Tag Archives: online piano store

Is Juilliard the Best Music School in the World?

Thanks for joining us here at LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today’s question is, “Is Juilliard the Best Music School in the World?” Almost everybody has heard of Juilliard and indeed, there are some sensational musicians who have come out of the Juilliard School of Music in New York City. But is Juilliard the best music school in the world? I can tell you that the Juilliard Orchestra is made up of absolutely top-notch musicians. There are so many violin and cello soloists who go to the Juilliard School that you’ve got a whole string section of soloists! Across the board it’s a great school. Located right in Lincoln Center. What could be better?

As great as Juilliard is, there are two music schools even more elite: The Curtis School of Music in Philadelphia and the Colburn School in Los Angeles.

Curtis and Colburn are magnificent institutions with illustrious faculties. They are both total scholarship schools, so it’s a complete free ride for everyone who goes there. It’s extraordinarily difficult to get in, but a top-notch experience. At Curtis, pianists even get a piano in their apartment to practice on! Also, Curtis has the Philadelphia Orchestra right there. Many of the members of the orchestra are on faculty! And of course Colburn has the benefit of the LA Philharmonic being right there too. The endowments are incredible! So while Juilliard isn’t quite that elite, it’s certainly a great school.

There is a new Juilliard School now in Shanghai!

Shanghai is the epicenter of the piano world. To put it into perspective, there are around 6 million piano students here in the United States, but China has well over 50 million piano students! It’s pretty remarkable. It’s a magnificent idea to open a Juilliard school in China where it’s really needed. It will be interesting to see the next generation of musicians coming out of China, particularly on piano, which is so popular there.

I would love to hear from all of you!

Are there any other schools you consider to be the best? I’m sure there are many schools in Europe that are very selective and have illustrious faculties as well. I just mentioned two schools here in the United States that are incredibly well endowed. Let me know your thoughts on this subject!

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

Can You Bring Out Notes on a Keyboard with No Dynamics?

Hi, I’m Robert Estrin, and this is LivingPianos.com. Today’s topic is, “Can You Bring Out Notes on a Keyboard with No Dynamics?” How could you possibly bring out notes in a chord on a harpsichord or an organ? You might think it’s impossible, but there is a way!

There are a lot of keyboard instruments that don’t have loud and soft like the piano does.

I’ve had the good fortune of not only performing on piano but also on harpsichord and other early keyboard instruments. I’ve also had vast experience with music synthesizers and samplers and other types of keyboards, some of which don’t respond to touch. So how could you possibly bring out notes in a chord on an instrument that doesn’t respond to touch?

The secret is holding some notes longer than others!

When you hold the top notes longer than the bottom notes in a chord, it creates the illusion of those notes being louder. It draws your attention to those notes, even though they’re all the same volume. You can bring out the bottom line the same way by playing the upper notes in a detached manner. The piano is capable of dynamics. You can play the top notes or the bottom notes louder. So, why would you ever have to do that as a pianist? If you’re playing Baroque music written for the harpsichord, like Scarlatti for example, they didn’t have the capability of playing dynamics. The only way to achieve dynamics on a harpsichord is with a two manual harpsichord where one keyboard is louder than the other. So it’s a valuable technique in Baroque music.

You can utilize this technique in your playing to bring out notes, not just with volume.

By practicing this way, you will develop the ability of bringing out notes in volume because you’ve practiced bringing them out by playing some notes longer than others. This is an extremely valuable practice technique, particularly if you’re playing counterpoint. But it’s also incredibly valuable to develop the balance in your playing when playing chords. For example, in the second movement of Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata, you want to bring out the top line in the second movement. A great way to practice this is to play those inner notes gently with finger staccato so you delineate them in your hand and in your head. You can control them. If you can play with different articulations, with different lines in your music, you will easily be able to control them in volume. This is a great technique that is essential on the harpsichord and the organ. But it is also a tremendous practice technique to gain control of all the notes you’re playing within a chord on the piano.

I hope this lesson is valuable for you! I’m Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store. There are lots of videos to come! We welcome your suggestions for future videos. See you next time!

info@LivingPianos.com
949-244-3729

Can Your Piano Tuner Appraise Your Piano?

Hi, I’m Robert Estrin, this is LivingPianos.com. Today’s topic is, “Can Your Piano Tuner Appraise Your Piano?” Let’s say you’ve had your piano for a number of years and you have a trusted technician who has maintained it for you. Let’s say you’re moving or you’re upgrading your piano and you want to sell it. Who better to ask than your piano tuner who knows your piano intimately and spends their entire life with pianos?

Most piano technicians have no idea about piano values.

Unless they happen to sell pianos on the side, which some piano technicians do, the vast majority of piano technicians really don’t know the value of pianos. The same thing is true of most piano teachers. Maybe they shopped for a piano 20 years ago and they knew everything about the piano market then. But the market changes so rapidly that even 5 or 10 years ago is not the same as what it is right now.

Most piano technicians have no idea about piano values.

If you have questions about the value of a piano for any reason, whether it’s for an insurance settlement or you want to trade the piano or sell it privately, you’re welcome to contact me personally at: Robert@LivingPianos.com. We are happy to assist you in any way we can here at LivingPianos.com. Send your questions to robert@livingpianos.com so I can answer them in upcoming videos. See you next time.

info@LivingPianos.com
949-244-3729

What is the Meaning of a Musical Life?

Welcome to LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store. I’m Robert Estrin and today’s topic is, “What is the Meaning of a Musical Life?” It’s interesting that the parallels of what makes a meaningful musical life also transcend to life in general. So what is life about? Boy, that’s a big topic for today!

We need each other.

We are, by our very nature, social creatures. And in today’s world nearly everything we use was brought to us from past masters. For example, I play piano. I know a lot about pianos. Could I build a piano? Absolutely not. I don’t have the knowledge of how to build a piano. Just casting the plate alone would be a lifetime achievement for me, not to mention all the other intricacies of pianos. We depend upon computers and smartphones and televisions and cars, and most of us don’t even know the basics about many of these technologies. So in this way, we depend upon each other. What about in primitive societies? Well, they too are social creatures. Think of hunters and gatherers. People were specialized and dependent upon one another to keep watch when there was danger at night so people could sleep. We are an interdependent species. The only way we survive is by working together.

The meaning of a musical life is being able to reach people.

How do you do that? Obviously, in a musical performance, you are reaching people on a very deep personal level, and that is richly rewarding to be able to share feelings that are important to you with other people. But is that the only way to reach people? Certainly not. Teaching is another way to share with others. Obviously you can share a great deal with people, but it goes much deeper. Composing music, writing about music, recording music, even managing musicians, all of this is enriching to people. And the sharing is what brings meaning, not just to a musical life, but life in general. There’s a satisfaction that we get from giving to others in order to receive what we need to survive, because none of us can survive on our own. We depend upon each other.

It’s not a competition.

The meaning of a musical life isn’t to be better than everybody else. That’s a dead end really. First of all, you’re never going to do it all. There’s always going to be somebody better than you, at least in some aspects of the piano or any other instrument. Find your unique voice. What’s most important is having a passion for sharing and reaching people in the first place. That’s really what gives the joy and the meaning to your musical life!

I’d love to hear from you and how you have been able to incorporate music in your life in a meaningful way. This is a great discussion for us to have! You can figure out how to carve a path in your musical life that gives you great joy and meaning to yourself as well as others.

Thanks so much for joining me. I’m Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store. See you next time!

info@LivingPianos.com
949-244-3729

Five Signs You Have the Wrong Piano Teacher

Hi, this is Robert Estrin at LivingPianos.com. Today’s subject is, “Five Signs You Have the Wrong Piano Teacher.” Choosing the right piano teacher for yourself or your children can be difficult. Today I will tell you five things to avoid when choosing a teacher.

1. They teach on a spinet piano.

Spinets, those very small upright pianos, don’t have the greatest sound because the strings are so short and the soundboards are small. But there’s more to it than that. Spinet pianos have an easier action than other pianos. Therefore, somebody who practices on a spinet is not really prepared to play a grand piano because a grand piano is so much harder to play. One of the nice things about going to a lesson with a teacher who has a nice grand piano, is that even if at home you only have an upright or even a spinet or digital piano, at least once a week, you see what it’s like to play a more formidable instrument. This prepares you for contests and concerts. That’s one tip. It’s not a deal breaker, but a clue that maybe they aren’t a high level teacher.

2. They babysit their kids during lessons.

You might think that would never happen but it absolutely does! Maybe the kids are in the next room watching TV or maybe they’re fighting with each other and the teacher is really not 100% focused on the lesson. Or worse yet, they babysit neighbors’ kids during lessons! This sounds like a joke, but you would not believe the kind of things that go on.

3. They call themselves piano teachers without any significant piano training.

This isn’t to say that there aren’t some great dedicated piano teachers out there. We appreciate them so much! But there are some who just put ads out and start taking students. Maybe they don’t really have the background or the inclination to really care enough. They’re trying to make money teaching piano without considering the best interests of their students.

4. They hit your hands with a ruler when you miss notes!

This one is a deal breaker. It’s hard to believe that this happens at all, but I have heard of this from many people. I believe it’s sick to inflict pain on students, especially children. You want a teacher to be nurturing and supportive in order to connect with you on a personal level and get you to practice and understand what it’s all about. Certainly inflicting pain is the furthest thing from anything that would be helpful, in my opinion. If any of you have had that kind of experience, I’d love for you to share it in the comments below.

5. They don’t teach you how to practice.

This last one is the most important thing. If a teacher doesn’t show you how to practice, even if they’re spectacular pianists, your progress is going to be hindered tremendously. You only go to a lesson once a week. But imagine a teacher who shows you what to do the other six days of the week. You are going to improve exponentially with a teacher who shows you step-by-step exactly what you should be doing at home. This is the most critical thing and maybe not the most obvious thing to look for in a teacher. If any of you have teachers and you get home and you have no idea where to even start, the teacher really isn’t giving you the tools you need. You want a teacher who will show you step-by-step how to practice. This way you can be productive without them, so eventually you won’t even need a teacher! You can practice on your own and accomplish great things.

I hope this has been helpful for you. I welcome your viewpoints in the comments below!
Thanks so much for joining me. I’m Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store. See you next time!

info@LivingPianos.com
949-244-3729

Why is it So Hard to Sight-Read Ragtime Music?

Welcome to LivingPianos.com. Today’s question is “Why is it So Hard to Sight-Read Ragtime Music?” Ragtime music is so much fun to listen to and it’s fun to play as well. But it’s extraordinarily difficult to sight-read! And you might wonder why. To give you an example as to why it is so difficult to sight-read ragtime music, I’m going to compare it to something that is as far removed from ragtime as you can get, which is Bach.

Baroque era music can be played without your hands jumping around the keyboard.

Even though the music is complex, you don’t need to look at your hands because it’s all right there under your fingers. The hands don’t leap around like they do in ragtime. Music which has octaves alternating with chords in the left hand, which is very typical of ragtime music, is all but impossible to play without looking at your hands. So if you’re reading the score, how do you look at your hands and the score? It can be maddening! There’s a lot of music that falls into that category where you just need to look at your hands to handle the leaps. But here’s the good news: if you go to the trouble of memorizing ragtime, it’s not particularly difficult to play! There’s a certain technique that’s required. It’s the same technique utilized in pieces of Liszt, such as the end of his 6th Hungarian Rhapsody. The left hand goes all over the place!

Leaping back and forth from octaves to chords makes sight-reading nearly impossible.

That’s why ragtime or any music that has fast leaps is extraordinarily difficult to read. Even some relatively simple accompaniments, like some works by Fritz Kreisler. They’re absolutely glorious works and they have very simple piano parts. But the left hand has leaps in several sections making it very hard to read. There are two ways you can approach this. One way is to have the score memorized. The other way is to work on practicing those leaps without looking. I love to be well prepared when I have an accompaniment like that so I can either choose to look down at the hands or follow the score. I like to practice keeping my eyes on the score and get it to the point where I can do it just by feel. Now think about this. There are some sensational blind pianists out there. So, it is possible to be able to sight-read music that has leaps, but it’s extraordinarily difficult.

Thanks so much for joining me. I’m Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Store. See you next time!

info@LivingPianos.com
949-244-3729