: F – A – D.

The Neapolitan 6 chord offers another substitution taking things one step further. The Neapolitan chord is a major triad built on the flatted second degree of the scale. That might sound complicated, so let’s break it down. In the key of C major, the second degree of the scale is D. So, lower that note a half-step and you have D-flat. Build a major chord on D-flat: D-flat – F – A-flat. That is the Neapolitan chord in root position. You might wonder how a D-flat major chord will fit in a the key of C major, but in the first inversion (6) it functions the same as the IV or the II 6 chord but has a unique sound.

Again, build a Neapolitan 6th chord by lowering the second note of a major scale. So, in C major you start with D and lower it a half-step to D-flat and build a major triad on D-flat: D-flat – F – A-flat. Then invert it so F is on the bottom (6 inversion) F – A-flat – D-flat. You now have a Neapolitan 6th chord!

So if you’re improvising or composing, and are using a IV or II 6 chord, think about using a Neapolitan 6th instead to give your music a distinct flavor. It’s a fun and creative tool to have at your disposal and something that can make your music more interesting. Furthermore, as you study your scores, you will discover the use of this chord in countless compositions.

First, why is it important to be able to establish the key? If you have a room full of people and you want to sing a song together, you must all start on the same note or you will have chaos! If you have ever sung Happy Birthday with a crowd of people, you know how confusing an experience that can be with everyone starting in a different key!

So, how do you establish the key? The dominant 7th chord or V7 is ideal for establishing a key, which would be a G7 in the key of C major or minor, the notes G – B – D – F. But there is an even stronger way to establish the key and that is with a Perfect Authentic Cadence. This is a chord progression as follows: I – IV – I6/4 – V7 I. So, in C major that would be CM – FM – CM with a G on the bottom – G7 – CM. There is no doubt where the tonic or “Do” (the first note of the scale) of the key is when hearing this progression – even with Happy Birthday! Although, since Happy Birthday begins on the dominant (G in the key of C Major), an additional V7 (G7) at the end of the cadence will assure your crowd sings in key!

I consider myself very lucky to have grown up in a musical household. Not only were both my parents musicians, they were teachers as well. This ended up being a very positive environment for me. What about households where a parent might not know much about music at all? Is it detrimental to their child’s musical development? Should they learn to play the instrument with their children? These questions are what we are going to be covering today.

Learning to play along with your kids can be very beneficial to both you and your child. Especially if you are having a child learn to play an instrument at a young age it’s a very good idea to learn to play along with them. Being able to guide and help them in their lessons will greatly improve their learning – especially when it comes to reading notes and learning rhythms.

Not only does learning an instrument with your child potentially improve the technical aspects of their development, it also allows your kids to be more engaged in the musical process. By seeing you learn an instrument along with them they will see you engaging in a similar activity and they will naturally want to emulate you. It’s a great bonding experience and will greatly enhance their enthusiasm to keep learning.

It’s certainly not the end of the world if you want your children to learn to play a musical instrument and you can’t play one yourself. I have seen this countless times and I’ve seen many great students come out of these types of circumstances. However, if you are not going to be directly involved in the learning process you need to make sure that you are providing a good environment for them to learn. This means getting the best teacher you can afford as well as motivating them (not forcing them) to learn and keep up their enthusiasm. If you take an interest in what they are doing and provide encouragement it will help them immensely.

Either way, you should provide a positive environment for them to learn their instrument and develop as a musician. Just paying for lessons and not taking an interest will eventually lead to disaster.