Welcome to the second part in my two part series of How to Play Chords on the Piano. Last time we covered How to Play Slow Chords, today I will discuss how to play fast chords.
With slow chords I emphasized the use of the arms. In order to get better clarity and tone out of your slow chords – whether loud or soft – the technique lies in the arms. This is not the case with faster chords.
The secret to playing fast chords is the wrist. There are moments when you simply can’t move your arms fast enough – this is where learning proper wrist technique can be very helpful. I actually produced an entire video called; It’s all in the Wrist which demonstrates more advanced techniques for this method.
This has been a common question for me; many students have asked me what I would recommend helping them prepare for upcoming piano exams. I remember my days in music conservatory preparing for piano exams in preparation for recitals. In case you aren’t familiar, piano exams consist of sitting in front of a jury who generally spot check the music. This can be a daunting process!
The tests consist mostly of being asked to play certain selections from your current recital program. You may be stopped abruptly in the middle of your playing. This can happen throughout the exam and become very disconcerting if you don’t know what to expect. You might feel that they think you are playing badly but this is just part of the procedure and there is nothing to worry about.
But how do you prepare for this? The best thing to do is to practice like you would for a recital. While you might only be playing certain selections from your music, you should be prepared to play the entire program since it’s impossible to predict what they will ask for, just like any audition.
An essential practice technique is practicing without the pedal – this can be incredibly beneficial because you will hear more detail so your hands and fingers zero in on corrections quickly. You should also practice with the metronome and also combine these two techniques. These are essential piano practice techniques that will solidify your playing.
More than any physical technique, you will want to live with the music inside you. Play the music mentally away from the piano. Making yourself play the music away from the piano will better prepare you when you actually play on the piano. In order to play the piece in your head without even moving your fingers or looking at the keyboard, you have to be incredibly familiar with the score. It can be very reassuring to get the music mastered on this level. No matter who you are or how well you are prepared, mishaps can happen to the best concert pianists. In the event of a mistake, you must recover quickly and keep the music flowing. Knowing your scores enables you to keep the flow of the music going no matter what happens.
You may learn your scores so well that you literally play them in your sleep! When you sit at the piano you will want the music to come out of you with minimal effort. However, you will not want to play your music on autopilot. You should constantly stay focused on what you are doing and where you are in the piece instead of relying on tactile memory.
When preparing for an exam or a recital, performing a practice run through in front of family or friends is absolutely essential. If the first time you perform your music it is in a high-pressure situation, you will be at a distinct disadvantage. Try working with your colleagues testing each other through mock piano juries! Have them stop and start you abruptly – have them even critique you in a stone-faced manner. These techniques will benefit you when the time comes for your actual exam.
Remember that auditions are not necessarily satisfying musical experiences. The judges may have listened to dozens of students before you even show up. They may be tired and hungry. They are simply getting a job done. Their demeanor doesn’t necessarily reflect upon you. Remember that they are not there for the same reasons you are – they are simply there to test.
Prepare the best you can and test yourself with informal performances and mock auditions and you should do just fine on your piano exam. Thanks for joining me, Robert Estrin – Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729
Welcome to my ongoing series of music theory lessons. Today we will be covering Pentatonic scales.
“Penta” means five, and as such these scales all have 5 notes in them. Major and minor scales contain 8 notes and chromatic scales contain 12; so 5 notes is quite a difference from other scales. As far as the intervals for pentatonic scales go, you can form one in any key by using the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th note of that major scale.
It’s actually great that we are using a piano keyboard as an example because the black keys on the piano actually form a pentatonic scale all on their own starting on G-flat. You might have noticed that if you play just the black keys on a piano, they tend to sound good together. That’s because it’s literally impossible to play a wrong note using just the black keys!
What’s really great about pentatonic scales is that all the notes sound really good together. I’m not kidding when I say you can play the black keys and make nearly anything sound good. Even someone who has never played the piano before can play just the black keys and create something that sounds pretty nice. If you’ve never improvised before this is a great place to start learning; just start playing the black keys and make something up. If you have a friend, try playing together just using the black keys; you will be pleasantly surprised at how good it can sound!
That’s really about all there is to know about pentatonic scales. I hope you enjoyed this exploration and look forward to next week’s video when we cover more music theory topics.
Portato (commonly referred to as Portamento) is somewhere between legato and staccato. Legato means to play notes connected while staccato means to play them detached, sometimes even short in faster music. Portato would fall in-between these two styles of play. Generally, the notes are played long but slightly detached. Portato is not an exact science so knowing how to play is determined by what style of music you’re playing, the tempo, as well as the context of the particular passage.
In the video above I use an example of the second movement of the Mozart K330 Sonata in C-major – which incidentally starts with three notes that are portamento. You can watch the video to gain insights.
The piano is unique from other instruments because repeating the same note, they will be detached unless you utilize the pedal. Every note has a damper which ends the sound of a note when the key is released (unless you have the pedal down which raises the dampers).
On wind instruments, the tongue is used to delineate each note of a phrase unless it is slurred. String instruments also have different bowings to achieve the proper phrasing.
There are several techniques for playing portato on the piano. One approach is to brush the keys with your fingers. However, since key tops vary from piano to piano, this can be unreliable since ivory keys feel different from plastic key tops. Also, the moisture level in your hand will change the resistance you feel on the keys.
Here is a technique you may find helpful for achieving slightly detached repeated notes. It involves lifting previously played fingers high to allow as much legato as possible:
You can always detach the notes more since this technique gives you total control of the length of notes. It can also be utilized for passages of different notes. You must practice without the sustain pedal to achieve the phrasing desired. Later, using the pedal can add color to your playing.
Today I am going to talk about something a little different; something I learned as a conservatory student.
When I would listen to performances of concert pianists, I would notice that the melody was delineated much more in their playing than in most student performances. The difference in volume between the melody and the harmony was much greater in the performances of the great pianists.
In the example provided with the video in this article, I play the slow movement of the Beethoven Pathetique Sonata and show you how playing the melody much bigger and playing everything else very delicately will give the piece a much more intimate feel.
The thing to keep in mind is that this isn’t a right or wrong approach to your music, it’s simply one technique you can bring that will create a unique presence for your performances. In very dense music, delineating your melody from the rest of the music is essential; otherwise, it can get lost very easily.
While it doesn’t work on all occasions, in some instances you must create extreme separation between your melody and harmony by accentuating the melody above all else. Practicing Without the Pedal and Practicing While Playing Slowly are two great techniques in learning how to bring out the melody in your music.
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
Welcome back to our multi-part series on the Burgmüller Studies. These pieces are really great for piano students at a fairly elementary level yet provide some gorgeous music. In the first lesson we covered La Candeur (Frankness) and last time we covered L’Arabesque. Today we are going to talk about how to approach La Pastorale – which is a great piece to introduce using the pedal to students.
If you followed my past lessons on Burgmüller you might notice how different each of these pieces sound. It’s a great way to introduce students to many different types of music that are both easily accessible and unique from one another.
The key to mastering this particular piece is a lot like the first lesson we covered which is to use the weight of your arms to maintain a smooth legato with rises and falls of dynamics in each phrase. This piece has the added challenge of a degree of complexity in the left hand. As opposed to the whole notes in La Candeur, you have a pattern of repeated chords:
I always recommend practicing your music without the pedal first in order to achieve a smooth legato. The same principle remains true here. Once you feel confident, you should add the pedal to add to the smoothness.
After you’ve practiced both hands independently try putting them together but still practicing without the pedal. You want to achieve a smooth legato in both hands without using the pedal as a crutch. Once you can play smoothly with confidence, go back and add the pedal.
Why is it so important to play notes legato if you’re going to add the pedal anyway?
This is a likely question you hear from intelligent students. Wouldn’t the pedal make everything smooth anyway? Not necessarily. You must capture all the notes of the first chord in each group whenever engaging the pedal. If you miss any of the notes on the pedal, you will lose the legato. By playing the chords long, you will ensure that all the notes are down when you press the pedal.
In the next section you will not need to use the pedal but you will face a different set of challenges. You have repeated notes in the left hand and a different rhythm to deal with in the right hand:
Make sure you play these notes legato. Not just in the right hand but the left hand as well. Repeated notes present a unique challenge. How can you play these notes legato? The secret is changing the fingers you use for each note. This way you can have one finger coming going up while another finger is going down. This technique will create a sense of connectivity in the notes and create a beautiful line. Try this section with this technique and see if you can tell the difference:
Notice 4-3-2 on these B flats. You’ll notice the right hand has the same technique:
Notice the 2-3-4 listed on those notes.
You’ll see these numbers over repeated notes quite a bit in this piece. The secret is to change fingers for repeated notes so you can achieve a smooth sound.
Thanks again for joining me Robert Estrin here at Living Pianos. I hope this has been helpful for you and make sure to stay tuned to our future episodes in the Burgmüller studies on piano. If you have any questions about this topic or any topic at all please contact us directly: Info@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729.
