Tag Archives: living pianos

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

Could Lockdown Have a Musical Solution?


In 2005, there were 1,200 Piano Stores in the United States

Now, there are less than 150 Piano Stores in the U.S.

The only way the piano will stay relevant in people’s lives is if they can experience it online, like everything else

The piano business is one of the only industries still operating with a 20th century model of independent, mom and pop stores selling pianos in protected territories. You need a critical mass of piano stores so people are even exposed to the instrument. Online is the only way to go.

Imagine being able to summon a grand piano to your living room from your phone, then having interactive musical experience for your family anytime that’s convenient for you.

Living Pianos makes getting a piano as simple as calling up something on Netflix! When people join the Living Pianos community, they get to share their music and musical experiences with tens of thousands of other Living Pianos subscribers.

Living Pianos Virtual Showroom allows visitors to experience rare Steinway, Bosendorfer, Seiler, Baldwin and other top-tier American and European pianos with rich media. You not only get the aid of thousands of articles and videos searchable by keywords, but also a personal team of pianists, technicians and teachers providing the ultimate musical experience without leaving your home!

Logistics are the biggest challenge facing companies trying to sell pianos nationally. But having started as an online piano company in 2006, Living Pianos has sold pianos to places as diverse as the Royal Theater in London to Shenzhen, China.

Operating a successful online piano store involves handling everything, from providing professional guidance in selecting the right instruments, to coordinating deliveries and servicing instruments around the country. Only the most cutting edge companies offer interactive musical training with rich media content. Living Pianos has thousands of videos and articles and hosts live, interactive events.

What better way is there to share time at home than with music!

When you join the Living Pianoscommunity, you get to share your music and your musical experiences with tens of thousands of other Living Pianos subscribers. Feel stuck at home? This could be the perfect opportunity to enrich your family with music with the turnkey system offered by the world’s first online piano store, Living Pianos.

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

What Can You Do at Home With Music?

Hi, this is Robert Estrin at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store. Today’s question is, “What Can You Do at Home With Music?” If you have time on your hands and you have a piano at home, this could be a perfect time to study a new piece! Maybe you’ve always wanted to compose music or teach your kids how to play the piano. Something that I love to do is make music up. I always have music going on in my head. So, sometimes some pretty cool things come out! I recorded one last night. I just popped my iPad open and recorded, and what came out was pretty cool. So I want to share it with you. There will be a lot more morning inspirations and evening inspirations for you, and I hope you enjoy them. Once again, this is Robert Estrin at LivingPianos.com. Thanks for joining me.

I hope you enjoyed the music, and if you do, please let me know and I can share much more music with you. It’s my pleasure! Hopefully you can find enriching ways to play music at home with your family. We’ll see you next time. Thanks for joining me 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

Can You Play the Piano While Wearing Gloves?

Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today’s question from a viewer is, “Can You Play the Piano While Wearing Gloves?” That sounds like a silly question, but I started thinking about it. I’ve been in practice rooms that were so cold. What can you do about that? Can you play the piano with gloves on? Well, in advance of this video, I went out to my car and sure enough I had a pair of gloves there. I have not tried to play yet with these gloves. So this is going to be an experiment for all of us watching, as well as me. I remember as a kid just walking by the piano when I had my winter gloves on, and I was surprised that I could play! But that was a lot of years ago when I had the hands of a child. Let’s see what happens now! I’m going to play the beginning of Mozart’s famous C major Sonata K. 545 with gloves on. (You can watch the accompanying video performance.)

The answer is yes, you can play the piano while wearing gloves!

Now that’s kind of surprising, isn’t it? I remember the very first time I ever played the piano while wearing gloves. I was shocked that I could do it! The gloves don’t really add that much mass to your fingers in terms of hitting surrounding keys. If you’re somebody with big hands and fat fingers, the gloves might be such that you won’t be able to fit your fingers between the black keys. In fact, I’ve met pianists whose fingers don’t quite fit between the black keys as it is! Certainly on some old pianos where the black keys are thicker, it can be difficult to get your fingers between them if you have particularly large hands. With my modest hands I can play with gloves. So, I’m in good shape if I’m in a cold practice room!

I’m sure many of you want to try this now for yourselves. Tell me how it works out for you!

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

info@LivingPianos.com
949-244-3729