Piano Lessons- Music Theory Lessons

You’ve no doubt heard diminished 7th chords before. Anytime you hear spooky chords in an old horror movie or a Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody, works of Richard Wagner, as well as many other pieces of music, they are pervasive. They serve very important functions. But what are diminished 7th chords?

The piano is a unique instrument. I recall my third grade general music class. On occasion my teacher would let me play the piano for for everyone at the end of class and it was something I looked forward to. On one particular day when we were learning about the families of musical instruments, string, brass, woodwind and percussion, I asked if I could play at the end of class. But my teacher had a stipulation because of limited time. If I could tell her the classification of the piano she would let me play. I knew by the look on her face that it couldn’t have been something obvious which would be the string family, so guessed that the piano was a percussion instrument (the only other group of instruments I deemed possible). She was shocked that I had guessed correctly and she had to let me play!

So yes, the piano is a percussion instrument.

When the hammers strike the strings the notes sound and immediately begin fading away.

All music emulates the human voice to one degree or another. On wind instruments the connection is obvious – they utilize the breath. Even bowed string instruments produce continuity of sound not unlike the breath of the voice. So how do you emulate this quality on the piano, an instrument where the notes immediately begin to fade away as soon as you play them?

This is what we are going to discuss in detail today using the Chopin F# Nocturne (in the video example). I am going to provide a collection of techniques to help you achieve the tone you desire on the piano. Ultimately you are the judge of the sound you produce and you’ll use your ears to achieve the sound you want. These are guidelines to help you explore different tonal possibilities.

The first way to produce a singing line on the piano is to get louder towards the middle of the phrase and softer towards the end of the phrase. This is achieved not by calculating note to note but by using the weight of your arms to produce the desired tone. Here is an article and video which describes this technique in some detail:

The second way to produce a singing tone on the piano is to play louder as you play higher notes and softer when playing descending musical lines. The reason why this works so well is that when you’re singing or playing most wind instruments it’s natural for the higher notes to be louder than lower notes. This technique will create a different sense of phrasing from the method described above, yet the outcome is very lyrical.

The last method I’m going to share is something intrinsic to the piano. This is something that a master pianist Vladimir Horowitz utilized a great deal. Obviously you can’t completely replicate his style or methods which encompass many aspects, but you can attempt to create a similar tone production in your music. The method he utilized was to play longer notes with more energy than shorter notes.

Why does this technique make sense? It comes back to the physics of piano sound and the fact that as a percussion instrument notes are always fading away. For notes to last longer you must play them with more energy so they last long enough to create a musical line. If you try this on the piano it creates a singing quality in your music.

One of the most common questions we get here at the store pertains to ivory keys and whether or not they are worth money. Since ivory is scarce today – and also illegal to buy/sell in many instances – it seems that they might be valuable on the second-hand market. This is not exactly the case.

First of all, when we talk about the white piano keys, we are referring to the keytops and not the keys themselves. Most of the piano keys are made out of wood and a cover of ivory or plastic is placed on top and in front of the keys. The pieces of ivory or plastic that go over the wooden keys are very thin. So, as a source of raw ivory, you are not working with much material when it comes to a single key top.

The biggest problem you are going to face is that selling ivory is illegal. Ripping the key tops off a piano and trying to sell them by themselves is not a good idea. For example, if you even try to list a product with ivory on eBay the listing will be removed – they simply don’t allow it. You also can’t transport ivory overseas and in some cases even in the United States, you may be prevented from selling ivory across state lines. So the market for selling ivory keys tops is very limited.

So what can you do with ivory keys you don’t need?

The best thing you can do is give them to your piano technician. Many times a technician will keep some ivory key tops with them in case one needs to be replaced on a piano. No two ivories are the same. However, there is a possibility they can match a key to an existing piano when a key top needs to be replaced if they have a big enough collection of old ivories of different sizes and hues.

Before the laws tightened, a set of ivory keys could have been worth thousands of dollars. There is some today who still sell them. You should use caution when dealing with ivory since the laws can be complex.

Welcome to the first part in a multi-part series on chords. Today we are going to talk about how to identify the chords you are playing. I’ve had questions from people playing certain sonorities and wondering what exactly they are playing. In this lesson, we are going to talk about the basics of identifying chords.

The most basic thing to know about chords is that they are (almost always) built on the interval of a third. What is a third? A third is any notes that are on lines or spaces (not both) – they are two letter names apart. Here are some examples of thirds: A-C (leaving out B) or C-E (leaving out D).

Some chords are more sophisticated and they have what is called altered tones. This means that there might be an augmented or diminished chord that will have raised or lowered notes.

So knowing all this, how are you supposed to figure out what the chords are? It’s easier than you might think. Simply arrange the notes into thirds on the staff.

When you are reading your music, make sure that the notes are arranged in thirds. To do this, simply look at the notes that are on lines or spaces. Sometimes this can be tricky because there is something referred to as inversions. An inversion is done by taking the bottom note of a chord and placing it on the top (or the top note is placed on the bottom) – in the end, it will be exactly the same chord. So how do you know which chord it is? In an inversion, the notes will not be arranged in thirds, if you rearrange the notes until they form thirds (all lines or all spaces) you will find the root of the chord which is on the bottom. Take the bottom note and place it on top, or the top note on the bottom and the notes will arrange into thirds – all lines, or all spaces.

So how do you handle chords with more than three notes? The same principle applies to these chords. You can actually build chords all the way to the 13th utilizing only the interval of a third. Why is a 13 chord the limit? Because if you play one more third you will arrive back at the note you started on. This is because there are only seven possible notes within a scale and a 13 chord contains all of them!

This might sound confusing but once you start applying the basic principles in this lesson you will see that it makes perfect sense and is an easy way to identify chords. Next time we will be covering how to approach expanded chords.

We’ve had a lot of questions about this particular Mozart Sonata K 457 and today I’m going to address a very common question I receive about this piece. In the second movement, there is a section of very fast notes – some are 64th notes, some even go to 128th notes – and people are very interested in how to fit these notes in.

The simple answer is that you don’t need to fit these notes in perfectly as written – the final product should come out correctly but there is a certain level of freedom allowed. Here is an example of the section we are discussing:

That looks intimidating, doesn’t it? Well, there is a secret to playing this section and actually making it sound even better. Start the run a little bit early (just a hair before it’s supposed to actually start). Now is this going to affect the sound of the piece and make it lose its integrity? Not at all.

Mozart was known as a great improviser – as so many of the great composers of the past were – and they did their best to write down their music as accurately as they could. However, when it comes to cadenza-style passages, there is only so much you can do to write it down so that the music makes sense visually. So by experimenting with the timing, you can actually produce a better execution of the passage and not have to worry about having such a rapid string of notes. You are much better off not slowing down your tempo at all, but instead adjusting the timing to fit the notes in a musical way.

Today we are going to cover Double Sharps and Double Flats. You might think I made this up but it is an actual thing in music and it’s something that you should be aware of.

You’re probably familiar with sharps and flats and you might assume they are represented by the black keys on the piano. This, however, is not entirely true, sharps and flats are not just black keys on the piano.

Sharps and Flats simply raise or lower a note by a half step. A half step is represented by the closest interval. On a piano, this is a set of two keys next to each other with no keys between.

If you play C on a piano it is a white key. If you play a C sharp it is a black key. If you play a C flat it is a white key (the B key). The note that is sharp or flat is simply the next key to that note – whether it is white or black.

So what about double sharps and double flats?

Here is how you would see them in your musical scores:

So what does this mean and how do you interpret these notes. Well if a sharp or flat is simply a half step either higher or lower – then a double sharp or double flat is a whole step (or two half steps) higher or lower than the written note.

Player systems have become incredibly advanced – many can be programmed using a tablet or phone. They can play historic performances of some of the greatest pianists of all time preserved digitally from the original expressive player piano rolls from over 100 years ago! They can download new music over your home wireless network. Some have speakers that can play music to accompany the piano, and some will even record your performance for playback. It is a very exciting technology.

If you’ve considered getting one of these units for your piano you might wonder whether or not it will do any damage to the piano or if it will it play differently? These are good questions which require something more than a simple yes or no answers. The truth is, it can hurt the piano, but it doesn’t have to.

Many people are initially surprised when they find out how much it costs to install a player system on their piano. Typically it will cost thousands of dollars. The process to install a player system is quite complex and you will want to make sure you work with a technician who is experienced in installing them.

In order to install the system, the technician must cut into the key bed where the player system actuators come through to operate the keys from the bottom. Under the hands of a skilled technician, there is virtually no risk involved with installing a player system.

With the right technician, you will not be able to tell a difference in the action if a player system is installed. My technician has been installing player systems for over 30 years and I’ve played many pianos he has installed them on and can’t tell any difference in the feel or response of the pianos in any way.

Now, there is another side to player system installation that you should be aware of. If a technician is not skilled in installing player systems, there is some risk of damage to your piano. Incidentally, a large piano moving company started training its truck drivers to install player systems in pianos in response to a decline in piano sales and deliveries after the crash of the housing market. Many dealers are taking advantage of the low labor costs. So, when you consider having a player system installed in your piano, be sure to inquire who is doing the work.