Piano and Music Videos

Thanks for joining us here at LivingPianos.com. I’m Robert Estrin. The subject today is, “How Can A Piano With A Heavy Action Feel Light?” How can that be possible? Believe it or not, we have discovered this to be true! Sometimes we get a piano in and the action feels comfortable and light, but when the technicians weigh it out it’s really heavy. Typically, you want somewhere between 48 – 60 grams of down weight. Of course the lower notes on a piano are harder to push down than the higher notes. The keys are longer and the hammers have more felt. So, the action doesn’t have the same weight throughout the keyboard. But, generally, a piano should be somewhere in that 48 – 60 gram zone. A piano that has 65 – 70 grams of down weight in the middle register is a heavy piano. We have had some pianos with heavy actions that didn’t feel heavy. The flip side is also true. Sometimes a piano feels heavy and it’s not. You feel like you’re working so hard to push down the keys. How can this be?

It comes down to psychoacoustics.

The amount of energy you have to expend to get sound out makes you feel like a piano action is either heavy or light. For example, let’s say you’re playing a 9 foot concert grand piano with bright voicing and a heavy action in a very small, live room. If you play that piano in that room, you will feel like you barely have to touch the keys to get a big sound. The heavy action will feel light to you. The opposite can also be true. Let’s say you’re playing a small piano in a big room that has carpet, drapes, and soft furniture absorbing all the sound. You’re working so hard to get sound out that it feels heavy to you! So, there’s more to action weight than you might think. I will say this: If your piano action is extremely heavy, you could possibly do hand damage. So, you want to avoid actions that are out of that zone. Secondly, if a piano is really light, let’s say in the low 40s, it’s almost impossible to get very fast repetition because you don’t have any weight to overcome the friction of the action. That’s why there’s a certain zone of normal action weight. Within that range, there’s heavy normal and light normal. Psychoacoustics play a role in that as well.

It’s important to match your piano to your room to have the right playing experience.

There’s nothing worse than having a piano that you have to keep closed because it’s too loud. Or conversely, if you have a small grand piano in a school or a church in a big auditorium everyone’s pounding the heck out of it trying to get the sound out. This will wear out the piano quickly, and the piano will produce an ugly, harsh sound. So it’s very important to consider the acoustics in your room, as well as the weight of the action.

I’m Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store.
Please feel free to contact me with any piano related questions for future videos!

info@LivingPianos.com
949-244-3729

Hi, I’m Robert Estrin, and this is LivingPianos.com. Today’s topic is, “Do All Piano Pedals Feel The Same?” I’m not talking about if the three pedals on a specific piano feel the same as one another. They might feel different from one another. But the question is, is there a standard way that all pianos’ pedals should feel? Believe it or not, the answer is no!

Pedals can feel drastically different from one piano to another.

Let me give you a great example. Growing up, my father Morton Estrin had several pianos. We had three or four pianos in the house through most of my childhood. Early on, there was a Steinway model S baby grand from the 1930s as well as a Baldwin L which was a more recently produced 6′ 3″ grand piano. Sitting down at the Steinway, if your foot was even leaning on the sustain pedal, it would start to hold notes. It had a very small amount of travel and it was quite hard to push. Comparing that to the Baldwin sustain pedal, which was easy to push and had a lot of travel to it, it responded completely differently! So why isn’t there a standard?

Whatever piano you play becomes your new normal and you compare all other pianos to it.

So, be sure that if you’re ever performing anywhere, try out the pedals to see how hard they are to push. See how much travel they have and at what point in the travel they start to respond. And not just the sustain pedal. The una corda, or soft pedal, for example, may seem like it isn’t even working. You may not notice any perceptible difference in sound. On other pianos, you push the pedal down, and hear a drastic change of tone! That is something that can be regulated to some extent, but there’s a certain amount that has to do with how much the piano’s been played and how it’s been voiced.

The pedals on pianos are all unique and you must be able to adjust.

Anytime you get an opportunity to play pianos, just for fun, try out the pedals so that when you have a performance, you can adjust quickly for a satisfying musical performance.
I hope this is helpful for you. Send your questions to Robert@LivingPianos.com so I can answer them in upcoming videos. See you next time here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store

info@LivingPianos.com
949-244-3729.

Hi, I’m Robert Estrin. This is LivingPianos.com. Today’s topic is “Technique vs Musicality” There will be a lot of opinions about this subject. But truth be known, you can’t really separate technique from musicality completely.

What is technique?

In its most abstract form, you might think of technique as being the physical capabilities, how fast, how loud, the control, trills octaves, etc. But in its essence, technique is being able to produce on the instrument what you hear in your head. Being able to create something in the outer world from your inner world. Ultimately, that is the secret of technique.

Is technique more important than musicality?

Pretend for a moment that somebody out there just wants technique. They don’t care about the musicality. They’re just making it into a sporting event. Can you really achieve something with that? You might think that if somebody could play faster and louder, or slower and more delicately, and every nuance of touch on such a high level, that they would probably have a career because they’d be so phenomenal. But the truth is, having tremendous technique on the piano is very common. Believe it or not. I know most people haven’t met concert pianists, but there are so many concert pianists around the world who you’ve probably never heard of. If you heard them, you’d be astounded thinking that they’re greatest pianists in the world because they can play so well.

Now let’s talk about musicality.

Can you be musical without technique? Well, just imagine if you considered yourself to be a writer. You’ve got great stories, but you can’t really write and you aren’t a good orator either. You have to have a command of language in order to be able to express anything in writing! It’s the same thing with music. You can’t have musicality abstracted from technique. It takes a technique to be able to produce music. Here’s the good news: The repertoire for piano is so vast that someone who is a relative beginner, if they have a natural emotion in their music, if a teacher guides them with appropriate level of music, it’s possible to play musically even with a very basic technique.

Even beginners can play with musicality.

There’s a piece by Cuthbert Harrison from the book, “ABC Manuals” that I loved as a kid and taught countless times. Because I taught this piece so many times, I heard a lot of kids play it and nobody did what I did with it, which was to play it very slowly. Usually with kids, the more they get to know a piece, the faster it goes. But so much can be done with this relatively simple piece of music that doesn’t take very much technique. You can achieve a great deal of musicality just with the voicing of the notes.

Technique and musicality are both necessary for any musician.

So, if you want to explore musical possibilities and total control, the secret is choosing a piece of music that you can have total command over. I know many of you want to play certain pieces of music you’ve heard for your whole life and that you love so much. But you’re doing yourself a disservice if you spend all your time with music that is above the level at which you can play what you hear in your head and achieve it on the instrument. Start with that premise. And you will develop a technique in service of the music, which is what it’s all about! You can’t really separate technique and musicality. You need to have both in order to achieve greatness on your instrument. And that’s the lesson for today!

Thanks so much for joining me. I’m Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store. See you next time!

info@LivingPianos.com
949-244-3729

I’m Robert Estrin. This is LivingPianos.com. Today’s topic is, “How Long Does a Piano Last?” This is a really fascinating subject, and there’s more to it than you might imagine.

There are many considerations for how long a piano will last.

The quality of the instrument, the environment where the instrument lives, how much the instrument is played, and the how often the piano is serviced, all enter into how long a piano lasts. These are all factors that contribute to the wear and tear of a piano. If I was to throw out a number, I’d say a fine piano can last 50 to 100 years. But could a piano really last that long? It depends. You couldn’t expect to buy a bottom tier Chinese or Indonesian piano, subject it to a harsh climate, play it for hours a day, and for it to last anywhere close to 50 years without major work. But well built and properly maintained pianos can last generations.

We see some older instruments in immaculate condition.

Right now at Living Pianos, the oldest piano we currently have is a Steinway concert grand built in 1875. The piano has been masterfully rebuilt, so it plays like it did when it was young.

You can click on this link to see the piano:
Steinway

The record for the oldest piano we ever had with all original parts was a 1907 Steinway Model O. We had two of our technicians go through this piano inside and out, determining that absolutely everything was original. Nothing was worn. Because it was a Steinway, if it needed new strings or new hammers or anything else, we would have put the work into it. But it was determined that we would just be replacing perfectly good parts.

How can a piano last so long?

If you have a piano here in Southern California and it’s in a stable environment, kept closed, away from sunlight, stable temperature, stable humidity, barely ever played, and tuned on a regular basis, indeed, a piano could be a hundred years old and play like new. Of course, for every piano like that, there are tens of thousands that are long since gone. There is no set amount of time that a piano will last. You have to know the history of the instrument.

How do you find the history of a piano?

Pianos don’t have a paper trail like cars or houses do. You have to do some simple detective work. Just look inside the piano for signs of corrosion around the strings and pins. Look at the hammers to see how much felt is left on them. Wiggle the keys. If they make a clicking sound, that means the felt bushings are worn. So pianos could be worn out. They can also get thrashed from the environment, and they can be neglected. If a piano hasn’t been tuned for 5, 10 or 15 years, it can take its toll when you tune it since it could add thousands of pounds of string tension compromising the structure of the piano.

The year of manufacturer tells you very little about how long that piano is going to last.

If a piano is kept in a harsh environment it will age much faster. If a piano is kept near the beach, it could be rusted out. In a school or restaurant, a piano might be worn out in as little as 10 years from heavy use. And yet, there are pre-World War II pianos in immaculate condition. Certainly with rebuilt pianos, it doesn’t necessarily matter how old they are. If the fundamental structure is good and the rebuilding work was top quality, a rebuilt piano can last as long as a new piano. You may get another 50 to 100 years out of a well rebuilt piano! Your mileage may vary. And that is the message for today.

If any of you are wondering about the condition of your piano we can help you. Write to us at: info@livingpianos.com.

Thanks for joining us here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store.
949-244-3729

This is Robert Estrin. Welcome to livingpianos.com. Today’s topic is: “Where to Place a Piano in Your Home“. Pianos come in all different lengths from around five feet all the way to over nine feet. Most people don’t have a nine foot concert grand in their home! A piano that size requires a large room that can handle not just the size of the piano, but the sound as well. The bigger the piano, the more volume they create.

How to place upright pianos.

I have a video about WHERE TO PUT AN UPRIGHT PIANO IN A ROOM. Upright pianos are all about five feet wide, because of the 88 keys, and they come a couple feet out from the wall. You also want to allow extra space for when the bench is pulled out. Here’s the key though: if you leave some space between the back of the piano and the wall, you’ll get a much richer sound because most of the sound of an upright comes from the back. If the piano is right against the wall, it soaks up the sound. Now on the flip side, if an upright piano is too loud, put it up against the wall or better yet against some curtains and it will be much quieter.

Placing baby grand and grand pianos.

A lot of people think upright pianos are easier to place in a home, but it’s actually easier to place a grand piano than an upright! Ideally, you want to place your grand piano so it opens into the room. It’s nice to have the piano situated in this respect so you can see the keys and the inside of the piano. However, even though this is the typical way that pianos are placed on stage for concerts, in your home it isn’t necessary. It doesn’t matter how you position your piano, you’re going to hear it fine throughout your home. They can tuck into a corner and look quite lovely and sound fine. Or maybe you prefer to sit looking into the room when you’re playing the piano. All of these ways work fine.

Place your piano where you can enjoy it!

If you have an open floor plan, the volume of the piano could be an issue for people in other parts of the house. You want to think about that. You never want to have your piano in a place where you don’t want people to play it because it’s disturbing to you or your neighbors! If a grand piano is too loud, you can put a rug underneath to soak up the sound. With a grand piano, just like the back of an upright, half the sound comes from underneath, or almost all the sound when the lid is closed.

Do what works best for you.

There are many different ways you can place your piano. Baby grands and grands are actually easier to place than upright pianos. They look good any way, and you are going to hear it in your home whether the lid is facing one way or the other. Ultimately where you place a piano in your home comes down to personal preference. So give some thought to where the piano will look and sound best, and will fit in with your lifestyle.

Any of you who have questions about placing a piano in your home, you’re welcome to take pictures and send them to us at info@LivingPianos.com, and we’ll be happy to give you advice about how to place your piano. Thanks for joining us here at livingpianos.com, Your Online Piano Store

I’m Robert Estrin and this is LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store. Today’s topic is, “Why You Must Underestimate Yourself When Practicing the Piano”. Why would you ever want to think less of yourself? You might be thinking it would be harder to figure anything out if you underestimate your intelligence. It’s actually quite the opposite, particularly with adult beginners. It can feel as though things are harder than they should be sometimes. Why is that? The fact of the matter is, people who play at a high level have figured out how much they have to break things down in order to achieve desired results. It’s really important that you don’t overwhelm yourself.

If you accept your limitations, that’s when you can be truly productive!

You’re always better off taking smaller sections, or taking a slower tempo and really perfecting something. Don’t bite off more than you can chew, because that’s the surest way to get discouraged. If you’re learning a piece of music and you focus on a section that’s just a bit more than you can absorb, you’ll keep working at it, but you may leave the piano feeling dejected. So, instead, you might try going to the piano and focusing on sections half as long. You may slow down the tempo and learn just one hand at a time. Then, you can really nail things down. It is extremely satisfying to get something perfected, even if it’s just a small part. By taking small sections and building them up and taking slow tempos and gradually getting faster, you will develop tremendous security in your playing you won’t achieve by overestimating what you can do.

How do I practice?

I have a video on how to approach a new piece on the piano in which I take Chopin Mazurka at random. I literally flipped through the book and started memorizing a piece.

Here is the link:

HOW TO LEARN A NEW PIECE OF MUSIC ON THE PIANO

You’ll see how many times I go over even the smallest sections to learn them. I treat myself very gently in my practice. I don’t over exert my mind. I try to just give myself something I know I can accomplish in a short amount of time and repeat that process again and again. This is how to sustain a long, productive practice.

Know your abilities.

So remember, when you sit down at the piano and think, “Why can’t I do this?” Try something simpler. Try a smaller section, maybe even a simpler piece. Maybe you’re working on the last movement of the Moonlight Sonata when you should be working on a Bach minuet! You’re much better off learning a piece suited to your skill level and being able to play it on a high level than butchering a harder piece of music.

Keep yourself humble.

That’s the secret, not just to piano playing, but in life itself. Don’t overestimate your abilities. Give yourself a break. We’re all human. You have certain things that you’re going to excel at and some things that will take longer for you than other people. If you can accept that one basic fact, you can be very productive. Just give yourself what you can master at that moment, and you can sustain a long practice. This method is much more satisfying.

I hope this is helpful for you. Any of you who are beginners or just feel your practice isn’t going well and you think something’s wrong with you, there is nothing wrong with you. It’s just hard! You’ve got to realize that. So break things down and put things together. You will be rewarded with much better performances and the satisfaction of doing something really well.

I’m Robert Estrin, thanks for joining me here at LivingPianos.com.

Submit your own questions to:
info@LivingPianos.com
949-244-3729