Piano Lessons- Music Theory Lessons

When I was growing up, I would listen to some of the great pianists such as Horowitz and Rubinstein. I would also listen to some of the pianists from the early 20th century such as Hoffman, Rachmaninoff, and Joseph Levine. I was always so impressed with the pristine finger work. It almost would sound like a string of jewels because of the evenness of the notes, and I always wondered how to achieve that sound. So today’s show is about how to achieve brilliant finger work.

I’m going to regress a little bit more. When I first started studying the piano with my father Morton Estrin, he showed me how to practice scales with raised fingers and often times my students ask me, “Why do I have to raise my fingers?” Let me show you what I’m talking about. With slow scale practice, it’s important for strength to raise the fingers. You may wonder why you would ever want to play that way because obviously when you play quickly, you don’t have time to raise your fingers. The secret to getting the evenness in your scale work and fast finger passages is the release of notes.

For example, if you were to put your hand on a flat surface and just try to lift one finger, some of them are pretty hard to lift. Lift your fourth finger with your hands on a flat surface, and it’s very hard. It’s actually the release of notes that takes more strength than the pushing down of notes! So to strengthen and then to release is the reason for practicing slowly with raised fingers so you’ll practice the release of each note and that will lead to the pristine beauty you can get in fast finger work.

If you play the piano even casually, you probably know that the sustain pedal on the right makes all the notes you play hold until you release the pedal. The other 2 piano pedals are not as clear cut. In fact, only the sustain pedal operates on upright pianos. The other pedals do various things, but seldom what they are designed to do. Even some grand pianos pedals don’t operate the way they are intended.

The left pedal, sometimes referred to as the soft pedal is actually called the une corde pedal for “one string”. Indeed, early pianos had 2 strings for each note and the une corde pedal shifted the action so that the hammers only struck one string. Modern pianos have 3 strings for each note throughout most of the piano. So the une corde pedal shifts the action so that the hammers strike only 2 of the strings squarely. This is significant because it not only makes the notes quieter, but if offers a change of timbre. Upright pianos usually offer a soft pedal that changes the feel, not the sound. It does this by shifting the hammers closer to the strings making it harder to play loud.

The middle pedal is seldom used and even more seldom understood. Most pianos didn’t have functioning sostenuto pedals as they are called until the end of the 19th century. Many European piano manufacturers didn’t include middle piano pedals until well into the 20th century. Like the sustain pedal, the sostenuto pedal holds notes after you release the keys. The difference is that subsequent notes that are depressed will not hold, only the notes that were depressed when the middle pedal is engaged. This is useful in a few scores of Debussy and other 20th century composers. It’s like having a 3rd hand to hold notes in another register without blurring the harmonies with the sustain pedal. However, the sostenuto pedal is only called upon in 20th century music and very few compositions. It is by no means essential but could be important for someone specializing in 20th century piano music.

Below are 10 of the most common FACTS and FICTION about Steinway and Sons pianos.

Steinway started as a German company.

FALSE: Steinway began in New York by German immigrants. Later they opened a factory in Hamburg, Germany. Today Steinway pianos are manufactured in both New York and Hamburg.

Steinway was owned by CBS in the 1960’s and 1970’s.

TRUE: Steinway was owned by CBS in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Many people agree that the quality of manufacturing was generally lower during this period of time.

Boston is a lower line piano made by Steinway.

FALSE: Boston is a stencil piano. The name was invented by Steinway to sell pianos through the Steinway dealer network with pianos manufactured by Kawai.

In the early part of the 20th century, Steinway and Sons treated action parts in a way that made them seize up years later.

TRUE: Steinways from the early part of the 20th century often suffer from a condition known as verdigris. The treatment which was thought to avoid corrosion on action parts caused action parts to seize up and require extensive restoration.

Steinway used Teflon in their actions so they wouldn’t wear out.

TRUE: During the CBS period of ownership in the 1960’s and 1970’s and even into the early 1980’s, Steinway experimented with utilizing Teflon instead of the usual felt bushings in their actions. Most technicians found it difficult to deal with clicking noises that resulted over time.

A Steinway 7-foot piano is actually 6 feet 10 1/2 inches.

TRUE: Steinway 7 foot pianos are an inch and a half short of 7 feet. The 9 foot concert grand is also an inch under 9 feet.

All currently produced Steinways have the Accelerated action.

FALSE: New York made Steinways have Accelerated actions. However, Hamburg produced Steinway pianos utilize actions made by Renner and do not employ the Accelerated actions.

A new Steinway direct from the factory is more refined than a Yamaha from the factory.

FALSE: New out of the box, a Yamaha is far more refined than a Steinway. Steinway pianos come to dealers in an unrefined state. It is up to the dealer to have extensive regulation, voicing, tuning and other adjustments to get the pianos playing on a high level.

Used Steinways represent an excellent value in a high quality used piano.

FALSE: While a good used Steinway piano may be a better investment than a new Steinway, there is a premium you must pay on a Steinway piano compared to comparable pianos from other top tier manufacturers because of the recognition of the name.

Steinway is the number 1 selling American made piano.

TRUE: There were only 1600 pianos produced in the United States last year and Steinway produced over 1000 of them.

Videos of Robert Estrin perform at the Irvine Classical music Series:

Use the music: After you have the piece memorized, you must periodically go back and read the score carefully. I suggest playing slowly without pedal and using the metronome for the most dramatic results.

Practice slowly: Fast practice is like moving in quicksand. You dig yourself into the ground by reinforcing mistakes instead of identifying and eradicating them as you do in slow practice. Slow practice is like putting newsprint under a microscope. You see all the imperfections. This enables you to refine your playing by identifying rough edges.

Practice without the pedal: While the pedal makes everything sound better, when practicing, you can not only hear more critically without the pedal, but you will also be able to quickly hear fingering problems before they become ingrained.

Use the metronome: Even in music that has fluidity with the tempo will benefit from metronome practice. You need a reference of time to know how much you are bending the phrase with rubato. Also, when learning difficult passages, it is usual to slow down. Over time you may even overcompensate for difficult passages rushing them. Difficult passages can be mastered by increasing the metronome a notch or 2 at a time to speed up particularly difficult passages.

Take very small sections at a time: It is tempting to try to learn large chunks to save time. The problem is that it becomes overwhelming. If you take tiny sections at a time and master them, you will be able to sustain a productive practice much longer.

Practice in chords when possible: Not only does reducing the music to chords help to clarify the structure, it also helps to figure out the best fingering.

Always put corrections into context: Fixing a mistake isn’t enough. After you have mastered a correction, go back and connect the phrase to the preceding phrase. Then go back to the beginning of the section and connect, or you will find your old mistake recurring.

Practicing should be like a fine meal, served in courses: If you divide your practice into different sections of activities, you will be productive longer. First you may do some memorization. Then you can work on refining previously learned material. Then perhaps scales and arpeggios, and then perhaps some sight-reading. Doing any one skill for too long takes much greater mental effort and you may not work at optimum level.

Use the 80/20 rule: If you focus the majority of your time on the few places that are weak, you will get much better results than practicing equally on all sections of your music.

Be keenly aware of how you feel: It is essential to be relaxed, sitting comfortably at the right distance from the keyboard and at the right height to avoid injury. Also, you should take periodic breaks to stretch or at least take a short walk to keep your body limber. Be aware of any lingering pain and take appropriate steps to avoid injury.

Jahan Raymond has been compared to Mozart. At 9 years old, his original compositions are astounding audiences.

Buying a piano in the under $1000 price point presents tremendous challenges. Years ago the only choice was to buy an old upright. Today there are digital pianos that can offer an alternative. Which is a better choice?

While there are many digital pianos on the market for well under $1000, plan on spending $800 in order to get a good weighted action and sound. Yamaha in particular has many models at that price point that are quite good. In fact, spending more offers more features but not necessarily a superior instrument. The exception is the quality of the built in sound system which makes a huge difference in the more expensive models. If you invest in a good stand for stability and utilize a decent quality home stereo system or good computer sound system with sub woofer, you can get very good results without investing thousands of dollars for a high end Clavinova or other digital piano.

No digital piano has the nuance of expression and refinement of touch of a fine acoustic piano. However, most pianos under $1000 require extensive work in order to achieve a high level of playing. However, you may find a high quality console piano that has been sitting in a living room for a long time without being played much. These instruments have fallen out of fashion so sometimes you can find a fine used piano like a Baldwin for a few hundred dollars. Plan on investing at least $100-$300 for regulation, voicing and tuning.

Which offers a better practice instrument? There are advantages to both. A new digital piano will be precise. It also offers the option of practicing with headphones. You can also connect it to your computer for all kinds of applications from music notation to sequencing of compositions with orchestrations utilizing different instrument sounds. It is also portable so you can take your music with you.

The acoustic piano has the benefit of an almost infinite range of expression. While digitals keep getting better, the complex action, interaction of harmonics, pedal subtleties and expression can be invaluable to an aspiring pianist. If you are taking lessons or are considering taking lessons, it is important to invest enough to achieve a minimum level of performance. Otherwise, I suggest you are better off with a decent piano and no lessons rather than an inferior instrument and lessons. Practicing on a bad piano or inadequate digital piano can make lessons unproductive and become a frustrating experience. We are fortunate at this time in history to have a choice of acoustic or digital pianos.

There are many things to consider when purchasing a piano. The action is certainly important. The complexity of all of the parts working together in precision is awe inspiring. Interestingly, the action is the one part of a piano that can be restored to like-new condition to the vast majority of pianos. Of course, the level of performance is relative to the quality of the original design and manufacture. Many companies produce first-rate actions.

It is rare to replace an action. When you hear of people utilizing Renner action in a rebuilt piano, they are not putting in a new action, they are replacing all the worn parts. This accomplishes exactly the same results, but rarely do keys, keyframe and the basic structure deteriorate at all. (However, it could be possible with water or fire damage.)

The action is comprised of different elements that wear at different rates.

Bushings: The keys pivot on rails in the front and back of each key. Around the rods are felt bushings. In time the felt becomes compacted and there is play in the keys. The front rails can be turned to achieve tighter tolerance since the rails are not round. Eventually the key bushings need to be replaced when there is too much play.

Hammers become worn from hitting the strings. The felt becomes compacted at the point of impact with the strings. They also become somewhat flattened out in time. They can be reshaped with filing and voiced by needling to get uniform tone. Eventually after many filings there is no more felt to work with and the hammers must be replaced.

Hammer shanks and knuckles: Sometimes the joint that the hammer pivots on (the knuckle) becomes worn to the point that the hammer doesn’t hit the strings in exactly the same point each blow. That is when it becomes necessary to replace the knuckles and shanks.

Dampers: Above the strings are the dampers. When the felt becomes hard, noises and inconsistencies in the termination of notes results. Often these problems can be regulated, but there comes a time when optimum results aren’t possible without replacing the felt.

Back check: There is a leather piece that engages the hammer after the key is pressed. If the felt becomes hard, it can be roughed up to avoid excessive noise. If the leather is too hard it must be replaced too avoid action noise.

Felt action rail and key punchings can harden and replacing is desirable.

Whippen: Now here is where it gets interesting! There are around 100 parts to the action and all the rest of them come pre-assembled in a piece called the whippen. So when rebuilding an action to new condition, there is nothing more to do than what I have listed.

First-rate parts are available from a variety of companies. The important thing is using the right parts that match the original specifications. When this is done, the performance of the action is indistinguishable from a new piano. When you hear of a “New Renner Action”, they don’t actually put in a whole new action, they are using Renner parts to rebuild the action.

Are the newer composite materials utilized in many Asian pianos superior to the traditional wood parts? Here is one clue to the answer to that question. Both Yamaha and Kawai use synthetic materials in their actions. However, their best pianos, Yamaha S series and Shigeru Kawai have all wood actions. In fact, other than Mason & Hamlin which is utilizing the questionable practice of sourcing pre-assembled composite actions and plates from China, no handmade piano uses synthetic materials in their actions!

The fact is, there are aspects to a piano that is fundamental to the quality of the instrument. Even the best action will wear out and need attention over time. But the soundboard, scale design, rim materials, bridge composition, string tension, and plate manufacturing process are intrinsic to the quality of the instrument. These things cannot be improved. So, when looking for a piano as a long-term investment, this is what is most important. That is why a hand-built piano cost more and are more valuable over time. It is also why it is not advisable to rebuild Asian production pianos. There is limited potential for what results are possible. Over time the basic structure of these instruments deteriorates because of the design and materials utilized in manufacturing allowing for the right price for mass marketing.

Robert Estrin
949-244-3729