Piano Lessons- Music Theory Lessons

Welcome back to our multi-part series on the Burgmuller Studies. These pieces are really great for piano students at a fairly elementary level yet provide some gorgeous music. Last time we covered La Candeur (Frankness) and this time we are going to discuss L’Arabesque.

Where La Candeur provided beautiful lyricism, L’Arabesque provides excitement. This is a great piece to study because it presents quite a few technical challenges. It also provides a great opportunity to explore phrasing – staccatos and slurs as well as accents. If you were to play this piece without those elements of phrasing it would be incredibly lifeless and dull.

How do you get this piece to sing and more specifically, how do you get it to be snappy and fun? It all comes down to the wrist. I encourage you to watch my original lesson on how to utilize your wrists but to describe it quickly here: The wrists must be identified separately from the arms. The arms are big and heavy and can’t give you the same quick motion the wrists can.

Take your hand and place it over the first chord in the piece. Place your fingers on the keys but don’t push down. Then slowly raise your wrist so your fingers are a little less than an inch above the keys, drop them and play the notes and then snap your wrist back into place over the keys. Keep practicing this and make sure that you aren’t using your arm at all – all the motion in your playing should come from the wrist. The arms are great for strength but they will not give you the speed you will need to play this piece; the motion must come from the wrist.

In this first section you should practice these chords with the wrist until you feel absolutely comfortable playing them.

The right hand in this piece also contains phrasing and it’s very important that you don’t overlook it. As we can seen in the picture below, there are notes with slurs connecting them and they end in a final note that is played staccato. It might not always be written as staccato but they should be played as such because it’s at the end of a slur. Why is this? Staccato means “not connected” and the end of a slur is not connected. In this piece, which has a brisk tempo, you will want to play the end of your slurs as staccato.

The best way to play these note groups is by playing the slurs and then ending by having your hand come up for the last note. It creates a nice sound and helps to play that last note staccato. Practice these groups of notes in your right hand – make sure you come up for the last note in each group until you are comfortable playing them.

Now try practicing with the hands together.

In the next section the left hand will continue with staccato chords but the right hand has eighth notes and it’s extremely important that you phrase these correctly. You’ll need to pay attention to the staccatos and legatos so that you can bring life to this music.

You can do the same type of motion with your wrists for the staccatos in this section. Release the wrist upward on them to get a nice snappy sound. On the accents, let your wrist come down for emphasis. When you put this together with the left hand it you will achieve excellent clarity of voices – the contrast of staccato and legato elements.

In the next section the hands reverse techniques. The right hand becomes legato and the left hand has staccato with the down up motion with the wrist.

Now we will flash forward to the end of the piece where you must move your hands instantly in order to play the last chord. This can be a real challenge for students but it’s a great learning experience which I have a method that will help in any situation like this.

You’ll need to get from here:

The here:

That’s not going to be easy! However, there is a relatively simple way to overcome this problem. You’ll need to find out the perfect hand position for that last series of notes. Go ahead and place your hands there and remember that position. Now, play the series of notes before it and right when you end, place your hands and arms over the last chord instantly. Don’t play any of the notes yet – just get your hands over the chord. Keep doing this until you consistently get in the right position. When you feel confident go ahead and play the last chord. Keep doing this until you can play it over and over again without any issues. This is an extremely helpful technique for all your music that requires large leaps. Here is an article and video on this subject:

I hope this lesson has been helpful for you. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions for future videos please contact us directly: info@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729

Piano Lessons – The Burgmuller’s Studies – Part 2

Welcome back to our multi-part series on the Burgmuller Studies. These pieces are really great for piano students at a fairly elementary level yet provide some gorgeous music. Last time we covered La Candeur (Frankness) and this time we are going to

A musical repertoire is one of the most important things a musician has. A repertoire is a demonstration of your accomplishments and provides the foundation for you as a musician, so it’s important to have music that you can play at any time which defines you. It’s important that you select pieces to add to your permanent repertoire, think of it like a resume for a job.

You can study an instrument for many years and if you only work on the pieces you’re currently studying you will eventually forget your old pieces you have learned and have a limited amount of music you can play. Let’s be realistic though, if you tried to keep every piece you’ve ever played fresh in your mind it would be an insurmountable task – just imagine trying to practice every piece you’ve ever learned every day; it’s impossible!

So how do you build a good repertoire and maintain it over the course of your lifetime?

Practice the pieces you want to maintain in your repertoire. Play through these pieces on a periodic basis. (It doesn’t require practicing at every session.) Try to keep these pieces fresh in your mind and never too far away from performance level.

Refer back to the original score. This is something that many people might not consider but it’s essential. Over time, no matter how often you revisit your pieces, mistakes and inaccuracies will creep in. By going back and referring to the score you can ensure that you are playing the pieces correctly and as originally intended. You might be surprised when you go back and revisit the score and play slowly with the score that you will see things you never noticed before. This helps you not only to maintain your repertoire but to master it.

Re-study pieces you really enjoy. It’s always personally rewarding to go back over a piece you particularly love and re-learn it by studying the score carefully and getting everything you can out of it. The pieces you re-learn and study again and again will become a part of your permanent memory and form a very strong part of your repertoire.

Thanks so much for joining us here at Living Pianos. If you have any questions or comments about this subject or any other subject please contact us directly: (949) 244-3729 or email: Info@LivingPianos.com

How Do You Maintain a Musical Repertoire?

A musical repertoire is one of the most important things a musician has. A repertoire is a demonstration of your accomplishments and provides the foundation for you as a musician, so it’s important to have music that you can play at any time which

Welcome to the first in our series on The Burgmüller Studies. Burgmüller was a wonderful composer who wrote pieces that are accessible to less advanced students, yet offer absolutely wonderful musical content. I always encourage students who have progressed beyond the most basic level to explore these pieces because they are beautiful compositions that can help you further your development as a pianist.

Today we are going to discuss the first piece in this series: La Candeur (or as it translates to English, “Frankness”).

What are the challenges in this piece? You might notice by listening to it that it has a very lyrical, sustained melody. This piece doesn’t require using the pedal but the challenge is getting a smooth line throughout which requires learning to play legato. This is a great skill for any pianist and particularly good for young students just getting into more advanced music. You’ll also want to support the line with the weight of your arms – VIDEO: Arms Equal Power and Depth.

The secret to getting a sustained and beautiful tone is to have the weight of your arms supported by the fingers. You’ll want to transfer the weight from finger to finger to create a long and beautiful legato. You don’t want to apply pressure just at the start of a note but during the entire phrase. If you were to play on someone else’s arm they would feel a constant pressure from the weight of your fingers and arms pressing down, not just at the start of the notes.

If you were to calculate the volume of each note louder and louder to the top of the phrase, then quieter and quieter, you would end up with calculated playing, not a smooth line. Using the weight of your arm – almost as if it were the breath in music – to get louder during the middle of a phrase and softer towards the end of a phrase, you will create a very dramatic and pleasing tone throughout. You want the piano to mimic a wind instrument or a singing voice in it’s tone.

In another part of the piece you have a section which almost sounds like it could be written for two different instruments in the right hand:

On the top you have these half notes:

And on the bottom you have a completely different voice:

It’s important to leave the top (half notes) down while you play the other notes. How can you achieve this? By practicing the long notes legato and the short notes staccato from the fingers. This creates independence of the fingers to assure delineation of the two lines. Without doing this you might end up holding down all the notes or not holding the half notes for their full value – which would be incorrect.

Thanks again for joining me, I look forward to our next lesson on Burgmuller. If you have any comments or questions for this topic or any topic at all please contact me directly: info@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729

Piano Lessons – The Burgmüller Studies – Part 1

Welcome to the first in our series on The Burgmüller Studies. Burgmüller was a wonderful composer who wrote pieces that are accessible to less advanced students, yet offer absolutely wonderful musical content. I always encourage students who have p

One of the most important parts of developing as a musician is being able to read music and being able to read it quickly. Memorizing the notes on the staff is an integral part of progressing musically and I’m going to share a few tips that will make this easier for you.

There are many ways people go about learning notes and the most popular seems to be the acronym approach. You’ve probably heard the one for the lines from the treble clef from bottom to top:

Fine
Does
Boy
Good
Every

The spaces are pretty easy, they spell the word FACE (again bottom to top):

E
C
A
F

The bass clef lines are::

Always
Fine
Do
Boys
Good

And the bass clef spaces are:

Grass
Eat
Cows
All

But what about the ledger lines once you go above or below the staff? You can see that this system breaks down very quickly. It gets incredibly complicated to refer to these acronyms on the spot; it’s just not practical.

Fortunately there is a much easier way to learn your notes without using acronyms. It involves simply learning the first seven letters of the alphabet:

G
F
E
D
C
B
A

If you can learn to say these letters frontwards and backwards quickly you are on your way to reading notes. That’s it! This applies to both the treble and the bass clef. You can start with middle C:

The reason for this is that middle C is in the middle between the treble and bass clefs. So, it’s easy to locate. From here you simply go either up or down through the alphabet. If you are counting up you simply go from C to D to E to F to G and when you reach G you simply go back to the first letter of the alphabet, A and start over again. The same applies for going down. Once you reach A you continue with the last letter of the musical alphabet, G and count down through the alphabet note by note. You only have to use seven letters and if you familiarize yourself with them you will no longer have any problems figuring out notes.

If you’re concerned about going backwards, memorize the low space A in the bass clef. That way it’s very easy to simply count up through the alphabet from there. If you keep practicing this and familiarize yourself with this technique you will find it much easier to read notes than using the acronym method.

Never resort to writing in your notes! I have a video explaining why you shouldn’t write your notes in the music and I suggest watching that if this is something you are tempted to do. If you keep with this method above you will have no need to write your notes in the score because soon enough you will be able to read music fluently.

Thanks again for joining me Robert Estrin Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729

Learning Musical Notes on the Staff – Best Way to Memorize Notes

One of the most important parts of developing as a musician is being able to read music and being able to read it quickly. Memorizing the notes on the staff is an integral part of progressing musically and I’m going to share a few tips that will ma

That Iron String is available on Amazon.

Jack Kohl is a pianist/author from Long Island. His book, “That Iron String” explores the nightmarish realities of the life of aspiring concert pianists in American in the 21st century. While the book is part of a trilogy and is fictional, it highlights the plight facing so many talented, young pianists today.

Robert Estrin and Jack Kohl are both pianists from Long Island. So, even though they just met recently, there is a natural camaraderie being fellow pianists from the same area. They provide insights for pianists at a time when there are far more accomplished artists than there are possible careers available. They discuss how people like themselves find creative solutions to remaining relevant having highly accomplished 19th century skills in the modern world.

Robert Estrins Interviews Jack Kohl (Pianist/Author)

That Iron String is available on Amazon. Jack Kohl is a pianist/author from Long Island. His book, “That Iron String” explores the nightmarish realities of the life of aspiring concert pianists in American in the 21st century. While the b

No, you didn’t click the wrong link today, even though this might sound like a topic for The Flute Show! Learning to breathe properly while you are playing the piano is an essential skill for any pianist. We can all understand that breathing is required to live but it has a great deal to do with performing music as well. Today we are going to discuss a couple of components of how breathing can positively and negatively affect your performances.

Let’s say you are playing a technically demanding piece like the Military Polonaise of Chopin. It’s going to take a lot of energy and you’re going to have to remind yourself to take some deep breaths. If you don’t plan for this you might end some sections out of breath and winded. During a musical performance, you have so much on your mind that it’s common to forget something as essential as breathing! You don’t have to plan your breathing ahead of time but you should definitely remind yourself from time to time that you need to breathe. Before you enter a complicated section you should take the time to take a deep breath. This will enhance your performance and help to settle your nerves.

Beyond just breathing, you need to relax your mind and body enough so that it won’t be a problem in the first place. It’s difficult to tell someone to just get on stage and to be completely calm; of course, most people will be at least somewhat nervous. Over time and with experience you will learn to calm your nerves and become more comfortable while playing. Learning to direct your energy into your playing as opposed to succumbing to your nerves will make a big difference.

Breathing can also be incredibly important while you’re playing with other musicians. In chamber music, for example, the breath of the pianist can actually guide the other musicians; it can help cue them as to where to play and where a phrase ends. If you pay close attention you might notice that all the musicians breathe in unison in a fine chamber group – even though some might be playing string instruments which don’t require the breath to produce a tone.

Breathing is such an integral part of playing music that even on an instrument that doesn’t require breathing – like the piano – we as musicians still want to feel the breath in music. I cover this more in-depth in an earlier video about breath in music. I also have a topic that explains why singing your music is a great way to practice separate parts and get an idea for how the music should flow.

No matter what instrument you play you should definitely be aware of your breathing and how it affects your overall performance. Thanks again for joining me Robert Estrin Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729

Piano Lesson – How to Breathe While Playing The Piano

No, you didn’t click the wrong link today, even though this might sound like a topic for The Flute Show! Learning to breathe properly while you are playing the piano is an essential skill for any pianist. We can all understand that breathing is req

We received this question from Luis. He wondered if it would be best to find a piano that has never been played. This is really a interesting question which we will explore today.

Does a piano benefit from being played? To some extent, yes. If a piano is neglected, some of the parts can get jammed up with dirt and dust, key bushings may harden and other action parts may eventually begin to have problems functioning smoothly. There is also the element of discovery. A piano that is played and serviced regularly will receive the attention required to keep it playing on a high level.

On the other hand, if you play the piano frequently, some parts will eventually wear out with use and will need to be replaced. So, there is no absolute in regards to how much a piano should be played.

The ideal situation would be moderate, regular use like having a car you only drive once a month. You might take it around the block every once in awhile, change the oil every three months, fill it with gas, and keep it in the garage. This may not be the most fulfilling way to enjoy your car. But it will age very slowly! Likewise, if you barely play your piano and have it serviced regularly,(assuming a stable environment) it is going to stay in ideal condition but your enjoyment of the instrument will be limited.

If a piano is in your home you should play it as much as you want. Understand that using your piano a great deal is going to require more maintenance (such as more frequent tunings and eventually replacing some action parts). However, the fear of having to invest money in your piano over time shouldn’t prevent your enjoyment of the instrument. Even with intensive practice, you should get many years of service out of a new or newly rebuilt piano before any major work is required.

Thanks again for joining me Robert Estrin. Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729

Is it Better for a Piano to be Left Alone?

We received this question from Luis. He wondered if it would be best to find a piano that has never been played. This is really a interesting question which we will explore today. Does a piano benefit from being played? To some extent, yes. If a pian

This might sound like a crazy proposition to a lot of you but we get calls everyday from people looking to get rid of pianos they simply can’t keep anymore or don’t want. You might think that there would be people out there who would want any piano but it’s not that simple. Getting rid of a piano you don’t want can actually be a real challenge.

Now if you have a piano in good condition – one that plays well enough and has a decent finish – you can probably find someone who is willing to pay at least a small amount for it or at least take it as a donation. But even then it might be a challenge to find it a new home.

If you have an older upright piano that is in pretty bad condition you might think that somebody out there might want it to fix up and you can avoid taking it to the dump. Sadly, in some cases this is the only thing you can do. Finding a home for a sub-standard piano is going to be a real challenge and unfortunately many pianos are taken to the dump every year. In some cases this might be your only option. Rebuilding a piano costs thousands of dollars and if you have a piano that has the potential to be worth only a small amount, it’s going to be very hard to find a home for it.

Now let’s say you have a piano that has potential and can play OK – what are your options? If you don’t want to go through the process of selling the piano yourself and nobody is willing to take it in on consignment then you can try an auction house. Many times they will haul your piano away for you and put it on auction. If it sells you may get some money for it and not have to worry about that piano taking up room in your home anymore.

One great resource for people looking to get rid of their pianos is PianoAdoption.com. This is a website designed for people who want to find pianos but can’t afford one. All the pianos on the site are from private parties who have instruments to give away. If you are looking to get rid of a piano that nobody else is interested in you can try this website and see if you can connect with someone.

If you have a piano that’s in decent condition you can always ask us for help by filling out the small form on our website: Selling Your Piano.

If you’re stuck with a piano you don’t want, start by asking people around you: friends, family, schools, churches, anyone who might need or want a piano. You can probably find a home for it.

I welcome your comments and suggestions on this topic and as always, thanks again for joining me: Robert Estrin Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729.

How to Get Rid of a Piano You Don’t Want

This might sound like a crazy proposition to a lot of you but we get calls everyday from people looking to get rid of pianos they simply can’t keep anymore or don’t want. You might think that there would be people out there who would want any pia

I have known many people who have started with one instrument and then for one reason or another decided to switch instruments. At some point these people came to the realisation that they were destined to play something else and they made the transition. The question is, is it ever too late to switch instruments?

This really depends upon your situation, your expectations and the nature of the switch. For example, I’ve known a number of fine violinists who switched to the Viola with great success. In some cases it was because there was a greater market for viola. Others might have simply fallen in love with the rich sound of the viola. This transition is not that radical as the foundations for the violin and viola are very similar.

If you are thinking about making a radical change from one instrument to the next – such as trombone to guitar – it could be a much harder switch and something you should consider carefully. Your fit with the instrument is important, but you should have realistic expectations about what is possible when making such a big change in the instrument you play.

I’ve seen cases where some musicians will have gone to conservatory for one instrument but always played another instrument as a secondary instrument. They may come to the realisation that their true love is their secondary instrument! Switching could be the best decision as long as they are realistic.

I have known people who have decided to switch instruments to something they are not familiar with at all and it has presented great challenges. For example, if you played the clarinet for most of your life and find that there aren’t bands or orchestras you want to play with, it could be incredibly difficult to switch to an instrument like the piano in your twenties and develop serious repertoire and fluid technique. But if that’s where your passions lie, you must follow your dream. You can certainly become an accomplished player but it is unlikely you would develop a career as a concert pianist.

As long you are realistic with your goals you should follow your heart and pursue whatever instrument you are interested in. The good news is that anything you learn in music translates to other things. If you have a background in singing you will have a foundation for music already in place so learning another instrument will not be nearly as difficult as it would be for someone who has had no music training.

Thanks again for the wonderful questions, please contact me if you have any ideas for future videos. Robert Estrin Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729

Is it Ever Too Late to Switch Musical Instruments?

I have known many people who have started with one instrument and then for one reason or another decided to switch instruments. At some point these people came to the realisation that they were destined to play something else and they made the transi