Piano Lessons- Music Theory Lessons

Here is a fascinating topic that brings together physics, instrument health, and human physiology. A viewer named Jon, from Houston, wrote a great question about wintry weather and its effects on both pianos and pianists. Having moved from Southern California to Cleveland myself, I can tell you the adjustment to cold climates is significant. Jon asked what happens when a piano sits near a big glass window where a cold air downdraft pours down. How does this affect tuning, the soundboard, the action, and even our ability to listen and play when we’re cold?

The Science Behind Downdrafts

Jon used a keyword: downdraft. Many people love the look of a grand piano in a bay window, but there is real science that explains why this is dangerous. It all comes down to convection. Glass becomes cold during winter. When warm air hits that cold surface, it instantly cools. Cool air is heavier, so it sinks. This creates a continuous convection current, a literal waterfall of cold air cascading over your piano at all hours!

Why Cold Air Damages Pianos

It isn’t just the temperature that does the damage. The real culprit is humidity, or more accurately, the lack of humidity. Cold air cannot hold moisture, so that invisible waterfall is actually a steady stream of extremely dry air. When it hits the soundboard, the wood shrinks. The crown, that subtle arch responsible for projection and tone, begins to flatten. The result is loss of sustain, loss of power, and a deadened tone.

Worse yet, the two sides of the piano experience different environments. The window side becomes cold and dry, while the room side stays warmer and more humid. This uneven exposure can cause the soundboard to warp, throwing the tuning not just flat but chaotically out of alignment.

Effects on the Piano Action

The thousands of moving parts inside a piano are made of wood, felt, and metal. Felt bushings create controlled friction at pivot points, but in the cold they stiffen and harden. This results in sluggish action. You may notice in winter that keys don’t return as quickly and the whole instrument feels resistant. That’s the felt reacting to dry, cold air.

Can Pianists Play Well When They’re Cold?

Cold hands are more than just uncomfortable. When we’re cold, our bodies conserve heat by sending blood to the core, leaving our hands with reduced circulation. The small interosseous muscles between the fingers stiffen, and the synovial fluid that lubricates the joints becomes thicker. This increases internal friction in the knuckles, making fast or intricate playing physically impossible. And if you’re shivering, your concentration and critical listening ability suffer too.

Protecting Your Piano and Your Hands

Heavy drapes or thermal curtains can help reduce cold drafts, but the best solution is to move the piano away from the window. Don’t let a beautiful view compromise the health and tone of your instrument!

For your hands, a simple and effective strategy is to run them under warm water before practicing. Not hot, just warm enough to promote circulation and help the synovial fluid flow freely. This small step can make a tremendous difference.

Thanks for the great question, Jon! Keep your pianos warm and properly humidified, and keep yourselves warm as well. Your piano and your playing will both benefit.

I hope this is helpful for you! Share your thoughts in the comments here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource and on YouTube.

Welcome to LivingPianos.com. I’m Robert Estrin. Today, we’re exploring the question: What if Beethoven had YouTube? At first it might seem like a frivolous idea, but there are profound implications here. Beethoven would have had exposure to music from all over the world. What would that have done for his compositions? Composers were so isolated in those days. Sure, they made every effort to learn the great works of others, but with YouTube, we literally have the world’s music in our pockets at the click of our fingers.

Global Access and Musical Innovation

Think about all the other composers around the globe who might have created far greater works if they had been able to hear the masterpieces clustered in Austria and Germany—Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, and Schubert. Access to all those works could have dramatically reshaped music history. Bach is a key example. He didn’t travel much, but he made an effort to attend concerts by any musicians who came to his home in Leipzig, Germany. Through that effort, he was able to compose in the Italian, English, and French styles, creating phenomenal music.

If you know a lot of Bach’s works, you realize just how unique his Italian concerto is. He also embraced the English and French styles, as you can hear in his Suites. These styles are dramatically different from one another. Imagine the exposure he could have had to Spanish music or the music of the Americas. Even so, he produced fantastic compositions simply by attending concerts and learning from others.

Beethoven and the World of Music

Now imagine Beethoven with access to all the musical styles and cultures around the world. The possibilities are staggering. Composers of his time lived in relative isolation. Franz Schubert was obscure to the world until after his death! You can see a parallel in the early 20th century. Listen to recordings of pre-World War II artists like Rachmaninoff, Hofmann, Paderewski, Levine and other pianists from that age. They all had dramatically different styles from one another. With recordings, musicians could hear each other, and today, everyone can hear everyone, and performances have become more homogenous. Listening to those old recordings, even with the scratchy sound, you can hear individuality that far surpasses the variety of performances today.

More Creativity or More of the Same?

Would the presence of YouTube in Beethoven’s time have created more homogeneity, or would it have inspired the same kind of individuality and variety we hear in Bach? In the 20th century, the Beatles provided a great example of global musical influence. George Harrison studied with Ravi Shankar, the great Indian musician, and you can hear that influence in songs like Within You, Without You. Their music reflects a fusion of styles from around the world.

Creativity or Distraction?

So here is the question I leave you with. If YouTube had existed in Beethoven’s time, would it have sparked more creativity through exposure to new sounds and styles, or would it have led composers to sound more like each other? The answer is unknown, and it is fascinating to ponder. One last thought: if YouTube had been around, would Beethoven have spent too much time doom scrolling and not enough time composing these great works? These are the kinds of questions I think about when imagining this alternate history. Let me know your thoughts about this in the comments here at LivingPianos.com and on YouTube!

Beatles: Within You Without You

Ignacy Paderewski plays “Menuet” in G

Josef Hofmann

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Josef Lhevinne

Today, we’re exploring the three main types of pianos—digitals, uprights, and grands—and what makes each one unique. By the end, you’ll have a clearer idea of which piano might best suit your needs and lifestyle.

Digital Pianos: Affordable, Versatile, and Convenient

You might be surprised at how good modern digital pianos sound. Technology has come a long way, and for under $1,000, you can find a digital piano with a realistic weighted action and a convincing nine-foot concert grand sound. These instruments often feature graded keys that feel lighter on top and heavier on the bottom, just like an acoustic piano.

One of the greatest advantages of digital pianos is convenience. They never need tuning, they’re portable, and you can play silently with headphones, which is perfect if you live in an apartment or want to practice late at night. Many models connect easily to computers for music education, recording, and sequencing software.

Digital pianos also come in a wide range of models. Entry-level instruments are ideal for beginners or travelers, while advanced hybrid pianos—combining digital sound with real piano actions—can cost $10,000 or more. Some even look like grand pianos and offer sophisticated features for orchestrating and layering sounds. Still, despite their many strengths, digital pianos can’t fully match the feel and tonal complexity of an acoustic instrument. The sound from a real piano’s soundboard has a resonance and organic quality that even the best speaker systems can’t reproduce. If that living, breathing experience is what you crave, an acoustic upright might be your next step.

Upright Pianos: The Classic Home Instrument

Upright pianos, like the popular Yamaha U1, provide a genuine piano experience in a compact design. They offer a responsive action, beautiful tone, and a piece of furniture that fits nicely in most homes. However, uprights do have some limitations. Since the hammers strike the strings horizontally rather than vertically, repetition speed is slower than on a grand piano. Advanced players will find certain techniques are not possible on an upright.

Pedals on upright pianos also differ from grands. While the right sustain pedal functions the same, the middle pedal often acts as a practice mute rather than a sostenuto pedal. This can be handy for quiet practice, but it limits some of the expressive possibilities needed for certain classical works. The left pedal, too, doesn’t shift the action as it does on a grand. Instead, it moves the hammers closer to the strings, which makes it harder to play loudly, changing only the touch but not the tone.

Upright pianos are an excellent choice if you’re short on space or budget. They provide a satisfying, organic playing experience, though they lack the full expressive range and repetition speed of a grand.

Grand Pianos: The Ultimate in Expression

Grand pianos offer unmatched control and tonal beauty. Their horizontal action uses gravity to reset the hammers, allowing for faster repetition and greater nuance. Even a modest baby grand, such as a five-foot-seven-inch Steinway Model M, produces a rich tone and refined responsiveness that can elevate any performance.

As pianos grow in length, their tone deepens and the resonance expands. Larger grands, around six feet or more, develop a lush sound, particularly in the middle register where notes gain fullness and character. When you press the sustain pedal, the strings sympathetically vibrate, creating a reverberant sound chamber that envelops you in tone. Of course, grand pianos require more space and a larger investment. But for serious players, they offer the full range of dynamics and expressive control that no other piano type can match.

Choosing the Right Piano for You

To sum up:

• Digital pianos are great for portability, affordability, and modern connectivity.
• Upright pianos deliver a true acoustic feel in a compact form, perfect for many homes.
• Grand pianos provide the ultimate experience in tone and touch, ideal for advanced players as well as providing an elegant statement in your home.

When choosing, think long-term. Pianos are not something you’ll want to trade frequently. Find one that fits your space, your budget, and your musical goals, and it will reward you for years to come. If you’d like to hear how each piano sounds, you can watch the accompanying video to experience the demonstrations firsthand.

Welcome to LivingPianos.com. I’m Robert Estrin. Today I’m going to show you how to play Chopin’s most famous nocturne, the Nocturne in E-flat Major, with real expression. It’s one of the most beloved piano pieces ever written, and there are some special techniques that will help you bring out its beauty.

Balancing the Hands

One of the greatest challenges in this piece is achieving balance between the hands. The melody must always sing above the accompaniment. To do this, use the weight of your arm in the right hand while keeping your left hand very close to the keys. The left hand should use the smallest possible amount of arm weight. If you let the left hand move too much, it will become too loud no matter how softly you try to play. Staying close to the keys keeps the left hand subdued while allowing the right hand to project the melody. Even though the piece is quiet, the melody must still carry energy and intensity. Concert pianists use a surprising amount of controlled weight in the right hand to achieve a rich, expressive tone. If you simply press with your fingers, the sound will be thin and harsh. Transferring the weight of the arm smoothly from key to key lets you produce a full sound without losing the sweetness and lyricism that define this nocturne.

Practicing the Left Hand

After playing the initial low note in the left hand, get your hand positioned over both of the chords that follow. You can even practice this by playing the chords together, so your hand learns to stay close to the surface of the keys. Being directly over the chords means you can play with minimal effort and maintain control over the balance.
Shaping the Phrase

Balance isn’t just vertical between the hands; it’s also horizontal across time. The melody must have shape. Most phrases rise toward the middle, reach a peak, and then gently fall away. Think of how a singer or wind player shapes a line in one breath, letting the sound rise and fall naturally. If every note is played at the same volume, even with perfect balance, the music will sound flat and lifeless. Instead, let each phrase rise and fall naturally. Build up to the middle of the phrase, then relax as it resolves. This ebb and flow gives the music a natural breath and flow.

Using the Pedal

Take care in using the pedal. It’s really an art to bring out the bass line and the chords without blurring the harmonies together. As the harmonies change, you must adjust the pedal, capturing those deep bass notes while keeping the inner chords and melody distinct. Done well, this creates the effect of almost three separate voices: the bass notes, the accompanying chords, and the singing melody. Capturing the bass notes with the pedal adds depth and richness to the overall sound, giving the piece its characteristic warmth and resonance.

The Art of Rubato

Rubato, the slight flexibility of tempo, is central to Romantic-era music like Chopin’s. A little speeding up and slowing down gives life to the music. It isn’t appropriate for composers like Bach or Mozart, but in Chopin it’s essential!

The key to good rubato is that you never actually gain or lose time overall. You stretch a little here and give it back there, like breathing. If you play the nocturne strictly in time, it sounds mechanical and lifeless. A touch of rubato draws the listener in, like cresting a gentle hill and feeling gravity pull you down the other side. If someone listening can’t tap along with the beat, the rubato has gone too far. The pulse must always be felt, even as the tempo bends slightly. That balance between freedom and structure is what gives Chopin’s music its soul.

Ornamentation and Trills

The nocturne includes trills, mordents, and small ornamental figures that sound spontaneous but should be practiced rhythmically to ensure consistency. Even though they sound free, the underlying rhythm must be solid. For example, in the second measure, there is a turn that can be easily facilitated as five equal notes. You might choose a slightly different way of executing it, but the key is to make it reliable. The same principle applies to trills later in the piece. Decide how many notes you are playing, and make sure you can perform them cleanly each time. Being consistent and secure is more important than trying to play a lot of notes.

Bringing It All Together

To summarize: keep the right hand supported by arm weight and the left hand close to the keys for control. Shape each phrase with a natural rise and fall. Capture the bass notes with the pedal while keeping the harmony clear. Use rubato tastefully to give life and motion to the music. And treat ornaments as measured, expressive decorations rather than random flourishes. These techniques will not only help you play Chopin’s E-flat Nocturne with true expression, but they will also enhance your playing in other Romantic works. With careful attention to balance, phrasing, pedaling, rubato, and ornamentation, you can bring a new level of beauty and depth to your performances.

If you have questions or insights about playing Chopin’s nocturnes, share them in the comments here at LivingPianos.com—Your Online Piano Resource. Thanks for joining me.

Welcome to LivingPianos.com. I’m Robert Estrin. Today I’m going to share five techniques for playing Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. I’m not talking about the furious last movement, but the beautiful, subtle first movement. There’s a lot more to this movement than you might think. Many people assume this movement is easy, but it is anything but easy to play well. By the end of this lesson, you’ll have a handle on how to approach it and really bring this movement to a high level.

1. Learn the Piece Securely

The first thing is simply to learn the movement adequately and securely. Practice in chords first so you really solidify your playing. Starting anywhere, you’ll see it’s just a bunch of broken chords. That’s one part of it, but the biggest challenge of this movement is being able to project the melody on top with your weak pinky finger while not letting the triplet eighth notes dominate the sound. You don’t want to hear the accompaniment louder than the melody or it loses everything.

2. Balance the Melody and Accompaniment

How do you get the right balance? A fantastic way to practice this, as I’ve shown before, is to play with different articulations within the same hand. This is difficult at first, but well worth the effort once you already have a good command of the music. If you’re still learning the notes and can’t yet play through it comfortably, wait on this technique. Once you have a solid performance, use it to take the piece to the next level. Try playing the triplets with a gentle finger staccato so your hand learns through articulation which notes to bring out. This is so effective because you can clearly feel the difference between short and long notes. The triplets are played short, the top line is played smoothly. That’s easier to quantify than just playing loud and soft, which are more relative. You’ll also develop a physical sense of how the triplets feel in relation to the weight of your arm, which leans toward the melody while the other fingers play lightly.

3. Feel the Pulse in 2, Not 4

Another issue is that many people play this movement too slowly. You might hear a slow tempo and think it’s in 4/4 time, but notice that it’s written in 2/2, not 4/4. That means the pulse is the half note, not the quarter note. If you think of the quarter note as the beat, the piece bogs down and loses its flow. When you feel the beat of the half notes, the movement becomes more relaxed and fluid. The tempo may actually be a bit faster, but it feels calmer because you’re thinking in broader beats.

4. Understand the Dotted Rhythm

There’s also the dotted rhythm to consider. It’s not what you might think. Because of the triplets, many assume the sixteenth notes fall between the last triplet and the next beat, but that’s not correct. A dotted rhythm is based on four subdivisions of the beat—three plus one. That means the sixteenth note comes in sooner and lasts a bit longer than you might expect. When played this way, the rhythm feels fuller and more serene. Instead of sounding mechanical, it has that relaxed, dreamy quality the music needs.

5. Crescendo to Subito Piano

The last point is one of Beethoven’s trademarks: the crescendo to subito piano, which means growing louder, then playing suddenly soft. This is not something to overlook. Beethoven really meant it! If you skip that or underplay it, the music loses impact. When you follow Beethoven’s instruction, it creates tremendous contrast and emotional depth. It’s so much more effective that way.

Bringing It All Together

These five techniques will help you unlock the depth and beauty of this beloved piece that will make people cry! The Moonlight Sonata moves people to tears not because it’s loud or flashy, but because of its delicate balance between simplicity and passion. I hope these tips help you discover new levels of expression in your performance. If you have additional insights, share them in the comments at LivingPianos.com—Your Online Piano Resource. Thanks for joining me.

Welcome to LivingPianos.com. I’m Robert Estrin. Today we’re talking about why it’s so important to practice your scales and arpeggios in four octaves. You might think playing scales is just the same thing over and over again. If you can play them in one octave, can’t you just repeat that pattern in another register? It might seem that way, but the reality is more nuanced.

The Angle of the Hands Matters

When you play in the lower or higher registers of the piano, the angle of your hands changes. This shift impacts your technique. If you only practice in one part of the keyboard, you’re not fully developing the flexibility and control needed to navigate the entire instrument. Practicing across all four octaves helps you gain fluency moving up and down the keyboard smoothly and confidently.

Posture and Bench Positioning Are Key

To practice four-octave scales and arpeggios effectively, make sure you’re sitting properly. If you’re too close to the piano, your arms and wrists are forced into awkward angles, making it difficult to play evenly across the keyboard. Sit back far enough so your arms can extend comfortably in front of you. This posture allows for better movement from one end of the piano to the other. Many students make the mistake of sliding side to side on the bench as they play. While this might help you reach the keys temporarily, it’s not a sustainable solution. Instead, find a central position on the bench with the correct height and distance so you can access the full keyboard without shifting your body constantly.

Use the Metronome and Take Your Time

When you’re ready to begin, start slowly with the metronome. Work through your scales and arpeggios at a comfortable tempo. Focus on accuracy and evenness. Gradually, you’ll build speed and confidence. Practicing all major and minor scales and arpeggios over four octaves might seem overwhelming at first, but it doesn’t have to be. Take one scale per week. If you stick with it, you’ll eventually cover them all. There’s no rush. You have your entire life to enjoy playing the piano! And the benefits of mastering these foundational exercises are enormous.

The Long-Term Rewards

If you’ve already gone through the process of learning all your scales and arpeggios, you know how transformative it can be. It dramatically improves your technique, your sight-reading, and your overall ease at the keyboard. Share your experience in the comments on LivingPianos.com and YouTube. Your journey can help encourage others who are still working toward this goal. For those of you still in the process, be inspired by those who have completed it.

A Solid Foundation for Musical Freedom

Learning all your scales and arpeggios is a game changer. When you’ve already mastered them, you don’t have to relearn them every time they appear in your pieces. And practicing in all octaves gives you a solid technical foundation. You’ll be amazed at how much easier music becomes when the patterns are already second nature. The time you invest in this kind of practice pays off many times over, giving you a sense of fluency and freedom at the keyboard that far exceeds the effort you put in.

Welcome to LivingPianos.com. I’m Robert Estrin. Today we’re going to explore some of the groundbreaking composers who revolutionized classical piano music. Now, this could easily be a ten-week course or span an entire semester. There are so many important figures, but I’ll focus on a few of the most influential composers who opened up vast new possibilities in piano composition.

From Baroque Restraint to Classical Clarity

Let’s start with Bach. Of course, the piano hadn’t even been invented during his lifetime. His music was primarily written for the harpsichord or clavichord and is highly contrapuntal, with voices weaving tightly together. The writing tends to stay within a narrow range without many large leaps.

Even moving forward to Mozart, whose works were written for the early piano, the textures remain relatively close-knit. Take, for example, his Sonata in C major, K. 545. If you listen to the second movement, you’ll notice how everything stays in a compact register. The hands move in a limited range, and the melodies and accompaniment are very much in the same sonic space. This kind of writing is also typical of Haydn, where the music is refined and structured, but still maintains a tight, elegant character without extravagant gestures.

Beethoven Breaks Boundaries

Naturally, the next step in the evolution of piano composition brings us to Beethoven. He truly expanded what the piano could express. I’ve covered Beethoven’s innovations in other videos, but I want to highlight just one example that showcases something you’d never find in Mozart’s writing.

In the first movement of the “Pathetique” Sonata, Beethoven uses crossed hands in a dramatic way. This isn’t just for show. It adds a layer of complexity and theatricality that was unprecedented. While Mozart might occasionally include brief hand crossings, like in the “Turkish March” Sonata, Beethoven takes it much further. He also introduced a much wider dynamic range, including sudden changes from soft to loud, and vice versa, which revolutionized expressive possibilities on the piano.

Chopin and the Romantic Voice of the Piano

Where do we go from Beethoven? Chopin, of course. Chopin and the piano are almost inseparable. His entire output centers on the instrument, and he introduced a rich variety of textures and techniques that hadn’t been explored before. Take a look at his Ballade in G minor. Let’s consider just a short excerpt. If you play it slowly, without the pedal, it almost doesn’t make sense. It’s a bit like viewing an Impressionist painting up close. You just see blotches of color. But from a distance, everything blends beautifully. Chopin was able to envision these flowing passages and understand how they would sound when played with proper pedal and tempo. The theme that emerges is so lyrical and expressive, yet surrounded by a tapestry of harmonies and textures. His writing pushed the instrument into new emotional and tonal territory.

Of course, Chopin wasn’t alone. We could talk about Liszt, who brought virtuosic brilliance to the forefront. Mendelssohn and Schumann also contributed greatly to the development of Romantic piano music. All of these composers expanded what the piano could do, both technically and expressively.

Into the 20th Century: Color and Complexity

Fast forward to the 20th century and everything changes again. With composers like Ravel, Debussy, and Prokofiev, all conventions are reimagined. For instance, Debussy’s Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum from his Children’s Corner suite showcases a completely different kind of writing. The textures and colors he creates on the piano are almost orchestral. Listen closely and you’ll hear a shimmering, impressionistic style that’s completely different from earlier composers. This continued exploration of timbre and sonority brought piano music into the modern era.

What Comes Next?

The progression of piano writing over time reveals a fascinating journey. Each of these composers built upon what came before, expanding the expressive and technical range of the instrument. We’re fortunate to have such a rich repertoire that showcases the piano’s full potential.

Which composers do you feel expanded the possibilities of the piano in revolutionary ways? Leave your thoughts in the comments. There are so many more we could explore. I could easily create a part two, three, or even four to highlight more of these incredible musical pioneers. Again, I’m Robert Estrin and this is LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

Welcome to LivingPianos.com. I’m Robert Estrin. Did you ever want to be able to know what notes you’re hearing? And have you wondered how some people are able to play by ear? Well, today you’re going to learn how to identify notes by ear with a simple and effective technique that can open up a whole new way of understanding music.

Perfect Pitch vs. Relative Pitch

Let’s start by understanding two types of pitch recognition: perfect pitch and relative pitch. Perfect pitch is the rare ability to identify any note without any reference. If you have perfect pitch, you can hear a note and intuitively know what note it is. It’s as effortless as seeing a color and knowing what it is. Some people are born with this skill, and while early musical training can help reinforce it, it’s not something that can truly be learned from scratch. It’s estimated that only about 1 in 10,000 people have perfect pitch. But there’s good news for those of us who don’t have perfect pitch: relative pitch is far more useful for most musicians. With relative pitch, once you know one reference note, you can identify the rest of the notes by their relationship to that reference. More importantly, relative pitch helps you understand the function of notes in a musical context, which is key to real musical understanding.

Hearing the Notes Between the Notes

Let’s say I play a few notes for you. If I told you the first note is middle C, that’s your anchor. Now you can begin to figure out the notes that follow by thinking in terms of intervals. The secret is listening for the notes between the notes. For example, if you hear a perfect fifth, you might be able to identify it because you’ve internalized how many notes (or scale degrees) fit between the first and the second note. This is why singing is such a powerful tool. When you sing the notes, you’re training your ear to recognize these relationships.

What If It’s Not That Simple?

Now, not every example will be as straightforward as starting on the tonic (the first note of the scale). Suppose I give you a B as your starting note, and then play another note that doesn’t fit naturally into a B major scale. That could throw you off if you’re only thinking diatonically (within the key of B major). But what if you’re actually hearing a different scale structure—maybe starting from B but functioning in a different key? Instead of just trying to fit the notes into a particular scale, focus on the intervals between them—the distances in pitch. This way, even if the first note isn’t the tonic, you can identify how far apart the notes are and what their relationship might be.

Try It Yourself

One of the most effective ways to develop relative pitch is to use a reference note and sing through the scale from there. For example, if you know a note is middle C, try singing up the C major scale: C, D, E, F, G, and so on. As you sing each note, listen closely to how each one relates to the others. If you’re trying to identify an unknown note above or below that C, singing the scale can help you locate it by ear. You’re training yourself to recognize scale degrees — the position of each note in the scale — which forms the foundation of relative pitch.

Sometimes it’s easier to start on the upper note and start singing down the scale to the bottom note finding the notes between the notes.

This same idea works with chords. If you hear a chord and aren’t sure what it is, break it down into individual notes. Use the scale to identify each note, and listen for the intervals between them. Over time, this approach allows you to figure out melodies and harmonies simply by hearing them.

Diatonic Thinking Is Key

The magic lies in diatonic thinking. Stick with the notes of the scale, and you’ll be amazed at how much you can figure out. Start with tunes you know well—maybe a nursery rhyme or a favorite melody—and try to figure them out by ear using this method. Think of the notes between the notes, and your musical ear will begin to open up.

Welcome to LivingPianos.com. I’m Robert Estrin. Today, I’m going to show you how you can change your piano playing and your life. You may have heard the old saying: “One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” There’s real truth to that. In piano playing, just like in life, it’s the daily habits that make all the difference.

Choose Realistic Repertoire

A key element to meaningful progress is selecting music that’s within your reach. It’s tempting to latch onto that one dream piece, but you may struggle for months or even years without ever getting it to the level you want. There’s nothing wrong with having long-term goals, but if you’re dedicating most of your practice time to a piece that’s beyond your current capabilities, it can be discouraging. Instead, focus on building a repertoire of pieces you can master. As you play more music successfully, you’ll grow technically and musically, eventually reaching that dream piece much sooner than if you tried to tackle it prematurely. Take it step by step with progressively more challenging repertoire.

Focused Practice Yields Greater Results

Another important concept is how you structure your practice. Trying to cover as much music as possible in one sitting can be counterproductive. By working on smaller sections, you give yourself the chance to really concentrate and improve. It’s much easier to focus your ears and your mind on manageable chunks of music rather than on an entire movement or long section.

Practice Consistently

This is one of the most critical aspects of piano playing: consistency. People often ask how much time they should spend practicing. The truth is, it’s not about how much time, but how often. Practicing every day, even if only for short periods, can make a huge difference. In fact, breaking up your practice into multiple short sessions can be even more effective.

Take breaks. Go for a walk. Let your mind process what you’ve worked on. You’ll find that the music continues to sink in even when you’re not at the keyboard. Cramming hours of practice into one day and skipping several days afterward not only leads to forgetting what you’ve learned, but it can also kill your motivation.

Don’t Abandon Old Pieces

Here’s another trap to avoid: learning a piece and immediately moving on to something new. If you never revisit what you’ve already learned, you’ll end up with a bunch of pieces that are half-baked and nothing you can play confidently. You should aim to maintain pieces you can play well at any time. How do you keep them fresh? By playing them every day and occasionally practicing them just like new pieces. Take out the score, play slowly without the pedal, and use a metronome. This kind of maintenance can really solidify your repertoire.

Daily Choices Shape Your Progress

Everything you do at the piano—what you practice, how you practice, how often you practice—adds up over time. So choose wisely each day. Work on the right pieces, focus your efforts, keep your older pieces alive, and above all, be consistent. And it’s not just true for piano. Regular exercise will make you feel better and keep you in shape. Contrarily, if you eat donuts every night, you are likely to put on a few pounds. It’s the things you do every day that make the difference, both in your piano playing and in your life.

I hope this is helpful for you! Share your thoughts in the comments here at LivingPianos.com and on YouTube.