Tag Archives: pianos

What Does Chopin Sound Like Without the Pedal?

Welcome to www.Livingpianos.com. I’m Robert Estrin. The subject today is about what Chopin sounds like without the pedal. When I talk about the pedal I’m talking about the sustain pedal. It’s the one on the right that holds all the notes when you put it down. It’s a glorious thing! It makes everything sound better, doesn’t it? And louder too! It helps you to connect what you can’t connect with your fingers.

What is the job of the pedal in music in general, and in Chopin specifically?

The pedal actually has two distinct functions. One is to connect notes you can’t connect with your hands. For example, you will see music where you have a whole note in the lower register and other things going on in the upper register. You can’t possibly hold that whole note because you’ve got other notes to play. Pedal to the rescue! There is no way to hold those notes with your hands. So sometimes music is written in such a way that you depend upon the pedal to play what’s written in the score. But there’s also the tone enhancement that the pedal affords you in your musical performance.

When you play a note with the pedal, you get a different sound than without the pedal.

If you listen to a note with no pedal compared to the same note played with the pedal down, you will hear that it gets more of a reverberant sound with the pedal down. When you depress the pedal the dampers lift off of all the strings so they are free to vibrate sympathetically, enhancing the tone. And indeed, when you depress the pedal it will have an effect upon the tone, the envelope of the sound. That is the shape of the decay. You can enhance the sustain by judiciously using the pedal just at the point at which the tone might be dying away. But that’s a subject for another day.

What does Chopin sound like without the pedal? Of course it depends upon what piece of Chopin. The famous E-flat Nocturne Opus 9 no. 2, for example, doesn’t really have notes you can’t hold in terms of what’s written in the score, but it’s implied to use the pedal.

When I play without the pedal I strive to connect as much as possible with my fingers.

I can’t connect everything I want to with just my fingers. But I try my best so that the pedal can enhance the sound and not be used as a crutch for things that I can connect with my fingers. You want to strive for your playing to be as legato as possible with your fingers before putting the pedal in. Because if you practice it with the pedal right from the get-go, you might not use the ideal fingering in order to connect as much as possible. So you want to connect with your fingers everything you can. Then it becomes obvious where to pedal. And of course, adding the pedal gives you a much more beautiful sound. Plus you can hold the bass notes to get a richer sound and a more linear quality to bass notes, and indeed the inner voices as well. With the pedal, you get the sense of the line instead of just the chords. The bassline has enough sustain from note to note, instead of just being sporadic.

With the Chopin G Minor Ballade indeed, you not only need the pedal to get the sense of the lines, but there are notes you just can’t possibly hold without it. This is the genius of Chopin! It’s amazing that he could conceive of, and write down music that would work so incredibly well with the pedal. Without the pedal it practically sounds like a whole different piece!

So that’s what the pedal adds to Chopin!

There’s a richness to the quality of the sound you get with the pedal. You get sustained harmonies and a linear aspect of all the lines, from the bass all the way to the treble. Not to mention the enhancement of the tone. Because you can use the pedal to get little gradations of tone in the melody to make one note kind of meld into the next by enriching it with sympathetic vibrations that the other strings allow for when you release the dampers with the sustain pedal.

I hope this has been interesting for you! Thanks so much for joining me, Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

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The Truth About Piano Competitions

Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. A viewer asked me, “How are piano competitions judged?” And it got me thinking. It’s such a subjective thing, isn’t it? Who’s better Who plays the piano better? Obviously it’s more art than science. So there’s a lot to this question. I’m going to dive right in for you! There are more fine concert pianists in the world today than ever before in history. Consider this:

In China alone there are over 40 million piano students!

Many of them are extraordinarily accomplished. And of course there are pianists all around the world. But there are a limited number of competitions. The international competitions, like the Cliburn, the Chopin, and the Tchaikovsky attract the greatest talent from the entire world.

What does it take to enter these competitions?

You have to play at such a high level to even approach these competitions because the repertoire requirements are tremendous. These top tier competitions require several complete programs, concertos, chamber music, all from memory, and sometimes there will be a piece written just for the competition that nobody’s ever seen or heard before! Instead of being able to refresh all the music that’s percolating in their heads, competitors have to immerse themselves in a brand-new piece to learn on the spot! How’s that for a challenge? Yet, there are still so many people vying for these piano competitions. The truth is, just being able to get into the semi-finals in one of these competitions is a milestone.

What is it like to compete in a piano competition?

Just like the Olympics, people prepare for months or years in anticipation of this one day. These competitions only come around periodically. Competitors might have a good day, they might have a bad day. Maybe they got a cold just the night before. The piano used in the competition might have an action similar to what they are used to and they’re right at home. Conversely, somebody else might feel off-put by the piano if it doesn’t feel anything like what they’re used to. Many of these top tier competitions, like the Tchaikovsky, offer a choice of pianos. Making that choice can be a very tough decision as well.

What are some of the things that enter into how judges evaluate one pianist to the next?

There are many things involved, but I’ve got an interesting story for you. Years ago, the wonderful concert pianist, Ivo Pogorelich, entered the Chopin competition. At a certain point, he was eliminated. But one of the judges of that competition was the great pianist, Martha Argerich who was so incensed by this, that she walked out of the competition! This made news and actually propelled Pogorelich into a career from the sheer spectacle of it all! But why do you suppose that Ivo Pogorelich was the favorite of Martha Argerich, and yet the other judges dismissed him? Well, one of the factors of competitions is that a pianist who really makes a statement and has a personality that is different from anything people have heard before will be loved by some and detested by others. In competitions, there can be a race to the center. It may be beneficial to not be extreme in one direction or another. And that’s kind of sad really. But how else do you quantify?

Tempo can play a role in how a judge may perceive a performance.

Judges are sitting there hour after hour, listening to pianist after pianist. If somebody comes in there and gives a very energetic uptempo performance, it can be invigorating! Then if somebody comes and plays a very beautiful, elegant performance, it may not have the same energy. After you hear a piece at a faster tempo, going to a slower tempo can be a let down. It sounds a little bit lifeless by comparison. This makes it very difficult to appreciate the slower performance. Though if you didn’t hear them next to each other, you might actually prefer the elegance of the slower performance! This is why many times the faster, louder player wins competitions.

But how else can you quantify who’s better? Let’s say somebody comes in and plays a Mephisto Waltz of Liszt. They play it faster than anybody else. It’s clean and it’s convincing. It’s very difficult to fault that, isn’t it? Of course, that player could play it slower if they chose to. But could the other players play it as fast? That’s an unknown. So there’s a lot to the idea of playing faster, playing louder, and playing very straightforward the way everybody expects the music to sound. I hate to think that that’s the way competitions are run, and truly they aren’t always run that way. But there is the risk of them turning out that way because of human nature.

As a performer, should you toe the line, or play to your own convictions?

You wonder how performers entering these competitions think about this. Are they going to take a chance and play the way they want to, even if they know it’s radically different from anything anyone else has done? Or are they going to play it safe and try to play for the judges? In my opinion, you really have to go for it and play to your own convictions. And that really is the lesson for today. Sometimes the winner is the person who plays to their convictions, and they play in such a way that it makes it seem as if it’s the only way the music should be played! This is not an exact science. This is art. It’s so subjective. That’s why this is an excellent question!

Keep the questions coming in! I pay particular attention to my Patreon subscribers. Those of you who want to have more input on these videos, I suggest you join my Patreon channel. www.Patreon.com/RobertEstrin

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2 Types of Encores – for My Parents – Scriabin: Etude in D# minor Op 8 Debussy: The Little Shepherd

Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today’s subject is about the two different kinds of encores. There are fundamentally two different types of moods you want to create in encores, and I’m going to get into that. But first I want to start with a personal reflection for you.

My father, Morton Estrin, had such a profound effect upon me.

I want to talk a little bit about my father’s experiences as a performer. As much as he performed, he got extremely nervous for performances. And when he would walk out on stage, it was a terrifying experience for him! He would get so nervous, his pedal foot would shake. I remember watching him perform and feeling so badly for him. There he was, trying to control things, and his foot was going up and down like crazy! It was once kind of funny, in retrospect. In one of his New York recitals, the reviewer commented on his beautiful performance and his “fluttering pedal technique.” Little did he know it was nothing intentional. It was something my father fought with his whole career. And the way he overcame it was very interesting. For him, the easiest thing to start a program with was something really heroic. He could go out there and play the most bombastic virtuosic music right from the get go. With that, he didn’t have any trouble. But to go out and start a program with a delicate piece, like something of Mozart, or a Schubert Impromptu, was extremely challenging for him. With that very delicate music, any little motion of any part of the body has such profound effects. He worked really hard to overcome this and was proud of himself that he could go out on stage and play something delicate as an opener for a program. Because programmatically, he wanted to be able to have architecture and not just start with the most heroic piece. Usually you want a big finish at the end of your program.

What was interesting about my father’s performances, we would always go backstage at intermission and hug him and tell him how beautiful it sounded. He couldn’t even believe it because he was so terrorized up there for the first half! But in the second half, he would relax. By the time he got to the end of the program, he was in his element. He would play encore after encore and the audience would cheer for more! He would play five, six encores, as many as the audience wanted. And at that point he could do anything. He had no nerves left whatsoever. It was a thrilling experience for everyone who heard him!

There are two different types of encores.

When a program ends and you come out for an encore, the audience has been through a whole program. You want to charge them up! So you play something like a Chopin etude, something virtuosic and energetic. But what if the program ended with something big and dynamic and it’s already a blockbuster at the end of the program? That’s when you want to flip it and come out with a poetic encore, maybe a Chopin Nocturne or Prelude. That could be just the mood you’re looking for.

My father recorded the Scriabin Etudes Opus 8.

It was the first modern recording of the complete Opus 8, and it won record of the year. You can find them on YouTube. His performances don’t sound like etudes. They are rich musical experiences. He didn’t play them as just technical exercises. He played them for the gorgeous music that this early Scriabin is. The Opus 8 was very different from later Scriabin where he explored very sophisticated harmonies that bordered on atonality. Early Scriabin is sometimes compared to Chopin. It really has a voice all its own, but it’s quite chromatic, beautiful romantic music that is extremely emotional. I got to hear my father play them in New York at Lincoln Center. It holds a very special meaning for me.

I’m going to play the D-sharp minor Etude from Opus 8 which is the last of the set. Then, just as if the program ended heroically, because that is an incredible blockbuster piece, I’m going to go right into a movement of Debussy from the Children’s Corner Suite, The Little Shepherd, which was my mother’s favorite piece. I would play it for her as an encore. So this is very special and a personal performance for you. You can listen to the accompanying video. I hope you enjoy it.

Those are two completely different types of encores. What is appropriate depends upon your programming. So remember, if you’ve already pulled out all the stops, and you’ve ended really big, then bring it down and show poetry and express intimate feelings. Show what you can do to the soul! On the other hand, if the program ends with something long and melodic like a Schubert Sonata with beautiful architecture, then you’ll want to charge people up with your encore so they leave the hall with energy. Judging your encores is very important. Sometimes you can even have two or three encores prepared. Or maybe you’re brave enough and you have an audience that’s enthusiastic enough so you can play a bunch of encores like my father used to do!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this. Thanks again for joining me! I’m Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

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Can Playing the Piano Ease Depression?

I’m Robert Estrin from LivingPianos.com. Today’s question is, “Can playing the piano ease depression?” Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and the information in this article is anecdotal. I would not suggest playing the piano as your only treatment if you have a serious mental or emotional condition. However, I will say this; I can’t even imagine living in this world if I didn’t have the piano to play!

How can playing the piano affect your emotional health?

What’s great about the piano in regards to emotional health is that you get a chance to completely occupy yourself. Playing music requires intense focus thereby quieting the mind. It’s almost like a form of meditation. Studies have shown meditation can reduce depression and anxiety, and even help people manage chronic pain. But there are other benefits to playing the piano in regard to how it makes you feel.

The beauty of music can connect you to the beauty of life.

Imagine playing a transcendentally beautiful melody like the F-Sharp Major Nocturne by Chopin, and how that makes you feel. If you were depressed and you played that piece, it might make you feel some joy! When I play that melody it fills me with very warm feelings. So you have the benefit of taking your mind away from everything in the outer world, as with meditation, while also experiencing the soul and emotions of people who lived hundreds of years ago who had something special to say. So it fills you with the emotions that they were feeling during their lives.

It can be cathartic to play music that explores deeper emotions

The beginning of the B-minor Scherzo of Chopin has such anger and hostility, it might actually help you release some of your pent up feelings. So, there can be a cathartic quality to playing the piano since there is a soothing calmness you can experience with music of great beauty. All the while, you can become detached from the day-to-day issues and frustrations that we all face in life.

I want to know how any of you feel about playing music. Does it help to keep you emotionally stable? Does it help you to overcome sadness and even depression? I’d love to hear from any of you out there who knows more about this subject. Put it in the comments. Let us know here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store.

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Can Playing the Piano Make You Smarter?

This is Robert Estrin from LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store with a question. “Does playing the piano make you smarter?” I hope so. I’ve been playing a long time and wonder what I would be like if I didn’t play the piano! This is a serious question. Indeed there have been studies, like famous Gordon Shaw – Frances Rauscher studies at UC Irvine. These studies showed:

With a control group of children studying the piano, compared to other groups studying computers, as well as a control group studying nothing, the children who studied piano showed an increase of math and science scores and even increase in English skills!

That is exciting to think about! Later on, they even discovered the “Mozart Effect”, which had some controversy. They simply played recordings of Mozart while kids were taking tests and found that there was a temporary increase in IQ scores just from listening to the music! Temporary is the keyword here. Later on their findings were diminished when they found it was just a temporary boost, but that is exciting enough!

Why should playing the piano increase your intelligence? Did you know?

Playing the piano uses more parts of your brain than any other human activity.

This is according to the New York Times in article years ago about the human brain that showed piano playing as the single most complex endeavor of the human mind. How can this be? Think about it. You have short-term memory, long-term memory, tactile memory as well as visual and aural cues.

You have just about every part of your brain firing when playing the piano.

It is a fantastic opportunity to develop your mind. Of course if you play with other musicians you also develop social skills. It is endless. Just playing music is a great way to expand your mind. The discipline of practicing and the organization it takes to digest a piece of music make for an incredible opportunity to explore aspects of your own mind in ways that are richly rewarding. At the end of the line, you have something to show for it. You can play a piece of music or many pieces of music!

As if that isn’t enough of a reason to play the piano, being able to increase your intelligence is a benefit too! Everyone should study the piano, don’t you think? Let me know how you feel about this. I wonder how many of you are on board. I suppose if you are reading this there could be skewed results because many of my readers might already feel this way!

There are studies that prove an increase in intelligence just from playing the piano.

Spend more time with the piano and your brain will thank you! Once again, this is Robert Estrin at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store.

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How are Piano Plates Made? Piano Parts

The cast-iron plate of a piano is one of the most impressive structures of the instrument. It’s a large and complex part of the piano which weighs more than the rest of the piano – and you might wonder how they are made. There are actually two methods of making piano plates and we are going to talk about both of them and whether one technique is better than the other.

The traditional method of making piano plates is something that goes back to the 19th century. This is called a “wet sand cast plate”. In this method the plate takes a long time for the metal to cure; it can take months. This might not be the most time-effective strategy but this is still how most handmade pianos – such as Steinway and Mason & Hamlin plates are made today.

The Asian manufacturers found a much quicker way to produce plates for pianos – and comprises the vast majority of plates manufactured in Asia. By producing a plate with a vacuum mold process, it can be completed in just a few minutes. It’s a lot like how plastics are made – by filling a mold and letting it set.

Vacuum mold plates are structurally sound yet some people discern a different sound from wet sand cast plates. What is the truth? Wet sand cast plates have a higher density of metal and therefore don’t impart a metallic “ring” that you may hear from vacuum mold type plates.

So which one is better?

It’s more of a personal choice than anything else. Some people prefer the sound brighter sound of Asian pianos and some prefer the sound of American or European pianos. It doesn’t mean that one method is necessarily better than the other, but there are some sonic differences between the two.

I would love to hear your opinions about this topic. Have you played pianos with both types of plates? What are your impressions?

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