Tag Archives: piano lessons

How to Play the Bach Italian Concerto on Piano – Part 1

Welcome to my ongoing series of lessons for specific repertoire. I have much more advanced lessons on piano pieces on the way. If you would like to be notified when these become available, please email me: Robert@Livingpianos.com.

This is an iconic piece by Bach and it has a very interesting history behind it. While it’s called the Italian Concerto, Bach never visited Italy! In fact, Bach was German and traveled very little in his life. A concerto is a piece of music with a group of instruments or a solo instrument with an accompanying orchestra. This piece is purely a solo work – there is no orchestra or even other instruments involved. So how can this be a concerto?

There is no doubt that Bach was a musical genius. He spent his life in Germany but would encounter many visiting musicians from other countries. He would make a point of listening to the music and the styles of different countries and cultures and he would then emulate that in some of his own works. He wrote French Suites, English Suites, and the Italian Concerto just by listening to visiting artists.

Bach was an incredibly busy man. He had over twenty children and at one time composed complete masses every week for not one, but two churches! Even though he left an incredible body of work, most of his music was all but forgotten after his death.

The great composer Felix Mendelssohn worked at the same church as Bach had a century earlier and uncovered many of Bach’s manuscripts. He is credited with bringing the music of Bach to the masses. Even though Bach’s existing work is immense and diverse, it actually represents a very small fraction of his actual output – most of which was lost forever. There are even urban legends of people wrapping fish in Bach manuscripts.

If you’ve ever seen Bach’s original compositions you would notice that there are almost no dynamics written in the scores. If you see anything written in it’s most likely an editorial suggestion. Bach probably did not write them. A huge exception to this, however, is the Italian Concerto; every single section has dynamics. Not only does the piece have dynamics throughout, they are actually written specifically for each hand.

Throughout the composition, each hand will either be playing forte or piano. Sometimes both hands will be forte or piano and on other occasions, one hand will play one dynamic while the other hand is the opposite. This is the way Bach achieved the quality and sound of a concerto with only a solo instrument – he created the effect of large and small groups in a solo keyboard work with different hands emulating solo and ensemble playing.

So what’s the best way to approach this work? Being a Baroque piece, you will not want to take many liberties with the tempo; practicing with a metronome is advised. You should be able to maintain a steady beat while playing this piece.

You should also pay very close attention to the dynamics. In fact, this is the first piece I ever learned to play on the harpsichord because it was easy to delineate which keyboard to play on a two-manual harpsichord. I set one of the keyboard registrations to be loud and the other to be soft, allowing a very easy flow from one keyboard to the other by following the dynamics written in the score.

The other aspect of this piece to pay very close attention to is the phrasing. In my previous lesson for Bach’s Minuet in G, I mention a technique for using the wrist with the staccato sections and being able to link the notes almost seamlessly in the legato sections. The same basic principle applies to this piece as well.

These are some general tips and next time I will be covering other movements of the piece. Thanks again for joining me Robert Estrin: Robert@LivingPianos.com

How to Add Color to Your Piano Music – Part 1

When I first received this question from a viewer I thought immediately how the pedals can add color to your music. Then I began to think about the subject and realized that there are other ways to add color to your music beyond simply relying on the pedals. Certainly the impressionist music of Debussy and Ravel make creative use of pedals to color the music, but what is possible with the hands alone?

This article and accompanying video demonstrates how to add color to your music without using the pedals at all. A second video to follow will cover how to color your music with the pedals. In the video attached to this article, I demonstrate some techniques using Mozart’s C major K545 Sonata. It’s a great piece to use since the piano of Mozart’s time had no pedals!

One technique is how you balance the hands. Playing the melody stronger than the accompaniment immediately adds more flavor and color to the music. An easy way to achieve this is to simply apply more arm weight to the right hand while playing.

All instruments essentially imitate the human voice. However, with the piano, every time you play a note, it immediately begins to fade out. One thing I’ve noticed from listening to my wife Florence play the flute is that she will play higher notes with more breath and volume than lower notes. This is totally natural when singing or playing a wind instrument. One thing I learned from one of my great piano teachers, Ruth Slenczynska is that you can mimic this effect on the piano. Playing higher notes louder and lower notes softer will add a lot of color and expression to your music. You can also take a bit more time when you reach the higher notes to add a greater effect. You will create the sense of a singing line on the piano!

But let’s not forget about the left hand in all this. If you were using the pedal you could meld the notes to create a nicer sound. Yet without the pedal you can achieve this by holding selected notes with your fingers! Try holding the bottom note holding the first note in each group so it overlaps the following sixteenth notes. You will be rewarded with a rich sound!

Thanks again for joining me Robert Estrin Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729. And be sure to look for part 2, which will cover techniques using the pedal.

Can you Be Too Old to Start Music Lessons?

The short answer is you can start music lessons at any age and have some degree of success. Being able to master an instrument is really a lifelong pursuit but being able to play at some level of proficiency is something anyone can do at any age.

If you had never been exposed to classical music in your life and you decided that in your 20s or 30s you wanted to become a concert violinist, you would have an incredibly tough road ahead of you. The coordination required; the understanding of musical language; there are many reasons why this would be extremely difficult. This is not to say that mastering an instrument later in life is impossible though. Many musicians have learned instruments later on in life and had a huge degree of success. But how is this possible?

Being exposed to music from a young age is incredibly important for success in music. It can increase the development of your brain for music and it can provide you with an understanding of the musical language. For example, if you already know how to play one instrument, it will be much easier to learn a second instrument. This is because you already have an understanding of the musical language.

There are some instruments that are best to learn at a young age – specifically string instruments and the piano – but it’s not impossible to learn them at any age. If you start later in life you really should have realistic expectations. No matter how much I may want to be a professional basketball player, at my age it is virtually impossible.

It’s important not to get hung up on what level you can eventually achieve on an instrument. If you want to learn an instrument at any age, it’s a great idea as long as it’s enjoyable for you. Musical development is something you can enjoy for the rest of your life no matter what your age or level!

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

The 3 Essential Skills of Piano Playing

Whenever I meet new students, the first thing I do is listen to them play. Then I ask them a critical question, “Has anyone ever taught you how to practice?” One of the most important things a teacher can share with a student is how to practice. A teacher might be absolutely brilliant but their time with a student is very limited (typically an hour a week or less). The student’s progress is determined by what they do the other six days of the week. Effective practice is critically important.

I have previously produced videos on all three skills. (You can follow the links below.)

The first skill that any pianist needs to learn is memorization. With some instruments, you can actually play and look at the music the entire time. With the piano and other instruments, there is certain music that forces you to look at your hands (specifically music with big leaps). The complexity of some scores necessitates memorization. Here is a video on the subject:

How to Practice the Piano – Memorizing Music:

The second skill that is essential to playing the piano is sightreading. Being able to read through music casually is not only incredibly helpful, it’s fun being able to explore new music and to play with other musicians! However, you must not confuse sightreading with practicing. If you keep sightreading through a piece again and again with mistakes, you are practicing mistakes. Mistakes are very difficult to correct when they become ingrained in this manner. So be sure you are clear if you are sightreading or practicing.

Tips for Improving Sightreading:

The third skill is one that many accomplished, classical musicians overlook – improvisation. Improvising (or playing by ear) is not only fun but absolutely essential in progressing as a musician. Many types of music from jazz, rock, blues, gospel, country, new age and others – all absolutely require improvisation to play correctly. Playing with other musicians, making up pieces on your own, learning how a song or piece is composed and created are all enhanced by the development of musical improvisation.

How to Improvise on the Piano:

I would love to hear from everyone on this topic. Please contact me here on the website or directly at: Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729

Piano Lessons – How to Play Softly on the Piano – Controlling Quiet Playing

Learning to play softly on the piano is really a challenge and a skill of fine art. It is very challenging to master but when it’s executed well, the results can be amazing. So this article and video will provide some tips on how to improve your playing.

I want to mention first that you will need to have your piano regulated and voiced on a very high level to achieve consistent, quiet playing. If the notes don’t respond mechanically or sonically in a uniform fashion, you simply can’t achieve pianissimo playing since some notes will drop out.

I was very lucky growing up with my father, Morton Estrin, who is a concert pianist. We had several fine pianos around our house and in his studio, and I also got a chance to try out concert instruments when he was selecting pianos for performance and recording.

He has a reputation for being able to fill even the largest concert halls with tremendous sound; in fact, smaller halls were sometimes not big enough to handle the sound. However, while he was known for his massive strength, he had an incredible skill for pianissimo as well. This is a skill that is really daring for most pianists; as playing quietly really demands the audience’s full attention – even ruffling your feet can disturb the sound of the piano. However, playing like this can open up worlds of expression in the music.

But how do you achieve this? How do you play quietly and still maintain control of your playing? My father would describe pianissimo playing like this: think of the energy of the sun. Now imagine blocking it all out except for one single pinhole. The energy that flows through that one pinhole; that is what pianissimo playing is about. There is an intensity even at very low volume.

When it comes to playing quietly on a wind instrument or a string instrument there is the breath and the bow which provide continuity. So what can you use on the piano to get the smoothness of line in very soft playing?

You could try calculating each note successively louder, then softer trying to get a smooth phrase. However, if you use this approach it will sound calculated! You will not achieve a singing line.

The secret is to use the weight of your arm and to transfer the weight from finger to finger smoothly. When playing pianissimo you will also want to stay as close to the keys as you can making sure they aren’t depressed at all. Use minimum motion. The arm weight provides the analog to the breath of the human voice! It provides a continuum of energy creating the illusion of a singing line.

Keep in mind that the piano is technically not capable of a true singing line since all notes are fading away as soon as they begin. Yet, by utilizing the weight of the arm, you can achieve smooth, pianissimo playing with great control.

Why Everyone Should Learn to Play the Piano – You Should Learn the Piano

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First, a disclosure is in order: I grew up with a concert pianist, my father Morton Estrin who taught piano in our home. He was my piano teacher as well. He still teaches in the house where I grew up on Long Island! My sister Coren Mino is also a pianist. My life is centered around the piano and always has been, so my viewpoint is definitely focused on the piano!

If you are serious about studying music, the piano can be an essential tool for developing a deep understanding of music theory. If you attend a music conservatory, a minimum level of piano proficiency is required of all music students from composers, conductors, performers, teachers – everyone is required to learn to play the piano. What is so important about the piano?

One reason is that the piano is one of the only instruments in which you can easily play multiple notes at the same time. Most instruments can only play one note at a time. In fact, all brass and woodwind instruments are monophonic. (However, there are alternative techniques to get around this usually involving singing.) The piano is also quite different from other instruments because there is a vast repertoire of music which requires no other musicians to be complete!

The piano lends itself to fostering a deep understanding of the structure of music. On the piano, you can not only see the chord but you can hear it (with absolute certainty) as well. For example, assuming the piano is in tune, if you play a C, it will be a C. If you try and play a C on another instrument – let’s say a French horn – there are a lot of different fingerings that can get very different notes; a piano will play a note with certainty as well as visual feedback. For singers, it can be invaluable having a piano nearby to check pitches of vocal parts.

Another point is that playing a note on a piano is incredibly simple. Even a young child can walk over to a piano and play a note on the keyboard. Just try and do that with an oboe or a flute; you will need a substantial study of embouchure (lip position) breathing, fingering and more just to get a sound!

The piano is a wonderful instrument for everyone even if they don’t have formal training. I personally know people who have never had a lesson in their lives but still enjoy playing the piano. There are even professional musicians who have never taken piano lessons but have been able to play by simply watching people around them and learning by ear. This is particularly true of styles of music involving improvisation such as rock, pop, country, new age, and even jazz.

The piano truly is a universal instrument. Unlike other instruments relegated to being closed up in a case in a closet, the piano is a substantial piece of furniture in people’s homes beckoning to be played!

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