Posts Tagged ‘Octaves’

What Do Pedals on a Piano Do?

Tuesday, April 7th, 2009



What do pedals on a piano do?

The three pedals that have become more or less standard on the modern piano are the following. From left to right: una corda, sostenuto and damper.

The damper pedal (also the sustaining pedal or loud pedal) is the most frequently used. It is placed as the rightmost pedal in the group. Every string on the piano, except the top two octaves, is equipped with a damper, which is a padded device that prevents the string from vibrating. The damper is raised off the string whenever the key for that note is pressed. When the damper pedal is pressed, all the dampers on the piano are lifted at once, so that every string can vibrate.

This serves two purposes. First, it assists the pianist in producing a legato (playing smoothly connected notes) in passages where no fingering is available to make this otherwise possible. Second, raising the damper pedal causes all the strings to vibrate sympathetically with whichever notes are being played, which greatly enriches the piano’s tone.

The una corda pedal (also the soft pedal) is placed leftmost in the row of pedals.

On a grand piano this pedal shifts the whole action to one side, slightly to the right, so that hammers that normally strike all three of the strings for a note strike only two of them. This softens the note and modifies its tone quality.

On many upright pianos, the pedal operates a mechanism which moves the hammers’ resting position closer to the strings. This reduces the volume as the hammers have less distance to travel, but this does not change tone quality in the way the una corda pedal does on a grand piano.

However when this pedal is depressed on the vertical, it changes the action creating what is called lost motion, that is the jack is now further from the hammer butt, and now has to travel further to engage the hammer. This lost motion changes the touch and feel of the playing action, and as a result many pianists never use the soft pedal on a vertical.

Since the grand piano soft pedal simply shifts the action sideways, it does not change the touch and feel of the action, another advantage grand pianos have over vertical pianos.

The sostenuto pedal (also the middle pedal) keeps raised any damper that was raised at the moment the pedal is depressed. This makes it possible to sustain some notes (by depressing the sostenuto pedal before notes to be sustained are released) while the player’s hands are free to play other notes. This can be useful for musical passages with pedal points and other tricky or impossible situations.

The sostenuto pedal was the last of the three pedals to be added to the standard piano, and to this day, many pianos are not equipped with a sostenuto pedal. Almost all modern grand pianos have a sostenuto pedal, while nearly all upright pianos do not.

Some upright pianos have a celeste pedal (practice pedal) in place of the sostenuto. This pedal, which can usually be locked in place by depressing it and pushing it to one side, drops a strip of felt between the hammers and the strings so that all the notes are greatly muted— a handy feature for those who wish to practice without disturbing everyone else in the vicinity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#Pedals

written by Janet Yun from www.shinemusic.com.au teachers of piano, saxophone, violin, singing, drums, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, flute and Clarinet



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The King of Musical Instrument–piano

Friday, March 20th, 2009



Piano is a precious musical instrument. It can make beautiful and loud sounds. It also has a wide range. Piano is complicated. It contains keyboard, string machine, hammer, damper, strings and pedal. Modern piano has 7 octaves.

Modern piano is divided into upright piano and grand piano according to their shape and volume. The grand piano is used in concert. It is very big. It is up to 9 feet long. It weighs 79 tons at the most. Upright piano is cheap and small. It is for piano lovers. Till now the most expensive piano is the Steinway Grand Piano made in 1888. It was sold out at 180000 pounds in 1980 in New York.

Piano is loved by composers because of its unique sound and gamut of 88 keys. It plays an important role almost in all kinds of music. Piano is the king of musical instrument.

Made in China gives you a lot of good choices

Made in China offers all kinds of pianos you need. There are traditional grand pianos and upright pianos. There is also educational piano for children and electronic piano for beginners. The digital piano is modern and convenient to use. If your house is of classical style, you can choose wooden piano. If you want to play the piano just for fun, the cool 61-key rolling piano will be a good choice. You also have access to different piano benches of top quality and at the most competitive prices.

How to choose piano

Piano is an expensive musical instrument, so you have to be careful when you buy it. You should pay attention to its sound, tactility, tone, stability, durability, exterior and tension when you choose piano.

1.    Sound

Good piano has clean and lasting sound. It can make light sound, as well as loud sound.

2.    Tactility

It is comfortable for both beginners and good piano players to touch a good piano.

3.  Tone

Every piano has to be adjusted at regular intervals. The after frame of a good piano is well designed, so that it can prolong the time interval of adjustment.

4. Durability

Nothing in your house can be more durable than the piano. Functions, sound and exterior of a good piano will keep the same for a long time.

5. Exterior

Because piano is the most remarkable furniture in the house, most people care exterior of the piano. When you choose the piano, you have to think about the room you keep it. And then choose the style for you.

6.    Tension

Whether the strings are tight



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Top 10 Things To Look For In Online Piano Lessons

Saturday, January 3rd, 2009

Looking for a little to learn to play piano from an Internet product? Here are top 10 things to look for in online piano lessons:

1. Basic notation. When looking for online piano lessons, one of the top 10 things to look for in online piano lessons is the very basics at the least. While you may think that learning the names of notes and where they exist on a keyboard will suffice, quality piano lessons will teach you much more. Quality basic lessons will teach for example, the staff and clef; note names, location, and duration; sharps and flats; and scales and octaves. By the time you’ve finished basic notation lessons, you should be able to play the simplest songs quite proficiently. Later on, you’ll learn about dotted notes, rests, key signatures, naturals, and more.

2. Accompanying audio or video files. Being able to watch a video or hear a demonstrative sound file is priceless when it comes to learning piano form online lessons. Be sure to seek out a service that offers either one of these.

3. Opportunities to discuss your progress with a live person. Whether this opportunity is available via email or chat, speaking to a real human about your efforts is another priceless bonus of online piano lessons. Try to find a service that offers a free forum where students are free to ask questions and where administrators take time to answer them.

4. Wide assortment of example music. There’s no sense in selecting a service that teaches only one style of music! As an accomplished musician, you’ll want to explore the world of piano and the only real way to do that is to experiment with various genres. So see if you can find a resource that offers not only classical lessons, but jazz piano lessons and gospel piano lessons as well.

5. Lessons on accompaniment and simple chords. Further lessons should introduce left hand activity (accompaniment) on the treble clef, basic chords, major and minor triads, and intervals.

6. Lessons on advanced notation. The advanced portion of online piano lessons should introduce note groupings, ties, triplets, expression and dynamic markings, slurs, legato, and a host of interesting Latin meanings. You may even find information about music charts, but at this point, your level of playing should definitely demonstrate more than mediocrity.

7. Lessons on advanced tricks. What would the study of piano be without a few tricks of the trade? When it’s all said and done, you should be able to play trills, glissandos, and arpeggios as well.

8. Schedule to follow. Many online piano resources offer timed lessons but a growing number of them don’t. Selecting the one that’s most appropriate depends upon your lifestyle. Personally, we recommend that you select a service that follows a “loose” schedule. A “loose” schedule offers just enough structure to keep you on track, but it also offers enough leeway so that you aren’t tied to the computer every day.

9. Actual sheet music. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could print out the lessons that you’re learning? Having access to your own copy of sheet music will strengthen your practicing skills when Internet access isn’t available. Online lessons that offer downloadable sheet music is a must in this case.

10. Low cost. Well, who in the world wouldn’t want that?!?

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