Piano Lessons- Music Theory Lessons

I get this question all the time and I figured it was finally time to make a video about it. The short answer is no, you can’t soundproof a room. Is it theoretically possible? Yes, if cost and space is no object, then you can soundproof a room. But let’s talk about more conventional ways to reduce the sound of a room to make it a little more tolerable for your neighbors or housemates.

I once asked a studio engineer in a very nice studio how he would go about soundproofing a room. He said one option would be to build a room entirely out of cinder blocks and fill them with sand. While this may not be practical for too many situations, there is something to be learned from this.

Mass is one of the great barriers to overcoming sound since sound is waves of energy and increasing the mass requires substantial energy to have much of an effect upon something so heavy. Even the loudest sounds produced by musical instruments would have a hard time getting through. Even with all that mass, it still might not be completely soundproof.

Anywhere there is air, sound will escape. With that in mind, the way to help soundproof a room is to eliminate any space air can escape through. The way recording studios do this it to build a room within a room. That is, not only are all the walls duplicated with space between, the floor and the ceiling are “floating” meaning that they come in contact with adjacent structures only at minimal points. The dead air between the structures will inhibit the transfer of sound. The recording room will be contained in it’s own room, then there will be a space before the walls of the existing room. Every room in the studio must utilize this building technique. The ventilation system must be isolated from room to room as well utilizing baffles since any sound deadening is only as effective as the weakest point of isolation.

Notice the empty space between the walls and the ceiling. If you had something between those walls – like a stud in a traditional house or office – it would create mass for the sound to travel through since it isn’t so dense. As you can see in the diagram above, the best way to reduce sound is to have nothing between the two sets of walls. However, the floor will still have sound travel through unless it is floating as described above.

One helpful building method is utilizing resilient channel when putting drywall up. Resilient channels are metal strips that are screwed in perpendicular to the studs in walls which creates a slight gap between the dry wall and the studs. This cuts down on the amount of sound transferred between walls because it prevents the sound of the vibrating drywall from transferring through the stud to the drywall on the other side.

The best solution to soundproofing is to find an existing space that lends itself to soundproofing. For example, if you have a house with an additional building outside.

Some people might wonder why you can’t just put foam egg cartons on the side of a room. Don’t these soundproof?

They actually don’t. These are placed on walls to stop the reflections of sound that occur when sounds hits a wall. Instead of having them reflect back into the room, these foam pieces will absorb some of the sound and reduce it, but they will not soundproof a room. It will make the room quieter therefore it will reduce the amount of sound that transfers from room to room somewhat, but it’s not a solution for soundproofing

The more soft material you fill a room with, the less sound will reflect and travel and the more will be absorbed. Filling a room with large, thick carpets and heavy, cushy furniture will reduce sound in the room. Low frequency are very large sound waves. So, they require large absorptive panels to help deaden those frequencies. These are referred to as, “bass traps”. It might not be satisfying playing in an acoustically dead, room but it will reduce the sound. But it will not soundproof the room.

Welcome to our new series for developing your stage presence in 5 easy steps. Even if you are shy or uncomfortable in front of large audiences you can improve your stage presence with a little bit of practice and a few easy tips.

This series was inspired by an experience I had in high school. One year there was a performance of outstanding young musicians in our school. Everyone was taken with a singer named Judy – her performance was spectacular! A couple of days later I was excited to hear the recording but was left a little underwhelmed – it wasn’t as good as I remembered it.

I began to understand that it was not the actual singing that captivated the audience but the way she presented herself. It was exciting and breathtaking as she engaged herself incredibly well with the audience and commanded attention.

So today we start with the first tip in the countdown, number 5: Take Your Time.

When you are in a performance it’s true that all the eyes are on you. In many cases performers will feel a sense of urgency – that they should rush to their instrument and begin playing as soon as possible. This is not in your best interest.

Your time perspective is different from the audience’s. They are there to enjoy themselves and they want to be comfortable. If you walk out onto the stage and give yourself a few moments to relax and prepare yourself, the audience will do the same. They will end their conversations, get comfortable in their seats, and after a few moments they will be ready for the show.

While you don’t want to make the audience wait too long, after a few moments of silence there is a drama and anticipating that builds within the audience. If you harness this effectively they will be completely captivated by the time you play your first note.

This is not typically done in classical performances, but it’s certainly something you should think about incorporating. Talking with your audience creates a strong personal connection that can be invaluable in cementing lasting memories of the performance.

When I was growing up, my father Morton Estrin played large venues all over the world, from Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall to Europe and elsewhere. One of his trademarks was that he would talk to the audience. Taking a brief moment during the performance to break the ice and introduce himself as a performer and a person would allow the audience to form a personal connection and enrich their experience.

If you are performing in a more relaxed setting – like a restaurant or a club – it’s imperative that you make contact with your audience and talk with them every now and then. You shouldn’t talk too much but you should briefly speak to them every now and then to make a genuine connection. It can be thrilling for the audience!

It’s even more unexpected in larger concert halls. Even if you feel nervous and unsure about making contact this way, try announcing your encore pieces clearly so everyone can hear. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been to concerts where the artist never talks at all and the audience becomes confused and frustrated trying to figure out what encore pieces are being played.

Today we are going to address the question of what is better, a Digital Piano or an Upright Piano. This is a common question here at the store and it’s something worth investigating. While neither an upright or a digital piano is comparable to a good quality baby grand or grand piano, you may wonder which is a better choice.

The big plus to owning a digital piano is that it’s always in tune so you never have to spend time or money maintaining the instrument. Digital pianos can also change their volume as well as be used with headphones so you can practice without disturbing people around you. Most digital pianos allow you to connect to your computer to enhance your experience with programs that can record your playing and aid in learning. Digital pianos also allow you to play with different sounds and effects that simply aren’t possible on a traditional piano. There are a lot of possibilities with a digital piano.

On the other hand there are plenty of reasons that an upright piano is a good choice. If you’ve ever looked inside a piano you see hundreds of parts for each note that make up the piano’s action. Even though an upright piano action is not as responsive as one in a grand piano,

they are much more responsive than even the best digital piano action. There is simply no way to replicate the feel and touch of an actual piano action. This can be incredibly important if you plan on playing anywhere else besides your digital piano since as a pianist you are called upon to play whatever piano is available.

I generally recommend an acoustic piano to any aspiring student, but there are exceptions. If you can’t afford a decent upright piano or you can only get ahold of a shorter spinet piano (which has an inferior indirect blow action) then a digital piano might be a better choice for you. If you want to experiment with different sounds or are severely limited in space, a digital piano might also be the right choice for you.

Acoustic pianos have benefits when it comes to sound. Although digital pianos sample the actual sounds of nine foot concert grand pianos, there are limits to what can be recorded. Even a high end digital piano that has multiple sound samples of each note at different volume levels can’t replicate the range of tones possible on an acoustic piano. An acoustic piano has infinite levels of expression that simply can’t be matched on a digital instrument, although they keep getting better. For an advanced student there is no substitute for the expression possible on an actual acoustic piano.

So, unless you require the features and benefits of a digital piano, you are better off with a good quality acoustic upright piano over a digital piano. There is no substitute to playing an actual piano. Technology keeps advancing and digital pianos continue to get better and better. So, one day in the future this could be a different situation. Until then you are better off practicing on a good upright piano.

If you’ve shopped for a piano you might be familiar with these terms. As you might expect, the answer to which one of these types of hammers is preferable is not so simple.

Cold Pressed Hammers

Cold pressed hammers are typically found on American and European Pianos. The felt is typically softer than hot pressed hammers found on Asian pianos and they lend themselves more to the warm tone appropriate for much classical music.

Cold pressed hammers can actually be a bit too soft in some instances – like on many new Steinway pianos where hammers have to be treated with chemical agents such as lacquer in order to get the felt to harden up a bit to make the piano sound bright enough.

Hot pressed Hammers

Typically found on Asian pianos, hot pressed hammers contain felt that is already hard and produce a nice bright tone right out of the box! For certain styles of music this is the type of sound you may be after. In rock or pop settings the piano will cut through a mix better than a Steinway! This is why Yamaha is the preferred piano for many rock and pop artists.

If the hammers are a bit too hard for your liking and produce a sound that is too bright and brittle, you can sometimes have a technician needle them to soften the felt and get good results.

Time and Play is a Big Issue

Whether you have cold or hot pressed hammers, over time the felt will harden with continued play. As the hammers continue to strike the strings of the piano they will become grooved:

When the felt on the hammers becomes grooved like this, the felt becomes more compacted and harder over time with continued use.

Sometimes you can get new life out of worn hammers by filing to get the egg shape essential for good tone. Needling them can make the tone more mellow as well. Eventually there isn’t fresh felt to work with and new hammers are required.

The Choice Depends upon You

Like many aspects of the piano, the choice of the right type of hammers for you depends largely on the style of music you play.

If you are a classical player and you practice a great deal, hot pressed hammers could be problematic as they will get harder faster and need to be needled more often. But no matter how many times you needle them they might not be able to be brought down far enough to produce the softer tone you may be looking for. So, in this case, cold pressed felt may be more suitable.

However, if you play classical music but have a softer touch, you might prefer the sound of hot pressed hammers since you can get brilliant sound with less energy. If you don’t find yourself playing with a great amount of force on the keys, the hot pressed felt will help produce a louder and more distinct tone that can cover up for the lack of force at which the hammers strike the keys.

The same thing is true for rock and pop music. Hot pressed hammers may be a great fit, but if you are an extremely powerful player, you may want the cold pressed hammers so the tone doesn’t become crunchy and distorted at higher volumes.

So much depends on the type of music and style in which you play and your personal preference in tone. As with most decisions with your piano, there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to hard or cold pressed hammers.

Just keep in mind these simple truths when it comes to hammer felt:

Cold pressed hammers = softer felt – mellower tone

Hot pressed hammers = harder felt – brighter tone

This question comes from one of our viewers Elizabeth from Cozumel in the Caribbean.

She asks, “What can I do about the extreme humidity where I live?” when it comes to her piano.

There are several things you can do to help alleviate the problem of humidity or climate when it comes to the life of your piano.

Buy a Dehumidifier

Install the dehumidifier and make sure that you keep all the windows closed.

You can also use Air Conditioning to do pretty much the same thing.

However, if you are living near the beach or somewhere where you want to enjoy the elements, you might have second thoughts about keeping your windows closed. After all, you have to balance the enjoyment of your life with the longevity of your piano.

But is there anything you can do other than close everything up? Sure.

Close Your Piano at Night

At nighttime when the marine layer comes in, that is the worst time of day for your piano.

This shouldn’t just be something you do if you live near the beach either. Generally, closing your piano at night is a great idea to prolong the life of the instrument.

Buy a String Cover

With excessive humidity it might be a good idea to buy a string cover.

This is a piece of felt that will match the shape of the inside of your piano. It will cover the strings and protect them from humidity without affecting the sound too much.

Put a Cover over the Entire Piano

If you want to protect the piano even more, you can close the entire piano and put a cover over it to prolong the life of the instrument.

But if you want the enjoyment of having your piano open a good deal of the time and still protecting it, there is one thing that might be the right solution for you.

Install a Dampp Chaser System

This is a very interesting way to prolong the life of your piano and still be able to enjoy it’s beauty without having to close it or cover it.

This technology puts heating rods beneath the piano with a humidistat. Whenever the humidity gets above a certain level, the heating rods will become hot.

This will help to keep your soundboard stable and will make tuning more stable over time.

Bottom line, just make sure that no matter what you do to prolong the life your piano, you are able to get the enjoyment out of it that you want.