For me this is a loaded question. My sister and I were taught piano by our father Morton Estrin, so you might assume that I would simply say, “Yes.”, and move on. The answer though is not that simple.

It certainly worked in my family but there are lots of other cases where this simply doesn’t work. When I was growing up my father had a very busy career recording, performing and teaching. He would have no time during the week to give us lessons. Instead, every Sunday after we would eat brunch he would give us our lessons. My sister and I would always fight for who got their lesson first but no matter what we would always have our lessons for an hour each.

When I was growing up I would think about this method with a little bit of jealousy. After all, this was my father, why would he treat me like every one of his other students? In hindsight I realize that this is the secret to success; treating your children like every other student!

It might sound contradictory but if you treat your children differently and special in any way it becomes very difficult to maintain. There could be exceptions like homeschooling your children which is a circumstance in which you have complete control over their learning and schedule. If you are proficient in music then this could potentially be beneficial. For most parents however, a single lesson once a week for an hour should do just fine.

I’m sad to say that I didn’t actually follow this advice with my own children. I did not schedule out a time every week to give them lessons. Instead, we simply had lessons when we had time and that would often mean cancellations and random scheduling that would result in fewer lessons than if we had simply scheduled it out beforehand. As a result of this, my children are accomplished on other instruments – they are both very proficient on piano but it’s not their primary instrument.

Another aspect to my father’s teachings that was unique was the way he handled time between lessons. My mother would always be the one to make sure we practiced and to watch over our musical routines. My father would be completely uninvolved after the lesson – again treating us like we were his students and nothing more when it came to music. This is smart because if he was listening to us all the time and watching over us it could create a conflict in our development; it would also take up a lot of his time. I highly recommend this method for teaching your own children and if I had to do it all over again with my kids I would follow a similar format. I welcome your input on this topic and thanks again for watching – I’m Robert Estrin Robert@LivingPianos.com

Can You Teach Your Kids How to Play Music?

For me this is a loaded question. My sister and I were taught piano by our father Morton Estrin, so you might assume that I would simply say, “Yes.”, and move on. The answer though is not that simple. It certainly worked in my family but

This seems obvious enough. What would you be doing on stage if you weren’t engaged enough to give a performance? This topic has profound implications.

I remember when I was going to the Manhattan School of Music and I attended many concerts at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. I would hear many emerging pianists and while most played brilliantly, sometimes I would find my mind wandering during some performances. I began to wonder if there was something wrong with me until I noticed that often times, there would be a memory slip by the artist just at the point that I would lose my attention. I began to understand what the real problem was.

The performer would become disengaged from their performance and it would cause them to have a momentary memory lapse. Beyond their mistake, the audience would become less involved in their performance and their brief slip indicated a loss of concentration. I began to understand the importance of staying engaged in your performance and staying focused.

It might be difficult to find enthusiasm for a piece you have practiced countless hours and played on numerous occasions. Sometimes a piece of music may become stale and your excitement for it has waned. So how do you keep yourself engaged and your audience excited?

When I perform a piece I have played hundreds of times before I try to find a new expression and find something in the music I haven’t discovered before. I bring new life to something so that it isn’t a routine run through but a fresh experience. This is something that gets me excited and raises my energy and focus during a performance. In doing this I am bringing a new level of excitement to my performance and engaging the audience in the process.

Keeping your audience engaged and entertained throughout your performance is something you must master; it’s one of the most important aspects of becoming a great performer and not just a great pianist.

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

Why You Must be Engaged in Your Musical Performance

This seems obvious enough. What would you be doing on stage if you weren’t engaged enough to give a performance? This topic has profound implications. I remember when I was going to the Manhattan School of Music and I attended many concerts at Linc

What is the Russian School of Music?

Maybe you’ve heard of this before. It is sometimes referred to as the Russian School of Piano Playing, Violin Playing or just the Russian School of Music. Each culture has different aspects and the Russian’s are no exception. The Russian culture

It’s always a challenge for someone when they first start looking for a piano. Maybe you want one for yourself, maybe you are thinking about getting your child piano lessons – whatever the reasons might be, getting into the piano market is a challenge for anyone.

The first thing you will notice is a huge range of prices. There are pianos that cost tens of thousands of dollars and there are pianos that cost hundreds of dollars. Sometimes the pianos are the same models yet there is a huge difference in price. So where do you begin?

Buying a used piano is a lot like buying a used car. If you go online you can see cars for under $3,000 but the reality is you will probably need to put some additional work for them to run efficiently. The same is true for pianos – you can buy something very cheap, or even find a free piano, but the amount of work you might have to put into them can vary greatly. Sometimes you can get lucky and find something that after a few hundred dollars of work can be a serviceable instrument. Other times it can cost you more than the piano is worth – sometimes a lot more.

If price is the ultimate premium for you, it might be better to get a good digital piano or keyboard. Decent ones can start at about $800 and could be more reliable than a used upright you might find on Craigslist at that price point. Keep in mind that a piano requires constant work and that it will have to be tuned and require more maintenance later on so that $1,000 can really be just a starting point when it comes to investing into a piano.

The thing you can’t find for under $1,000 is a high quality instrument. Many people believe if they keep looking they will find that diamond in the rough where someone is listing a high-quality grand for way below what it is worth. It simply does not happen (or rarely happens like winning the lottery). Any of the pianos you find online for $1,000 or below will not be up to the standards necessary for an advanced player.

It is possible that you might find a high-quality grand for only a few thousand dollars but you should be very suspicious of any of these instruments. If you are looking for a higher quality piano you should almost always have a technician check out the instrument for you. Much like buying a car, you can get stuck with a lemon and simply will have wasted your money on something that will never work as intended.

Buying a piano on your own from private sellers is something that takes time and effort. If you go to a reliable source you will find something that is ready to play as soon as you buy it, if you buy from an individual you might be stuck with a large amount of additional work.

I help people with questions about specific pianos just about every day. If you have any questions about what piano to buy or one you are looking at, please contact me for free information: Robert@LivingPianos.com. I am more than happy to assist you.

Why You Should Never Buy a Cheap Piano

It’s always a challenge for someone when they first start looking for a piano. Maybe you want one for yourself, maybe you are thinking about getting your child piano lessons – whatever the reasons might be, getting into the piano market is a

Parallel intervals have been around for centuries. They have a rich and detailed history. But what exactly are parallel intervals? Parallel intervals are any intervals (2 notes played together) that go consecutively in the same direction. For example, if you have the interval of a 5th – such as C to G; if you go to D and A that would be parallel intervals – in this case, parallel 5ths.

If you go back to the first written music (plainsong, also known as Gregorian chant) you simply had the singing of liturgical text – just one note at a time. When music eventually evolved to add a second note with the birth of organum there were many parallel intervals (specifically parallel 4ths).

As music developed polyphonically and counterpoint emerged (often with many simultaneous musical lines) the writings of Bach chorales and the basic rules of four part harmony actually forbade the use of parallel fifths and parallel octaves. But why?

The very first writing in music was vocal writing. Typically in four part chorale writing you have a soprano, alto, tenor, and bass and the idea was to have distinct separate vocal lines you could hear. As these lines intersected, harmonies were created. The reason that parallel octaves were avoided in this type of music is because if you have two different voices singing the same notes an octave apart it sounds like the same line.

This same principle applies to parallel fifths since they are sonically related. The same is not true for parallel thirds and other intervals. If you listen to parallel thirds and fourths you can still hear each individual part even though they blend well together.

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.

What are Parallel Intervals? The History of Parallel Intervals

Parallel intervals have been around for centuries. They have a rich and detailed history. But what exactly are parallel intervals? Parallel intervals are any intervals (2 notes played together) that go consecutively in the same direction. For example

Here is a great reference sheet from our friends at Virtual Sheet Music

This is an excellent topic. In fact, there are entire books written on the subject! Ornamentation is used in many period styles of music but the Baroque era is specifically known for its ornamentation in architecture, art, as well as music. That’s why in the video example above I am using the first section of the Sarabande movement of the 5th French Suite of Johann Sebastian Bach.

You’ve probably seen Baroque music with squiggly lines written above the notes. There are many idea how to interpret them. The problem is that over the course of decades and even centuries, perceptions change. In fact, ideas about ornamentation continues evolving over time. So, how do you approach ornamentation?

If you listen to a number of different artists playing the same piece, you will notice that there are dramatically different executions of trills, turns, mordants and other ornaments. This is because ornamentation offers a degree of free license of creativity; To a large degree it’s up to you what to play.

In the video above you can hear the difference ornamentation makes in a musical section of Bach. The section I chose repeats. So I play it the first time with no ornamentation. The second time you will hear one approach to Baroque ornamentation. Thanks for joining me, Robert Estrin – Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-37296

How to Play Ornamentation on the Piano – Piano Techniques

Here is a great reference sheet from our friends at Virtual Sheet Music This is an excellent topic. In fact, there are entire books written on the subject! Ornamentation is used in many period styles of music but the Baroque era is specifically known

As performers we all have a certain amount of ego – if we go out and perform something and people aren’t paying attention it’s pretty insulting. It would be great if every time you performed people would simply stop what they are doing and give you their full attention but, you have to be realistic; this isn’t going to happen all the time.

The first thing to remember is that there are many different types of performances. There are formal occasions such as recitals or symphony concerts as well as more informal locations such as parties, restaurants or even malls. While the performances might be similar, the audience and setting is extremely different.

If people are loud and obnoxious at a formal event – which does happen – this is something that is completely antithetical to the setting of the performance; if they act that way in a public setting it’s something to be expected and planned for. You can’t expect everyone at a party to stop what they are doing to listen to your performance – they are probably there to eat, drink and socialize with their friends.

It’s very important as a musician to understand your audience and the context of the performance. In many cases when you are playing in an informal setting you have to put your ego aside and realize that what you are doing is more of a job than a pure musical expression.

But how do you deal with an audience member in a formal setting who is being loud? There are a number of ways to react and deal with a situation like this.

One method is to be confrontational. You could try looking towards the source of the noise and possibly intimidate the audience members to quiet down so everyone can enjoy the music. This can work but it can also backfire. Really the last thing you want to do is create a distraction by developing a dynamic between you and an audience member – you want to minimize the distraction to your audience. It’s probably best to avoid confrontation whenever possible.

I personally use a much different method. If I find someone is being disruptive during a performance, I do my best to draw them out to the audience and make them aware of the distraction. For example, when I come to a quiet part of a piece I may play even quieter then I normally would. This might seem counter intuitive, but if you captivate your audience and have them follow you into a quiet section they will be incensed at the idea of someone disrupting it for them. In situations like this the audience will take care of your problem for you.

The best thing you can do is keep your composure. You don’t want your audience seeing you affected in a negative way and you don’t want them seeing you upset. You will have to deal with this problem as a performer and it’s always important to remember the context in which you are performing.

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

Dealing with a Loud Audience

As performers we all have a certain amount of ego – if we go out and perform something and people aren’t paying attention it’s pretty insulting. It would be great if every time you performed people would simply stop what they are doing and give