Showing posts with label Piano. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Piano. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Some Facts on LISZT

Life

Liszt was born in Raiding, near Sopron, on Oct. 22, 1811. While still a boy, his prodigious talents won the patronage of local Hungarian aristocrats, and his family took him to Vienna in 1821. There he studied piano with Carl Czerny and composition witdh Antonio Salieri. In 1823 Liszt was refused admission to the Paris Conservatory because of a regulation barring foreign students, but he stayed in Paris and took composition lessons from Anton Reicha. Liszt's one-act operetta Don Sanche was performed at the Academie Royale de Musique when he was only 14.

Franz Liszt, portrait by Miklós Barabás, a Hun...
Franz Liszt, portrait by Miklós Barabás, a Hungarian painter, 1847
(Photo credit: 
Wikipedia)

After a number of dazzling European concert tours, Liszt again settled in Paris and became a well-known member of the highest social and intellectual circles. He abandoned a passing thought of becoming a priest to remain a musician, evolving a style of virtuoso piano technique and composing music to serve it. From 1835 to 1839 he lived with the Comtesse Marie d'Agoult, who wrote historical and philosophical works under the name Daniel Stern. They had one son and two daughters. One daughter, Cosima, became the wife first of pianist-conductor Hans von Bulow and later of Richard Wagner.

From 1839 Liszt again traveled throughout Europe, having become-with violinist Niccolo Paganini, with whom he was often compared-the most sought-after of all performing musicians. From 1848 he was kapellmeister to the ducal court at Weimar, where he performed and staged many new musical works-especially those of his friend and future son-in-law, Richard Wagner-and generously helped fellow musicians. When his tenure at Weimar was disturbed, in part by scandal connecting his name with that of Princess Karoline Sayn-Wittgenstein, he gave up piano playing almost completely to devote himself to composition and teaching. From 1859 to 1870 he lived chiefly in Rome, where Pope Pius IX in 1866 made him an abbe.

In 1870 Liszt returned to Weimar to conduct the music festival honoring the centennial of Beethoven's birth. In 1875 he accepted the presidency of the Hungarian Academy of Music at Budapest. His later years were spent in Weimar, Rome, and Budapest and were occupied largely with composition and with numerous pupils and hangers-on. He died in Bayreuth, Bavaria, on July 31, 1886, while attending a Wagner festival.

Works

Liszt's compositions comprise original works and transcriptions of other composers' music. His most popular original compositions are the 20 Hungarian Rhapsodies, which are in part Gypsy rather than truly Hungarian. Although written for the piano, many of the rhapsodies have been orchestrated.

Notable among Liszt's piano works are numerous Etudes; three Liebestraume (originally composed as songs); the Sonata in B Minor; three albums of short pieces called Annees de pelerinages; three Valses oubliees; and the Legends, entitled St. Francois d'Assise predicant aux oiseaux and St. Francois de Paul marchant sur les flots. His organ music includes the Fantasy and Fugue on B-A-C-H (1855) and Variations on Bach's Weinen, Klagen (1862). For solo voices, chorus, and orchestra in varying combinations, Liszt composed Hungaria, Die Legende von der Heiligen Elisabeth, psalms, several Masses, and over 60 songs.

Liszt wrote several books on musical subjects, the best known of which are Des Bohemiens et de leur musique en Hongrie (1859; Eng. tr., The Gipsy in Music), and the partly ghostwritten Frederic Chopin (1852).



Evaluation

Although the artistic quality of much of Liszt's enormous body of compositions remains the subject of argument, his importance is unquestioned in the development of modern piano technique; in the introduction into music of the Mephistophelian element of eerie, mischievous, and elusive tempi called diablerie; in the evolution of harmony and of musical forms; and in the formation of the high romantic musical idioms of the era. He shared with Frederic Chopin and Robert Schumann domination over the composition of specifically pianistic music, inventing many techniques directly related to the keyboard. He developed for orchestra the single-movement, semiprogrammatic form that he called symphonic poem, thus assisting other composers in solving problems raised by music inspired by extramusical materials.

Liszt's harmonic innovations were of prime importance as leading away from the Viennese rococo-classic style of the 18th century to the Romanticism of the 19th and the breakdown of tonality in the 20th century. He prefigured not only the whole-tone scale but also both atonality and polytonality. With Wagner he incarnated and preached the "music of the future" and advocated an almost religiously intended synthesis of the arts. Liszt left scarcely an established musical usage unquestioned or unchanged.



Tuesday, April 25, 2017

What PIANO Players Should Know About WOODWINDS

Woodwinds (clarinet, oboe, bassoon, etc.) are different from piano in that they require wind (created by the player) to create a tone (using a reed or reeds to create the vibrations needed for sound). In addition to using different techniques to make the reeds vibrate in different ways, the player also changes the tone (creates the notes) by pressing and releasing (using their fingers) keys that are attached along the length of the instrument, or by covering up, then opening, various holes on the instrument.

Oaxaca-2
Photo by usarmyband
Saxophones are not considered woodwinds by some as they are made of brass. However, a saxophone is played very much in the same way as most woodwinds. Flutes and piccolos, though made of metal, are often thought of as part of the woodwind family.

As for piano, the type of wood used to make the instrument has a great effect on the quality of sound produced. Certain woods resonate better than others and thus create a better tone. In fact, many lower-priced clarinets are made of plastic and although they provide a serviceable tone, it is not the rich, "wooden" tone coveted by professionals.

Woodwinds are most often found in orchestras and smaller ensembles (although the clarinet can be found in Dixieland or jazz groups). Instruments like the English horn can be found in popular music, while the bassoon may only be found in traditional and ensemble music. There are, however, composers and musicians who explore the use of these instruments in esoteric and unconventional ways. One way to think of the woodwind family is the various instruments mimicking (representing) the human voice such as a clarinet for an alto singer, or a bassoon for a baritone singer. Many modern composer look at this group of instruments in exactly that way.

Woodwinds are tuned by adjusting their length. This is done by repositioning single components of the instrument. The musician often has to twist different sections of the instrument to make these adjustments. The longer the instrument becomes, the lower in pitch a particular note. The intonation of a woodwind is ultimately the responsibility of the player and techniques must be learned to keep the instrument in tune as it is played.



The challenge for the pianist is the fact the some woodwinds play in a different key (a Bb clarinet for example). In order for the two players to play together and communicate, both have to be aware of this and be able to transpose the two parts. For example, when the Bb clarinet plays the note Bb, that note is actually the note C on piano.

Most pianists are used to reading music in a number of different octaves and this is very important when playing with woodwinds because as a group, the cover a wide range of tones. The piano is often chosen as the accompanying instrument of a solo woodwind player or a small ensemble of woodwind instruments. One reason for this is the pianist can easily rehearse each instrument, or easily and accurately play the chords created by the ensemble.



Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Do You Want Your PIANO PLAYING To Sound Terrific? Start By Reading The Menu

One of my piano students once told me that every time she begins a new piece of music, she starts by reading the menu.

Have you ever gone into an unfamiliar restaurant and simply ordered your food? Wouldn’t you first want to see what’s on the menu?

Mm Piano
Piano (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Then why would you start playing a new song without paying attention to what’s on its bill of fare?

You are probably already aware of the musical ingredients (terms and expressions) but you may not be paying attention to them. If you want to sound terrific, you need to get beyond just playing the notes.

Playing the correct notes is essential for a great performance. But when you bring out the dynamics, get the tempo just right and follow the phrasing, Your piano playing will come to life!

Here is the musical menu to help you go from good to great.

• Beverages

o Clef: Normally the right hand reads treble clef and the left hand bass clef, but there are exceptions.
o Register: There is only one correct place on the keyboard for every note on the staff. Every octave on the piano has its own character.

• Appetizers

o Key Signature: You need to use this guide not only to remind you of which notes to play sharp or flat, but also so that you will know and hear the character of the scale of that key (sharp keys are usually bright; flat keys tend to be dark).

o Major or Minor Key: All key signatures can either identify major or minor keys. Be sure to know which it is. This makes a world of difference.

• Soup & Salad

o Time Signature: The biggest contrast is between duple (multiples of 2) and triple (multiples of 3). Decide which it is before you start playing.

o Tempo indication (metronome setting): Playing a song at just the right speed is essential. Too slow, it will be dull and sluggish. Too fast and it will sound rushed and can easily lead to sloppiness and mistakes.

• Entrée

o Dynamics: These are your guides for playing at just the right volume. Should this section be loud or soft? Somewhere in between? Or does the volume increase gradually (crescendo) or decrease (diminuendo)?

• Side Orders

o Expression marks: The phrase marks (curved lines) will show you where the music needs to breathe. Think of this as if you were singing or playing the clarinet. To get this effect on the piano, lift your hand off the keyboard at the end of each phrase.

o Articulation: The biggest difference is between legato (smooth & connected) and staccato (detached), but you will need to notice accented notes and much more.

• Desserts

o Lyrics, era, and genre: These can certainly help you uncover the stylistic secrets that will help you present the piece in the correct context. Whether it’s Bach or the Beatles, Scarlatti or Sinatra or something in between, you’ll know just what feeling the composition needs.

Action Exercises

Here are three things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, pick a new piece that you really want to learn. Before you start playing the notes, look for all of its menu items. Use the above list as a guide.



Second, every time you practice this piece, incorporate the first three menu ingredients as you learn the notes. Note: you’ll need to practice more slowly at the beginning as you’re learning the notes, but when you’re ready, select the most suitable speed.

Third, add polish to your playing by using the second half of the menu list as your guide to discovering the other essential musical elements.

If you want to play the piano with more expression, more expertise and more enthusiasm, always remember to start by reading the menu. You’ll have a guaranteed recipe for success, and…… You’ll be amazed at how quickly your piano playing will sound terrific!

    Copyright © 2007 by Ed Mascari ed@edmascari.com        


Sunday, March 26, 2017

Learn on How to Perfectly Practice the PIANO

Playing the piano requires long hours of practicing especially when a big musical event is coming. With all the factors that are needed to play the piano, one very basic yet important thing will be discussed in this article. 

One factor that some professionals dare not forget… practice. Even if you know all the fingerings and notes, even if you can read the music well, it won’t mean a thing. Practice is the essence of it all. You have to be committed in your genre therefore practicing it every day; if not everyday then at least thrice a week.

English: Child's hands resting on a piano keyboard
Child's hands resting on a piano keyboard (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you’re having difficulty training yourself with your practice hours, here are some notes to ponder upon.

Note # 1

Make a daily schedule for practice and comply with it. Be determined to stick to your schedule. It is a must to condition yourself into practicing everyday so that your body will get used to the routine. At first, it could be tedious and boring but as you go on learning the essentials, it becomes more fun hearing the way you play.

Note # 2

Your piano must be put in a place that you won’t feel cluttered. Your music room must be free from anything that might distract you like a radio or anything noisy. This enables you to concentrate when practicing. Also, make sure that there is proper lighting where your piano is placed. But remember that your piano must not be exposed to extreme sunlight for this might destroy some sensitive parts of your piano.

Note # 3

Always warm up. Exercise your fingers with some simple notes then proceed to the hard ones. If you have no idea on how to warm up those fingers, ask someone who knows. An exercise must let your fingers stretch to reach some keys that are hard to reach. This will become helpful when playing fast paced notes and music. Don’t let your hands touch a key while it still feels stiff and rusty.

Note # 4

Review the past lessons learned before starting a lesson. This would be the next thing after warming up. If you have not finished the music yesterday, recall what you played then continue it. Better yet, start the whole thing to be able to follow.

Note # 5

Follow your manual and instructor’s directions. Help her help you learn. To relieve boredom, play the piano at the same time, like a duet. Tell your instructor your interests and ask her to play it for you so you might know it and therefore pave the way into practicing it even without her presence.

Note # 6

Make your practice as goal-oriented as possible. A goal will make you more focused and concentrated because you have something to be achieved. To finish a goal will make you feel satisfied and fulfilled.

Note # 7

Always maintain a positive attitude when practicing. When you plan to play the piano without anyone to guide you, just remember all the lessons that your tutor has taught you. Do not give up that easily when it has become hard. If you are being stressed, rest for a while. Give yourself time to breathe.

Try to figure out a technique with every practice for it to come out natural and unique in your own way.

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Keyboard Technique - Playing BAROQUE PIANO Compositions

Baroque music is formed in large part from contrapuntal textures (having two or more independent but harmonically related melodic parts sounding together). Written for the harpsichord, these textures aren't as well suited to the modern piano's thicker tone and rich, low harmonies. So, special care has to be taken when you interpret Baroque period music on the piano.

An upright pedal piano by Challen
An upright pedal piano by Challen (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
In contrapuntal music, the individual parts are of equal importance, even though their inter-relationship is continually shifting. To reproduce this type of texture well, you need to train your mind, ears and fingers to follow the course of individual contrapuntal lines, as well as their combined texture, so the pianist presents a picture of an ever-changing whole.

Pianist H. Ferguson gives this analogy: You can think of the music as a kind of conversation, in which the voice shifts continually from person to person, as each person makes a contribution without unduly raising his tone. The dynamic range shouldn't be too great (a true fortissimo is rare, since several people shouting different things at the same time will never make themselves understood); and touch and tone should be lighter than in homophonic music typical of the later 19th century.

A semi-legato is more usual than a legatissimo, especially if the notes are quick-moving, since it promotes clarity. It also allows freer play for the subtle kaleidoscopic changes of thought and mood particularly characteristic of Bach. The sustaining pedal should be used sparingly; it should never be allowed to obscure the line, or produce the kind of impressionistic haze that is only heard in modern music such as Debussy.

So, when you interpret Baroque music during piano instruction, try to avoid the thickness of sound that is characteristic of the piano, yet was foreign to the harpsichord. This is especially important with close-position chords in the bass. These sound clear and transparent on the early instrument, but on the thicker-toned piano of today they should be played carefully to avoid a muddy sound. One solution is to lighten the middle notes of the chord, so they are less prominent than the octave played by the fifth finger and thumb. Sometimes it helps to break the chord slightly and play it as a quick arpeggio.



Occasionally in Baroque music there are passages that would have been comparatively easy with the light and shallow touch of earlier instruments, but now are extremely difficult, or impossible, with the deeper and heavier key-action of today. For instance, the repeated triplet octaves in the right hand part of Schubert's song 'Der Erlkonig' were originally not terribly hard to play, but for the modern pianist they have become a virtuoso athletic feat.

In playing fugal music, then, you might find the following points helpful:
  • Characterize all parts of fugue with carefully defined articulation.
  • Make sure that the articulation for the main part is contrasted with that required by the counterpoint, and by parts 2 and 3 if the fugue happens to be double or triple. This ensures that each part remains distinct when several occur together.
  • Characterize the episodes of the fugue in the same sort of way.
  • Keep the texture as light as possible, particularly the top and bottom lines.
  • Don't feel that the part must always stand out as though it were played on a solo blaring horn. The other parts are equally important.
  • If you do want to bring out a particular part, stress it only very slightly. Its characterization, coupled with the generally light texture, will do the rest.
  • A moving part will always stand out more clearly than a static one; if an even balance is required, the part that moves most needs the least stress.
  • Always aim for clarity.

    By Barbara A. Ehrlich
    Barbara Ehrlich is a private piano teacher based in Bedminster, NJ with a roster of current young piano students that includes a broad array of student ages, cultures and backgrounds. New Jersey Piano Lessons works closely with parents to oversee and coordinate music activities in a variety of areas, including piano lessons, technique, theory, ear training, and sight-reading.
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Musicnotes.com

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Do You Struggle With Proper PIANO FINGERING?

Do you ever notice piano players using awkward fingering when playing piano?

Believe it or not, this is a rather controversial topic.

There are people who strongly believe in proper fingering for piano pieces. There are also those who are firm believers in free-style fingering.

Let me share with you my own perspective on this topic.

finer fingers
Photo by benaston 


Though the length of fingers differ from person to person, we all have thumbs that are shorter than the rest of our fingers.

As a rule (or rule of thumb), the thumb is the strongest finger of all. Thumb, index finger (2nd), and long finger (3rd) are the most used fingers for piano playing. The fourth finger and fifth finger are weaker fingers.

Below are four fingering tips that I have worked up as general rules:

1. Never use the thumb to play a black key. The exceptions are a) when you are playing a piece that has all black notes.
b) when you are playing a group of keys where there are black and white keys. For example if your right hand is to play Bb, D, and F together in Bb major chord  root position, your thumb will play Bb (black note) in this case.

Thumbs are not meant to be used for black key because of its length. The most used fingers for black notes are the 2nd and the 3rd fingers. If you are playing certain scales that start with a black key such as Bb major, Eb major, Ab major, etc. You will use 2nd or 3rd finger to play the first scale note instead of the thumb.

2. When playing melody with the right hand, if there are keys that are out of reach, you may move the hand to play the note. If the key is only a couple steps down from the thumb, you may use the thumb as an anchor and cross the second finger over to reach the note on the left side of the thumb. You do not need to move the hand. Only move the second finger over.

Once the second finger plays the key, the thumb will soon follow to cross over to play other note left of the key.

Suggestion: practice the scale well to know what finger to follow.

3. Same rule applies to left hand.

4. Watch other experienced pianists whenever possible, look at
their fingering and imitate their movements. I suggest you watch those players who are well trained classically as they have spent many years going through the structured repertoire and virtuoso training that help built a firm foundation.

One important point: The function of good fingering is to ensure smoothness of musical passages.

This is especially important in the piano work of Bach (prelude, fugues, and others) and many Classical composers. Very often, a slight change in piano fingering could cause a disruption of the whole phrasing.

For improvisational and accompaniment pieces, strict piano fingering becomes less critical. In fact, every time I improvise I use different fingering combination. This is because my mood and rhythm change when I improvise, this also affects the combination of fingers I use.

If you pay attention to musical pieces edited by different editors, you will notice a change of fingering as well. I have  noticed that the same "Sonatina" piece composed by Clementi have different fingering suggestions under different editors.

Some editors use the 2nd finger more often, while others choose the 3rd finger.



In conclusion: if you are improvising, pay less attention to which finger you are using. As long as you abide by the above rules and ensure a smooth flow of musical passage, you are fine.

If you get too critical about fingering, it distracts your musical thoughts and flow. After all, it is music that you are conveying.

Piano playing gets rather complicated when you are trying to balance both hands, keep a steady tempo (rhythm), make sure the pedals are going in at the right time, listening to the music,.....

Have fun making music!



Friday, March 3, 2017

Some Notes on the Life of ROBERT SCHUMANN

Schumann was a great composer of the Romantic era and an influential music critic of his day. As with Beethoven, Schumann suffered a big disappointment in his early career which forced him to abandon his plans to become a famous concert pianist. He led at times a turbulent life and before his death and an attempted suicide he committed himself to a mental institution.

English: Robert Schumann in an 1850 daguerreotype.
Robert Schumann in an 1850 daguerreotype. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Having suffered a hand injury in an accident Schumann was made to re-evaluate his life direction and instead he choose to focus his energies into composition. Had this not happened to Schumann or indeed deafness to Beethoven it's entirely debatable whether or not these two giants of the Romantic era would have composed at all, both preferring instead to be performing pianists.

His love life was eventful to say the least however his true love was Clara Wieck whom he met when she was just 15. The pair quickly declared their love for one another however when Schumann asked her father for permission to marry her he was refused and banned from any further meetings with her. This did not stop them and they continued to meet in secret. In 1840 and after a long battle the pair did finally marry and would have 8 children together.

Until 1840 all of Schumann's compositions were for piano however in this special year of marriage to Clara a tremendous outpouring of songs came forth from Schumann and he would also write many other works later in his life within all the various musical forms of the day including an opera.



His influence as a composer is considerable and he was admired by many of his, now famous, contemporaries and successors such as Brahms, Mendelssohn and Elgar. He was a composer who evolved throughout his life and rightfully deserves his place among the great composers for the sincerity and beauty he left to the world through his music.

    By Payo W Perry
    The author has been writing quality articles for more than 3 years now. Click here to see his latest expert review on travel fishing rods [http://www.travelfishingrods.org/].
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