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
Can you tune your piano with your phone? The simple answer to this question is yes, you can! What do I mean by “tuning your piano with your phone”? We’ve come to such an age where we carry super computers in our pockets, and there is remarkable software that can aid you in tuning your piano.
When I was a child, if a tuner would come to tune my father’s piano with a strobe tuner (which was the technology of the time) it was an indication of an incompetent tuner since virtually no tuner could get a piano in tune utilizing just a strobe tuner. Was it because the strobe tuner wasn’t accurate enough? It’s true that the digital technology of today is far more accurate. The technology that is offered today is even more accurate than human hearing!
But there is more to it. To get a piano to sound right, it is not a simple matter of having the piano perfectly in tune. There is a certain amount of artistry that goes into tuning a piano. There are two reasons for this. The first has to do with the deficiencies inherent with pianos. The smaller a piano is, the less fundamental tone you have and the more overtones are present. Those are higher pitches contained within each note of the piano. The overtones must blend with the fundamental tones of higher notes on the piano. There are different formulas for getting a sweet tone out of a piano This is dependent on a piano’s size and its scale design. A trained technician with experience can achieve a sweet sound throughout all registers. The other limitation is that human hearing is not perfect. When you get higher up in pitch, you actually start to hear pitches flat. So, a piano’s tuning must be stretched so that octaves are not exactly 2 to 1 mathematical relationships which is what octaves are. They are ever so slightly bigger!
Strobe tuners and technologies from year’s past did not account for any of these things. The technology today is designed to compensate for these factors. There are several free programs you can use that can assist you in tuning your piano or checking the tuning on your piano. A popular one I like to use is an app called Panotuner.
I use it to set the temperament (all the notes in one octave in the middle of the keyboard) when tuning my harpsichord as well as my fortepiano. However, it doesn’t have the sophisticated features that you really need to tune a piano without utilizing your ears.
There are two programs that are used by professional piano tuners and technicians. One is called Tune Lab and the other one is Cyber Tuner. These are available for your phone or computer. You may ask yourself, how do these technologies account for deficiencies in pianos and human hearing? Think of it this way. In the medical community, we are coming to a point where there will be super intelligent robotic doctors. This is a technology in its infancy. The combined knowledge of tens of thousands of doctor are rolled into a machine that can make diagnosis’ much better than any one doctor could. While this AI technology is evolving in the medical profession, it is already highly evolved in the piano tuning realm. The software programs include the input from thousands of piano tuners as well as many different pianos and the correct mathematics in order to get pianos to sound right. For example, if you have a piano that is low in pitch, it is really important to stretch the tuning so that it can accommodate the added stress and tension on the bridge and soundboard which changes the tuning of previously tuned sections of the piano as you are tuning!
On these software programs, typically, you play all the A’s on the piano first, and it will calibrate how much to stretch the tuning so that by the time you are done tuning, the piano will be in tune. Otherwise, you may have to tune the piano twice – once to raise the pitch and a second time for a fine tuning. There are basic tools you need in order to tune a piano besides software. You need a tuning hammer and wedges as well as felt strips that are relatively inexpensive. Here is something vitally important to understand. Any competent piano tuner will get a piano in tune. Only a great tuner can get a piano to hold its tuning for any reasonable amount of time. If I were to play massive works of Prokofiev and Liszt for example just after a piano has been tuned, if it had been tuned by a novice, it may sound good initially, but the tuning would go out very quickly. A concert level tuner knows how to set the pins and strings so that it can sustain hard blows and still maintain pitch.
So yes, you can tune a piano using your phone. However, it takes years of experience tuning hundreds of pianos in order to be able to tune a piano to hold well over a reasonable amount of time. I hope this article has been helpful for you. You are welcome to send your questions which may appear in future articles and videos to Robert@LivingPianos.com.
You might wonder whether or not it’s a frivolous expense to spend $60,000, $80,000 or more on a piano when you can buy a decent Asian production piano for a fraction of the cost. Are expensive pianos worth the price or are they merely status symbols? Let’s examine this in detail.
Yes, there is a sense of status when owning an expensive piano. Having the name Steinway, Bosendorfer, Fazioli or other esteemed brand across the fallboard of your piano makes a statement. It’s a lot like owning a designer handbag or luxury car. There is pride of ownership of a fine piano. However, beyond the name across the fallboard, what are the benefits of buying a top-tier, handmade instrument?
Fortunately, showing off the name on your fallboard is not the primary benefit of owning a high-end piano!
Beyond the status of owning an expensive instrument, the resale value of the piano will be much higher than a cheaper production instrument. The value of Steinway, Mason & Hamlin and other top-tier piano brands is very high and they retain their value unlike some production pianos which can be practically worthless in a few short years.
Think of it this way, if you buy a $10,000 production piano, when it wears out you probably wouldn’t invest to rebuild it. This is due to the fact that the cost of rebuilding is more than what the piano is worth or even the price of a new one. When it comes to top tier instruments, the cost of rebuilding is justified. So, the piano has lasting value.
If you’re looking for a piano that you can pass down from generation to generation, a high-end piano is the obvious choice.
What’s the difference in how a cheaper piano plays compared to a top-tier piano?
For the majority of players a cheaper production piano may be adequate. For a young child just starting out, an adult who likes to play occasionally, or someone who is looking at a piano primarily as a piece of furniture or even as an entertainment piece with a modern player system, you may not require anything greater than a decent production piano in your home. It can last several years with moderate use and proper maintenance.
What about for serious players?
Years ago I had a brand new, grand piano from a respected Asian manufacture that I was using as my personal practice piano. I am a serious player and practice hours every day I found that about every six months the piano required major regulation just to keep it in decent playing condition. I even had to rebuild the pedal lyre more than once because it couldn’t withstand the intense use the piano was getting. I was spending a small fortune to maintain the instrument and it was simply not worth the investment. Eventually I found a top-tier American concert grand piano from the 1970s that I still currently use and it’s been a phenomenal experience owning this piano; it can withstand my rigorous practice sessions and requires only minimal regulation on a much more occasional basis because of its stability.
Another thing to consider is that the vast majority of Asian production pianos don’t have the range of expression that top-tier pianos offer. Any serious pianist knows how to instantly adjust to the instrument in front of them. For example, if I’m performing on a concert grand Bosendorfer, Mason & Hamlin, Steinway or other top brand I can let myself go and not worry about how much energy I put into the piano. If I’m performing on a cheaper instrument I will temper my performance limiting the energy I exert to avoid unpleasant sounds out of the piano since it can’t handle my range of expression. I would relate this to turning up a cheap stereo too loud – it can create distortion and become very unpleasant to the ears.
What about if you’re playing a piece that requires quiet playing with multiple, simultaneous lines at different volumes? This is a technique that really only high level players will be able to achieve on a top-tier piano in great condition. Yet it’s something that any serious pianist absolutely requires.
These issues are not really a concern for most players or students. Unless you are a really accomplished player you probably won’t encounter these types of issues. However, if you find yourself limited in your performance because of your current instrument then it might be time to upgrade your piano to something more substantial. Even if it isn’t required, you may appreciate the quality of sound and touch and enjoy and instrument you can keep for the rest of your life.
Thanks again for joining us here at Living Pianos. If you have any questions or comments about this subject or any subject at all please contact us directly: Info@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729
This might sound like a funny topic but I’ve gotten this question quite a few times over the years.
In the past, I’ve had students who would let their fingernails grow to ridiculous lengths and they caused clicking whenever they played! This can be distracting!
Why are long fingernails a problem? Good hand position is extremely important when it comes to playing the piano. You want to be in a position that takes no effort to maintain. Naturally, your fingers curve into a comfortable position.
In this position, your fingernails would be the first things to strike the keys. Playing the piano with your fingers and hand in this position is much more natural than trying to play with them outstretched like this:
While this hand position might make it easier on long fingernails, playing the piano like this would cause a lot of unnecessary strain and make playing rapid passagework cumbersome.
So can you play the piano with long fingernails? Sure, but if you’re serious about playing, you need to trim them to a length that allows you to play the piano without creating extraneous noises with your nails and maintaining an ideal hand position.
If you have any questions about this topic or any others, please contact us at: Info@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729
This is a question I get frequently. People with antique pianos often wonder what they can do when one or more ivories are chipped or missing. This can be a real annoyance particularly when it’s in the middle of the keyboard.
In our last video about ivory keys we discussed the legal status of Ivory in the United States as it pertains to pianos and other items. If you haven’t watched that yet you may want to get yourself familiar with this important issue.
The answer to the question as to whether or not you can replace one missing ivory is, maybe. Some tuners carry around spare ivories taken from pianos that had to have the ivories replaced with plastic. It’s great to be able to reuse ivory on another piano. However, this is not as easy as it sounds.
Ivory is an organic substance that comes from elephant tusks and as a result no two keys are exactly alike. Finding one that fits is a great puzzle that can’t always be solved. One set of ivories might have a different pattern, size, or color than others – finding a match could take dozens or more different ivories.
This could all change in the near future as the laws pertaining to ivory are tightening and the transport and sale of any items containing ivory may become illegal. It’s a good idea to keep yourself updated on this topic and rest assured that we will provide any new information pertaining to ivories and pianos as things develop.
For the most part, if you have an ivory key or just a few ivory keys that need to be replaced, your tuner may be able to find matches. Sometimes they can fill in chipped pieces with compounds much like a dentist filling a tooth with white enamel. However, if there are a larger number of chipped or missing ivories, you will probably have to replace them with a set of plastic key tops. It’s really not a big deal and you will probably be better off that way than having a worn set of ivories. Here is a video I made that highlights the different benefits of ivory versus plastic key tops.
If you have any questions or comments regarding ivory keys or anything else about pianos please contact me directly Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729
You may have heard this term before and might be familiar with the concept of an upright grand. At first it might sound like an oxymoron, but the term actually makes a lot of sense once you learn exactly what it means.
So what is an upright grand? Is it an upright piano or a grand piano?
The short answer is that it’s an upright piano. However, it’s not just any upright piano. At the turn of the 20th century, countless American piano companies manufactured very tall upright pianos. These instruments offered the sound of a grand piano because of the long strings and large soundboard area. They coined the term upright grand to describe these type of instruments.
There was a time when these full size upright pianos were extremely popular. They could fit into the smaller homes of that time without compromising sound. Many of them had ornate wood with intricate carvings like this Schubert Upright Grand we currently have. It was common for these instruments to have player systems as well – the original home entertainment center!
Are these pianos as good as grand pianos? I suggest watching another video Uprights Vs. Grand Pianos to get a better idea of the differences between the two styles of pianos.
Thanks again for watching and feel free to send all your comments and suggestions to us directly: Info@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729
