Tag Archives: piano lessons

How to Improvise With Christmas Music

Happy Holidays everyone! If you’re a pianist (or a musician of any sort) you may be called upon by either family or friends to perform something for them this season. It might be fun to be able to accompany as people sing holiday favorites! While you may not have time to practice Christmas music, I have a simple solution for you!

Find some of the easiest Christmas music you can and make it your own by improvising! This is both an easy and fun way to present some holiday cheer as well as a way to practice your improvisation skills. In the video attached to this article, I use a song you can find on Virtual Sheet Music. There is a wide selection of Christmas songs available on the site and they have different arrangements for each of them (ranging from very easy to very difficult).

When it comes to improvising, the most important thing is being intimately familiar with the song. The great thing about using Christmas music is that you’ve heard them so many times; it’s perfect to improvise with!

In the video, I use the song “Greensleeves” (commonly known as “What Child is This”). I chose the easiest possible arrangement so it’s easy to read. You will hear an example of the music played exactly as written first and then a few improvised versions to see what is possible.

But how can you improvise on the written music? The beauty is that you can embellish any way you like! Don’t be afraid to experiment adding notes and altering rhythms. Then you can try to use play the left hand descending harmonies and make up a totally new melody on top! Or have someone play the left-hand part while you make up a melody. The only rule when it comes to improvising with this type of music is to have fun. Everyone you’ll play for will appreciate your efforts, so enjoy!

Thanks again for joining me Robert Estrin Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729

How to Play Chopin Prelude No. 7 in A Major

Welcome back to my ongoing series featuring the Chopin Preludes. In past lessons I’ve given tips on Chopin Prelude No. 4 (E Minor) and Chopin Prelude No. 6 (B Minor). Like these past lessons, I will be providing a few tips for this Prelude. If you want more advanced lessons, you are in luck as I will be producing some advanced courses on selected repertoire very soon; to get more information please email me directly at Robert@LivingPianos.com.

The thing that makes this particular Prelude so special is that it’s short in length but rich in depth. So what is the best way to approach this piece?

You might have noticed that this piece is broken into short sections with slur markings over each phrase. If you watch the video attached to this article you will notice that I utilize a lifting motion to begin each phrase. I also employ a technique which brings out the top notes for more expressive playing.

Lifting is a method you must employ that replicates how wind and string instruments begin playing phrases. I have played the French horn for many years and one of the most striking differences between playing the piano and playing wind instruments is how you start the first note of a phrase. When playing the French horn, you have to prepare yourself for the first note by taking a big breath and starting the note with the tongue. On the piano you can play a note simply by pushing the key down! How can you prepare yourself to produce the precise sound you are after?

Here is a lifting technique that is simple and effective for beginning a phrase with the exact sound you have in mind:

First, start with a limp wrist, then bring your arm down to the keys while straightening up your wrist. This creates backwards leverage which produces a slower release of the note giving you more control. If you use this technique you will soon notice that you have absolute control over the start of your phrases.

In addition, each one of the phrases in this piece should have a rise and a fall – just like a breath. It is vital that you avoid remaining static with your playing; you should always be either rising or falling.

Bringing out the top notes is another extremely valuable technique for expressive playing. When you are playing quietly it is necessary to delineate the top notes to make them stand out; otherwise the melody gets lost. The general rule is, the quieter you play, the more difference there must be between melody and accompaniment. When you play louder, this isn’t a problem since top notes will come through. However, when you are playing quietly, you need to reach with your fingers to delineate the top notes and make them sing.

Thanks again for joining me Robert Estrin Robert@LivingPianos.com. If you want more information on the upcoming advanced videos I have planned please email me.

Three Secrets of Tone Production on the Piano

The piano is a unique instrument. I recall my third grade general music class. On occasion my teacher would let me play the piano for for everyone at the end of class and it was something I looked forward to. On one particular day when we were learning about the families of musical instruments, string, brass, woodwind and percussion, I asked if I could play at the end of class. But my teacher had a stipulation because of limited time. If I could tell her the classification of the piano she would let me play. I knew by the look on her face that it couldn’t have been something obvious which would be the string family, so guessed that the piano was a percussion instrument (the only other group of instruments I deemed possible). She was shocked that I had guessed correctly and she had to let me play!

So yes, the piano is a percussion instrument.

When the hammers strike the strings the notes sound and immediately begin fading away.

All music emulates the human voice to one degree or another. On wind instruments the connection is obvious – they utilize the breath. Even bowed string instruments produce continuity of sound not unlike the breath of the voice. So how do you emulate this quality on the piano, an instrument where the notes immediately begin to fade away as soon as you play them?

This is what we are going to discuss in detail today using the Chopin F# Nocturne (in the video example). I am going to provide a collection of techniques to help you achieve the tone you desire on the piano. Ultimately you are the judge of the sound you produce and you’ll use your ears to achieve the sound you want. These are guidelines to help you explore different tonal possibilities.

The first way to produce a singing line on the piano is to get louder towards the middle of the phrase and softer towards the end of the phrase. This is achieved not by calculating note to note but by using the weight of your arms to produce the desired tone. Here is an article and video which describes this technique in some detail:

The second way to produce a singing tone on the piano is to play louder as you play higher notes and softer when playing descending musical lines. The reason why this works so well is that when you’re singing or playing most wind instruments it’s natural for the higher notes to be louder than lower notes. This technique will create a different sense of phrasing from the method described above, yet the outcome is very lyrical.

The last method I’m going to share is something intrinsic to the piano. This is something that a master pianist Vladimir Horowitz utilized a great deal. Obviously you can’t completely replicate his style or methods which encompass many aspects, but you can attempt to create a similar tone production in your music. The method he utilized was to play longer notes with more energy than shorter notes.

Why does this technique make sense? It comes back to the physics of piano sound and the fact that as a percussion instrument notes are always fading away. For notes to last longer you must play them with more energy so they last long enough to create a musical line. If you try this on the piano it creates a singing quality in your music.

I hope these techniques have been helpful for you and as always you can send your questions, comments and suggestions to us directly: Info@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729

Learning Hanon’s Virtuoso Pianist Part 3 – How to Practice

The third part in my series on Hanon’s Virtuoso Pianist comes from a viewer question about how much to practice these lessons. In case you missed them here are the first two parts in my series on:

Part 1 – The First Lessons

Part 2 – How to Practice Scales and Arpeggios

Believe it or not, there is such a thing as over-practicing exercises. One of the great things about the piano is that there is a wealth of music – so much so that it would be impossible to learn it all in a lifetime. So why practice strictly exercises when there is so much other music you could be learning and playing?

There are some instances in which you will need to correct technical problems with your playing and develop fluid a technique. Scales and arpeggios are a great resource for this. But how much is too much practice when it comes to exercises?

Generally, you should think of these as a warm-up to your practice session. If you dedicate 10 minutes to the beginning of your daily practice to focus on scales, arpeggios, or other exercises, it will benefit you immensely. What’s most important for your progress is the consistency of practice.

There may be times in your musical development when exercises can be critical in expanding your technique and developing strength. However, you should not ignore repertoire. You can continue to develop your strength and technical prowess while learning music as well – after all, we learn our instruments to play music!

Thanks again for joining me Robert Estrin: Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729