Introducing something new for my piano students - This is something we are going to try for the month of October and the first part of November.
For lack of a better name, I'm calling it Musicianship Boot Camp.
What is this? This will be an alteration to your usual practice schedule for the upcoming month. I'll be asking you to work on technique, music reading, rhythm skills and ear training. We will work on these things in October. During the first part of November, we will take portions of one or two lessons to test these skills. Please note: I will be giving you a letter grade for how you do. Don't worry; Unlike school, the letter has no effect on anything you do outside of private lessons. The grade is just to let you know where you are versus where you should be.
What is the purpose of this? The four categories we are working on are tools for any musician to have on them. If a musician knows their technique well, can read notes well, can use their ear and can figure out rhythms, then they are in a great position to learn music faster and learn it correctly. NOT knowing these things is a hindrance. Try reading a book written in a foreign language that you don't know. This is how music is if you neglect your tools. I like the word "tools" because it suits the context. Think of cutting a tree limb with a dull saw. Imagine driving a nail in the wall without a hammer, or drawing with your pencil that has never been sharpened. There are things in piano that you should know and know well. You should never have to figure out certain things when you're learning a piece. You are wasting practice time if you don't have these tools ready.
What kinds of things will you be doing?
Keep in mind that this will be individualized. I will be assigning things for each of you to do personally that is designed to fit only what you've studied thus far. I may, in some cases, push you to learn new things or take the things you know and make them better or faster.
TECHNIQUE: For piano, this involves scales, arpeggios, and chords. Beginning students may be limited to 5-finger positions. Some of you will be doing more keys than others. Some hands separately, while others are hands together. Some one octave, while others have multiple octaves. Some will have tempo requirements, while others will not. You will not be asked to do more than you should already be able to do unless you are already at that level and desire an extra challenge.
RHYTHM: I will be giving you rhythm exercises that include any rhythm notes you have learned along with any time signatures you have learned. We will learn how to figure out the rhythm for any pattern using these.
EAR TRAINING: Every student will be tested on recognizing notes as going up vs going down. You will be asked to recognize rhythms. According to your level, you may be asked to recognize intervals, chords, and scales by their sound.
MUSIC READING: This includes three parts:
1. Staff Note Recognition: For whatever notes you have been introduced to so far, you will be asked to get better at note reading. I will give you a list of notes to learn. Important to know: Music Reading tests will be timed.
2. Key Signature recognition and application - For several of you, this will not apply. For those who have started adding sharps and flats at the beginning of pieces, you will be expected to name the key of a piece by sight and to play something easy that includes the sharped or flatted notes.
3. Sight Reading - We'll be working on playing music you've never seen before and improving how well you can play for the first time.
Next week, I'll begin talking to you about your individual requirements. If this goes well, it will become something we'll do once or twice a year. The goal is to make much better musicians of all of you by this time in six weeks.
Friday, September 20, 2013
Monday, September 2, 2013
Used Piano Shopping - What to Look For
Readers, I apologize for my extended time off from this blog. Like many of you, I was in summer mode, but intend to have something for you at least once a week from this point.
A student of mine just inquired about what to look for when shopping for a used piano, so let's go over some important points.
Rule # 1 - The condition of the cabinet is unimportant.
FACT: Most people selling their pianos are selling them because they don't play them. They liked the idea of having a piano in the house, and chose it primarily as a furniture piece. This means they have probably kept up the appearance - making a pretty, shiny cabinet, but probably not maintained it as an instrument. Your piano does not need to be pretty to be a good piano. It can be devoid of polish. It can have scratch marks. It's cheap to buy an ugly piano, and then be creative with table runners and to add some polish. Pianos are like the people you meet; It's not what is on the outside that counts, it's what is on the inside!
Rule # 2 - Check the tuning pins first. If they are rusty, walk away. Below is a typical, view of the tuning pins inside a piano. These are not pristine, just dusty. This is normal and means, however the keyboard sounds, it is at least salvageable.
On the other hand, if the pins look like this, you should not waste any more time.
The price of restoring the tuning pins just so a piano will hold its intonation, not to mention all the piano tunings it will take will in all likelihood EXCEED the asking price of the piano.
3. Evaluate how badly out of tune your piano is. If all you're ever going to do is play the piano with yourself (and no other instruments), then it doesn't matter if the D sounds like a D-flat, as long as all the other keys sound just as flat. In other words, the piano should be in tune with itself. If having the correct pitch is important to you, then you should buy a chromatic tuner with a sound generator so you can compare a pitch, or download a tone generator app for your smartphone.
Here are some tone generator app choices for Android and for Apple Products.
If a piano is more than slightly out of tune, it could take 3 or 4 tunings to bring it up to standard where it will hold. This is an average of $75-100 per service in this area at this time. Remember, it's one thing if a note is a little off. It's another more serious issue if one, and especially several keys sound like more than one note. This means the 2-3 strings per key are not in tune with each other. This is serious neglect. Below is a video (not available on email versions of this blog), for you to hear a short sample of a piano evaluation.
4. Check your damper and una corda pedals. If the piano has two pedals, these are the two. If it has three pedals, the damper is the one on the right, and the una corda is on the left. A middle pedal is sometimes cosmetic and doesn't work correctly on an upright anyway. If you are shopping for a grand piano, it is a consideration. The middle pedal (the sostenuto) on a grand works like this. With the lid open where you can see the dampers (see picture below), you play a low note within the first two octaves, THEN press the middle pedal and let go of the key. Only that damper should remain up. The others should be down.
Again, this doesn't matter, nor does it work the same way on an upright. The damper pedal should work and you'll probably know by your ear. If the sounds sustain while you press the damper pedal, it works. If the sound stops, it doesn't. But the above picture shows the dampers, and they should all be off the strings when the damper pedal is depressed.
The una corda acts in the following way. On an upright, the hammers move closer to the strings. On a grand, the hammers move a small amount to the right. You'll actually see the keyboard move on a grand.
If the damper pedal does not work, don't panic. Open the bottom panel. You'll either have a dowel rod that is out of place or needs tightening or, in the case of the video below, a pedal linkage rod you can tighten. The embedding feature is disabled on this video, so you can find it by clicking here.
5. When in doubt, consult a professional. Actually, that isn't me. For piano students on my roster, I will make an effort to see a piano if it is local and give you my opinion as an experienced pianist, but I'm not trained in tuning or restoration. I would call a local piano technician if the investment is more than a few hundred dollars. The hundred dollars they might charge is worthwhile.
A student of mine just inquired about what to look for when shopping for a used piano, so let's go over some important points.
Rule # 1 - The condition of the cabinet is unimportant.
FACT: Most people selling their pianos are selling them because they don't play them. They liked the idea of having a piano in the house, and chose it primarily as a furniture piece. This means they have probably kept up the appearance - making a pretty, shiny cabinet, but probably not maintained it as an instrument. Your piano does not need to be pretty to be a good piano. It can be devoid of polish. It can have scratch marks. It's cheap to buy an ugly piano, and then be creative with table runners and to add some polish. Pianos are like the people you meet; It's not what is on the outside that counts, it's what is on the inside!
Rule # 2 - Check the tuning pins first. If they are rusty, walk away. Below is a typical, view of the tuning pins inside a piano. These are not pristine, just dusty. This is normal and means, however the keyboard sounds, it is at least salvageable.
On the other hand, if the pins look like this, you should not waste any more time.
3. Evaluate how badly out of tune your piano is. If all you're ever going to do is play the piano with yourself (and no other instruments), then it doesn't matter if the D sounds like a D-flat, as long as all the other keys sound just as flat. In other words, the piano should be in tune with itself. If having the correct pitch is important to you, then you should buy a chromatic tuner with a sound generator so you can compare a pitch, or download a tone generator app for your smartphone.
Here are some tone generator app choices for Android and for Apple Products.
If a piano is more than slightly out of tune, it could take 3 or 4 tunings to bring it up to standard where it will hold. This is an average of $75-100 per service in this area at this time. Remember, it's one thing if a note is a little off. It's another more serious issue if one, and especially several keys sound like more than one note. This means the 2-3 strings per key are not in tune with each other. This is serious neglect. Below is a video (not available on email versions of this blog), for you to hear a short sample of a piano evaluation.
4. Check your damper and una corda pedals. If the piano has two pedals, these are the two. If it has three pedals, the damper is the one on the right, and the una corda is on the left. A middle pedal is sometimes cosmetic and doesn't work correctly on an upright anyway. If you are shopping for a grand piano, it is a consideration. The middle pedal (the sostenuto) on a grand works like this. With the lid open where you can see the dampers (see picture below), you play a low note within the first two octaves, THEN press the middle pedal and let go of the key. Only that damper should remain up. The others should be down.
The una corda acts in the following way. On an upright, the hammers move closer to the strings. On a grand, the hammers move a small amount to the right. You'll actually see the keyboard move on a grand.
If the damper pedal does not work, don't panic. Open the bottom panel. You'll either have a dowel rod that is out of place or needs tightening or, in the case of the video below, a pedal linkage rod you can tighten. The embedding feature is disabled on this video, so you can find it by clicking here.
5. When in doubt, consult a professional. Actually, that isn't me. For piano students on my roster, I will make an effort to see a piano if it is local and give you my opinion as an experienced pianist, but I'm not trained in tuning or restoration. I would call a local piano technician if the investment is more than a few hundred dollars. The hundred dollars they might charge is worthwhile.
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