Tag Archives: how to play piano

How to Practice Bach: C Minor Prelude Well Tempered Clavier BK I

Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today, I’m going to show you how to practice Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in C Minor from book one of his Well-Tempered Clavier. First, I’m going to play it for you. Then I want to zero in on the fast section. The whole thing is 16th notes, and then just towards the end it gets fast. It’s a great prelude. I want you to hear it first, and then I’m going to show you a bunch of ways you can practice this prelude. Stay until the end, because the last technique I’m going to show you is the ultimate technique!

Some people spend countless hours learning exercises.

Instead of learning tedious exercises, you might as well use music to develop your playing. That’s exactly what I’m going to show you how to do here. I’m going to show you a whole bunch of ways you can practice this prelude. These methods are really valuable. It kind of turns this prelude into different exercises that have great value, not just for playing this piece but for developing your technique.

First, let’s talk about the obvious things you can do.

Turn the metronome on. Find a comfortable speed where you can play it accurately. At first, when you’re playing slowly, articulate each note with gently rounded, raised fingers. This way, you get precise release of notes so the notes don’t blur together. Take the tempo up one notch at a time. As you get faster, make the fingers more gently rounded, and stay close to the keys. Of course, you don’t raise your fingers when playing fast. It’s only a way to help you practice the release of notes when playing slowly. When you get faster, lighten up and stay close to the keys.

Another handy way of working on this is with different articulations.

For example, try playing with staccato fingers. Or you could play one hand staccato and the other hand legato. There are also different accents that you could use. You could do four-note groups. You can play with different rhythms. You can play with different dynamics in the two hands. Naturally, there are other things you can do—other rhythms or accents. Some people might even want to accent the offbeats. See the video for examples of each of these techniques!

You could just spend hours, days, weeks, months, or even years with this one prelude, turning it into hundreds of different exercises!

You can use these different practice techniques with your music instead of learning hundreds of different exercises, and you get the same value. Plus, you get the added benefit of learning a piece inside and out as a reward for your hard work.

As I promised, here is the ultimate practice technique.

I love this practice method because it really trains your hand and your brain to be able to play this piece by practicing different note groups. First, play through the section broken up into four-note groups. Then, when you get comfortable going through the whole section that way, you can practice playing groups of eight notes. And then you can play groups of 16 notes at a time. You can focus on sections that need work, and identify the precise group of notes that need to be solidified.

Zero in on the parts that need work.

You don’t necessarily have to go through the entire section with all these different methods I’m showing you. Maybe you can play a good deal of it cleanly, but you keep missing one part. Try the various practice techniques on that part. Zero in where you need it. You shouldn’t just do an equal amount of practice on all of it because you might not need equal amounts on all of it. Now, at the beginning, you may very well need to work on all of it. That’s why a great starting point is playing it with the metronome with raised fingers, articulating everything, and making sure you get it all clean. Do some metronome speeds just to get it under your fingers, then strategically use these practice methods. That way, you can take the parts that are weak and make them strong. Build note groups upon note groups, and strategically use all these different techniques to help you master not just this Bach prelude but any piece of music! It will help you develop your technique on the piano. I hope this is helpful for you! Thanks again for joining me, Robert Estrin, here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

For the sheet music for all the exercises mentioned and demonstrated, please visit: https://a2f360.myshopify.com/products/bach

How to Play 3 Against 4 Rhythms

Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today I’m going to explain how to play 3 against 4 rhythms. Have you ever tried to play three against four rhythms? You have a triplet in one hand and four 16th notes in the other hand. How can you possibly play those two rhythms? Some teachers just say to play the four with one hand, and play the three with the other hand, and then put them together. Well, what if that doesn’t work? What can you possibly do? By the end of this, you’re going to be able to play three against four!

First, I’m going to explain the mathematical relationship so you understand what is happening when you play 3 against 4.

Let’s simplify things for a moment and start with 3 against 2. 3 against 2 is not all that hard because it has basically six divisions. Two goes into six three times, and three goes into six two times. So your hands play together, right, left, right, left if the left hand is playing the triplet and the right hand is playing two notes. And indeed, that produces the correct rhythm.

Rhythm Chart 1

So the question is, can’t you do the same thing with 3 against 4? Technically, you can. But I’ll explain the problem with that in just a minute. You could figure out the mathematical relationship of 3 against 4 by counting to 12. Because, after all, three goes into twelve four times, and four goes into twelve three times. Mathematically, that works.

Chart 2

But the problem with that is getting it up to speed. Suppose you’re playing something like Debussy’s The Snow is Dancing from Children’s Corner Suite. At the fast tempo that goes, how could you possibly ever count that fast? You couldn’t. It’s impossible. A 3 against 4 is usually going to be at a faster tempo than you can count in this manner.

So here is the method for playing 3 against 4.

First, I’m going to show you how to rough it out where it’s not correct, but it is close to what three against four is. Basically, the rough version (which is not rhythmically even) is to play your hands together, left, right, left, right, left. If you just listen to the three, you’ll hear that the rhythm is distorted. It’s not quite right. So why am I telling you to do this if it’s wrong? Because you can at least start to understand which notes play first in each hand. Then you can adjust the rhythm to make it correct. And I’ll show you exactly how to do that. It’s the third triplet that has to come in later, so the last one in the right hand is going to come in later (if the triplet is in your right hand). The problem is, if you do that, the whole thing bogs down. So the last note in the right hand has to come in later, and then the last note in the left hand comes in right after that, much sooner than you might think.

To check if you’re doing it correctly, tap one hand on the top of the piano and play the other hand on the piano so you can hear clearly.

This is incredibly valuable. For example, with 3 against 2, the 3 is easy. So you tap the 3 on the top of the piano (or in your lap) while you play the 2 on the piano so you can hear the 2 clearly. When you play 3 against 2, you’ll be tempted to accent the second note of the 2. But that is not the way rhythm generally works. Usually, the first notes on the beat are louder or have more rhythmic emphasis than the off-beats in a group of two notes (unless it’s a syncopated rhythm). So you want to purposely underplay the second note of the tuplet (the two). You can do the same thing with your music. By playing one hand on top of the piano, you can hear what the other hand is doing. Because when you play the hands together, it can be all but impossible to identify the distortion of the rhythm. But when you play one hand silently in your lap or on top of the piano, you can clearly hear the evenness of the slower note on the piano (the two in 3 against 2, or the three in 4 against 3).

This is a hack that really works!

So remember, when you play 4 against 3, the third note of the triplet is going to be later than you think it is. And then the fourth note in the other hand is going to be right after the late triplet. That is the secret to playing 3 against 4! That’s the lesson for today. Try it out! If you’ve ever struggled playing 4 against 3, see if this helps. Let me know how it works for you in the comments here at LivingPianos.com and on YouTube! Thanks again for joining me, Robert Estrin, here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

For premium videos and exclusive content, you can join my Living Pianos Patreon channel! www.Patreon.com/RobertEstrin

Contact me if you are interested in private lessons. I have many resources for you! Robert@LivingPianos.com

27 Pianos in an 1100-Square-Foot House

Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today I’m going to tell you the story of how we had 27 pianos in an 1100-square-foot house. It’s actually the story of how I got into selling pianos. It all begins with how I started teaching piano.

I started teaching piano when I was still in high school.

I assisted my father, Morton Estrin, with his teaching, as my sister did before me. It was my part-time job throughout my conservatory years. Teaching has always been a mainstay. People would call me for lessons, and the first question I would always ask was, Do you have a piano? If they didn’t, I would tell them, honestly, you’re better off with a piano and no lessons than lessons and no piano. So I was turning away students right and left, and I couldn’t really afford to do that. We were kind of struggling financially. I was driving my Pinto all over the county and beyond! This was in southern Indiana since I graduated from Indiana University in Bloomington.

Eventually, I bought a big old upright and moved it myself.

I ended up moving hundreds of those big, tall uprights. Thank goodness I lifted correctly and fortunately, never hurt my back. So the next time somebody called for lessons, I asked if they had a piano, and they said no. I said that I had one they could try out. And sure enough, they bought the piano! I got another student, and everything was good. So I was bold and bought two more. But my piano technician came in and told me that the bass bridges on both pianos were cracked. I always checked out the pianos. I would look at the hammers and the soundboards, but I never thought of taking out the kickboard. Sure enough, the bass bridges were cracked on both pianos! My technician said he didn’t do that kind of work, but he recommended another tuner. So I called them up, and they came over. I didn’t really have the money to fix it. So I asked if there was any way he could do the work, and then when I sold the pianos, I could pay him and split the profit. And he was nice enough to agree to that. So we did that. Sure enough, both pianos sold, and they both made a profit. So I realized that this was something we could scale (pun intended!).

Before we knew it, we had five pianos, then seven pianos, and we topped out at 27 pianos!

We had a walk-out basement. I also had my recording studio down there. I’ve always been into music technology. We had a lot of the pianos upstairs because, among those pianos, six of them were grand pianos! We had two young children at the time. Eventually, we topped out at 27 pianos in an 1100-square-foot house! That’s right. This is real. It’s not just clickbait. We actually did that. Since that time, we’ve always had pianos in our home. And we still do right here in the Waterloo Arts District. This beautiful historical building was originally built in the 1860s, if you can believe it. We have two showrooms down here, and we live on the two levels above. Down in the basement, we have our ping-pong table. We play almost every night! The other half of our pianos are up the street at Treelawn Music Hall, where they have a phenomenal jazz program in a small venue and a large music hall where they have a 9-foot concert grand Steinway we sold them. We have our pianos there in what used to be a bowling alley. So we literally live with these pianos, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Now my teaching is all online, and it’s a joy. Teaching and pianos, along with performing and recording technology, have been the mainstays since my high school days. Thanks again for joining me, Robert Estrin, here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

For premium videos and exclusive content, you can join my Living Pianos Patreon channel! www.Patreon.com/RobertEstrin

The Greatest Challenge of Moving to Cleveland


Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today, I’m going to tell you what the greatest challenge has been with moving to Cleveland. Believe it or not, it’s finding enough great piano technicians! We started LivingPianos.com as the world’s First Online Piano Store in Orange County, California, in 2006, doing over 80% of our business out of the area. We were in one of the most expensive places in the country. And we lamented that we had to spend so much money to do business there when we were selling most of our business out of the area.

My sister, Coren Estrin Mino, is also a pianist.

She graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music years ago, and she settled here. She’s a pianist and a teacher. So I’m no stranger to Cleveland. But think of the arduous task of moving our store with dozens of pianos. We had a recording studio. We even had an Airbnb we rented out. Not to mention our home. Moving was a huge undertaking, but it has been incredibly worthwhile!

We loved Southern California.

We were 20 minutes away from Laguna Beach. We have friends there who we loved to visit. But coming home, if it was after 2:00 pm, we would be stuck in rush hour traffic. We had to plan our whole day around the traffic. I don’t miss that. Of course, the weather in Cleveland cannot compare to Southern California. But there are a lot of great things about Cleveland.

Cleveland is a great place to live!

We’ve got the second-largest playhouse district in the country! The real blessing is having the Cleveland Orchestra 10 minutes away. There’s a necklace of metroparks around the city, and we are 10 minutes from the lake. So spread the word! If there’s anybody you know who works on pianos who would like a new life in a place that has a rich cultural history, Cleveland is the place. And it’s very affordable to live here. Come join our team of great technicians! Thanks again for joining me, Robert Estrin, here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

For premium videos and exclusive content, you can join my Living Pianos Patreon channel! www.Patreon.com/RobertEstrin

Contact me if you are interested in private lessons. I have many resources for you! Robert@LivingPianos.com

Why You Must Practice in Chords First

Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today I’m going to tell you why you must practice your music in chords first. There are so many benefits to this! I’m going to dive right in and show you. One obvious example of how a piece can be reduced to chords is Bach Prelude in C Major from The Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1.

The entire prelude is just a bunch of broken chords!

By practicing in chords first, you will get it into your fingers and your head. You’ll understand the harmonies. It’s much simpler to initially learn each phrase of this piece in chords first. You can discover the best fingering and understand the structure of the music. There are many other examples of this that may be less obvious. For example, an Alberti bass in Mozart, like in his famous K 545 C major Sonata. The left hand can be reduced to chords as you learn each phrase. This will help you to digest the score.

There’s much less to learn, and then you can break it up after you’ve learned it in chords.

There are some other examples that may be even less obvious to you at first glance. For example, the very first Grieg Lyric piece. That one is basically just chords. It’s so much easier to learn it when you just reduce it down to those chords. I’ll give you one more example. This one is a little bit harder because you can’t necessarily reach the chords; at least my hands are not big enough to reach them. But it’s still valuable to play it in chords, even if you have to break them. The first Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood) of Schumann. Once again, you can break it down into chords. You don’t want to necessarily play the whole piece in chords. But as you learn each section, first playing in chords will help you learn the music.

You can utilize this technique in your practice of so many different pieces of music!

It will save you time, you will develop good fingering, and you will understand the harmonies in a much deeper way. How many of you practice this way already? I’d love to hear from you! Let us know in the comments here at LivingPianos.com and on YouTube! Thanks again for joining me, Robert Estrin, here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

For premium videos and exclusive content, you can join my Living Pianos Patreon channel! www.Patreon.com/RobertEstrin

A Piano Convention!

Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. I’m here at the PIPPA Piano Convention. It’s the first of its kind! I play the French horn, and I always enjoyed going to the French horn convention, the International Horn Workshop. My wife is a flutist. There’s a flute convention; there’s a trumpet convention; there’s a trombone convention; there are conventions for almost every instrument except the piano until now, with PIPPA: Piano Industry Professionals & Producers Affiliated. This piano convention includes pianists, piano teachers, piano technicians and piano manufacturers from all over the world!

I’m really excited to try many pianos including a Hailun 9-foot concert grand piano!

This is the first time I’ve ever played this piano. It is a great opportunity to try so many instruments from around the world. You can check out the accompanying video to hear this 9-foot concert grand from one of China’s premier piano companies, a country with so many piano manufacturers.

Out of hundreds of piano companies in China, Hailun is among the best.

This piano has such a velvety smooth action. It’s really beautifully crafted. With hundreds of piano companies, the competition in China is tremendous because there are tens of millions of piano students there. And this is the pinnacle of what’s coming out of China today. And there are so many other pianos here. There are Petrof pianos from the Czech Republic, which are absolutely exquisite handcrafted instruments. There are pianos, pianists, piano technicians, and piano teachers from all over the world here at PIPPA.

It’s an amazing thing for all of us to be able to get together!

I hope you enjoy this! I think it’s great, and I look forward to visiting PIPPA again! Let me know what you think about the whole idea of a piano convention in the comments here at LivingPianos.com and on YouTube! Thanks again for joining me, Robert Estrin, here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

For premium videos and exclusive content, you can join my Living Pianos Patreon channel! www.Patreon.com/RobertEstrin

Contact me if you are interested in private lessons. I have many resources for you! Robert@LivingPianos.com