When you see professionals moving a piano, it can almost look easy. However, it’s not a simple task. If you want to ensure that your piano leaves and arrives in great condition you should take extra special care when moving it. It will always be be
Today’s question is an interesting one: is it possible to learn a piece of music so well that you will never forget it? I’ve been playing piano for many decades and have learned and played hundreds of pieces throughout my career. Sometimes when I
I know this sounds like a very basic topic (and it is) but there are some things that every musician should remind themselves of every now and then. In the hectic pace of many of our lives we tend to lose track of the things that are important to us.
This is a very important subject and it applies to all instruments and musicians. Creating and maintaining a meaningful and interesting body of work as a musician is something we all aspire to. This article will provide some tips so that you can buil
Are these pianos as good as grand pianos? I suggest watching another video Uprights Vs. Grand Pianos to get a better idea of the differences between the two styles of pianos.
Thanks again for watching and feel free to send all your comments and suggestions to us directly: Info@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729
You may have heard this term before and might be familiar with the concept of an upright grand. At first it might sound like an oxymoron, but the term actually makes a lot of sense once you learn exactly what it means. So what is an upright grand? Is
The benefit to cleaning your piano keys is really a personal preference. You will find that after cleaning your keys they will be much more pleasing to play and you will certainly be surprised at how clean they feel.
Thanks again for joining us here at Living Pianos. We welcome all your comments and suggestions on all our topics and videos. Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729
This is a very common question around here at the store. Everyone who has a piano is going to experience this problem eventually. Our hands pick up a tremendous amount of dirt and grime throughout the day and eventually it’s going to get on your pi
If you’ve played music for a while you’ve probably run across this term before and you might wonder what it means. Some people might dismiss it as being a term only applying to music which actually utilizes your breath but that is not the case. T
The largest production piano in the world is the Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand which is nine and a half feet long. Is that the world’s largest piano? Not by a long shot.
The biggest piano that I’ve actually played is a twelve foot piano that was made by David Rubenstein. He has built two pianos – an eight foot piano and a twelve foot piano. Both of these are remarkably good pianos – especially considering these are the only pianos he has ever built. Both instruments were custom built – he did not use any parts from existing manufacturers. However, even the twelve foot piano is not the largest piano in the world.
An architect from Poland named Daniel Czapiewski created a piano that is 6 meters long – almost 20 feet – and weighs over two tons. Now is a piano this big going to be any better than a piano of only 9 feet long? Not necessarily. There is a lot of physics involved in creating sound with the piano and there is only so much energy your fingers can impart to a hammer. You could easily pass a point of diminishing returns and create something that is more of a novelty than an actual instrument. Now I have not had the opportunity to play this piano so I will have to reserve judgment for now but I am very interested to try it out one day.
In past videos we have covered the different sizes of Upright Pianos and Grand Pianos. Today we will be covering something a little different; the biggest piano in the world! The largest production piano in the world is the Bösendorfer Imperial Conc
So, let’s say you have a piece you’ve memorized and you want to make sure you keep it on a high performance level. It might be a piece you played sometime ago, and while you remember most of it, there are certain parts that aren’t secure. Are there any tricks to keeping this information stored in your mind?
The first thing is to play with the score. Now you might be wondering, if you play with the score, doesn’t it negate the idea of memorizing the music? Afterall, it’s the exact opposite! Once you’ve memorized the music, that’s when the real work begins. Playing with the score will help solidify your knowledge of the music. You aren’t going to just play it through though, you study the score playing very slowly with no pedal. Take in all the notes, rhythm, fingering, phrasing and expression. Listen to what is going on in the piece and study it intently. This will greatly enhance your knowledge of the music and reinforce your memory like you never thought possible.
Another important practice tool to reinforce your memory of a piece is to play with the metronome. Make sure that you keep with the metronome and play the music exactly as written. Go through it several times while reading the music and playing with the metronome to make sure the rhythm is solid.
So the three basic ways to reinforce your musical memory:
1. Play slowly with the score 2. Keep your foot off the pedal 3. Play with the metronome
An advanced technique is to play your music away from the piano. Now this might sound strange (after all, how do you play music without the piano?) but it’s a great practicing technique. If you really think you’ve memorized your music, try playing it from memory – you can start by moving your fingers in your lap at first to make it easier. Imagine playing every note and nuance and see how much you really know playing mentally. It can be incredibly challenging but it’s extremely beneficial. Eventually you can play your music in your head by thinking it through. This will allow you to create the exact performance you have in mind without any physical constraints or problems with the instrument. This is a great way to strengthen your memory.
Listening to other performances of your music can also help. But there is nothing better than pulling out the score and referring to it again and again. In order to truly understand a piece and retain it in your mind you need to learn the score and reinforce the memory constantly.
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.
Memory can be one of the great challenges for musicians. You take the time to learn a piece, practice it again and again, and master it. Then you may forget something! Today we are going to discuss how to retain the music you’ve learned. In the pas