Tag Archives: piano

How to Test a Piano for a Concert

This is a unique challenge that pianists face. Unlike pretty much every other musician who can bring their instrument with them, typically the pianist will have to perform on whatever piano is in the venue. Sometimes you will have very limited time to prepare yourself and try out the piano so it’s great to have a quick routine ready to check the piano.

There will be times that the first note you will ever get to play on a certain piano is at your performance. This type of instant adjustment is very difficult and if you can avoid this you should. Assuming you have some time to try the instrument you will want to make sure you check certain critical aspects of the piano.

The first thing I always like to check is the pedals, even before the action or anything else. This is because pedals can be drastically different from piano to piano. When I was growing up my father had a number of pianos around the house and the difference between the pedals on the Steinway baby grand and Baldwin grand were immense. On the Steinway if you even leaned your foot on the pedal the notes would begin sustaining and on the Baldwin you had nearly half an inch of play before anything would happen. It’s incredibly important to know how the pedals respond because it can drastically alter your performance.

Another thing to check with the pedals is whether or not they make any noise. For example, if the pedal thumps when you press it down with force you will want to depress it gently avoiding noise. One great test is to play a chord and, hold the pedal down and then slowly lift up to observe the point at which the pedal disengages.

When it comes to the una corda pedal (or soft pedal) the results can be dramatically different from piano to piano. On some instruments it’s like throwing a blanket over the piano and on others it is barely noticeable. This can have dramatic consequences on your performance so getting an idea of how the pedal works on a particular piano can be very important. Sometimes a piano will be voiced very bright and you might want to use the soft pedal quite a bit to give a warmer tone. Other times it might be a very dramatic effect and you will want to use it sparingly.

If your music contains sostenuto pedal (the middle pedal) you should check to see if the pedal is even functioning properly. The middle pedal is used rarely and sometimes the pedal doesn’t operate properly! If your music calls for it you really need to test to see if it is functioning properly.

The next thing I like to do is check the tone life of the piano. I do this by playing something with a high melody like a Chopin Nocturne. Getting an idea of the degree of sustain and how long the melody lasts will greatly impact how you perform on specific pianos. You will also want to check to see how quietly you can play on a piano and still control the notes. A nice slow and soft melody will help to determine this.

On the other hand, you will need to test the piano with something big. Sometimes you will play on a piano and if you go above a certain level of volume the sound will become degraded and ugly; in extreme cases you might even experience vibrations and extraneous noises. There could be issues with the damper rail guides or the felt being worn out; these are things you should test before playing a performance on a certain instrument. I will typically play a big chord section from something of Chopin or Liszt. Don’t be afraid to really settle into something and play it like you would during the performance so you discover the limits of the instrument ahead of time.

Knowing the capabilities of a piano before you perform on it can be absolutely crucial. If you have time to perform your entire program or even half your program on your performance piano you should absolutely do it. Understanding the qualities of the instrument will aid you immensely.

Thanks again for joining me Robert Estrin Robert@LivingPianos.com

How Loud is Fortissississimo FFFF? How Quiet is Pianissississimo PPPP?

There are occasions you will encounter four “F’s” or four “P’s” in your musical score and you might wonder how loud or soft can things possibly get?

You will never see markings like this in early period music. In Baroque music there are rarely any dynamics at all and in the few occasions they exist, they are typically just forte (F) and piano (P). Does this mean that early period music was less expressive? There is some truth to that, but there are notable exceptions like George Frideric Handel’s Messiah, certainly later Beethoven Symphonies, and even pipe organ music from the Baroque era since the organ was a fully developed instrument at that time.

The reason for the change in dynamic markings relates partly to the evolution of the instruments. In the Baroque era the piano didn’t even exist. The Harpsichord was the primary keyboard instrument at that time. The harpsichord has a very limited range of expression because there is no touch sensitivity for dynamics. The only way to alter the dynamics on a harpsichord is with a series of stops that engage different sets of strings. Consequently, dynamic markings were severely limited.

Other instruments in the Baroque era had similar limitations to their dynamics. The French horn at that time had no valves. So, the only way to change the pitch of certain notes was by sticking the hand in the bell “stopping” the notes. This too limited dynamic range.

Another element to this is that during the Baroque and Classical eras the orchestras were much smaller. There might only be a couple dozen members in an orchestra during the Baroque era and the early Classical orchestra was only slightly larger.

When you get to the late Romantic period there were huge orchestras sometimes over a hundred musicians. You can only imagine the dynamic range possible in this expanded ensemble. This is where markings like FFFF and PPPP were born as there were substantial capabilities in the dynamic range of the instruments and the orchestra as a whole.

In general, you must consider the style of the specific piece beyond just the era of the work using your judgement on what is appropriate and how the dynamic markings effect the sound of the piece.

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

How to Measure Your Piano – Part 2 – Upright Pianos

Welcome back to our series on How to Measure Your Piano. Last time we covered How to Measure Grand Pianos, this time we will be covering How to Measure Upright Pianos.

Measuring an upright piano is a bit different from measuring a grand. Upright pianos are classified by height. The length and depth don’t differ much when it comes to vertical pianos, but the small differences may be important to you.

To measure the height of your upright piano you simply place a tape measure on one end of the piano on the floor and the other at the highest point on the case of the piano.

Upright pianos come in many different heights. Spinet pianos are the smallest and start around 36 inches. Console pianos are slightly taller, studio pianos are taller than consoles and professional upright pianos can be 52 inches or taller.

Upright pianos take up a certain amount of wallspace unlike grand pianos which can be placed at any angle and can even be tucked into a corner of a room. Typically you will want to place the piano with it’s back to the wall because it is unattractive since it is unfinished. This means that the length of the piano is important to many people. Like a grand piano, the width of all pianos are around 5 feet because of the 88 keys. You can measure the lid of the piano to get a good idea of it’s width and find the right place in your home to place it.

The depth of an upright piano might be important to you as well because it will be the distance that the piano sticks out from the wall. This measurement is not typically standard as some upright pianos have legs that protrude past the keys while others won’t extend much past the keys. To get this measurement you will want to measure from the back of the piano to the furthest point that the piano sticks out from the wall which is typically around 2 feet.

So, remember that the standard measurement of upright pianos is the height. If the depth and length are of concern to you, bring a tape measure to make sure that it will fit comfortably in your home. Upright pianos are designed to be placed in smaller rooms so you should be able to fit one in nearly any home.

Thanks for joining us for our ongoing series on measuring your piano. If you have any more questions please contact us directly: Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729.

How to Read Ahead in Music

This question comes from another viewer who asks how to read ahead in music to improve their reading. So how do you achieve this and is it a good technique?

Well the truth is, reading ahead is actually not exactly how it works. Instead, it is a matter of looking at chunks of music instead of reading note by note much like reading text. When you first learn how to read a language, you must sound out each letter forming words. Eventually, you recognize words and even phrases. It is the same with reading music. You begin to recognize chords and progressions instead of just individual notes.

So instead of reading ahead in the music, it’s best to digest your music into chunks. If you break your music into these sections you will be able to absorb them much more easily and you will have an understanding of the structure of what you are playing helping the fluency of your reading.

You can even apply this same technique to sight reading. Instead of just reading all the notes and hoping for the best, the more you begin to break down your music into small chunks you will begin to recognize similar patterns. After a while this will become almost second nature and you will be able to read and digest all your music much more easily.

Thanks again for joining me and if you have any more questions please contact me directly: Robert@LivingPiano.com (949) 244-3729

How Many Parts are There in a Piano?

It’s fascinating to think about how many parts there are in the average piano. Think about how many string there are, how many keys there are, and then how many moving parts are involved with each press of a key; it’s daunting to think of just how many parts there are in a piano!

A typical scale design has around 220-240 strings. In the bass section there are 1 or 2 strings per note. Each one of these strings has a tuning pin as well. We haven’t even gotten past the strings and we already have hundreds of parts!

Most notes on a piano have dampers and damper heads (hundreds more parts). Consider the furniture of the piano, the rim, lid, prop stick, legs, the pedals, and more, and there is the soundboard, pinblock, agrafes, bridges and plate.

Believe it or not, we haven’t even scratched the surface for the parts on the piano! The action of the piano is where the majority of the parts are. When you push a key on a piano you are setting in motion around a hundred parts – that’s for each key!

So how many parts are there on a piano? Around 12,000! Hopefully this gives you a better appreciation of just how complex these instruments are and what it takes to build and service a piano. 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

What is the Right Size Piano for Your Home?

You’d think that finding the right size piano for your home would be an easy thing to figure out. You might assume that the room size dictates what size piano you should get. There is actually quite a bit more to it.

Two issues to deal with when buying a piano are who will be playing it and whether it will disturb other people in your household or neighbors. Beginning players will not generate a great deal of sound out of any piano. However, generally speaking, the larger the piano, the more volume it produces. You probably don’t want to buy an instrument that is going to be a nuisance for people in your home or next door; it’s something important to consider. Fortunately, there are silent piano systems you can add to pianos to mute the sound and hear sampled piano sound in headphones – making the size and volume of the piano, less of a concern. Although this will compromise your playing experience.

It’s important to take note of the room you are going to put your piano in. Not only does the size of the room matter, but many elements affect the volume and tone of the instrument. For example, if you have carpet rather than hardwood floors, the piano will be somewhat muted since the carpet absorbs sound. Half of the sound comes out the bottom of grand pianos. Sometimes a room with hard floors can produce too much sound in which case you could consider putting a rug under the piano.

The floor is not the only aspect of the acoustics of a room. Drapes, soft furniture, and other absorbing objects can dampen the sound of the piano. A large piano can sound much quieter in an acoustically dead space.

Naturally, you must consider the physical space needed for a piano. A small baby grand piano is typically 5 feet in length and about 5 feet wide (as all pianos are because of the 88 keys). Concert grand pianos are usually around 9 feet long. The length of a piano is measured from the key slip (the piece of wood in front of the keys on the keyboard) to the very end of the lid. You should also allow for an additional 2 feet for when the bench is pulled out in front of the piano.

Upright pianos can be a good choice for smaller rooms, but they are less flexible in placement since the backs are unfinished. Therefore, they generally go up against a wall whereas grand pianos and baby grands look good from all angles and can even be tucked into a corner.

These are the main factors in determining what size piano is best for you. 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