Piano Lessons- Music Theory Lessons

Today Robert is going to provide some tips on how to Improvise on the piano. This is a very deep and involved topic but we hope to provide a good starting point with this video.

You probably know that the hammers are responsible for striking the strings on the piano and producing a sound. The dampers are the pieces of wood covered with felt that lie above the strings and are responsible for ending notes.

When you play a note on the piano the damper comes up so the hammer can strike the string and make a tone. When you let go, the damper falls back onto the string and mutes the sound. You might notice that when you hold down the damper or sustain pedal (the one on the right), all the dampers are released and will remain raised until you take pressure off the pedal leaving the strings free to vibrate and produce a long lasting tone.

When you press the damper pedal and all the dampers remain raised, it will make the tone echo inside the piano because of sympathetic vibrations. If you want to have some fun, try holding down the damper pedal and singing into your piano – the sound of your voice will echo around the piano for quite some time; it’s a fun trick you can share with family or friends.

The important thing about this is that you can affect the tone of a melody by using the pedal and keeping the dampers raised. When you play with the sustain pedal down you will get a much fuller tone.

What you might not know is that the sustenuto pedal, the middle pedal is a selective sustain pedal when it comes to dampers. When you depress some keys then press down and hold down the sustenuto pedal, the dampers above only those notes will remain raised. If you play other notes while continuing to hold down the sustenuto pedal, the dampers of new notes will respond like normal and fall back onto the strings once you let go of those keys even though the sustenuto pedal will continue allowing the original notes to sound. This is useful in music which would require 3 hands to play otherwise.

Generally, dampers will do what they are intended to do or not. That is to say, when they are down they should end a note and when they are up they should let a note sustain. If you have ever had notes hang up – keep playing after you let go of the keys and pedals, then you are in need of damper regulation to get them working correctly again. Damper regulation may be required if you hear buzzing at the end of notes. Dampers can be regulated but sometimes the felt becomes old, hard, and worn out and must be replaced in order to function properly. This is a very common problem on older pianos however, it can be fixed with the right technician.

One thing you might have noticed is that there are no dampers above the highest notes on the piano. You might wonder if this is a mistake or something intentional. The fact is, most of the notes that don’t have dampers simply don’t need them – they are not able to sustain long enough to necessitate dampers. The first note that has no damper is usually the 2nd to highest E on the piano. Sometimes on a very fine piano, notes in this register can last a very long time; without dampers there is really nothing you can do about this.

I hope this clarifies some aspects of this important part of the piano. Thanks for reading and watching and as always I welcome additional questions and comments.

I get this question all the time – almost every day! There are a number of different descriptions for grand pianos and it can become confusing. The thing to keep in mind is that all the terms associated with grand pianos are general terms – different companies have different sizes for pianos so classifying them in general terms is necessary.

For example, Steinway makes a 5’ 1”, 5’ 7”, 5’ 10.5”, and then 6’ 2”. On the other hand, Baldwin pianos manufactured 5’ 2”, 5’ 8”, and 6’ 3”. These sizes are all different and each company has their own unique sizes and scale designs. To classify them in the market we use general terms that can be applied to any brand.

There are a few pianos below 5’ and these are called Petite Baby Grands.

Any piano around 5’ to 5 1/2′ is considered a Baby Grand.

Larger 5’ range pianos, such as 5’ 7” and 5’ 8” are sometimes called Parlor Grands.

Pianos from around 6’ up to around 6’ 9” are called Grand Pianos.

6’ 10” up to around 7 1/2’ are called Semi Concert Grand Pianos.

The largest pianos are typically 9’ and above and are called Concert Grand Pianos. (Steinway Concert grand is 1” short of 9’)

If you’re familiar with pianos, you probably know they can be very expensive musical instruments. Many potential buyers might experience some sticker shock upon their first trip to a piano store. Grand pianos can range anywhere from a few thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars! With so much range in price, how do you find the piano that is right for you and your family?

Digital Pianos

The most inexpensive option are digital pianos. A digital piano is not the same thing as a keyboard but they can look very similar. You can find a functional keyboard for as low as a hundred dollars at some stores, but if you want an actual digital piano you will have to invest more.

What makes a digital piano? Here is a quick rundown of what to look for.

88 Keys. A standard piano keyboard has 88 keys and you shouldn’t compromise on that when it comes to buying a digital instrument.

Weighted keys: Select keyboards can have the same weight as found on grand pianos. Have you ever played a keyboard with almost no resistance to the keys? It doesn’t feel like playing a piano does it? Weighted keys simulate the press of real piano keys, and may be the next best thing to having a real piano to practice on. More importantly, it will help you develop strength to play any piano.

Stand and Speakers are pretty standard on digital pianos (as opposed to keyboards). A lot of digital pianos are built to look like upright pianos and have integrated stands.

Having 3 Pedals isn’t essential, but certainly offer a nice addition to simulating the experience of playing an acoustic piano.

So how much does a decent digital piano cost? Plan on spending a minimum of between $500-$1,000 for a decent instrument and more for a digital piano with many features or attractive furniture.

Upright Pianos

This is a very interesting question that doesn’t have a simple answer. The origin of the piano goes back centuries, and while there is some widely held beliefs on the subject, the story of the piano is a lot more complex than you might think.

Undoubtedly the name you will hear most when it comes to the creation of the first piano would be Bartolomeo Cristofori. Cristofori was an Italian harpsichord builder. At the tail end of the 1600’s he tried his hand at making a Harpsichord that could play both loud and soft from touch. He called his instrument, “Cimbalo di Piano e Forte” which translates, “Harpsichord with Soft and Loud”. Eventually, the name was shortened to “The Piano”. If you were to see one of these early instruments built by Cristofori, you would discover that it has more in common with a harpsichord than a modern piano!

It’s sad to think that a piano can simply age to the point where it needs to be thrown away. Sadly, this is sometimes the case. But is it really the age that is the determining factor in getting rid of a piano or is it something else? Today we are going to discuss this topic in-depth and decide whether or not the age of a piano can determine it’s fate.

The age of a piano has much more to do with its upkeep, environment, and use than the date of manufacture. We have had pianos here in the showroom from the 1880s that have been restored and are in better condition than most 10-15-year-old pianos!

I recently had a conversation with a technician who found a 1906 Knabe upright – all original – from an estate where it had virtually never been played. He told me that not only do the strings (the original strings!) sound vibrant and young but the tuning is incredibly stable and you would never have known it was a piano from over 100 years ago. This is a very rare occurrence but it does happen and with the right environment the date of manufacture may be superfluous.

I’ve also run across a different issue with the age of pianos. Some Viennese piano companies were actually producing “period” type pianos well after the development of the modern piano action. While Steinway and other major manufacturers were producing pianos similar to pianos being made today, these companies were still making older style pianos. In this scenario, the age of the piano doesn’t even tell you how modern the piano is!

Ultimately, the factors that determine the age of the piano beyond just a manufacture date are:

– How much the piano has been played

– The environment the piano has been in

– The upkeep of the piano

Now we can go extremely in-depth on each of these factors above, but these are general guidelines for determining the true age of a piano – not just when it was built. Just like anything else, if you take care of your piano and keep it in a safe place it will last a long time unless you play it a lot since parts of pianos wear out. You shouldn’t be discouraged from looking at a piano just because of the date is was made – that is only a small portion of deciding whether or not the piano is a good instrument.

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

Is it okay to fake at the piano? Many teachers would say that you must not fake on the piano. I would tend to agree with them. But is this all-encompassing?

Let me give you some examples where faking or not playing totally accurately might actually be necessary.

Everything we strive for in practice and in teaching is geared to ensure that you know the score faithfully and can perform accurately. So, why would you want to ever play sloppily?

There have been times where I was called upon to accompany someone at an audition when their pianist didn’t show up at the last minute. Imagine sight reading the Hindemith Trombone Sonata under such circumstances if you had never played the piece. Hindemith scores are extremely complex pieces of music that are nearly impossible to read accurately at first glance. There may be some parts you can play accurately depending on the level of your reading. But some sections will be impossible to grasp initially up to tempo without working things out.

In this instance, if the trombonist didn’t have an accompanist, they couldn’t even take the audition. In situations like this, I have reluctantly accepted the challenge to rescue the soloist. I have gone in and grabbed as many notes as possible. Most importantly, I stayed with the soloist never allowing any problems to interfere with the fluidity of their performance. This is one instance where faking will be inevitable.

Here is another example. You are playing a concert and you are well prepared and are in great shape. Then you get to a certain part and something happens where you find yourself over the wrong set of keys. This could be due to a number of things such as a mechanical issue with the piano or you simply got distracted by something in the room. There is nothing better than you can do than to fake it until you get back on track because if you stop you will ruin the performance for everyone. Not only that, but people will be very uncomfortable for you. An eerie silence in the middle of a performance is not something you ever want to subject anyone too much less yourself! You are much better off faking your way through a little bit to get back on the right track rather than to correct or go back to the beginning of the section.

So there is a place for faking in some unusual circumstances. But we do everything in our power to avoid doing it. But when the situation comes up, the show must go on!

Tuning a piano cost different amounts in various regions. Some remote places have no piano technicians! So, when tuners come through, they are in incredible demand and command high rates for tuning. In metropolitan areas with lots of tuners, the going rate is usually around $100-150 – some areas are higher than others. And top-notch concert level tuners can cost substantially more.

But this is only half the story! Because it also depends upon several other factors:

– How often the piano is tuned

– How much the piano is played

– Stability of the environment

– Quality of the piano

Pianos that are played a great deal such as in schools or pianos owned by serious players who practice a lot will require much more tuning than pianos that are not played much.
A place that has wide swings of temperature and humidity will cause a piano to become out of tune more readily than in a more stable environment.

A higher quality piano will hold its tuning longer than a lower quality piano. Newer pianos and newly rebuilt pianos will also require more tuning and adjustment as strings stretch and the piano settles.

So, there is much to be considered when servicing your piano. There is almost always at least some additional adjustments necessary when getting your piano tuned. So the cost of having a piano technician visit can vary a great deal. $100-$150 would be an ideal amount to spend if you have a high quality, broken in piano tuned on a regular basis, kept in a stable environment and played minimally. In most instances, the cost will be greater.

Nearly every piano has a fallboard and you might assume that if it’s there it should be used. Should you close the fallboard on your piano when you’re not playing it?

There are certain instances when the fallboard can be useful to keep people from playing the instrument. If you have a piano in a restaurant or hotel that you don’t want random people playing, you can close the fallboard and the lid and lock the piano (if your piano has a lock). If you have a piano in your home that you don’t want children playing around with this can also be useful.

When it comes to institutional use, the locks on pianos do very little to protect them because they can be easily pried open. That’s why there are much more secure locks available to prevent people from getting inside pianos

The practical use of fallboards is to prevent dust from collecting on the keys of pianos. Playing a piano with dirty keys feels awful! However, dust will still collect on the fallboard and you will have to dust the fallboard. With delicate satin finishes, this can be more challenging than dusting the keys.

The biggest issue when it comes to closing the fallboard is whether or not you have ivory or plastic key tops.