Tanya’s Piano Studio

It was so nice to see my dear friend Mayron Cole yesterday. She played her (not published yet) latest composition on her exquisite concert grand. Needless to say, the piece was beautiful. Mayron has blessed us all with her musical talents. (Sorry about the “lamp hat”, I am not a good photographer)

Question: Why do I need to have my acoustic piano tuned?

Answer: Your piano is an investment.  If you ever want to sell your piano in the future, it will be worth more if it is tuned regularly.  It will give you many hours of musical pleasure and should be maintained.

Question: What factors affect the piano staying in tune?

Answer:  It is subject to the climate, since it has wood and felt inside.  Extreme temperature changes can affect the tone, pitch and touch.  Try to place your piano on a wall that is away from doors or windows that are opened frequently.  Direct sunlight and air condition vents should also be considered when you look for the perfect place to put your piano.

Question:  How often should we get our piano tuned?

Answer: If you have a new piano, it should be tuned at least two or three times in the first year.  The strings on the piano are more elastic on a new piano and by having it tuned often in the first year, you set the string length to be in tune.  After the first year, the piano should be tuned at least once a year.

Question: How does a piano that is tuned help my child?

Answer: If a students practices on a piano at home that is not tuned, then comes to their piano lesson and plays on a tuned piano, they think that they are playing wrong keys, since it sounds so different.  A student tends to practice more on a piano that is maintained because it is pleasant to practice and perform on.

An acoustic piano can last 100 years or more, while a digital piano may be obsolete in 5 years. An outdated keyboard is often difficult to sell. The tone and touch of an acoustic piano is usually far superior to a digital piano and it will hold it’s value much better than a keyboard. The disadvantages are the size, the cost and the tuning expense.

The keyboard has made it possible for many students to learn to play the piano.  The advantages of a keyboard are the lower cost, smaller size, ability to play quietly with headsets and no need to get tunings. Most digital pianos have a MIDI output which allows you to connect them to a computer via an inexpensive interface, which allows you to record and edit your playing and add additional parts, as well as control other instruments.  Many times, a student will start lessons with a cheaper keyboard and when the parents see the level of commitment that the student has to learn to play well, they will then go and buy a much nicer keyboard or an acoustic piano.

Piano fingering is your finger placement on the piano keyboard.  Good fingering is an important skill that should to be used to allow your fingers to master difficult passages.   Some things that you can play at a slow speed are impossible at the finished tempo, unless you use the best fingering.   Practicing fingering may seem tedious at first, but stick with it; your fingers will adjust quickly.

As a teacher, I find myself repeating these words over and over,

“Practice this piece today or no later than tomorrow”.  I say, “Don’t wait days before you play this.”

Students forget how to practice a piece correctly when they wait for days to play it.  This results in wrong notes, rhythms and fingering.  After a piece is practiced with mistakes, it is VERY difficult to learn it correctly.

When you start a new piece, what do you do first?  If you try to concentrate on all the things that go into learning a new piece to perfection, it is overwhelming.  Here is the order of what I believe is a good plan for learning:

1) Notes -  hand separately first and slow with correct fingering

2) Rhythm -  slow and correct (sometimes a metronome is helpful)

3) Pedaling – now begin to use the pedal as marked in the piece

4) Dynamics – being to notice the louds and softs in the piece and all instruction written by the composer.

5) Tempo – the speed of the piece is usually written at the beginning above the first measure.  Slowing increase your speed.

6) Memory – if you are going to memorize your piece, begin to work on it now.  It may surprise you how much you already know by memory.

Happy Practicing!!!

Before the recital, I train my students to be performers.  This is a sample of what I teach students:

1) The performance starts when you get out of your seat and start to walk up to the piano.  Look confident and sure of yourself.
2) Sit down and put your music on the music rest of the piano.
3) If you are using the pedal in your piece, put your foot on the pedal before you begin.
4) Look at the keyboard and make sure that you put your hands in the correct place for your piece.
5) The is the most important step:  Once you begin your piece, if you make a mistake, do not pause or make a sound or shake your head.  Try not to start over.  Try to recover and keep on going.
6) After finishing your piece, pick up your music and face the audience.  With your music tucked under your arm, smile at audience then bow (look at your toes for 3 seconds).  You are thanking your audience for their applause.

Professional pianists make mistakes, but they do not let you know.  They continue regardless and their countenance never shows the error.  You must practice performing just as you practice the notes in your music.  Have a parent or relative or friend sit down and listen to you.  Practice following the 6 steps above.   Above all, let the joy of sharing your music overcome your fear of not playing every note exactly perfect.  Enjoy!

This is a question that all students ask when beginning piano lessons.   In my contract that all new students sign when starting lessons,  it states that the requirement is to to play each piece  two times per day.  This is for a beginning student, usually  7 or 8  years old.   As you progress through the study of music, it becomes more challenging and demands more practice time to master the musical skills.  The amount of  time should grow longer as you begin to play more advanced  music.  The rewards are very fulfilling when a student can play well.  It is a full circle, as the student practices more, they get better, and as they get better, they want to play the piano more, etc.  Let me end this post with an appropriate quote, “Piano is like life, you get out of it what you put into it”