All posts by Robert Estrin

What is Middle C? Music Lesssons

Middle C is something that every musician is familiar with. Today we are going to go a little more in-depth on this common phrase and explore some things you might not be aware of.

The piano keyboard has a number of C’s on it, so you might assume that middle C is right in the middle of the piano. While it is near the middle of the piano, there is a slight problem:

The note in the absolute middle of the keyboard is not C. The exact middle is right between, E and F above middle C. So why is middle C called middle C?

There are actually 2 C’s near the middle of the piano:

So which one of these is middle C? It is the lower one.

This is middle C:

It is technically closer to the middle of the piano but this is not the only reason it’s called middle C. The reason it has this term is because where this note is located on the grand staff. While the treble clef and the bass clef form the 10 lines in the grand staff, there is a space you can think of as an 11th line that runs between the two. This is where middle C is located:

This makes perfect sense! Middle C has less to do with its location on the piano keyboard and more to do with where it is located on the grand staff. This is a very important note because it helps you in reading both notes in the treble and bass clefs. Naturally, when middle C is written in the bass clef, the ledger line is closer to the bass clef and when it is written on the treble clef the ledger line is closer to the treble clef – but it is the same note!

Thanks again for joining us here at Living Pianos. If you have any questions about this topic or any others, please contact us at: Info@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729

How Many Parts are There in a Piano?

It’s fascinating to think about how many parts there are in the average piano. Think about how many string there are, how many keys there are, and then how many moving parts are involved with each press of a key; it’s daunting to think of just how many parts there are in a piano!

A typical scale design has around 220-240 strings. In the bass section there are 1 or 2 strings per note. Each one of these strings has a tuning pin as well. We haven’t even gotten past the strings and we already have hundreds of parts!

Most notes on a piano have dampers and damper heads (hundreds more parts). Consider the furniture of the piano, the rim, lid, prop stick, legs, the pedals, and more, and there is the soundboard, pinblock, agrafes, bridges and plate.

Believe it or not, we haven’t even scratched the surface for the parts on the piano! The action of the piano is where the majority of the parts are. When you push a key on a piano you are setting in motion around a hundred parts – that’s for each key!

So how many parts are there on a piano? Around 12,000! Hopefully this gives you a better appreciation of just how complex these instruments are and what it takes to build and service a piano. Thanks again for joining us here at Living Pianos. If you have any questions about this topic or any others, please contact us at: Info@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729

What is the Right Size Piano for Your Home?

You’d think that finding the right size piano for your home would be an easy thing to figure out. You might assume that the room size dictates what size piano you should get. There is actually quite a bit more to it.

Two issues to deal with when buying a piano are who will be playing it and whether it will disturb other people in your household or neighbors. Beginning players will not generate a great deal of sound out of any piano. However, generally speaking, the larger the piano, the more volume it produces. You probably don’t want to buy an instrument that is going to be a nuisance for people in your home or next door; it’s something important to consider. Fortunately, there are silent piano systems you can add to pianos to mute the sound and hear sampled piano sound in headphones – making the size and volume of the piano, less of a concern. Although this will compromise your playing experience.

It’s important to take note of the room you are going to put your piano in. Not only does the size of the room matter, but many elements affect the volume and tone of the instrument. For example, if you have carpet rather than hardwood floors, the piano will be somewhat muted since the carpet absorbs sound. Half of the sound comes out the bottom of grand pianos. Sometimes a room with hard floors can produce too much sound in which case you could consider putting a rug under the piano.

The floor is not the only aspect of the acoustics of a room. Drapes, soft furniture, and other absorbing objects can dampen the sound of the piano. A large piano can sound much quieter in an acoustically dead space.

Naturally, you must consider the physical space needed for a piano. A small baby grand piano is typically 5 feet in length and about 5 feet wide (as all pianos are because of the 88 keys). Concert grand pianos are usually around 9 feet long. The length of a piano is measured from the key slip (the piece of wood in front of the keys on the keyboard) to the very end of the lid. You should also allow for an additional 2 feet for when the bench is pulled out in front of the piano.

Upright pianos can be a good choice for smaller rooms, but they are less flexible in placement since the backs are unfinished. Therefore, they generally go up against a wall whereas grand pianos and baby grands look good from all angles and can even be tucked into a corner.

These are the main factors in determining what size piano is best for you. Thanks again for joining us here at Living Pianos. If you have any questions about this topic or any others, please contact us at: Info@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729

Piano Lesson – The Essentials of Fingering

Today we are going to discuss a very important topic, the essentials of fingering on the piano. We are going to use a couple of pieces as an example so you will benefit from watching the accompanying video.

Fingering on the piano is one of the most important aspects for developing a good technique. One of the greatest challenges is figuring out the best fingering for individual pieces. Even with scores that include fingering, you will rarely have all of the fingering written down except in very rudimentary music. Fingering is indicated as suggestions for key sections of the music. In fact, different editions of the same pieces have different fingerings! The fingering you play for a certain piece might not be the same as someone else. You must find a good fingering that works for you.

Fingering is the foundation of good piano playing. When you hit a wall in your practice after trying many techniques such as – slow practice, metronome work, hands separately, and other techniques, you should consider re-examining your fingering and see if there is a solution that works for you. Many times you will be able to solve your technical problems by discovering a new fingering.

Years ago I made a video that breaks down all piano playing into two essential components:

Fingering Patterns and Hand Positions

To sum up the idea behind that lesson, you should try to break down your music to chords wherever possible. By doing this you will be able to take in as many notes as you can in a hand position so you don’t have to jump around more than necessary.

The first piece I use in the video is Bach’s Prelude in C major from the Well-Tempered Clavier Book I. I picked this piece because it is simply a series a broken chords – which makes it easy to demonstrate this lesson.

When you approach this piece, try playing block chords first instead of playing as written. It looks like this:

By grabbing as many notes as you can, it makes the piece much easier to learn and makes fingering choices obvious.

The trouble begins when you have to change hand positions.

For example, in the second movement of the Pathetique Sonata by Beethoven, when the first theme finishes, it repeats an octave higher. How do you approach this with the chord technique?

You see in the highlighted section that the piece goes up an octave. There is a technique for handling sections like this when you’re breaking down into chords. You figure out a “pivot note” to switch to a new hand position that gets over the new chord. Typically it’s a third or fourth finger crossing or as in this case, a thumb crossing. This instantly puts you in a new hand position!

Notice the position of my hands, as soon as I hit middle C, I am over the next chord.

By using this technique of identifying pivot notes to switch hand positions, it will guide your fingering choices.

Thanks again for joining us here at Living Pianos. If you have any questions about this topic or any others, please contact us at: Info@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729

Does Playing Jazz Hurt Your Classical Music Skills?

This is an incredibly common question and there are a lot of opinions on the subject. I have to admit, I do have a viewpoint which I am happy to share with you.

I know a lot of teachers and I’ve known some over the years who worry when their students begin to branch out into jazz, rock or other styles. A common concern is that their students will lose the delicate touch needed to perform Classical music. An even bigger concern for many teachers is that jazz being an improvised style will effect the accurate representations of the great Classical repertoire.

Here is a parallel that may shed light on the subject. Imagine you’ve grown up in the United States and learned English your whole life. One day you decide to learn to speak French. Will this effect your abilities of speaking and comprehending English? I don’t believe so. I think it could present an opportunity to expand your horizons. However, it is necessary to be clear what style of music you’re playing.

The style of music you play extends far beyond the differences in jazz or Classical. If you are playing 19th century music of Chopin, you wouldn’t want to impart the Baroque style of Bach in your playing; it’s a completely different type of music and style. Each period of Classical music has its own set of demands and styles unique from one another.

When it comes down to it, as a pianist it’s best to have a multitude of different styles you can perform. Whether it’s jazz, Baroque, Classical, or whatever it might be, the more styles you can have in your musical arsenal the more marketable a musician you can become. Not only that, but different musical genres offer unique rewards.

I often encourage my students to explore different styles of music. If you want to have a career performing music it helps a lot to have many different talents and styles available. One of my students, Bijan Taghavi who just turned 16 has been studying piano with me for many years. He has performed incredibly complex pieces, has won competitions and even performed concertos with symphony orchestras. (Here is a performance he gave last year when he was 15 playing the Grieg Piano Concerto.) Recently he has gotten into learning and performing jazz – here is a performance of him playing Summertime as a Tribute to Oscar Peterson on KX 93.5 in Los Angeles, California. Has it hurt his classical playing? Not at all. The big challenge he faces is having enough time to keep learning both styles of music! On top of that he is also an accomplished guitarist and bass player! Good luck Bijan!

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

What’s the Most Amount of Keys on a Piano?

The standard number of keys on a piano today is 88; but if you’re familiar with the history of the piano, you know that this standard developed over a long period of time.

The earliest pianos had far fewer keys. The earliest pianos had around 5 octave of keys (about 60 keys). Harpsichords (the predecessor to the piano) had different numbers of keys – sometimes even two keyboards! Near the end of the 19th century, 85 keys became the defacto standard for most pianos.

By the end of the 1800’s the piano had settled on 88 keys as a standard and the vast majority of pianos produced today feature 88 keys. However, there are pianos made today that have more than 88 keys!

The Imperial Concert Grand Bosendorfer piano has 97 keys! On this particular piano the extra keys have the colors reversed – the black keys are white and the white keys are black so you can distinguish the extra keys from the standard 88 keys.

There are some pieces composers have written that include those lower notes, but this is very rare. So why would you even want these other keys if they don’t really serve a purpose for 99% of the music you encounter?

The existence of these extra keys and strings enhances the sound of the piano. When you depress the sustain pedal, the extra bass strings resonate adding richness to the tone. And the extra notes are available if you are so inclined to add them to your music.

Is 97 the most number of keys on a piano? Not by a long shot! The Australian piano manufacturer Stuart and Sons manufactures a piano with 102 keys! I have not had a chance to play one of these pianos but I would love to have the opportunity.

Thanks again for joining us here at Living Pianos. If you have any questions about this topic or any others, please contact us at: Info@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729