Tag Archives: music lessons

What is Solfeggio? Music Theory Lessons

Solfeggio, sometimes called sight-singing, is the ability to read and sing music at sight. This is an incredibly important skill for all musicians. So how do you develop these skills?

There are a couple of different systems and each one has different values. I’m going to explore these and you can decide what the best course of action is for you.

I grew up with a method called “movable do solfege”. You’ve probably heard it before: “Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do”. “Do” is the tonic, the first note of the major scale, and you simply progress up through the scale degrees. In movable do solfege, no matter what major key you are in, the tonic of that key is always do. For example, if you are in C major, C is “do”. This is important to remember because this is not the case when it comes to “fixed do” solfege.

In “fixed do” solfege C is always “do” (and “re” is d and so on). The notes never change syllables.

While these two methods are completely different, they are both important in their own ways.

The strength of “fixed do” comes from naming notes. No matter what iteration the note takes it will always correlate to the particular syllable in the “fixed do” system. C will always be “do”, D will always be “re” and so on. This can be incredibly useful – especially if you’re a conductor – because you will be able to determine the absolute pitch of each of the notes. Scores are transposed and there are different clefs so being able to determine the absolute pitch is a very powerful tool.

So why would you want to use movable do? Why should you constantly be changing the pitch of “do” and why would you want it in different places? The value is that you can hear music in the context of the key, so you can figure out the notes you are hearing. In other words, if you hear a pattern of notes (for example: do, mi, so ) you can determine that it’s a major triad chord; no matter what the key. This makes it possible to quantify the pitches relative to one another and determine these patterns of notes much easier. This can really help for people who don’t have perfect pitch – it’s a much easier way to know the notes you are hearing.

But what about the relative minor? There are actually two schools of thought for this. The way I was trained is that the key signature determines where “do” is, so the relative minor begins on “la”. This makes perfect sense and is still easy to grasp even if the piece switches between major and minor. This works out the same for all of the modes which share key signatures with major and minor scales but start on different scale degrees (like all the white keys from D-D would be a D dorian mode which shares the key signature of C major which has no sharps or flats).

The last thing we need to address is how to deal with accidentals (sharps, flats, and naturals). These are simply ignored in fixed do solfege but in movable do we add extra syllables to account for these accidentals.

An ascending chromatic scale would be:

Do-Di-Re-Ri-Mi-Fa-Fi-So-Si-La-Li-Ti-Do

Descending chromatic scale is:

Do-Ti-Te-La-Le-So-Se-Fa-Mi-Me-Re-Ra- Do

Movable do solfege is how I grew up with music and it’s how I hear music. I use it for every aspect of music, whether it’s reading music or even performing. All music is essentially playing by ear so even if you read it’s important to have a system in place that allows you to understand what you are hearing.

Thanks for joining me Robert Estrin Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729

How to Read Ahead in Music

This question comes from another viewer who asks how to read ahead in music to improve their reading. So how do you achieve this and is it a good technique?

Well the truth is, reading ahead is actually not exactly how it works. Instead, it is a matter of looking at chunks of music instead of reading note by note much like reading text. When you first learn how to read a language, you must sound out each letter forming words. Eventually, you recognize words and even phrases. It is the same with reading music. You begin to recognize chords and progressions instead of just individual notes.

So instead of reading ahead in the music, it’s best to digest your music into chunks. If you break your music into these sections you will be able to absorb them much more easily and you will have an understanding of the structure of what you are playing helping the fluency of your reading.

You can even apply this same technique to sight reading. Instead of just reading all the notes and hoping for the best, the more you begin to break down your music into small chunks you will begin to recognize similar patterns. After a while this will become almost second nature and you will be able to read and digest all your music much more easily.

Thanks again for joining me and if you have any more questions please contact me directly: Robert@LivingPiano.com (949) 244-3729

What are Parallel Intervals? The History of Parallel Intervals

Parallel intervals have been around for centuries. They have a rich and detailed history. But what exactly are parallel intervals? Parallel intervals are any intervals (2 notes played together) that go consecutively in the same direction. For example, if you have the interval of a 5th – such as C to G; if you go to D and A that would be parallel intervals – in this case, parallel 5ths.

If you go back to the first written music (plainsong, also known as Gregorian chant) you simply had the singing of liturgical text – just one note at a time. When music eventually evolved to add a second note with the birth of organum there were many parallel intervals (specifically parallel 4ths).

As music developed polyphonically and counterpoint emerged (often with many simultaneous musical lines) the writings of Bach chorales and the basic rules of four part harmony actually forbade the use of parallel fifths and parallel octaves. But why?

The very first writing in music was vocal writing. Typically in four part chorale writing you have a soprano, alto, tenor, and bass and the idea was to have distinct separate vocal lines you could hear. As these lines intersected, harmonies were created. The reason that parallel octaves were avoided in this type of music is because if you have two different voices singing the same notes an octave apart it sounds like the same line.

This same principle applies to parallel fifths since they are sonically related. The same is not true for parallel thirds and other intervals. If you listen to parallel thirds and fourths you can still hear each individual part even though they blend well together.

I hope this is helpful and if you have any questions about this topic or any other, please email me Robert@LivingPianos.com for more information.

What is Breath in Music? Part 2 – Piano Demonstration

A number of years ago we had a video that discussed Breath In Music and if you want to get a general overview of the subject you may enjoy watching that video. Recently, someone requested that I produce a video that gives a demonstration of this concept. There are benefits from the visual aspect. So, I suggest you watch the accompanying video.

When it comes to singing, the breath in music is obvious; after all, you have to breathe in order to sing! Wind instruments are a natural extension of singing and utilize the breath in much the same way. The bow of the violin or cello also mimics the continuity of breath in music. When it comes to the piano, while breathing isn’t a part of the technique for tone production, it is intrinsic to the music as much as it is with singing.

In the video you can see how adding a sense of breath can enhance the music and bring it life. Without the sense of the breath, you lose the human element that makes listening to and playing the piano enriching, not just a mechanical endeavor.

All instruments are basically a representation of the human voice and adding this to your music is something that is essential in making it lively and exciting. I hope this was helpful and if you have any questions about this topic or any other, please email me Robert@LivingPianos.com for more information.

Does Playing Jazz Hurt Your Classical Music Skills?

This is an incredibly common question and there are a lot of opinions on the subject. I have to admit, I do have a viewpoint which I am happy to share with you.

I know a lot of teachers and I’ve known some over the years who worry when their students begin to branch out into jazz, rock or other styles. A common concern is that their students will lose the delicate touch needed to perform Classical music. An even bigger concern for many teachers is that jazz being an improvised style will effect the accurate representations of the great Classical repertoire.

Here is a parallel that may shed light on the subject. Imagine you’ve grown up in the United States and learned English your whole life. One day you decide to learn to speak French. Will this effect your abilities of speaking and comprehending English? I don’t believe so. I think it could present an opportunity to expand your horizons. However, it is necessary to be clear what style of music you’re playing.

The style of music you play extends far beyond the differences in jazz or Classical. If you are playing 19th century music of Chopin, you wouldn’t want to impart the Baroque style of Bach in your playing; it’s a completely different type of music and style. Each period of Classical music has its own set of demands and styles unique from one another.

When it comes down to it, as a pianist it’s best to have a multitude of different styles you can perform. Whether it’s jazz, Baroque, Classical, or whatever it might be, the more styles you can have in your musical arsenal the more marketable a musician you can become. Not only that, but different musical genres offer unique rewards.

I often encourage my students to explore different styles of music. If you want to have a career performing music it helps a lot to have many different talents and styles available. One of my students, Bijan Taghavi who just turned 16 has been studying piano with me for many years. He has performed incredibly complex pieces, has won competitions and even performed concertos with symphony orchestras. (Here is a performance he gave last year when he was 15 playing the Grieg Piano Concerto.) Recently he has gotten into learning and performing jazz – here is a performance of him playing Summertime as a Tribute to Oscar Peterson on KX 93.5 in Los Angeles, California. Has it hurt his classical playing? Not at all. The big challenge he faces is having enough time to keep learning both styles of music! On top of that he is also an accomplished guitarist and bass player! Good luck Bijan!

Thanks again for joining me Robert Estrin Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729

Is There One Right Way to Play a Piece of Classical Music?

When it comes to classical music, there are typically countless details written directly into the score including dynamics, phrasing and more. Some musicians see this as a challenge in creating their own interpretation of the work. On one hand, you want to remain faithful to the composer’s intention. Yet, you want to put your individual mark on each piece you perform. So, how can you interpret classical scores to be your own and not have them sound like everyone else without deviating from the score?

Think about Beethoven playing one of his sonatas. Do you think he would play them the same way every time? I have performed certain pieces for decades – sometimes thousands of times – and yet every time I play them they are unique experiences. If the notes, the rhythm, phrasing, and expression are already written in, what can you possibly do to make it different?

Some works of art like paintings or films are works of art that are complete expressions. You can do certain things like change the lighting or setting to influence the work slightly, but generally, they are finished works which don’t allow for interpretation. On the other hand, you have literary works of someone like Shakespeare, plays that have been around for centuries and have every line of dialogue and stage direction written directly into the text. Yet every performance can be dramatically different and unique in substantial ways. Even the inflection of every word is left up to the individual actors!

A musical piece is a lot like a play or a screenplay in that it’s written down as a blueprint but it’s up to the performer to interpret and bring it to life. Just as no line of dialogue would be read the same way by two different actors, a section of music could be performed dramatically differently from musician to musician. Even the balance of a single chord on the piano can be dramatically different from pianist to pianist and from performance to performance. Even though there are some dynamics written in, how you play each note from phrase to phrase is impossible to indicate with notation alone. If you’ve ever played a score on a computer with MIDI, the results sound like a machine is playing it – there is no life to the music! This is because the score is merely a skeleton for the performer to flesh out the music and bring it to life.

As a musician who uses a reed with their instrument, the particular reed they are using, how it feels that day, and many other aspects can alter a performance dramatically. As a pianist, the sound of the piano you are performing on – even if it’s the same piano you always use – can differ from day to day. The acoustics of the room, the mood of the audience, the ambient noise, all these things factor into the sound and end result of the performance. Even your own mood can inspire different realizations of the score.

As you continue to play and perform music you will see how each piece can be interpreted differently and how each performance can differ dramatically from one another.

Thanks again for joining us here at Living Pianos. If you have any questions about this topic or any others, please contact us at: Info@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729