Piano Lessons- Music Theory Lessons

There are pianos out there – not just keyboards – that have less than the standard 88 keys. You might wonder whether or not a piano from an era with 85 keys would be a good choice for you or if you should avoid pianos with less than 88 keys. I know some people are hesitant to even contemplate getting a piano with less than 88 keys. Are they right?

If you look into the history of the piano you will quickly realize that the instrument didn’t always have 88 keys. In fact, for most of the piano’s history, it had far fewer than 88 keys. It wasn’t until the late 1800s that 88 keys became the standard on pianos. For most of the 1800s the standard for pianos was 85 keys or less. This is why the vast majority of Classical repertoire on the piano only requires between 61-85 keys.

When you get to 20th century composers like Debussy or Ravel and beyond, are the full 88 keys called upon. For the vast majority of piano music, 85 keys will actually be fine. For music of Mozart and Haydn, pianos had only around 61 keys! During Beethoven’s lifetime, the piano underwent substantial development including accommodating more keys. So, early compositions of Beethoven require far less keys than late Beethoven’s piano music.

Some people might shy away from a piano without those three extra keys but they really could be losing out on a great instrument. Sometimes you might find a piano that is an absolute gem and it might only have 85 keys. Should you just discount this instrument and find another? That depends.

If you find yourself playing a great deal of 20th century music, then you will probably be better off with a piano that has 88 keys. If you play mostly Classical and Baroque period music, 85 keys will not be a limitation at all. Should you worry about losing out on those few remaining keys? It depends on how much you love the piano you are looking at and if it’s worth forgoing in favor of three extra notes.

The other thing to keep in mind is that the last three notes on the piano do not register a substantial sound. They are extremely short-lived and not having them will not really affect the mood of the piece very much. For the vast majority of pianists 85 keys will not present a serious limitation. I personally would not have a issues playing on or owning an 85 key piano – I simply don’t use those extra three keys that much and can play pieces utilizing those keys without compromising the piece substantially.

This might sound like a crazy question but it’s surprisingly important and if you own a piano there are a quite a few things you should know about the various types of finishes. Refinishing a piano is an enormous expense and something that can be avoided with proper care and maintenance.

The classic American finish of a piano is a satin hand-rubbed lacquer finish. It’s an extremely popular type of finish but it’s also very important to know how to maintain properly. You might notice that when you place your hands on your piano you may leave fingerprints. If you use light cleaning products you can wipe these off but you’re leaving yourself open to a larger problem down the road. These types of finishes are porous and if you use cleaning products, they will eventually soak into the finish and will have to be professionally removed later on.

So how do you clean a classic satin finish to avoid additional costs later on? The best thing to do is to use a soft cotton cloth rubbing in the direction of the hand-rubbed lines. If you have fingerprints that have gotten deeply ingrained into the finish, then you should use a slightly damp (not wet) cotton cloth and again, rub in the direction of the hand-rubbed lines. This is the best way to clean a finish like this to avoid damage. And it’s all you need to do to maintain the finish in most cases.

The newer type of finish popularized a few decades ago is the high-gloss polyester finish. When these finishes were first introduced, people thought they would be fragile. To demonstrate their stability, companies at trade shows years ago lit them on fire to show their strength! So, can you destroy this type of finish with your hands? While they might show more fingerprints than a satin type of finish, you can’t easily damage this type of finish with your hands because they are plastic! They are sealed so they aren’t porous so the oils in your hands don’t seep in.

That’s not to say that high gloss finishes aren’t without their problems. If you were to take a music book and toss it onto a high gloss lid of a piano when it’s closed, it can cause scratches and lines in the finish that are impossible to remove except by an expert refinisher. So each of these two types of finishes can be damaged in different ways.

Cleaning a high-gloss finish is rather simple. You can actually use a damp cloth or even Windex to clean any fingerprints or dirt off the piano.

This might seem like a crazy question to ask. Upright pianos are extremely common and popular and for many people with limited space are the only option they might have for a piano. In fact, in many parts of the world such as Europe and Asia, upright pianos are the standard type of piano because of smaller homes and limited space. Today we are going to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of buying an upright piano and you can decide if it’s a good fit for you.

This is an interesting topic as it really does depend upon what instrument you play. Certain instruments are much more physically demanding than others. Obviously, it’s in your best interest to keep yourself healthy with a good diet and exercise, but can it affect the way you perform music?

In addition to playing piano, I also play French Horn. When it comes to piano there are certain pieces (Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies for example) that I wouldn’t play when I am sick. However, I might be able to play a slow movement of a Mozart Sonata without any problems. When it comes to French Horn, this is not the case. If I am sick or exhausted there is no way I can even play a single phrase on a high level because it takes so much energy to produce a good quality sound.

In the case of an instrument like the French horn, diet and exercise are intrinsically important if you want to stay in performance shape. You won’t be able to play much if you are easily winded. Pretty much any instrument that requires an extreme amount of energy (which piano certainly can) requires you to be in at least decent shape.

There is also the concern of longevity when it comes to playing and performing. The healthier your keep yourself the more likely you are to enjoy a long and fruitful playing career. There have certainly been out of shape musicians, but many times their lives or careers have been cut short due to chronic health problems.

Oscar Peterson was one of the great jazz pianists of all time. For many years he suffered from arthritis, but his weight problems were an even bigger factor in the quality of his health. As he got heavier he eventually needed to get hip replacement surgery which limited his mobility. After a continued decline in health, he suffered a stroke that rendered the left side of his body weak. It took two years before he could recuperate enough to perform again. Although he played a few more years after the stroke, he was never able to get back to optimal health. Although, Oscar Peterson was such a monumental pianist, that even with a weaker left hand, he was still a great jazz pianist. There are dozens of other musicians who have faced issues in declining health which have led to their careers being cut short.

Beyond just eating right and exercise is the concern of your mental state. If you are constantly tired or stressed, it’s a great challenge to bring positive energy to your performance. It’s very important to be well rested and in a good state of mind whenever you have the opportunity to perform. So, while some musicians can offer amazing performances even when they are not particularly healthy, for consistent, high-level performances over time, healthy diet and regular exercise can play a key role, particularly when playing instruments that require a lot of physical energy.

I was asked this question recently and it’s a tough one to answer. The brand of the piano does matter when it comes to how they are built and how they play, but even more important is the size of the instrument and the manner in which it is prepared.

The keys on larger pianos like concert grands, are longer than those of baby grand pianos (on the other side of the fallboard). So you will be moving more mass with each key press, requiring more energy to play.

Actions on different size pianos are weighted to compensate for their larger size, but a bigger action will still require more strength and can take more energy also because the strings are longer and there is more soundboard to excite.

When it comes to Steinway and Yamaha the opinions are endless. Some will claim that Steinway pianos are stiff and others will say that Yamaha pianos have heavier actions – or sometimes it’s the exact opposite!

So where does the truth lie?

The most important variable when it comes to how heavy an action can be is how it’s regulated by a technician. An action isn’t necessarily heavier or lighter by design, however, each individual piano, even new pianos of the same make and model vary in action weight. This is due to the handwork in manufacturing as well as the regulation performed on the instrument. Also, new pianos tend to be harder to play since the felt bushings aren’t broken in yet. So, there is more friction to overcome.

Most actions are around 48-60 grams of downweight. Lower notes also tend to be heavier than higher notes because there is more felt on the hammers and the keys are longer behind the fallboard.

You may wonder if there is anything you can do to change the weight of your piano action.

If your action is too light, your technician should be able to re-weight it and make it heavier for you. If it’s too heavy, there are techniques to get things moving better unless there are serious problems or the hammers have been replaced with the wrong specification hammers.

What’s more important for a technician than the weight of the action is to ensure that the action is running properly and moving smoothly. There are dozens felt points of contacts on each key and if there is unnecessary friction, it can severely impact the weight of the action. Sometimes it’s necessary to rebuild an action in order to get proper response if parts are gummed up such as Steinway pianos with verdigris problems.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to find a good technician. I’ve sat down at wonderful pianos that played like a nightmare because of bad work. Something as routine as replacing the hammers on your action could end up ruining the touch response. Just a few grams of extra weight from the wrong hammers or wrong geometry can make the piano feel extremely heavy.

Sometimes when a piano has been played a great deal and the hammers have been filed again and again to reshape them for proper tone, the action can become substantially lighter. It may not affect your enjoyment of the instrument, but if you want optimal response, you could either replace the hammers or have your technician re-weight the action.

Overall I don’t think there is a specific difference between Steinway and Yamaha when it comes to the weight of the actions. It’s a very specific issue that is more dependant on the size, condition and regulation of the instrument rather than the manufacturer. I would love to hear from pianists and technicians what experiences you have had with the action weight on different pianos.

This is an incredibly common question for many parents who are starting their children with piano lessons. After all, a keyboard has the same number of notes as a piano (as long as it has 88 keys); how different can it really be?

Before we get into the finer details of the differences between keyboards and pianos let’s first examine the cost – which is the driving factor for most parents. Like pianos, there is a large selection of keyboards available. They range from a few hundred dollars well upwards of $15,000 for some very advanced models. If you plan on getting a decent keyboard you could be looking at thousands of dollars.

Most piano teachers will agree that the bare minimum for a beginning student is an 88 key weighted action digital piano. In case you might not have heard the term weighted action before, this refers to a keyboard or digital piano that has weighted keys – which replicate the weight of keys on an actual piano. If you’ve played a regular keyboard you might notice that the keys are incredibly easy to push. If you’ve played a piano you know that the keys take some force in order to generate a good sound. So if a digital piano (keyboard) can replicate this, will this be enough? Not really. An actual piano action has hundreds of moving parts on each key and while a weighted action keyboard has weighted keys, it’s impossible to replicate the feel of an actual piano.

The keys on a keyboard are also very short. On a piano, the keys extend far behind the fallboard. On a keyboard, this is impossible to replicate. If you play on a keyboard it’s like pushing down on a see-saw close to the center when playing black keys and between black keys. On a grand piano, the force necessary to push down the keys is more equal from the front to the back of the keys.

The action on an upright piano is an improvement over a weighted action digital piano or a keyboard but it still isn’t as good as a grand piano action. Here is another video where I explain the differences between uprights and grand pianos. Eventually, every pianist who continues to play will outgrow the action of an upright piano and must eventually practice on a grand or baby grand piano because an upright action isn’t fast enough to keep up.

One of the biggest reasons parents decide to buy a keyboard in lieu of a piano is that they are worried that their children won’t continue to play. There is truth in the idea that the interests of children change rapidly – but starting them off on an inferior instrument is really only a recipe for failure. Investing in a suitable instrument will not only reinforce the interests of the player, it will actually help them develop much more quickly. Having an actual piano to play on will do wonders for the development of any musician.

So is it OK to start with a keyboard? Sure, it’s far better than nothing. But if you plan on actually playing the piano, prepare to make an investment at some point in the future and get yourself an actual grand or upright piano.

So, are pianos from California really better? Often times, yes! The reason that used pianos from parts of California are generally in better condition is because of the stable climate.

You might hear about companies that climatize their pianos for certain regions and while this might sound like a good idea, this is not always possible. Let’s take California for example. There are a multitude of climates within different geographical areas. No two places are exactly the same. Right here, 10 miles from the beach, the climate is moderate year round. But there are dramatically different climates not far from here.

So what weather is best for pianos? Moderate humidity and a consistent temperature create the best environment for a piano. You don’t want them to go through drastic swings of cold and hot and you certainly don’t want your piano to have to endure extremely humid or dry environments.

California generally provides a gentle environment for pianos, but not everywhere. For example, I live about 10 miles from the beach and the weather is semi-arid and the temperature remains fairly consistent year round. Down by the beach the salt air can damage pianos in just a few years. Likewise, travel inland to the high desert not far away, and the dry climate can play havoc with soundboards and other wood parts of your piano.

In a gentle California climate a piano can reside in a home for decades without experiencing any damage to the soundboard, case or action particularly if it is kept closed most of the time and maintained on a regular basis. I have personally run across countless pianos from this region which can be well preserved gems. This is not possible in most other places in the United States – in New York a vintage piano can suffer soundboard and other damage from the wild swings from the humid summers to the dry heat of the winter – particularly pianos manufactured before the advent of air conditioning.

But beyond whether or not California is a good place for pianos the care you provide for your instrument is critical. You may be able to provide a suitable environment for a piano in any region as long as you keep it in a consistent environment. For example, you may live in a high rise in Chicago with climate control of temperate and humidity and have a great environment for your piano. People at the beach can try to mitigate the moist air by simply closing the piano at night and possibly installing a Dampp-Chaser System. This applies to pianos in the desert as well. Ideally you treat the room. When this isn’t possible, there are technologies that can help to stabilize your piano.

Many people wonder if there is anything they can do to improve their fundamental skills of playing the piano once they progress past the basic lessons to become a competent player. Are there any tips, tricks, or advanced exercises you can employ to progress your playing even further?

I’ve stressed in the past the importance of learning all major and minor scales and arpeggios. But beyond this, are there any hidden secrets that will make you a better pianist? There is a simple thing you can do that won’t take much time and can greatly improve your playing:

Practice at least 10 minutes a day

Seriously, that’s it! You may not be able to do this every single day, but if you sit down and practice even a little bit every day, it can dramatically change your piano playing. Like any endeavor, whether it’s music, writing, drawing, or physical fitness, the key to success is to work consistently over time.

By practicing every day for even a few minutes, you will be keep yourself in shape on the piano both mentally and physically. Whether it’s scales, arpeggios, or what I recommend above all else, repertoire, you will enjoy benefits to your playing. You will also build on what you have worked on the previous day instead of taking two steps forward and one step back forgetting what you had learned previously when you skip days.

You can revisit a piece you played in the past, play through something you are working on currently, or learn a brand new piece. Focusing your practice sessions on actual music is one of the best ways to improve as a pianist, and it can be an enriching experience.

Just sight-reading through music can help you grow musically by getting exposed to new music while improving your reading. Learning new music will help you expand your horizons as well. You’ll learn new techniques, get exposed to new sounds, and discover new ways to play your instrument. As pianists, we are extremely lucky because there is more solo music written for piano that any other instrument. You will never run out of new music to learn!

So instead of focusing on just scales, arpeggios and exercises, try focusing on music and work some at the piano every day. Not only will you be exposing yourself to something new that presents fresh challenges, you will be able to actually play something enjoyable for people once your master a particular piece.

I hope this is helpful and if you have any questions about this topic or any other, please email me Robert@LivingPianos.com for more information.

You might think this sounds simple. (All you have to do is play a note, right?) but there is actually a lot more to it. Tuning correctly with other musicians is vital to a good sounding performance.