Piano and Music Videos

Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com with a really fascinating show that I think you’re going to really appreciate, which is how to reach the last row in a concert hall.

If you’ve ever been to a performance of a world-class pianist, it’s an unforgettable experience. I had the opportunity to hear Vladimir Horowitz on several occasions. The first time was when he made one of his many comebacks, and every time he did this, it was a huge event. This was in 1974, and he was playing a performance at the Metropolitan Opera House.  And if you have any idea of the scope of the size of that hall, you wonder how could you possibly play a concert in a hall that big?

I actually camped out at Lincoln Center, the tickets went on sale 6 AM and I got there at nine at night – I was number 311 in line already!  Can you imagine? Interesting thing is that about 2:30 in the morning, Horowitz and his wife came by with coffee and donuts for the people waiting camped out there. It was really something. I get tickets and it was limited to only two.  And my tickets were way, way up. The amazing thing was he was able to project a sound that came right through to the last row with beauty and singing quality. That was really something.

Well, here’s the interesting thing. Just a couple of months later, I was studying with Constance Keene at the Manhattan School of Music, and she was really good friends with the Horowitz’s. She actually was able to get tickets to a Carnegie Hall Concert he was giving. On this occasion, I was in one of the very front box seats and I could actually hear what he was doing that made it possible for me to enjoy his performance from the last row. Everything was punctuated much bigger.

Have you ever been to a museum and seen a great painting of one of the impressionists? You look from a distance and it’s just gorgeous colors and patterns, and you get up close and see all these angularities to the strokes. It was kind of like that hearing him so close in that front box seat.  I could hear what he was doing in order to project to the back of the concert hall. In the video included with this article, I demonstrate this for you. I’ll show you what a delicate way of playing Mozart sounds like and then a way of playing Mozart that would go to the last row of the hall.

In the video above, you’ll hear a perfectly valid and wonderful way to play Mozart with a nice characteristic delicacy. The G major is a 283 Köchel.

Up until recently I’ve been playing it that way and I’ve been experimenting with a completely different way of playing it. Using a lot more arm weight, projecting a bigger sound, one that would carry through in a very large hall. When you listen to the video, compare these different styles.

So it’s not a right or wrong proposition here.  And I would say to a great extent, it comes down to where you’re performing.  In a big hall, approach a piece by playing bigger and with more arm weight, while punctuating the fast notes. Rather than playing everything in a fluid matter the way I did the first time, lighten up so that you can negotiate them. So that’s the secret.  You have to play with more arm weight, more angularity, and punctuate fast passages by detaching the notes from one another so they carry through, even with the reverb of a large hall.

So these are some pointers for you.  You’ve got to always listen to the piano and the room you’re playing in so that you can produce a sound that carries through to the last row.

Music expresses emotions. So, you may wonder how your mood affects your musical performance. In this video, you will hear a freeform, Classical improvisation with a dark mood. Just prior to recording, I experienced frustration getting the camera to cooperate when all I wanted to do was play music for you! Perhaps the emotions inspired the character of the music.

So many of the great composers of all time from Mozart to Chopin dazzled audiences with improvised music. Because of the reverence for the legacy of scores the great composers left us, it creates the incorrect impression that everything they did was written down. It’s actually quite the contrary!

Most of the music of the great composers was played spontaneously!

We only have the written scores they thankfully took the time to write out since audio recording hadn’t been developed yet. We can only imagine what masterpieces came out on the spot from the great composers and pianists of the past!

Naturally these informal performances planted seeds for works they would craft later on. Imagine being in a salon hearing Liszt take off with flights of fancy with no predetermined musical destination!

Today, jazz artists carry on improvised music improvised music.

While most jazz is based upon previously composed music, there are some artists who delve into freeform improvisation which can be quite fascinating.

I have always enjoyed making up music spontaneously. What’s funny is that going in, often times I have no predetermined game plan whatsoever as in the accompanying video. The sound of the piano as well as my deep, inner mood (which I may be unaware of at the time!) guides the music.

It’s a little bit like being naked – being open to revealing the most intimate feelings with disregard for what they may be.

We’ve touched on this topic a few times but we’ve never dedicated an entire video to the concept of relaxing while playing your musical instrument. There are a number of reasons why this is an important subject and we are going to cover a wide range of aspects as well as some tips in this article and accompanying video.

Above all, being relaxed and comfortable at your instrument will allow you to play better technically. Over time if you develop good habits while playing, you will be able to perform longer and at a higher level while avoiding injury. Playing with tension over a long period of time can eventually lead to damage. More than that, you will have a more beautiful tone when you approach your instrument in a relaxed manner.

Building strength over time by playing and practicing a great deal will allow you to be more relaxed at your instrument. For example, with weak fingers at the piano, it is a challenge to play for long periods of time and you will find yourself contorting your body to accommodate difficult passages. This idea holds true for other instruments as well.

You must take your time to set yourself comfortably at your instrument. Sitting in exactly the right position, having the instrument in the right place, or adjusting your embouchure on a wind instrument appropriately before you play a note is vital.

When you first approach your instrument there are a few things you can do to mentally and physically relax yourself. I personally like to just take a moment and relax my body, take a deep breath and put myself in a very comfortable state. If there is a large audience in front of you, you will probably be a bit tense and nervous. Sitting down and relaxing for a moment and putting yourself into the right mindset will help you immensely.

While you’re actually performing you will want to take every opportunity you can to consciously relax. You can’t shift your focus from the performance, but taking a small breather whenever you can will keep you fresh during the performance. Athletes constantly find moments during games when they relax their minds and bodies or else they would never make it through an entire game. The same is true for musicians.

During a recent trip to New York to celebrate the 90th birthday of my piano teacher from years ago, Madam Ruth Slenczynska, we spoke about how she often makes her hands go limp between phrases as time allows during a performance. This is a way for her to relax and prepare herself for the next passage. At 90 years of age, she is still performing all around the world; so I believe she is on to something!

If you’re playing a violin you can let the instrument rest on your chest during rests as opposed to keeping it in position on your shoulder through the entire performance. When playing a wind instrument, you can let the air out of your lungs and relax your diaphragm for a moment. These “mini-vacations” during a performance can go a long way to keeping you healthy and relaxed in your musical life.

There are 3 fundamental ways of thinking and being while performing music. These thought processes are not just in performing, but in life itself. They are:

– Linear
– Random
– Cyclical

Linear thinking is typical of Western thought. In fact it is expressed best in scientific method in which chains of facts and observations are strung together methodically forming theories. Most of us think linearly most of the time because we think with words which by their nature force you to think from one point to the next forming a line of thought.

Eastern thinking is sometimes exemplified by meditation which can be described as pure thought. Westerners think of it as clearing the mind since you have to stop the internal dialog. Yet just because you are not forming words in your head doesn’t mean there is no awareness or thought. You are still taking in the world, but you are not trying to define it. This is a random thought process of all thoughts merged into a kind of oneness.

Before I explain how all of this relates to musical performance, I want to bring up the third type of thought. Unlike the two preceding types of thought, cyclical thinking is generally destructive. By its nature it goes nowhere and is akin to a feedback loop. Like a sound system in which the microphone picks up the sound of the speakers and quickly escalates into a loud noise, sometimes thought patterns can cycle through creating an escalation of negative emotions. An extreme example of this is compulsive obsessive disorder in which a person may irrationally keep repeating an action over and over again beyond any logical reason. Another common example of cyclical thinking is insomnia in which you may lie in bed thinking about how you need to go to sleep and just when you start to fall asleep, again you think about how you need to fall asleep repeating the cycle.

So now how this relates to musical performance is this:

Linear thinking is absolutely necessary in the successful performance of music. After all, you must get from point A to point B and so on. A great performance of an etude for example may be one in which everything is perfectly planned out and executed with confidence having achieved consistent results through every section of a piece again and again. However, a perfectly planned performance can sometimes lack in spontaneity.

Random thinking can at best be electrifying keeping the audience on the edge of their seats wondering what will happen next. The performer doesn’t rely completely on planned skill sets of getting from one note to the next in a perfectly planned way, but allows himself to create something new at that moment. It is necessary to have some sense of where you are in the piece or you could take a wrong turn or try something in a performance that you aren’t capable of playing!

Cyclical thinking during a performance can be a nightmare. After preparing for weeks or months for a concert, some unfortunate event happens perhaps from a momentary distraction or finger slip, and from that point on you start thinking about the possibility of it happening again. It can become a self-fulfilling prophecy as each mistake leads to the next.

So in a successful performance you must forgive yourself for not being perfect if something unfortunate happens and keep a sense of enjoyment in the moment so you avoid the possibility of getting into a negative cycle of thought which can ruin a performance. Ideally, you have a blend of linear and random thinking so that you let the spontaneous, playful spirit inside you carry on while the linear part of your mind keeps things in order and allows you to express yourself freely while maintaining excellent control.

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.