Spreading the Joy of Piano - 2023

Next week is World Piano Day - Wednesday 29th March - however I am going away for a week this coming Thursday 23rd and this means I won't be in the UK for it!

So when Astbury Mere Care Home in Congleton contacted me with the aim of spreading some piano joy to some of their residents as a nod to the day, I was delighted that they were able to work with me and find an alternative date.

And in its own special way, it worked out very well!

On Monday 20th March I turned up - equipped with my trusty Casio Privia PX-53 (Priya) etc. - and played through some firm favourite.

The residents dined on afternoon tea as they also lent their best singing voices to such classics as 'Fly Me To The Moon', 'You'll Never Walk Alone', 'Beyond the Sea' and 'Wouldn't it be Loverly', before a request of jazz led me to some firm Gershwin favourites - 'Somebody Loves Me', 'Summertime', 'Swanee' and my personal favourite; 'I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise'. And then the requests came thick and fast. Whether it be the staff requesting more contemporary songs from Calum Scott or 'Memory' from 'Cats' to requests such as 'The White Cliffs of Dover' or 'A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square', it never ceases to amaze me how interactive the residents of care homes and retirement homes are when it comes to requesting and singing along!

It was even one of their birthdays - and needless to say that that particular song (you know, the one we all sing at birthdays!) raised the roof!

I finished off with a medley of classical / modern classical piano - Bach's 'Prelude in C Major', Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata' (1st Movement) and Mozart's 'Sonata No. 11 in A Major' (1st Movement), finishing with Einaudi's beautiful 'I Giorni'.

Performing at care homes and retirement homes is always such a welcoming atmosphere and I can't wait to perform at more in the future.

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Your First Piano - What To Know

Are you a beginner pianist?

Excellent! You've taken the first steps on a journey that is going to bring so much joy to you and others.

HOWEVER...

You do require one significant investment in order to carry this through; a piano!

Perhaps you're fortuitous enough to have inherited a stunning older model and this is the reason you are inclined to learn and - if so - that's wonderful, but let's assume that this is a bit of a hunch you have and you don't have and never have had a piano before.

My first piano was not what I expected!

Let's explore what we need:

Digital vs. Acoustic

There are many arguments that the beginner pianist can throw both for an against both digital and acoustic pianos, and the simple fact is that technological advancement has allowed for digital pianos of more recent years to be so frighteningly close to the real thing that you would be forgiven for assuming it wouldn't make a difference. HOWEVER, approach with caution:

Remember - if you learn on an acoustic piano, you can translate this to digital, but if you learn on a digital you may not necessarily get good results from translating your skills to an acoustic (at least, it will take time to readjust).

Let's explore;

Digital Piano

A digital piano is a wonderful thing, but there are pros and cons.

Digital Piano Pros

• Digital pianos use samples of real pianos, meaning that for a much more affordable price than a real piano you can have a piano in your own home.

• In addition to being more affordable, they are often much less spacious than their acoustic counterparts. You can, of course, purchase digital pianos that are in impressive frames but because they don't require all the intricate workings inside, electric grand pianos are usually shorter and electric uprights are usually shallower. If you are still stuck for space, you can get digital pianos in frames that are very narrow / shallow - and for absolute ease you can purchase a stage piano. Stage pianos are like piano size (i.e. 88 key) keyboards that sit on a stand rather than having a frame. This takes up even less space, allows for easy assembly and dis-assembly if not in use and allows for ease of transportation.

• You can program a digital piano to be responsive to your touch. Pianos respond dynamically according to how hard or soft you hit the keys, and different pianists have different approaches when playing. If you play gently, you might not want a loud sound to come out. You can alter the dynamic according to what you want to hear.

• Digital pianos have headphone slots - practice any time of day or night!

• Digital pianos are fairly self sufficient. That is to say, they do not need tuning and do not respond to any environmental change such as where they are positioned in a room etc.

Digital Piano Cons

• Digital pianos have a wonderful selection of sounds and effects which can really enhance performance. However, this can be hugely distracting to a beginner pianist who may be tempted to use some of these to make their performances sound better. On translating this to an acoustic piano, their ear may instead find their digital piano sounds preferable. An acoustic piano in a room, for example, may not give any reverb, and so the beginner may feel the tone is a little flat compared to what they are used to.

• Digital sustain is yet to be perfected. A digital sustain pedal acts like an on / off switch as opposed to being able to control the type and length of sustain by using gradual depression thanks to the lever action of an acoustic piano. Similarly, acoustic piano sustain is considerably longer than that of a digital, meaning that learning on a digital piano may result in a less confident pedal action from a beginner because they don't need to raise it so often to 'clean up' any residual sustain.

Acoustic Piano

An acoustic piano is, of course, the dream. But similarly, there too are pros and cons.

Acoustic Piano Pros

• The potential of sound on an acoustic piano is rather limitless. Whilst it is all definitely a 'piano', you are able to control the sound by using delicate finger and pedal work - something that cannot be achieved on a digital piano.

• The natural dynamic of a volume - whilst it could be considered a con depending on your neighbours - is a major plus for getting the most out of your performance. When you play an acoustic piano loudly you can feel the vibrations running through you and this helps you connect best with the music you are performing. As per the previous point, an acoustic piano reacts in similar ways to how you play it too - playing an acoustic piano is influenced hugely by vibration - literally!

Acoustic Piano Cons

• The biggest con is the expense. This is not just the expense of an acoustic piano to begin with, but the maintenance on top also adds up. Tuning may only be an annual thing in fairness, but if your tuner only focuses on pitching the strings then you may be missing some important things that might get you later. The interior of a piano is extremely intricate, and having to replace or repair something that could have been picked up on sooner would likely cost more than a replacement chipboard for a digital piano, for example.

Cosmetics

Pianos look beautiful, and there are so many available on the market.

Chances are if you're looking to invest in a piano you have an idea of what you want.

Typical pianos are black, white or brown - and they can all look beautiful. Some have a lovely, glossy finish, whereas some are wooden.

On the art of cosmetics, I would urge you to bear two things in mind:

1. You will enjoy playing more on a piano that you enjoy looking at, HOWEVER

2. The practical benefit of your piano should take priority.

Top Tips for Choosing Your Piano

There are many tips for choosing your piano, but here I'd like to advise you of the most important;

Go to a Shop

This sounds obvious, but the simple fact of the matter is that you will not be able to gauge how well the piano plays and responds to you if you don't go and try it out. You may have your heart set on a specific one, but seek it out in a shop first before you make any rash decisions. You don't want to be stuck with it.

Play the Same Things

When you go round the pianos, make sure you perform the same things on each one. It's SO tempting (speaking from experience) to be wowed by how softly or loudly a piano responds to your touch, and to think "oh, such-and-such would sound beautiful on this" and proceeds to play. This is fine if you do, but don't make the mistake of doing so at the expense of everything else you're trying. You should have a selection of two or three pieces to play between - each one with a distinctly different characteristic to the other two. This way, you won't make the wrong decision based around the piano sounding wonderful...for one piece of music.

Play High, Play Low

It's so tempting to stay around the centre of the piano when you play, and to play music that is centralised. It may or may not come as a surprise that nine times out of ten, this area of the piano sound great. It sounds good with two hands, close harmony, compound harmony. But quite often you can lose a lot of clarity in the notes in the lower register (this is why Bösendorfers are so expensive - they don't!), and lose a lot of sweetness as you get in to the higher register (they get 'plinky'). Make sure you explore the full range of the keyboard and settle on a piano that suits you.

Ignore the Pedals

Well, OK - don't ignore them. It's important to understand how they affect the sound of the piano and that they are comfortable playing for you. But make sure one of your pieces is not overly dependent on the pedals (in particular the sustain pedal!) - allow for the notes of the piano to speak for themselves. If something doesn't quite seem right, you don't want to settle for a piano that requires pedal work to masquerade its problems!

Ask the Assistant(s)

It's highly unlikely you'll be going round a piano shop without being taken round by an assistant - or at the very least with an assistant or two subtly hovering - watching - ready to pounce. But here's the thing - they are usually pianists themselves (obviously!), and one things that pianists can tell is when a fellow pianist enjoys playing an instrument. If there is a connection between you and a piano, they'll see it. And trust me, they won't say it for the sake of a sale! Any reputable piano / music store will be honest and, if you don't feel you're having any luck, they will be able to point you in the right direction. They are, after all, experts.

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How The Piano Works and How You Can Play Better

If you're wanting to start learning the wonderful instrument that is the piano, it is a good idea to have some basic understanding of its workings. This will help you achieve the desirable effects when playing and developing your technique.

Pianos work entirely by lever mechanism - specifically, it's a type of lever mechanism that was much more sophisticated than the piano's predecessor: the harpsichord.

A Brief History

The harpsichord has a distinctly different sound to the piano, although its interior is rather similar (though smaller scale). However, its lever mechanism results in strings being plucked rather than struck. Its design also meant that there was no dynamic - something that led to the brand new musical instrument of the piano having what we might now refer to as a USP : Dynamics!

The full name for the piano is 'pianoforte', which is quite literally two Italian words spliced together.

'Piano' - Soft

'Forte' - Loud

So, this instrument was quite literally called a 'Soft Loud' because of its revolutionary new technique that resulted in being able to bring out serious dynamic changes, thus creating far more emotive performances than previously possible on any keyboard instrument.

The original pianos were, of course, grand, but when the more home friendly uprights were developed they were done so with virtually the same mechanism - just that the interior was upright rather than flat!

So let's explore how it works.

Inside a Piano

The Keys

When you look at a piano, you see a keyboard and to all appearances these keys just stop when they reach the frame of the piano. Except they don't.

They continue underneath and each individual key is joined to an intricate lever system designed to hit a small group of strings tuned to its respective note.

There are a few components at play here:

The Soundboard

The soundboard is quite literally where the strings are. If you took it out of the piano, it wouldn't look too dis-similar to a harp. This is because of the shape of it.

The lower notes naturally need longer strings, whereas higher notes require less.

Obviously it looks different to a harp really!

The bass strings are considerably thicker, and the treble strings are groups of strings as opposed to individuals. Furthermore - especially in upright pianos - because the bass strings are so tall, they are often angled inwards to the soundboard so that their whole height doesn't have to be recognised.

In a grand piano, the soundboard lies flat and towards the top of the frame.

In an upright piano, the soundboard is - you guessed it - upright and towards the back of the frame.

In order to get the best sounds from your piano the soundboards should be given ample opportunity to resonate. In a grand piano, you have a lid. This is opened and allows for complete resonance. In upright pianos, you still do have a lid but - better still - the fronts of upright pianos come off and this allows for absolute resonance (this is how piano tuners access the soundboard to tune an upright!)

The Dampers

A damper is a padded piece of wood that sits very snugly over a string / group of strings There is an individual damper for each individual note (key). In order for the piano to sound as clean as possible when playing, these dampers are there to avoid any unnecessary reverberation, sustain or resonance from any of the strings.

Therefore, when you press a key, it immediately lifts the damper off the string(s). When you let go, the damper immediately resumes to cut off the note.

In a grand piano, the dampers are above the strings. In an upright piano, they are in front of the strings.

The Hammers

The hammers have quite an intricate lever mechanism. This is what strikes the note to produce the sound, and again there is an individual hammer per key / note.

The intricacy of the hammer mechanism is in its need to immediately pull back from the strings once it has struck, as if it were anything but an immediate, snappy hit it would not allow the struck strings to resonate.

In a grand piano, gravity is very much on the side of this mechanism as they are horizontal and underneath the soundboard. In an upright piano, they are also upright!

The Pedals

There are a minimum of two pedals in a piano;

Soft Pedal (Left)

It should be noted that the soft pedal should be used sparingly. It doesn't automatically make your playing soft - it relies heavily on your playing a very gentle dynamic anyway as the difference it makes is incredibly subtle. It is very rare to see it notated in printed music, but if you see Una Corda and Tre Corda respectively, this is instruction to depress and release the pedal (respectively). (NOTE the pedal's formal name is the Una Corda pedal!)

There are two ways in which you may note the soft pedal works;

1. All hammers are moved closer to the strings, therefore reducing the distance needed to strike, further reducing the space in which to get as strong a dynamic. This is especially true in modern upright pianos.

2. All of the keys will shift very slightly to one side. This is truer in grand pianos - particularly older ones - and can be mistaken for a fault or a sign of wear! In moving slightly to the left, the keys bring the hammers with them, meaning that the hammers strike less of a string for bass notes, or fewer strings in a group for treble notes, thus reducing the dynamic.

Sustain Pedal (Right)

The popular pedal! The right pedal will literally allow resonance of all strings for as long as it is depressed. Therefore, it's quite easy to guess how it might work;

All the dampers are lifted off the strings whilst the pedal is pressed.

Sostenuto Pedal (Middle)

If you have an older piano and it has three pedals, you may find that it is not, in fact, a sostenuto pedal. It may be one whereby you depress keys prior to depressing the pedal, whilst you do whilst still holding down your key selection, and then those keys and only those keys will sustain. A nice idea, but only practical for showing people its purpose and not for playing!

Therefore, more modern middle pedals are the sostenuto pedals, a.k.a practice pedals.

The pedal is connected to a material - a soft felt - which falls between the hammers and the soundboard, creating a much more muted sound. Perfect for practicing late at night!

Improve Your Playing Accordingly

When you understand the interior of a piano a little better, you can play better!

On an electric piano, you are very much dictated by programmed responses. For example, electric pedalboards act like an on/off switch - you either get sustain or you don't, for instance.

Similarly, although you can usually adjust the dynamic range on modern MIDI keyboard and electric pianos, the range between the lowest and the highest dynamic is more a 'staggered' scale than a sliding one (for example, they may have 10 different loudnesses programmed in, as opposed to being able to achieve every single one).

When it comes time to exploring dynamic, consider how you touch the keys. Different dynamic can be achieved from striking higher up the key (nearer the body of the piano) compared to more 'on the edge', and even the movement from your hands onto the keys are influential. Keys, hammers and subsequently - the strings - all respond to vibration, so consider how you lean into them if you want to play softer, or fall onto them if you want to play harder.

Regarding the pedalboard, the a sustain pedal fully depressed releases all the dampers. Fully off means all the dampers are firmly against the strings. But there is movement between. Pressing the pedal a little allows for a tiny bit of resonance. Or, on the flip side - if you feel your sustain is too much but you don't want it to stop dead whilst you adjust it, just gradually lift the pedal up to cap the notes a little rather than stop them completely.

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