From LivingPianos. FULL ARTICLE: https://livingpianos.com/why-you-must-exaggerate-your-playing-when-practicing-slowly/ Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. The subject today is about why you must exaggerate your playing when practicing slowly. Why would you want to exaggerate? Shouldn’t you try to play exactly the same way slowly as when you speed up? Yes, that’s a valuable technique, but there are many…

From LivingPianos. https://livingpianos.com/pianos/mason-hamlin-grand-piano-4/

From LivingPianos. FULL ARTICLE: https://livingpianos.com/why-do-you-need-urtext-editions/ Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. The subject today is about why you need urtext editions. I received a question from Chris. Chris asks, "I find urtext editions online, but then they say ‘edited by.’ I thought urtext meant they weren’t edited. So how does a fully edited edition differ…

From LivingPianos. SEE THIS PIANO https://livingpianos.com/pianos/schimmel-studio-upright-piano/ This piano was manufactured in Germany and is in mint condition. There is a clarity to the tone that is the trademark of great German pianos. The action is amazingly quick for an upright piano. The craftsmanship is evident in the sound, the responsiveness of the action, as well…

From LivingPianos. FULL VIDEO: https://youtu.be/c6WN5Fjp0S8

From LivingPianos. https://livingpianos.com/how-to-play-expressively-on-the-piano/ Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin, today we’re exploring how to play expressively on the piano – the secret behind evoking emotions through your playing! Playing expressively includes the unique sound each artist brings to the piano, stemming from their technique, and the balance between their hands. Three essential elements of expressive…

From LivingPianos. https://livingpianos.com/what-makes-a-piano-great/ Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today’s question is: What makes a piano great? I have come across thousands of pianos in my life. I literally grew up with pianos. We had four pianos in our home growing up because my father, Morton Estrin, was a concert pianist and a Baldwin artist…

From LivingPianos. FULL VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIpLysCnpBg

From LivingPianos. FULL ARTICLE: https://livingpianos.com/why-not-playing-is-practicing/ Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. The subject today is about repetition in your piano practice. Repetition is an essential part of piano practice, but did you know that the essential element of repetition is not the repetition itself? It’s the time between the repetitions. All too often, I’ve seen…

From LivingPianos. Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today’s question is: Can you make a crescendo on a chord on the piano? How many of you have seen a held chord with a crescendo on it in your score? How can you possibly do something like that? Did the composer not understand the physics of…

From LivingPianos. FULL ARTICLE: https://livingpianos.com/2-essential-tools-for-musicians/ Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today I’m going to talk about two essential tools that every musician should utilize. You practice hard to improve your playing. Is there any device that can help you with your practicing? There are two tools that are absolutely essential, and I’m sure you’re…

From LivingPianos. FULL VIDEO: https://youtu.be/hM3f5aCFvbQ

From LivingPianos. https://livingpianos.com/rule-of-thumb-3-important-tips-for-the-piano/ Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today’s topic is about the rule of thumb on the piano. Actually, you are going to get three important tips! What is it about the thumb? The thumb is obviously a completely different finger from all the others on your hand. Therefore, there is a different…

From LivingPianos. FULL VIDEO: https://youtu.be/Ma73aGLeFj4

From LivingPianos. Full Article: https://livingpianos.com/how-do-you-get-back-in-shape-on-the-piano/ Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today’s question is: How do you get back in shape on the piano? If you have ever gone on vacation and returned to find your fingers out of shape, you may have wondered how to get them back into shape without hurting yourself. I…

From LivingPianos. FULL ARTICLE: https://livingpianos.com/how-to-be-present-when-you-play-the-piano/ The subject today is about how to be in the moment in your playing. It’s so important! If you have performed for friends or your teacher, you know that sometimes it’s easy to become distracted. You want to be present in your playing; but it can be so incredibly difficult.…

From LivingPianos. https://livingpianos.com/pianos/mason-hamlin-grand-piano-4/ Mason & Hamlin has been making pianos since the 1800’s and still handcrafts the model A in Massachusetts. This piano was built before the Aeolian Piano Company acquired them in the early 1930’s. It has been rebuilt and refinished to the highest standard. What’s so spectacular about this particular model A is…

From LivingPianos. Full Article: https://livingpianos.com/how-soft-is-piano/ Living Pianos Patreon channel https://www.Patreon.com/RobertEstrin That’s the question for today! You see piano written in your music, or maybe pianissimo. How soft should you play it? How soft is soft, and how do you even achieve it on the piano? We’re going to dive right into this today and cover…

From LivingPianos. Watch Full Video: https://youtu.be/mfCtd6VCF78

From LivingPianos. https://livingpianos.com/can-you-get-a-singing-sound-out-of-the-piano/ Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today I’m going to show you how to get a singing sound on the piano. Piano is actually a percussion instrument, yet there are such beautiful melodies that evoke the quality of the human voice, as well as other instruments. In fact, the piano is almost…

From LivingPianos. FULL VIDEO |https://youtu.be/WLVDnPDxjzM

From LivingPianos. https://livingpianos.com/do-you-have-trouble-playing-for-people/ Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. The subject today is about how to become comfortable playing the piano for people. It’s imperative that you practice performing, but how can you do such a thing? You probably know if you’ve ever tried to play for someone, that things can go haywire. Why does…

From LivingPianos. https://livingpianos.com/will-ai-the-singularity-transform-music-ray-kurzweils-vision/ Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. The subject today is about the relationship between keyboards and the singularity. This should get a lively discussion going, and the central figure in our discussion is a man by the name of Ray Kurzweil. How many of you have heard of Kurzweil keyboards?

From LivingPianos. SEE MORE OF THIS PIANO https://livingpianos.com/pianos/chickering-art-case-grand-piano/ This is an example of one of the great American pianos restored to a high level. But there’s so much more this piano offers! It is so unusual to find a piano from so long ago that has endured the ages so well. The original soundboard produces…

From LivingPianos. Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. The subject today is about finding musical solutions to technical problems. My teacher, John Ogden, tied for first prize in the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition with Vladimir Ashkenazy, two legendary pianists. I remember John Ogden talking about how he really was taken with Ashkenazy’s performance of the…

From LivingPianos. SEE THIS PIANO: https://livingpianos.com/pianos/mason-hamlin-bb-7-foot-grand-piano-2/ The Mason & Hamlin BB dubbed the “Double B” is one of the most sought after pianos in the world. It is one of the only pianos of its size that offers a bass that rivals 9-foot concert grand pianos. But it is much more than that! A great…

From LivingPianos. Full video: 4 Ways to Develop Speed in Your Piano Playing https://youtu.be/kPOoI_GY0lE

From LivingPianos. FULL ARTICLE: https://livingpianos.com/how-to-create-tonal-shadings-on-the-piano/ Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. The subject today is about how to create tonal shadings on the piano. The piano is such a great instrument, but it has some inherent limitations that I’m sure you’re all aware of. One such limitation is the fact that the notes fade out…

From LivingPianos. Full Video: https://youtu.be/kPOoI_GY0lE

From LivingPianos. https://livingpianos.com/4-ways-to-develop-speed-in-your-piano-playing/ I’m Robert Estrin. Today I’m going to show you four ways to develop speed in your piano playing. You hear people who play dazzlingly fast, but maybe you’re just struggling to get a piece up to speed. Is there anything that you can do to develop more speed? Absolutely! There are a…

From LivingPianos. FULL PERFORMANCE: https://youtu.be/cMZR6DsiuvY

From LivingPianos. https://livingpianos.com/how-to-bring-out-voices-in-your-music/ I’m Robert Estrin. The topic today is about how to bring out voices in your music. The great thing about the piano is that it’s almost like a whole orchestra! You have so many different voices. Because of this, you want to call attention to different melodies intertwining within your music. I’ve…

From LivingPianos. FULL VIDEO: How to find Motivation to Practice the Piano https://youtu.be/k9e7a6S9uiA

From LivingPianos. https://livingpianos.com/debussy-the-little-shepherd-performed-by-robert-estrin-pianist/ The Little Shepherd of Debussy, is the second to last movement of his Children’s Corner Suite. It is a poetic gem. This piece has a very special meaning for me for a number of reasons. When I learned the complete Children’s Corner Suite, it represented a milestone for me at the time.…

From LivingPianos. Full Article: https://livingpianos.com/how-to-find-motivation-to-practice-the-piano/ Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. The topic today is about how to motivate yourself to practice. Sometimes things are going well and you can’t wait to get to the piano. But I’m sure you also experience times when you just don’t feel the motivation to practice. You want to…