Piano and Music Videos

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First, a disclosure is in order: I grew up with a concert pianist, my father Morton Estrin who taught piano in our home. He was my piano teacher as well. He still teaches in the house where I grew up on Long Island! My sister Coren Mino is also a pianist. My life is centered around the piano and always has been, so my viewpoint is definitely focused on the piano!

If you are serious about studying music, the piano can be an essential tool for developing a deep understanding of music theory. If you attend a music conservatory, a minimum level of piano proficiency is required of all music students from composers, conductors, performers, teachers – everyone is required to learn to play the piano. What is so important about the piano?

One reason is that the piano is one of the only instruments in which you can easily play multiple notes at the same time. Most instruments can only play one note at a time. In fact, all brass and woodwind instruments are monophonic. (However, there are alternative techniques to get around this usually involving singing.) The piano is also quite different from other instruments because there is a vast repertoire of music which requires no other musicians to be complete!

The piano lends itself to fostering a deep understanding of the structure of music. On the piano, you can not only see the chord but you can hear it (with absolute certainty) as well. For example, assuming the piano is in tune, if you play a C, it will be a C. If you try and play a C on another instrument – let’s say a French horn – there are a lot of different fingerings that can get very different notes; a piano will play a note with certainty as well as visual feedback. For singers, it can be invaluable having a piano nearby to check pitches of vocal parts.

Another point is that playing a note on a piano is incredibly simple. Even a young child can walk over to a piano and play a note on the keyboard. Just try and do that with an oboe or a flute; you will need a substantial study of embouchure (lip position) breathing, fingering and more just to get a sound!

The piano is a wonderful instrument for everyone even if they don’t have formal training. I personally know people who have never had a lesson in their lives but still enjoy playing the piano. There are even professional musicians who have never taken piano lessons but have been able to play by simply watching people around them and learning by ear. This is particularly true of styles of music involving improvisation such as rock, pop, country, new age, and even jazz.

The piano truly is a universal instrument. Unlike other instruments relegated to being closed up in a case in a closet, the piano is a substantial piece of furniture in people’s homes beckoning to be played!

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

Why Everyone Should Learn to Play the Piano – You Should Learn the Piano

> First, a disclosure is in order: I grew up with a concert pianist, my father Morton Estrin who taught piano in our home. He was my piano teacher as well. He still teaches in the house where I grew up on Long Island! My sister Coren Mino is also a p

Hi Robert,

I just watched one of your videos, which I enjoyed very much, and would like to ask a question if that’s ok.

I’m considering purchasing a used upright Steinway from 1969. It looks beautiful and sounds great, and the dealer (it seems to be a reputable store) assures me that it is in excellent condition. The parts are all original. I’m just concerned that a piano that old will fall apart on me in the next few years – and it isn’t cheap.

Do you have any thoughts on this? I suppose I should have a technician look at the piano.

Thanks!

Evie

There is no reason why the piano should suddenly fall apart in a few years unless there has been neglect in the upkeep, it has been subjected to harsh climate changes, or it has simply been played a lot. My only caveat is if you are investing a good deal of money in a piano, an upright of any sort presents drastic compromises in performance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD1QxoxabMQ

Also, you should be aware that this piano was manufactured during the CBS ownership of Steinway in which they were utilizing Teflon for all the action bushings. If those are worn out, it could be expensive replacing parts. Also, in some remote areas, it can be difficult finding technicians who are skilled at servicing Teflon actions.

While uprights appear to be smaller than baby grands, the reality is that they can be more difficult to place in a room since they require a certain amount of wall space where as baby grands can be placed anywhere since they look good from all sides. They can even be tucked into a corner! If you have a place in your home where you can spin around with your arms stretched out, you have room for a baby grand.

Hey Robert,

What do you think of the Cory cleaner/polishing products?
What do you suggest using on an old lacquer-over-wood finish that isn’t yet alligatored but has the fine cracks and oxidation?

Thanks,

Adam

Cory’s polishes are great. The fact that they have specific polishes for gloss and satin is very good. Actually, for good satin finishes, just using a dry cotton cloth, or slightly damp cloth is best since any polish can build up over time. Then it has to be professionally removed.

As for older finishes that start to crack, sometimes a polish can add luster. The dry wood sometimes can soak up the polish and prevent further degradation of the finish. However, you will find that most often it has to be reapplied often in order to look good. So make sure you want to go down that road before you start. You may test out a section of the piano that doesn’t show first (like the inside of a leg) so you can make sure it has the desired effect.

Piano Questions: Buying a Used 1969 Steinway – Cory Polishes – Piano Polishing

Hi Robert, I just watched one of your videos, which I enjoyed very much, and would like to ask a question if that’s ok. I’m considering purchasing a used upright Steinway from 1969. It looks beautiful and sounds great, and the dealer (it

If you play the piano you know there is nothing better than sitting down and playing a piano that is in tune. Unfortunately, tuning a piano is no easy task. It’s extremely difficult to learn how to tune a piano on your own – it takes tuners years to master the skill – and it can also be pretty expensive (ranging anywhere from $50-$200 or more depending on the tuner and where you live). With this in mind, how often should you tune your piano?

In a perfect world, you would have a tuner living next door and they would come over every day and keep your piano in tune. Because pianos start going out of tune right after being tuned simply by being played. How often you should tune your piano depends upon several factors:

Stability of the environment

Pianos are pretty temperamental instruments and require a decently stable environment to be kept in tune. Like most string instruments, the temperature of the room can drastically affect the tuning of the strings. Unlike most string instruments, pianos will rarely leave the room they are placed in. Keeping your room at a constant and comfortable temperature is one of the best ways to ensure your piano is kept in tune.

How much the piano is played

Naturally, the more you play your piano, the more it will go out of tune. From the second your piano is tuned, it will start to go out of tune – and playing it only makes it worse! For the average player, they probably wouldn’t notice their piano slowly going out of tune as they practice every so often.

I play the piano every day and actually had to learn how to spot tune notes in order to keep my piano in playing condition. I have the luxury of having piano technicians in the store almost daily and can have them tune my personal piano on a pretty regular basis. This is not the case for the majority of pianists.

If you play your piano every day you might want to think about monthly piano tunings.

If you play your piano a few times a week you could probably get away with 4 tunings a year – one for every change of the season.

If you play your piano a few times a month you then you might be able to have it tuned as little as one or two times a year.

Level of refinement required

The piano has hundreds of moving parts and eventually, they will break down and need to be refined, repaired, or even replaced. All sorts of small problems can lead to your piano going out of tune more frequently.

This is a complex topic and as such should be discussed with your piano tuner or technician to see if they recommend any proactive measures to keep your piano in good shape.

Thanks again for joining us here at LivingPianos, if you have any questions about this topic or any other please contact us directly: info@livingpianos.com (949) 244-3729