Piano and Music Videos

For a lot of musicians, it’s impossible to ignore emotion in music; it comes out naturally. However, there are ways you can express yourself and show more emotion in your music – making it a much more powerful experience for your audience.

You might find that the music you are studying or playing gives you an emotional impact but you might wonder if you are translating that to your instrument and the audience. You must overcome the technical challenges needed to express yourself freely. The first thing you will need to do is practice your music thoroughly tackling problems and technical issues.

Now here is the fundamental problem. If you practice a piece over and over again in hopes of being able to play it perfectly, will you still have the same love and emotion for it? Or will the task of studying and practicing a piece extensively destroy the enjoyment you once had for it? It’s a common problem for musicians who lock themselves up in a practice room for hours every day trying to perfect their music only to emerge with a disdain for the music they once loved. There have been a number of times I’ve attended recitals and watched incredibly capable instrumentalist put on boring performances! All too often the performers have lost track of why they are playing their music, to begin with; they’ve lost their love of music and possibly the joy of life.

But how do you avoid this while mastering your music? The first thing you can do is to practice effectively. Practicing with the metronome a great deal builds a solid foundation. This can offer you freedom when performing (without the metronome) since you will not stray too far from becoming self-indulgent when expressing yourself. Practicing the piano without the pedal is also fundamental building clarity in your music. These are simple and effective practice techniques. When you finally get to add the pedal and play without the metronome, it feels so good hearing the music in all its glory. The benefit of the structured practice gives you the freedom to express yourself in performance.

Another important thing to do is to play for other people on a regular basis. It doesn’t matter how much you practice until you get out in front of an audience and actually perform, the music doesn’t come to life. It’s like practicing for a job interview – no matter how much you practice, it will never prepare you for the actual conversation. It’s all about communicating which involves give and take.

Most of all, you must find a balance in life. You need to enjoy your life and your work and you can never achieve this if you let your work consume your life. Sometimes the best thing to do is to step away from the music and allow yourself to recoup and eventually fall in love with it again. Like the old saying goes, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder”. You really should feel this way about your music. When you are away from it coming back feels so good! You will experience joy in your life and in your music!

Learning to play softly on the piano is really a challenge and a skill of fine art. It is very challenging to master but when it’s executed well, the results can be amazing. So this article and video will provide some tips on how to improve your playing.

I want to mention first that you will need to have your piano regulated and voiced on a very high level to achieve consistent, quiet playing. If the notes don’t respond mechanically or sonically in a uniform fashion, you simply can’t achieve pianissimo playing since some notes will drop out.

I was very lucky growing up with my father, Morton Estrin, who is a concert pianist. We had several fine pianos around our house and in his studio, and I also got a chance to try out concert instruments when he was selecting pianos for performance and recording.

He has a reputation for being able to fill even the largest concert halls with tremendous sound; in fact, smaller halls were sometimes not big enough to handle the sound. However, while he was known for his massive strength, he had an incredible skill for pianissimo as well. This is a skill that is really daring for most pianists; as playing quietly really demands the audience’s full attention – even ruffling your feet can disturb the sound of the piano. However, playing like this can open up worlds of expression in the music.

But how do you achieve this? How do you play quietly and still maintain control of your playing? My father would describe pianissimo playing like this: think of the energy of the sun. Now imagine blocking it all out except for one single pinhole. The energy that flows through that one pinhole; that is what pianissimo playing is about. There is an intensity even at very low volume.

When it comes to playing quietly on a wind instrument or a string instrument there is the breath and the bow which provide continuity. So what can you use on the piano to get the smoothness of line in very soft playing?

You could try calculating each note successively louder, then softer trying to get a smooth phrase. However, if you use this approach it will sound calculated! You will not achieve a singing line.

The secret is to use the weight of your arm and to transfer the weight from finger to finger smoothly. When playing pianissimo you will also want to stay as close to the keys as you can making sure they aren’t depressed at all. Use minimum motion. The arm weight provides the analog to the breath of the human voice! It provides a continuum of energy creating the illusion of a singing line.

Keep in mind that the piano is technically not capable of a true singing line since all notes are fading away as soon as they begin. Yet, by utilizing the weight of the arm, you can achieve smooth, pianissimo playing with great control.

This really is a great topic to cover and there is a ton of information for you. There are two distinctly different types of repeated notes: slow repeated notes and fast repeated notes. I’m going to cover both of these techniques this week.

Let’s start with fast repeated notes. The easiest way to handle a fast note played over and over again would be to use two hands. However, for most music this is not going to be an option. Most of the time you will have to learn how to handle fast repeated notes with one hand, and the only way to achieve this is by changing fingers. You MUST change fingers in order to play the notes fast enough.

The most important thing is finding a fingering that works for you. Typically, 3-2-1 is a very good fingering for playing fast repeated notes. In the video above I demonstrate this on one of Scarlatti’s sonatas. I provide some additional instructions specifically on how to approach this; if you have time to watch, you may appreciate this.

Another thing to keep in mind when approaching fast repeated notes is that upright pianos will not be able to handle it. Not all grand or baby grand pianos can even handle the high level of repetition needed but it will need to be regulated well in order to play fast repeated notes.

So how is it done? It is absolutely essential to keep your fingers right over the keys. There isn’t time to make any motion beyond what is needed, so keep your fingers hovering very close over the keys. Also, keep your hand relatively stable, curve your fingers (keep them rounded) and try to hit the middle of the key. It’s best to practice slowly, with a metronome, and work your way up to speed slowly.

When it comes to slow repeated notes there are different schools of thought on how to approach them. I have a bias in the technique I use, however, the method I use is also used by many great pianists.

In the video I demonstrate these techniques on a Mozart Sonata. If you have the time to watch I would definitely recommend it.

Make sure that slow repeated notes are played as smoothly as possible. The big problem with the piano is that no matter how hard you try to connect repeated notes of the same note, they will always be detached in some way. This is because the dampers will always end the notes when they are released.

The trick is to not play the notes with one finger. Just like playing fast repeated notes, if you play with a finger pattern (like 3-2-1) you will be able to get a much better legato. Now the one problem with this is that if you if try and play the notes slowly with different fingers, you may find that a note doesn’t play. This is because the weight of your arm will most likely have your finger pushed down too hard for repetition. The trick is to keep the hand floating above the key putting minimal arm weight into playing. Having a high release of each finger allows the next finger to play the key again. If you do this, you will produce a stunning legato.

Make sure to practice the above technique without the pedal and try to achieve the smoothest legato you can.

I really enjoy your videos on your website and Youtube. Can you please show me how to play the opening jingle for your videos? I’ve noticed it changes frequently but the foundation remains the same.

Thanks,

– Mike

Robert,

What pieces must be original to keep the original sound of a piano?

Just the soundboard or also the strings and hammers and so on?

Thanks,
Rafael Justiniano.

You are right, if the soundboard is replaced, some people feel that the piano is no longer truly original. I have a video on that subject that I just made:

Can You Play the Piano Too Hard?

This is a very common question I get all the time. However, it’s mostly a concern for parents with young children who are worried about the damage that might be done when their children bang on the keys of the piano. I find it very funny actually – as I see this quite a bit – where a young child will go to the piano and start banging on the keys and the parents tell them, “don’t do that; you’re going to break the piano!”

The truth is your kids won’t be able to harm your piano simply by playing it with their fingers. Now, it’s a complete thing altogether if they drop something heavy or sharp onto the keys – that can cause some serious damage. But just playing the piano with their fingers is little – to pretty much zero – risk of any sort of damage.

A concert pianist playing Liszt or Chopin or other composers will play the piano with such force that even if a child hitting the keys with their fists they would never be able to equal the power of the pianist. Pianos are designed to withstand a tremendous amount of force.

Now, the question of whether or not you can play the piano too hard is a bit more involved. When it comes to sound quality, it is possible to play the piano too hard – to the point where the sound quality is degraded. For example, a concert level Steinway or Baldwin or other top-tier pianos (voiced on the mellow side) would be able to withstand an extreme level of playing and produce a very nice and clear sound. However, a cheaper piano – or one not regulated properly with harder hammers – would not be able to withstand the same amount of force without sacrificing some of the quality of the sound; you will most likely get distorted tones.

The biggest factors when it comes to sound quality and playing the piano too loud are the quality of the instrument and the hardness of the hammers (or how the piano is voiced). A piano that is voiced bright will have to be played a little more gently. I find this to be common when it comes to European pianos. They tend to be voiced a little more on the bright side and it is easier to overplay them.

The best guide is to simply use your ears. There might be a Steinway that is voiced too bright and there might be a Bechstein that is voiced on the lower end – it’s all up to your ears and you as the player to tell what is working and what isn’t when it comes to sound.

Is there any indication that you can be playing the piano too loud? Other than looking around the room and seeing if anyone is covering their ears there is the possibility that room acoustics can play a very important role in the loudness of the piano.

This took me a very long time to learn properly but the room in which a piano is placed has a lot to do with how it sounds. There is a possibility of an undersized piano for a room – where it will sound too quiet and the pianist will play the instrument harder to get more sound – and there is a possibility of the piano being too big for a room as well – leading to sound degradation and unhappy listeners. This truly is a topic for another video, but again just listen and make your own judgment as to whether or not the sound quality is ok.