Tag Archives: piano

TEACHER RANT: What Makes a Great Teacher

Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today’s subject is about what makes a teacher great. Great teachers are so rare. In public school I could count on one hand the truly great teachers I had throughout all my years of schooling. Oftentimes at a certain point in the year, the teacher would assign a paper. It had to be a certain length and you had to have a bibliography of the works you referenced. Everybody in the class would break out into a cold sweat. Why? Because nobody ever actually showed us how to write a paper! They would tell you to make an outline, as if that’s helpful. You wouldn’t even know how to make an outline! Nobody ever showed us how to approach such a thing. They just said, “Do it.” And that was the way it was so much of the time with homework. “Read the book,” they would say. But the people who wrote the books weren’t always great teachers either. I encounter this so much of the time with theory books, by the way. It can be so confusing that it goes right over students’ heads. If you already understand the theory, you can kind of grasp what they’re going for, but in the most convoluted and complex way. It doesn’t help someone to actually learn music theory.

In 11th grade I had a great teacher named Mr. Gray.

Mr. Gray changed my life because he actually showed us how to craft an English composition. To this day I am thankful for what he showed us. I still use the tools he provided in my writing today. It’s the way of organizing. There’s a methodology which I could go into another time, if any of you are interested. It’s a little off topic from music, but not really because in this world, we all have to express ourselves in print. Even if it’s just emails to people, you want to be concise. You want to be digestible and memorable. Organization is a big part of that. This is true for all teaching.

What is the most essential element to teaching?

What is the best way to convey ideas? The best way is to break things down to their component parts in a logical fashion. If you’ve ever had a great math teacher, you know what I’m talking about. Because when you have a math teacher who’s not great, you just feel completely overwhelmed. It can make you feel stupid! Because you think, “Why can’t I get this?” You’re looking at some mathematical equation that you can’t begin to solve because nobody’s given you the tools. But if you have a great math teacher who shows you the methodology, step by step, it’s enlightening. Not only that, it makes doing your homework fun because you understand what you’re doing. You’re not just trying to grope in the dark and hope you stumble upon answers. You know exactly what to do, step by step. That is what you look for in a teacher. This is true with any subject.

Music theory is one of those subjects that is often taught poorly.

I’m not going to mention the school by name, but I went to a school that was guilty of constantly teaching above the students’ comprehension. Part of it was the teachers would write the books that would be used in the class and they wanted to appear smarter than the students. What’s the best way to do that? Have a lot of jargon in the book that’s just not quite digestible. You seem smarter than your students and the students are looking to you for guidance. If you’ve ever felt that way with a teacher, it’s not you. It’s them! They are not giving you the tools you need.

A great teacher empowers you to solve problems.

Whether it’s how to play the piano, how to do math, or how to figure out music theory, a great teacher will completely solidify the basics. It’s the same thing with studying pieces of music. You must have a complete grasp of what you’re doing. It’s so satisfying when you’re anchored that way intellectually. Then you can build from there. Each concept builds on the previous. It’s obvious with a subject like math. But music is no different. In fact, most subjects need to be addressed this way so you can build logically from a solid foundation of understanding and have the tools and the steps needed for your daily work. And that’s how you know you have a great teacher in whatever subject you’re learning. When you have one, you’ll feel so grateful. It opens your mind because it’s not just the little tidbits you get at the lessons. It’s what you get not only throughout the week, but in the months, and yes, the years to follow. Just like the lessons I learned from Mr. Gray in 11th grade!

I hope this is helpful for you. Thanks so much for joining me, Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

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Rhythm: The Most Important Element of Music!

Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today’s subject is about the most important element of music: rhythm. Is rhythm really the most important aspect of music? What about the notes? Well, think of it this way: Let’s say there’s a party and you know where the party is. You know it’s a birthday party for your friend. You know whether you’re supposed to bring presents or not, and what the activities are going to be. But if you don’t know when the party is, guess what? No party!

You need to know the when!

Imagine hearing a piece of music with no rhythm, all the notes played equally. Would you even be able to identify the piece? it would sound drastically different without the rhythmic component. But hearing the same exact notes with a rhythmic context sounds completely different. Rhythm is so intrinsically important! Of course there are many elements that are important, but without rhythm, what do you have? You really have nothing unless you put it in some context of time. It’s human nature because our entire experience is based upon the element of time. We go through life in a linear fashion, after all. It’s the way we relate to everything! You could play all the notes of a piece, but it’s meaningless if you don’t have a rhythmic context. That’s why it’s so vitally important in your practice to count out your rhythm.

Composers weren’t haphazard about rhythmic notation.

Things were written precisely for a reason. Because without the rhythm, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony doesn’t sound like much of anything. This is true of all music. I encourage all of you to count in your practice, to measure your rhythm with a metronome, and double and triple check note values as well as rests. That’s what brings music alive and gives it meaning. This is such an important topic. I’m curious how all of you feel about this! Let me know in the comments. Thanks so much for joining me, Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

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Contact me if you are interested in private lessons. I have many resources for you! Robert@LivingPianos.com

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Steinway VS Chinese Piano – Can You Hear the Difference?

Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Do you think you can hear the difference between a Steinway and a Chinese piano? Many of you probably think it would be no problem. But it may be surprising to you what you hear. There have been studies on wines. When people think a bottle of wine is expensive, they’re always going to choose that as being a better wine. There’s a subjective nature to the taste and the bouquet of wines. Well, the same is true of pianos! Now, I’m not suggesting one is better than the other. I’m going to leave it up to you to decide. I’m going to provide you with a blind listening test!

We will be comparing a Steinway to a Chinese piano in our blind listening test!

I went through the archives of Living Pianos, because we have hundreds of piano videos, and I found two grand pianos of about the same size, both in brand new condition. One is a Steinway and one is a Chinese piano. The Chinese brand shall remain nameless for right now. At the end I will reveal which is which. But don’t cheat! Don’t go forward on this because I want you to really critically listen. If you’ve got good speakers or headphones, use them so you can really hear the instruments. Then I want you to write down your answer. Write it down on a piece of paper. I’m serious about this! Because it’s easy to change your mind once you know the answer. But if you commit it to paper, then you can’t argue that you thought something different. It’s harder to tell than you might think!

I found recordings of the beginning of the second movement of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major, Op. 10, No. 3. It’s the same exact piece of music you’re going to hear on both of these instruments. Remember, don’t cheat! I want you to really write down which one you think is the Steinway and which one is the Chinese piano so you get the most out of this. Here we go!

See video to hear for yourself!

That was an interesting listening experience. I bet many of you have very definite ideas and some of you may be wondering which one is which. Well first of all let me tell you what these pianos are and then I’ll tell you which one was first and which one was second. The Steinway is a 2010 Model O which is right around 5′ 10″ in brand new condition. The Chinese piano is the 2017 Hailun Model 178, also 5′ 10″.

So which one was which? Have you written it down on paper? I’m serious about this because it’s easy to cheat yourself. You don’t want to be wrong here, do you? Because there’s a drastic price difference. You could buy several of those Hailuns for the price of a Steinway. So which one is which?

The first performance you heard was the Steinway and the second performance was the Hailun.

I don’t know how many of you are shocked and how many of you got it right. But there’s no right or wrong answer because every piano has something to offer. Every piano is unique. If you play several brand new Steinway model O’s in the showroom, each one will have a unique character of sound, as do the Hailuns. All pianos are made of wood and other organic materials and are highly crafted.

Now, I should tell you that there was a slight difference in these two performances. The first one was made later in my studio where I had much higher end microphones. I had a pair of Neumanns recording the Steinway and I only had a pair of Audio-Technica 4033s, which are relatively inexpensive large diaphragm condensers on the Hailun. So they were recorded in different rooms with different microphones. So this wasn’t totally scientific. The Hailun didn’t have the benefit of expensive, high-end microphones. But nevertheless you can get some idea of the different characteristics of the sound of these pianos. It was an interesting playing experience. I can hear what I went for and what came out on these performances. But I’m more interested in what you heard! Be honest in the comments. I’m very interested in how everybody responds to this! Thanks so much for joining me, Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

Steinway 2010 Model O Grand Piano – Living Pianos Online Piano Store
https://youtu.be/beWmW4C4y7U

New Hailun Model 178 Grand Piano – Living Pianos Online Piano Store
https://youtu.be/izQ-ZUSa0Jw
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Contact me if you are interested in private lessons. I have many resources for you!

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Is Music Subjective? – What Do You Hear?

This is LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin asking, “What do you hear? – Is music subjective?” How much of our listening experience is cultural and how much is innately human? This is such a tough question to answer. I thought I’d elicit your help in this! I’ve got some original music that no one has ever heard before, which is a perfect vehicle for exploring this subject. But first, let’s talk a little bit about how much of the perception of music is just cultural. For example, we’re all used to hearing scary music, like a diminished seventh chord. It’s classic. It reminds us of old silent movies with a woman tied to the railroad tracks as a train is coming. We assume those emotions just from hearing the music. Is that just because we’ve been conditioned? Yes, that is certainly part of it. But there’s more to it than that!

In a way, tonality goes against nature.

What do I mean by that? Tonal music is based upon the naturally occurring overtone series that’s contained in all pitched sounds. That’s why a C-major chord sounds very natural to us, because indeed every single pitched tone you hear contains those basic pitches in it anyway. Whereas when you listen to harmonies that clash, it’s grading. One of the reasons for this is that some intervals are easy to digest because they are based upon simple math. An octave is a two to one relationship. It sounds very soothing, very easy to calculate. You’re essentially calculating intervals in your head. I bet you didn’t even realize that, but that’s exactly what you’re doing! When you’re hearing an interval, you’re counting vibrations per second. And when they double, that’s an octave. It’s easy to hear, it’s easy to calculate. Your mind can figure that one out. A fifth is a one to three relationship which sounds pure. But when you get to dissonances, they’re very distantly related mathematically, and they’re hard to hear as a result. So some of it really is biological, yet some of it is influenced by our cultural upbringing.

Is major or minor inherently happy or sad?

When you hear a major chord it seems cheerful compared to a minor chord. How much of that is innate in our biology and how much is cultural? A major 3rd is more closely related to the fundamental tone in the overtone series than a minor third. So the simpler relationship may have something to do with why a major 3rd in a major chord is more cheerful sounding to us. I’m going to share with you some original music and you’re going to get the opportunity to comment on LivingPianos.com as well as YouTube to get a discussion going to see how this music makes you feel. I hope you enjoy it!

Watch The Performance

This is music that no one has heard before. You get the chance to comment and get a conversation going! Talk to each other on the blog at LivingPianos.com as well as YouTube, and see what this music makes you feel. Together we can discover how much is innate and how much is cultural in how we hear music. We have people from all around the world hearing this music, people with different cultural biases. We want to hear from all of you. This will be a fun experiment for you to take part in! Thanks so much for joining me, Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

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How Did The Great Composers Create So Much Music?

Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. The subject today is about how the great composers came up with so much music. It just seems impossible! When you think about Brahms, Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, and so many other composers, it almost seems like magic. It’s as if something was handed down to them from the heavens. It doesn’t seem like anyone could write so much fantastic music.

The truth is that we only have a tiny glimpse of their music.

Most of the great composers made music up spontaneously, constantly. They were known to be tremendous improvisers. But because audio recording was not developed until centuries later, we only have the written scores of these great composers to go by. But we get glimpses as to what the great composers actually improvised, and some of their fantasies. For example, you think about Bach and you think about very regular, beautifully crafted music that obviously was written out. But what about music that he just made up? Are there any glimpses into that? Yes! For example, Bach’s Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue. The way that starts out is very rhapsodic and spontaneous in nature. It’s an amazing work that goes places you would never expect. It gives you a little glimpse of what these composers were able to create on the fly.

Improvisation can sow the seeds for compositions.

This isn’t just true of the early composers. Think about when you listen to a Chopin Nocturne. Just imagine the melodies that Chopin and Liszt made up. Sometimes they would have parlor gatherings, and they would go back and forth. As did other great composers of the 19th century, such as Anton Rubinstein. It was one of the things that they did, where they played for one another spontaneously. Listen to the opening phrase of the B-flat minor Nocturne of Chopin. The second cadenza is something that no-one would think of writing. He must have just played this and figured out a way to write it down. It’s very rhapsodic, off the cuff phrasing. It’s not metered. And it gives you just a little hint as to what these composers did on a daily basis, by themselves, for their family, for their friends, and at all kinds of get-togethers.

Have fun with music!

I believe all the great composers have joy and passion in their music! It wasn’t just a tedious task. It wasn’t all lonely nights of crafting great compositions, although that’s a part of music. A part of practicing and learning music is spending the time to learn scores. But having fun with it and not losing the love of music is what it’s all about! I believe those are the seeds of the great composers. So enjoy your music! Explore things and see what you can come up with! I’m Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

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How to Get Great Bass Sound out of Your Old Piano

Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. The subject today is about how you can get great bass sound out of an old piano. There’s nothing more frustrating than having a piano where the lowest notes just sound pathetic. It can make you not even want to play down there! I remember practicing for many years before I had a formidable instrument, and I found that I would kind of punctuate the low notes. I would bang them trying to get any sound out of them at all. Then I would play a concert grand or even a semi-concert grand and realize I was overplaying everything below the two octaves below middle C. It would all sound too loud and ugly.

Is there anything you can do to get a better bass sound out of your old piano?

The answer is yes, but it depends upon the size of your old piano. If you’ve got an old spinet, there’s not much you can do because the strings are so short. But if you have an older piano of a decent size that lacks sound in the bass, there are oftentimes ways you can get new life out of the bass. One obvious thing, if your piano is old, the bass strings might have lost their life. Replacing the bass strings may be necessary. Restringing the whole piano is a big job. But there aren’t that many bass strings because there are only one or two usually for each note down there unlike the rest of the piano, where there are three strings for each note. So you can get your piano technician to replace just the bass strings. They might even be able to use the existing tuning pins if they’re tight enough. If not, just replace those tuning pins while you’re at it with slightly larger tuning pins to make sure that they are good and tight.

There are also ways to bring new life to old strings.

Sometimes simply loosening the bass strings and then tightening them back up in tune can make them sound dramatically better. Better than that, bass strings can be twisted. Bass strings all come with at least a half twist or a full twist, depending upon the manufacturer. You can put another half or full twist on those strings. But it does flex the string. And if the strings are really old, you could snap some bass strings. So there is some caution advised here. But if they’ve never been twisted before, sometimes the sound you can get out of the bass strings with a simple twist is unbelievable. The way you find out if this will help your piano is to have a technician twist just one of the strings. Find a note that has two strings and twist one of them. Then listen for the difference by muting each string and listening to them separately. If the string that was twisted is dramatically brighter and more vibrant, have your tuner twist all of the strings to get new life out of the bass on your piano. Sometimes technicians will actually remove the strings, not completely, just at the point where they could take it off of the loop and then they clean it by folding it onto itself like tying a knot. This gets the crud out from between the coils, which can also really enhance the sound of those bass strings.

So, there are techniques for reviving the bass on your piano! I advise any of you who want the bass on your piano to sound more vibrant to talk to your piano technician about these techniques. But make sure that they’re versed in this technology because not all piano technicians do this. Don’t have them do it if they are not accustomed to doing it. Find a technician who is familiar with these techniques and they will know whether it’s going to work on your piano or not. You might just get new life out of your bass without having to spend a lot of money! I hope this helps you! I’m Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

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