Piano and Music Videos

Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today’s subject is about why you must revisit the score of your music periodically. It’s so important! For example, religious scholars go back to the Gospel again and again because they’re living a certain type of life. They want to reinforce the Scripture. Well, as a musician, you must do the same thing with your music. It’s vital for keeping things fresh and learning your music on a deeper level.

Don’t play telephone with your music.

Think about the game telephone. You have a message you whisper into the ear of the person next to you. They whisper it into the ear of the person next to them, and so on. At the end of the line, you have a whole different message! If you play your piece again and again, eventually you could end up with a whole different piece if you never go back to the original. Little things will change. Not only that, but if you’re playing a sophisticated piece of music, there are so many nuances of phrasing and expression, where a slur ends, where a crescendo starts, etc. It’s really tough just to learn the notes, the rhythm, and the fingering. It’s far more difficult to understand every aspect of phrasing and expression. Even if you’ve really studied a piece, you can always learn more.

Over time your memory degrades.

Here’s another example. This may be tough for young people to relate to because we now have perfect digital reproductions of everything. But not that long ago we used tape for recording. I grew up with tape. I owned recording studios that were tape-based. If you had a cassette tape or a reel-to-reel tape and you made a copy, the copy was always just not quite as good as the original. It wasn’t replicating it, the way digital technology does. It was actually just rerecording it. And if you recorded a tape of a tape of a tape, it was noisy. It was distorted. You could hear fluctuations of pitch, referred to as wow and flutter. You would end up with all sorts of artifacts that you didn’t notice in the original recording. The only way to get a really first-class recording was to go back to the original master tapes. That’s why you’ll see remastered versions of CDs and other digital recordings. What does that mean?

The way tapes and records were made, is from a master multitrack tape. That master tape would be mixed down to stereo tape. Then a copy of that stereo tape would be sent to the record company. So it’s already third generation by the time the record company has it. When they remaster an album, they can go back to the original multitrack tape and mix it down to 2-track digital. This gets the quality of sitting in the studio and listening to the original multitrack master tape, which is so much cleaner than what you ended up with on records and tapes years ago.

Refer Back To The Source!

The score is your musical gospel! It’s the original message. It’s the master tape. By revisiting the score again and again, no matter how many times you studied a piece, you will always learn more. That’s the message for today. I hope this is helpful for you! Thanks so much for joining me, Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

For premium videos and exclusive content, you can join my Living Pianos Patreon channel! www.Patreon.com/RobertEstrin

Contact me if you are interested in private lessons. I have many resources for you! Robert@LivingPianos.com

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I’m Robert Estrin, and this is LivingPianos.com. The subject today is about how to utilize terraced dynamics. What are terraced dynamics, and why do they even exist? Well, this is a great question. I’m going to show you a couple of examples of how you can use terraced dynamics to great effect in your music!

Terraced dynamics are usually associated with Baroque music.

The piano has infinite expression from soft to loud. The keyboard instruments that were most popular during the Baroque era, Bach, Handel, Telemann, Scarlatti, et cetera, were the harpsichord, the clavichord, the virginal, and the pipe organ. These instruments, unlike the piano, did not respond to the speed at which the keys were depressed or the force of pressing the keys. But many of these instruments had stops, particularly organs and some harpsichords, where you could engage different series of pipes or, with the harpsichord, different sets of strings. The only way to achieve a crescendo, getting louder gradually, was by opening up more pipes or allowing more strings to get plucked on a harpsichord. Because a crescendo was impossible on those instruments. For example, listen to Bach’s Two part Invention in C Major. You have a statement of the initial subject that repeats again and again. You’ll notice how it gets louder each time it is played. This is an example of terraced dynamics. You get the sense of a crescendo even though it’s stepped, like a terrace, with different levels of dynamics. It’s so effective in music of the Baroque era, because the music was conceived that way. Bach couldn’t have thought of an actual crescendo in this music because the instruments he was playing didn’t have that capability.

Are terraced dynamics ever effective in other styles of music?

The answer is yes! For example, the Kuhlau Sonatina Opus 55, Number 1. This is a delightful little piece, incidentally. There is a section where the initial subject returns in D minor. Then you have a sequence that I love to play with terraced dynamics. It is very effective! So terraced dynamics are not just for Baroque music. Anytime you have a repeated pattern, it’s usually going somewhere musically, either up or down. You can give it direction and vitality with terraced dynamics. It articulates the actual architecture of the music because it’s written sequentially. To play it sequentially with terraced dynamics, rather than just a crescendo or decrescendo, is much more appropriate. This is true not just with Baroque music where it’s obvious because of the nature of the instruments that the music was written for, but even in later styles of music. It’s a great thing to try out! Any place in your score where you have repeated patterns, experiment with terraced dynamics and see what it does for your music! Let me know how it works for you!

Thanks so much for joining me, Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

For premium videos and exclusive content, you can join my Living Pianos Patreon channel! www.Patreon.com/RobertEstrin

Contact me if you are interested in private lessons. I have many resources for you! Robert@LivingPianos.com

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Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today’s subject is about how to learn and memorize fugues. Fugues are some of the most complex examples of counterpoint. Most music has melody and harmony. Typically on the piano, you have the melody in the right hand and accompaniment in the left-hand. But with a fugue, you have several intertwining melodies. To demonstrate this, I’ve chosen the C Minor Fugue from The Well-Tempered Clavier book one. I’m choosing this one because it’s a relatively simple fugue. I want you to understand the methodology, because it’s going to apply to all counterpoint and all fugues.

A fugue has a subject and a countersubject.

The entire fugue is built upon the subject and countersubject. The subject is stated and then the subject repeats starting in a different key, typically, the dominant (5 notes above the starting note). So with the C Minor Fugue from The Well-Tempered Clavier, the subject repeats starting on G. While that’s happening, the counter subject is introduced. Amazingly, the entire fugue is crafted from those two elements! The subject is of particular importance. So you want to bring out the subject wherever it occurs. Of course it will start with just the subject, but then when the subject returns in the dominant, you want to bring that out more than the countersubject. Throughout the entire fugue you want to bring out the subject whenever it occurs.

Sometimes the subject is divided between the hands.

Any of you who follow my YouTube channel knows that I learn music and teach music by absorbing digestible chunks of music at a time. Dividing the hands and learning hands separately is a great way of doing that. Once you can play each hand fluently from memory, you have a good chance of being able to play the hands together and getting that memorized. But with a fugue, sometimes it’s not so neat and tidy! This is true of any music that has substantial counterpoint. When you have a place in the music where the fugue subject is divided between your two hands, you still want to bring out the subject. So anytime the fugue subject is divided between the hands, you want to play it so you hear it when you play hands together. That way, you can bring out the fugue subject, even when it’s divided between the hands.

So aside from learning hands separately, you also want to have the integrity of all the lines so you can hear them. You must not only learn the hands separately, but make sure that you follow each voice through, particularly in instances where a voice is divided between the hands. You need to hear each voice. Play voices by themselves so you can hear them. Then when you play the hands together, even if you do learn hands separately, you can follow through and hear the voices. You don’t want to hear just your separate hands, because they really are not complete by themselves when a subject (or countersubject) is divided between the hands.

That’s the method for learning fugues!

Learning a fugue uses the same methodology as learning any music, but with the extra element of following the counterpoint of all the lines. Now this is a very simple example. Sometimes you have things that get really complicated. You’ll see fugues where notes are constantly dividing between the hands. So you really have to study the score to hear what’s going on and not just abstractly learn each hand separately when voices are divided between the hands since that doesn’t always make sense. I hope this is helpful for you! Thanks so much for joining me, Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

For premium videos and exclusive content, you can join my Living Pianos Patreon channel! www.Patreon.com/RobertEstrin

Contact me if you are interested in private lessons. I have many resources for you! Robert@LivingPianos.com

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This is LivingPianos.com. I’m Robert Estrin. The subject today is about the difference between sforzando and forte. On the piano, it’s really tough. You don’t have much control over the shape of the tone once a note is played, other than the pedals. I’ll get into that in a moment. You must be able to delineate what a sforzando is compared to a forte or fortepiano. Sometimes you’ll see a forte and right after that a piano (FP)! What is it!? Is it forte or is it piano? Well, that’s what we’re going to talk about today!

Forte means loud.

Forte indicates everything is played at a high volume. On the piano when you play a note, it’s immediately fading away. So you get a strong attack. In fact, when you play the piano without the pedal, everything is somewhat sforzando, because a sforzando is basically just a strong attack. So forte is loud throughout, sforzando is a strong attack that fades away, whereas a fortepiano is like a sforzando, but with a longer time before the sound diminishes in volume. I also play French horn. All of those distinctions can be achieved with much more precision on the horn. So how do you achieve these things on the piano?

One sforzando technique is to let go of the pedal after the initial attack to make the chord fade away.

You can fake a sforzando-like sound by utilizing the pedal. It’s a very subtle difference in tone. Little touches of the pedal sometimes can create a sforzando effect. On the piano we don’t have as much to work with on the tone of a note once it’s struck. All you have are the pedals! You can do half pedals, you can incorporate the soft as well pedal. But to understand the tone you’re after is key for achieving the desired results. If you listen to the beginning of Vladimir Horowitz’s performance of the Pathetique Sonata of Beethoven, it is very stark in the way he pedals it to get that fortepiano effect. Other pianists play a little bit smoother, without so much angularity in their fortepiano or sforzandi. So there are a lot of different ways of approaching this.

On the piano, you just have to do your best with what you have to work with.

On the piano, you can use the pedal to try to achieve some sense of the beginning of the note compared to the end of the note. But on wind instruments and string instruments, there are infinite possibilities for the shape of every note! That’s why you see all these different markings of accents in the score: fortepiano, sforzando, accents, fortissimo piano, et cetera. You have to understand what the sound would be if it was played by a symphony orchestra, or a string quartet, or a brass choir, to get a sense of the sound you are after. As a pianist, you just have to do the best you can with your hands and your pedaling to achieve the sound the composer intended.

I hope this is helpful for you! Thanks so much for joining me, Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

For premium videos and exclusive content, you can join my Living Pianos Patreon channel! www.Patreon.com/RobertEstrin

Contact me if you are interested in private lessons. I have many resources for you! Robert@LivingPianos.com

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Welcome to LivingPianos.com. I’m Robert Estrin. Today’s subject is about how to start a piece of music. I’ve talked a great deal about how to create tonal balance between the hands. And I’ve talked about using the weight of the arm, transferring weight from note to note in order to create a smooth line. So, instead of just playing a key and having no support, no weight, you actually support the weight of your arm on each key, transferring the weight smoothly from note to note enabling you to get a smooth line where every note plays, no matter how quiet and delicate. That’s the secret to crafting a musical line. But how do you start that first note? How do you get the sound you want out of it?

What’s the analog of diaphragm support on the piano?

To start notes on the horn, you put the breath under pressure and start with the tongue saying, “tu”. On the piano, it’s a little bit different. On piano, you use the weight of the arm to start notes. If you push a key on the piano and you want a certain volume, how do you get the precise volume you want? How can you possibly be assured of that? Well, if you were to lift your arm and your hand, with your wrist bent upward, then bring your hand down while straightening your wrist, you would be increasing the speed your hand hits the keys. But if you do exactly the opposite, it gives you tremendous leverage! You relax your hand letting your hand hang from your limp wrist. And then, as you go down with your arm, you slowly straighten your wrist. So, as your arm goes down, your hand is coming up as you straighten your wrist. By going two different directions at the same time, you can achieve exactly the sound you want. You can start any note at any volume with total assurance! You may want to watch the accompanying video to see this in action.

That is the secret of how to start a piece of music!

Now, of course, there are some pieces that start heroically. If you’re starting a piece like the Military Polonaise of Chopin, there’s no need for lifting. You can just sail right into it. Because when you’re playing with that kind of volume, it will pop just the way you want it to. But starting something like a Chopin Nocturne, this technique will help you get exactly the sound you want. By lifting, letting the wrist go limp, and as you’re going down with the arm coming up with the wrist, you have total control, no matter what piece you’re starting. Even within the piece, sometimes it’s helpful to lift for new phrases. Much like on a wind instrument, when you’re playing each new phrase, you take a breath, put it under pressure, and attack using the tongue. It’s the same thing. Whenever you start a phrase fresh, use this lifting technique. I want you all to try this and see how it helps you to start with precisely the tonal balance you want, right from the very first notes you play. Let me know how this works for you! Thanks so much for joining me, Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

For premium videos and exclusive content, you can join my Living Pianos Patreon channel! www.Patreon.com/RobertEstrin

Contact me if you are interested in private lessons. I have many resources for you! Robert@LivingPianos.com

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Welcome to LivingPianos.com. I’m Robert Estrin. I have a tip for your practice that can save you vast amounts of time! The subject today is the secret power of interlocking phrases. I’ll explain what I mean, but first I’m going to give you an idea of how I practice the piano and how I teach others to practice the piano.

There are many different skill sets in practicing the piano.

For example, if you’re accompanying and reading, that’s one type of skill. If you’re improvising, that’s another skill. But if you are memorizing music and you want some tips about that, you’ve come to the right place! Taking a small phrase at a time hands separately and mastering all the elements of the music is the way I’ve been taught to memorize music from the time I started the piano as a young child. My father, Morton Estrin, taught this method. It’s so powerful!

Let’s say you are learning the famous Mozart Sonata K. 545 in C major. Of course you’d want to read through it first to get familiar with it. But then my suggestion is to get right to work and start learning it rather than playing it over and over again. It’s almost impossible to absorb all the thousands of details in the music, because you don’t just have the notes and rhythm. You have to figure out fingering, phrasing, and the expression as well. There’s so much information to digest; which is why you want to learn small chunks at a time, hands separately at first, putting together each phrase, then connecting sections as you learn them.

Taking smaller chunks is great because you’ll never work yourself too hard, which enables you to sustain a longer productive practice.

Let’s say you just take the very first phrase, right-hand alone. You get that memorized. You get it fluid. You check your work. Then you take the left-hand, and you get that perfect. Then you put the hands together, slowly at first. Then you go on and learn the next phrase one hand at a time. You get that memorized hands together. Now you think, great, I’m going to go back to the beginning and connect the phrases. You play the first phrase, which you’ve gotten up to speed. You start slower at first to give yourself a chance to connect the phrases smoothly. But when you reach the end of the first phrase, you feel lost. The tip I’m going to give you is going to make this a fluid process. You will be able to connect your phrases like a jigsaw puzzle where all the pieces fit together perfectly right from the get-go!

Go one note beyond so you have a common note between the two phrases.

So, as you learn the right hand, take the first phrase plus the first note of the second phrase. That is the connecting note. You do the same thing with the left hand. And when you put the hands together, you will play through the first phrase landing on the first note of the second phrase. When you learn the next phrase, you do the same thing. This makes it a seamless process to connect phrases as you go. The hardest part about learning music is putting the hands together, which is why you want to solidify each hand separately first, getting them up to tempo, fluid and repeatable. This gives you half a chance of being able to put the hands together to get them memorized. The next hardest thing is connecting phrase to phrase in a smooth manner. By using interlocking phrases this way, where each phrase is going one note beyond, you have that connection note!

This is a great tip that I want all of you to try out! Let me know how it works for you! You’ll find this will save you a lot of time in your practice as you connect your phrases. Thanks so much for joining me, Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

For premium videos and exclusive content, you can join my Living Pianos Patreon channel! www.Patreon.com/RobertEstrin

Contact me if you are interested in private lessons. I have many resources for you! Robert@LivingPianos.com

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