Tag Archives: online piano store

Why You Should Practice Scales Two Octaves Apart

Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today’s topic is “Why You Should Practice Scales Two Octaves Apart.” Two octaves apart? You might wonder what value this has. Typically, you play scales an octave apart, right? So what about this idea of practicing scales two octaves apart?

You can hear the hands independently from one another when you play scales two octaves apart.

When you’re playing two octaves apart, it’s much easier to hear sloppiness. I’ve talked about playing in contrary motion also. These are all techniques to help you hear the clarity and evenness of your playing. This is a quick tip for you. If you have never done it before, try playing your scales two octaves apart. At first it’s going to feel a little unnerving. First of all, you can’t look at both hands. But truth be known, you don’t really have to look at your hands very much with scales. The notes are all right next to each other! But you can hear better playing two octaves apart.

You should always practice your scales in four octaves.

This is another good tip! It’s very important to cover the entire range of the piano. You might not think there is a difference playing in the high register versus playing in the low register, but there is! Even though it’s the same notes and the same fingering, your body is at a different angle. It feels different. Get comfortable playing the whole keyboard. The good news is once you learn one octave, it’s all the same! So, go for the full four octaves. In Hanon: 60 Selected Studies for the Virtuoso Pianist, you can find all the scales and arpeggios with the correct fingering. I’d love to hear from any of you who have never tried playing scales two octaves apart before. Tell me how it goes! Let me know if you find improvement in your scales from practicing this way.

I’m Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store.
Please feel free to contact us with any piano related questions for future videos!

Robert@LivingPianos.com
949-244-3729

You can Now Buy NEW Seiler Pianos Online: Free U.S. Delivery!

Hi, and welcome to LivingPianos.com. I’m Robert Estrin with a very special announcement:

Now you can buy brand new Seiler pianos from Living Pianos!

Seiler, from Germany, started building pianos in 1849 making concert instruments as well as excellent practice and institutional pianos. Some things never change! Today, Seiler still manufacturers pianos in Germany and around the world, and they’re amazing instruments we’re proud to represent and sell to you anywhere in the country.

What is Seiler about? There are three editions of Seiler pianos. I’m going to get into a lot of that and I’m also going to perform on this beautiful six foot 10 inch SE – 208 model, which is the top of the line series Seiler. There are many things about these pianos that are remarkable. Starting with the GS line which has a wide tail and a wet sand cast plate, double A grade, solid spruce soundboards, and German Abel hammers. It’s an amazing value piano with so many features you don’t find in pianos at this price point. They are beautifully manufactured.

The SE and ED lines are above the GS line and they have some technologies that are not found in any other pianos.

The Membrator Soundboard, is Seiler’s unique technology that provides more sustain to the tone. How is this possible? At the point at which the soundboard is attached to the rim of the piano, the Membrator System transfers sound back to the soundboard, reinforcing the tone. It’s a phenomenal system that’s found in the SE and ED pianos.

The ED line is manufactured in Asia, with exactly the same scale design as the SE line with precision manufacturing. How are they able to achieve this? With German engineering!

With Computer Numerical Control (CNC) a precise duplication of all the specifications are possible in the Asian factory offering you an instrument that is so close to the top of the line, hand-built piano, but in numbers where everybody can enjoy these phenomenal instruments.

On the accompanying video, you can hear a complete performance of Debussy’s Clair De Lune performed on the German made, 6-foot 10-inch, model SE -208.

It’s something to be in the presence of true greatness in pianos. The singing tone, and the clarity, are achieved with a warmth not found in other European pianos. This piano has it all. You’ll be hearing a lot more about Seiler pianos.

Their vertical pianos also have technologies that no other pianos have.

The problem with upright pianos, as you probably know, is there’s a limitation in the speed of repetition because of basic physics. In grand pianos, the hammers go up and down, giving you rapid repetition and control since gravity is at work. On uprights, hammers travel sideways. So, there’s a limit to the speed. Or is there?

With Seiler’s patented, Super Magnet Repetition you can achieve much more rapid repetition than on other upright pianos.

This is available on both the SE and ED lines. The affordable GS line has all kinds of technologies as well! There are pianos with silent systems, and player systems are available as well. We welcome your questions. Once again, I’m Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com Your Online Piano Store. Thanks for joining me.

info@LivingPianos.com

Virtual Visit to Living Pianos with Robert Estrin

Hi, this is Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com in our Private Reserve Showroom, giving you a peak at what we have here. Now, why is this so important for you? We are offering virtual visits with Robert Estrin! That’s right. We can get together virtually. You can see the Living Pianos: Private Reserve showroom from the comfort and safety of your home. I haven’t spent very much time video conferencing until this last month or so visiting with family and friends, as well as people looking at pianos, wanting to learn more about them.

Beyond the videos, audio, and descriptions on our website, a personal encounter with you would be welcome!

We can show you pianos, we can visit, and with the technology today, it’s better than being there! We have all the resources for you. So I invite you to email Robert@LivingPianos.com to set up a one-on-one virtual meeting. We can go around the room and show you everything just like you’re here. Then we will arrange the careful delivery of your piano to your home. It’s a turnkey system for you! Thanks so much for joining me. I hope to hear from you soon!

I’m Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store.

info@LivingPianos.com
949-244-3729

Why You Must be Present in Your Music

Hi, I’m Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com. The subject today is, “Why You Must be Present in Your Music.” This applies to music, but also life itself. After all, what do we have but the present? Living in the moment, being in flow, you hear these terms. It’s all about being here, now so you can do something! For example, earlier today I was playing ping pong with my wife. We have these amazing volleys that sometimes go on and on and on. The moment I stop being present in the game thinking about something else (or thinking about missing), that’s when I’ll miss!

So, this idea of being present isn’t just in your musical performance.

I’ll give you one other example. I love to cook. My wife and I have a deal: I cook, she cleans. I think I’ve got the better end of the deal! I love being creative. I don’t usually work from recipes. I improvise – that’s my style. If I’m really in the moment, paying close attention to what I am doing, the meal is so much better! This is the message, and this transcends all musical performances as well as any artistic endeavor.

We want to do the most with each moment, whatever we’re doing.

It’s particularly important to reach out to people around us. It’s an interesting thing what’s going on right now. Normally, when we’re all out and about, everybody’s buried in their devices, detached from what’s going on around them. Paradoxically, now we’re more connected than ever because we’re depending upon technology when we can’t be physically together. I’m going to bring all kinds of content to you! I hope you enjoy this kind of personal encounter together. We’re all hunkering down and making the best of it, and coming out stronger at the end.

I’m Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store.
Please feel free to contact us with any piano related questions for future videos!

info@LivingPianos.com
949-244-3729

Is there a Standard for Piano Regulation?

Welcome to LivingPianos.com. I’m Robert Estrin. The question today is, “Is there a standard for piano regulation?” The gut reaction, you’re probably all thinking is, of course, there must be a standard for piano regulation. I know this involves many precise measurements. I’ve got news for you, though. I’ve been around piano technicians my entire life. Some of my best friends are piano technicians! As a matter of fact, many of them, and I certainly depend upon them. Here’s the funny thing. I don’t care how great a piano technician is. Once they get done with a piano, you take another piano technician and they look at the work, how the regulation was performed, and they usually respond something like this, “Oh yeah, this is good, but I would take it down a little bit, and maybe a little bit higher, over here.” Everybody’s got their own ideas!

Is there a standard? Well, yes and no. Here’s the standard.

Yamaha has their specifications, for piano regulation. Steinway has theirs. There are little differences. There are some universals, certainly, but there are nuances of differences. Naturally, different pianos have slightly different geometry from one another. So, you can’t necessarily regulate every piano exactly the same. But perhaps even more significant is:

Every technician has slightly different ideas about regulation.

But I think the real key is this. Some pianos can be taken to a higher level of regulation than others. If things are really precise on a piano, you can take it to the edge of closeness where you know it’s still going to work and get optimal performance. But sometimes compromises are necessary. As a matter of fact, it’s typical that there are going to be some compromises in regulation because there’s no such thing as a perfect piano. You get something that has the best combination of power, speed, repetition fluency, control, and there are different ideas as to how to achieve that.

So, even though there’s a lot that piano technicians will agree upon, they all seem to have their own little nuances and preferences as to how things should be measured. Now, I’m sure I’m going to get a lot of comments on this one because there are technicians out there who may feel differently. I want to hear from you in the comments here in YouTube, and you can always contact us here at LivingPianos.com. Once again, we’re your Online Piano Store, providing good information. That’s why we bring these videos to you! So, if you have suggestions for future videos, keep them coming in and they’ll always be more for you, and you’re welcome to subscribe. Thanks again, Robert Estrin, here at Living Pianos.

info@LivingPianos.com
949-244-3729

Why Does A Soft Pedal Make No Difference on Some Pianos?

Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today’s subject is, “Why Does A Soft Pedal Make No Difference on Some Pianos?” On many pianos, the soft pedal creates a nice tonal change. Other pianos, it doesn’t seem to do anything at all! Are they broken? I’m talking about the una corda pedal. On grand and baby grand pianos, the left pedal shifts the entire action. So, the hammers don’t strike the three strings directly. Una corda, as a matter of fact, means one string. A long time ago, pianos only had two strings for each note. So, shifting the action made the hammers hit only one string. Modern pianos are a little bit different. The hammer doesn’t actually strike only one less string. The entire hammer hits at a different point.

The hammers on a piano that’s been played a lot will have grooves where the strings make contact.

Therefore, the felt is compacted, which gives a more brilliant tone than the softer felt surrounding. So, when you push down the soft pedal, you’ll hear a dramatic change on pianos that are broken in. Of course a piano with brand new hammers will have a minimal difference in tone when using the soft pedal, because the hammers are barely broken in. If there is a tonal change, it is extremely subtle, which is what you would expect.

Play your piano, and the soft pedal will make a bigger difference over time.

After six months or a year of playing a piano, the hammers will get grooved and the tone will brighten up. This is normal on all pianos. However, the soft pedal will engage a part of the hammer that isn’t normally played, and you’ll hear a dramatic difference in tone when depressing it. For example, a couple of months ago I was at a good friend’s house. He has a Yamaha that he plays a good deal. The hammers were pretty hard. So, pushing down the soft pedal sounded like a completely different piano! You wouldn’t believe the difference. The compacted felt of the grooves were bypassed just a fraction of an inch, and the fresh part of the felt hit the strings. That’s why on some pianos you won’t hear much difference with the soft pedal. A certain amount can be voiced or regulated. However, time is your best cure for a soft pedal that doesn’t do much.

‘m Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store.
Please feel free to contact us with any piano related questions for future videos!

info@LivingPianos.com
949-244-3729