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Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today’s subject is about when to listen to recordings of music you are learning. I know a lot of students like to listen to a bunch of recordings of a piece to get familiar with it before they start learning it. Then as they’re learning they keep listening and listening. Maybe they find one performance they particularly like and just listen to it incessantly. Naturally, they’re going to imitate that performance. There are two reasons why I don’t recommend doing this. Listening to performances to see what music you’re interested in learning is great. Of course listening to music is enjoyable and valuable. However, when you want to learn a piece of music, you don’t want to be highly influenced by any one particular interpretation. Also, you want to challenge yourself to see if you can learn something from the written page and see what you come up with. Naturally, there are styles of music where learning by ear is the best approach when the sheet music is incidental to the original performance or recording.

When I start working on a piece, I don’t listen to any recordings at all!

I learn the whole piece until I have it on performance level. At that point I’ve carved out a concept of how to play that piece. That’s when I first listen to recordings. That way when I listen to those recordings, they don’t overly influence me. I get a different take, but I come to my own conclusions about the music, and I think you should do the same thing. This method really helps you to understand how to decipher rhythms, phrasing, expression, not to mention the notes of the music, and to come to an idea of what tempo you like.

Give yourself the opportunity to find your own way.

If after you’ve learned a piece of music you listen to half a dozen recordings and everybody plays it way faster or slower than you do, you might rethink what you’re doing. Maybe there’s some validity to the common wisdom. Maybe there isn’t though. Have you ever heard Glen Gould recordings where he plays tempos that are drastically different from other people? Sometimes that can be enlightening. So, go with your convictions! But the only way to have convictions is to not be influenced before you learn something. So. don’t depend upon recordings to help you learn pieces by ear because you’ll never be able to express your true inclinations of the music if you never give yourself an opportunity to explore them. I hope this is helpful for you!

I’m Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.
You can join the Living Pianos Patreon to unlock access to exclusive videos and original music! www.patreon.com/robertestrin

Robert@LivingPianos.com
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Should You Learn Your Music by Ear?

Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today’s topic is “Why You Should Practice Scales Two Octaves Apart.” Two octaves apart? You might wonder what value this has. Typically, you play scales an octave apart, right? So what about this idea of practicing scales two octaves apart?

You can hear the hands independently from one another when you play scales two octaves apart.

When you’re playing two octaves apart, it’s much easier to hear sloppiness. I’ve talked about playing in contrary motion also. These are all techniques to help you hear the clarity and evenness of your playing. This is a quick tip for you. If you have never done it before, try playing your scales two octaves apart. At first it’s going to feel a little unnerving. First of all, you can’t look at both hands. But truth be known, you don’t really have to look at your hands very much with scales. The notes are all right next to each other! But you can hear better playing two octaves apart.

You should always practice your scales in four octaves.

This is another good tip! It’s very important to cover the entire range of the piano. You might not think there is a difference playing in the high register versus playing in the low register, but there is! Even though it’s the same notes and the same fingering, your body is at a different angle. It feels different. Get comfortable playing the whole keyboard. The good news is once you learn one octave, it’s all the same! So, go for the full four octaves. In Hanon: 60 Selected Studies for the Virtuoso Pianist, you can find all the scales and arpeggios with the correct fingering. I’d love to hear from any of you who have never tried playing scales two octaves apart before. Tell me how it goes! Let me know if you find improvement in your scales from practicing this way.

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

Robert@LivingPianos.com
949-244-3729

Why You Should Practice Scales Two Octaves Apart

Hi, I’m Robert Estrin. This is LivingPianos.com and today’s subject is, “Why Crying is Essential for Your Musicianship.” You might think I’ve gone off the deep end with this subject. Crying and music? What does crying have to do with music? A lot.

What is music about?

There are a lot of different styles of music. There’s dance music, there’s electronic music, there’s Gregorian chant. There’s a wide range of music, but ultimately I believe music is primarily a way of expressing emotions – emotions that are impossible to express any other way. Let’s say you have had some really tragic experiences in your life. Everyone experiences tragedy in this world. Nobody is sheltered. I know from the outside it looks like some people have that glorious lives of perfection. If you look on social media, everybody’s having a great time doing the greatest things. But the reality is that it’s just a front. Not just on social media, but even in person. Everybody is guarded, keeping their emotions at bay, not revealing too much for fear of getting caught by somebody who has spurious intentions.

Why do you need to cry?

Why can’t you just go through your life and just ignore those tragedies and the pain? Well, if you’re trying to express emotions honestly in your music, but you haven’t even reckoned the emotions you’re feeling, it’s all but impossible to be genuine in your music. You need to feel things in your life, not just the joyful things, but the tragic things as well. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that if you don’t experience pain in your life by crying, at some point it’s going to come out inappropriately and it will also affect the other side.

How can you feel joy if you don’t feel sadness?

You have to feel. So you must work through your emotions so you can honestly express beautiful music, sad music, happy music. This is a lesson for life as well as for music. And if you have repressed emotions, it’s going to be all but impossible to really have the poetry, and the vision, and the experience that you want to share with others.

I encourage all of you to be honest with yourself and others about your pain.

It’s important to feel your emotions and work through them. It could be what you’ve been looking for to be really expressive in your music. I’d love to hear from any of you out there who’ve had this experience and share it in the comments below.

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

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949-244-3729

Why Crying is Essential for Your Musicianship

Today we’re going to talk about the importance of reflecting upon your practice by taking strategic breaks.

How is taking a walk in the middle of your practicing beneficial?

When you’re immersed in practicing, after awhile you need to reflect on things. Not only that, you’re doing everything with your upper body. It’s good for you to get out and get some air and get the blood flowing throughout your body. It will also give you an opportunity to assimilate what you have been working on.

Reflecting on your practicing

One way to digest your work is to analyze what you have done in your practice. You can play your music over mentally and work out fingerings while testing how much of the music you have retained. That’s the left brain or Western way of quantifying knowledge – the analytical part of your brain. However, perhaps even more important is to detach yourself from analytical thinking and clearing your mind. This is a more of a Zen approach. If you never get away from the music to enjoy life, what do you have to share with your music anyway?

Why it’s not just about playing the piano or practicing

This principle isn’t just about practicing the piano. It applies to practically any endeavor! You need to get out and smell the flowers to have a chance to simply be – not just try to accomplish things. In the process, you will discover something extraordinary. The analytical part of your mind will help you solidify memory. I’ve talked about practicing away from the piano and that can be incredibly beneficial. But what is equally important is detaching your mind from everything and being in the now!

Maintaining an intense practice regimen.

Those of you who are practicing intensely on a regular basis will be surprised at how getting away periodically will increase your productivity. While intense practice certainly has an essential role in developing your musical skills, getting away from it all is just as important.

I hope this is helpful and thanks for joining me, Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com Your Online Piano Store

info@LivingPianos.com
949-244-3729

Can You Practice the Piano too Much?

Today we’re going to talk about the importance of reflecting upon your practice by taking strategic breaks. How is taking a walk in the middle of your practicing beneficial? When you’re immersed in practicing, after awhile you need to reflect on

This is Robert Estrin at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store. Today’s subject is surfing on the piano. You might be confused by the title, wondering what this is going to be about? I’m not talking about playing the piano while you are surfing, although that would be quite a trick! What I’m talking about are the implications of the mentality of surfing and the mentality of playing the piano.

Are there parallels between playing the piano and surfing?

Maybe it’s because I’ve been living in California for so long that this thought even occurred to me, but there are times when I am playing the piano and I feel that sense of going in and out of “the wave”. Or rather, “the zone”. I’ve never surfed, so I may get this wrong, but to be able to ride a wave there are times when you have to be able to make a snap decision as to how you are going to negotiate what is in front of you. You can either push the limits or try to play it safe. You have to be able to instantly make decisions. For example, if I’m playing a piece that has a lot of technical challenges in it, I might want to push the limits a bit while making sure I stay in control so I don’t wipe out.

Ride the musical wave!

Say you are playing the B-Flat Minor Scherzo by Chopin. Ask yourself, “How far can I take this?” You’ll want to try to push the envelope just a bit. You’ll tax yourself going for it, but also holding back just enough so you can ride the wave. A great piece of music like this has it’s own momentum. You have to challenge yourself or you might lose the musicality, but you have to hold back enough that you can keep it going.

Try it out for yourself

See if you can push the limits without wiping out. Practice playing it safe first, then go back and challenge yourself once you feel comfortable. You’ll find that there are aspects of each version that you’ll like, so you’ll want to aim for that balance between the two.

Sometimes playing it safe can be detrimental to a performance

You’ll find that there is nothing wrong with the safe version, though you may find that in some ways you are in less control. If you are trying to ride a wave safely, you might not keep going. You’ve got to take risks at the right moments so you’ll land in the right places. That is the parallel with surfing. Think instantaneously and strive to be in the zone.

I’d love to talk to any of you surfers out there, particularly those who also play the piano. You must be able to get into a certain zone where you aren’t even thinking in words, you are just in the moment controlling what is around you and trying to stay on top of everything. Be it a wave or Chopin, it is all the same mental state that you must achieve in your music and in life. Thanks so much for joining me. Again, this Robert Estrin from LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store.

info@LivingPianos.com
949-244-3729

Surfing on the Piano

This is Robert Estrin at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store. Today’s subject is surfing on the piano. You might be confused by the title, wondering what this is going to be about? I’m not talking about playing the piano while you are surfi

I’m Robert Estrin from LivingPianos.com. Today’s question is, “Can playing the piano ease depression?” Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and the information in this article is anecdotal. I would not suggest playing the piano as your only treatment if you have a serious mental or emotional condition. However, I will say this; I can’t even imagine living in this world if I didn’t have the piano to play!

How can playing the piano affect your emotional health?

What’s great about the piano in regards to emotional health is that you get a chance to completely occupy yourself. Playing music requires intense focus thereby quieting the mind. It’s almost like a form of meditation. Studies have shown meditation can reduce depression and anxiety, and even help people manage chronic pain. But there are other benefits to playing the piano in regard to how it makes you feel.

The beauty of music can connect you to the beauty of life.

Imagine playing a transcendentally beautiful melody like the F-Sharp Major Nocturne by Chopin, and how that makes you feel. If you were depressed and you played that piece, it might make you feel some joy! When I play that melody it fills me with very warm feelings. So you have the benefit of taking your mind away from everything in the outer world, as with meditation, while also experiencing the soul and emotions of people who lived hundreds of years ago who had something special to say. So it fills you with the emotions that they were feeling during their lives.

It can be cathartic to play music that explores deeper emotions

The beginning of the B-minor Scherzo of Chopin has such anger and hostility, it might actually help you release some of your pent up feelings. So, there can be a cathartic quality to playing the piano since there is a soothing calmness you can experience with music of great beauty. All the while, you can become detached from the day-to-day issues and frustrations that we all face in life.

I want to know how any of you feel about playing music. Does it help to keep you emotionally stable? Does it help you to overcome sadness and even depression? I’d love to hear from any of you out there who knows more about this subject. Put it in the comments. Let us know here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store.

info@LivingPianos.com
949-244-3729