Piano Lesson Myths – Are They For Real?

Piano Lesson Myths – Are They For Real?

We hear it all the time.

“I really want to learn to play the piano (or have my child learn to play the piano). But I’m just not sure how well I’ll do with the lessons. Should I really invest in a piano with so much uncertainty?”

Fear definitely holds us back. Especially when its something out of our comfort zones, like playing the piano. So instead of taking a step forward and doing it, we sit back and worry about the process. In most cases, they are all myths. Have you ever had one of these thoughts hold you back?Piano Lesson Myths – Are They For Real?

“The first few months of lessons are boring, playing notes and chords and classical songs. I don’t know if I can stick with it.”

Most piano teachers today realize their students don’t want to stick with the classical pieces they’ve never heard before. Instead, they concentrate on theory. Yes, you will have to learn the notes and the chords. But when it comes time to choose music, you can find music of all abilities in every genre out there. And in some cases, you’ll learn faster when you recognize the tune instead of picking out the notes simply because they exist on the page. Be sure to talk with a potential teacher before you sign up, and learn their strategies before you make your final selection.

“Children learn faster than adults.”

We hear this all the time from adults that have always wanted to play, but are afraid age will stand in the way. Nothing could be further from the truth. Sure, kids learn in different ways, and in some cases may seem to pick it up faster. But adults have a lot of advantages too. Adults are more aware of a wide variety of songs, and in some cases find it easier to play because they hear it. Adults also tend to have better aptitude to commit to regular practice. Because they’ve wanted piano in their lives, they are more likely to make it fit into their schedules, rather than be “forced” to practice on a regular basis. Adults can become more easily frustrated, however, and this is something you need to work with as you find a good teacher. Self-judgement and stress can easily come into play if you feel you aren’t picking things up quickly, or if you don’t sound like the concerts you attend at your local symphony. A good teacher will help you put your expectations into perspective, and help keep you on track.

“Piano lessons will be stressful. If I don’t keep up with expectations, my teacher will drop me.”

I think many of us remember the stress of being in school, with daily homework and tests to ensure you were doing things on time. Piano lessons aren’t like that. If you choose a piano teacher that works with adults regularly, they understand that things come up in our lives that prevent us from doing all we had planned. They understand if you don’t pick up things quite as quickly as expected. They adjust. A great piano teacher takes all this into consideration, and helps you through the lesson in a way that will benefit you the most. Maybe you need more work on chords, hand movement or eye position. Maybe you need a couple of weeks mastering the same tune. Piano playing is very personal by nature; a teacher’s job is to ensure you have fun and understand the concepts before moving on, no matter how long that takes.

“I must practice every day.”

Very few things make it into our lives every day. In fact, for many things, a daily routine can not only get monotonous, it can also make it less effective. Think of a workout routine. You would never lift weights in the same way day after day, right? Instead, you create a routine where you use weights several times a week, skipping days in between. You change things up. That’s to help your body recover, and for your mind to be present when you spend the time in the gym. Piano lessons work in a similar way. Rather than rushing in and playing for 10 minutes a day because you have to, if you spend 20 minutes every other day because you have the time and enjoy it, it will be much more meaningful to you. The key is to fit it into your schedule and be present.

How To Start A Successful Piano Teaching Business

How To Start A Successful Piano Teaching Business

People start piano teaching businesses for a variety of reasons. But no matter what reasons you’ve had in mind, chances are two of the top are:

  • To help people bring piano into their lives
  • To make money

If you are in business, one of your top goals is to make money; without it you won’t have a business. But even the concept of making money varies widely from teacher to teacher. Some simply want to supplement their income with a little extra spending money, while others want a full time career.How To Start A Successful Piano Teaching Business

There are a few strategies that can help you bring success to your piano teaching business, no matter what goals you have in mind.

Planning

The end of the year is a great time to map out the following year. This helps you see how many clients you’ll need, what you’ll have time for, plan for vacations, and help you increase sales by doing extra things. How about a bootcamp for adults? Or a summer camp for kids? By mapping it out early, you can start the planning process for getting your marketing ideas together, and advertising it early enough to have a full house.

Budget

Its easy to add up the checks to see how much money is coming in. But that isn’t taking everything into account. How much is insurance, taxes, marketing, and other studio expenses … like rent? How often will you have to replace your pianos? How often will you buy accessories, music, tune your pianos, photocopies for recitals, etc? Be careful to estimate all of your expenses and budget accordingly.

Forward … Back

What worked well over the past year? Where do you hope to grow? In some cases, the best way to plan is to look back over the past year and find things that worked, as well as areas you wish to grow. Don’t just look at your actions, look to the numbers as well.

Grow

How big do you want your studio to become? Are you happy with spending money? Or do you wish to have a six figure income? Put numbers to it now so that you can see how large you will have to grow in order to achieve the results you are looking for. When you see that boosting your income only needs an additional 10 clients, for instance, it can change your perspective on what is possible.

Partner Up

You can’t build a business alone. If you don’t understand marketing, you may have to hire a consultant to help you put the pieces together. And when it comes to keeping your piano equipment in good working order, it also benefits you to have a trusted source at your fingertips. From regular tunings, to periodic repair, to complete restoration, or maybe purchasing a brand new piano, part of the process is having someone you can trust to be there when you need it most. What would you do if you had a major repair the day before a recital? When you choose a reputable piano company to have on board as a resource, you know you’ll always be at the top of your game.

Choosing A Piano As A Christmas Gift

Choosing A Piano As A Christmas Gift

Whether its on the Christmas wish list of your teenage son, or its been on the bucket list of your spouse for years, why not make this the year you surprise him or her with a brand new piano?

Pianos come in all different shapes and sizes, with many different options, and at many different price ranges. Which means before you begin looking for the perfect piano for your loved one, its important you determine needs first. Start with a few simple questions:Choosing A Piano As A Christmas Gift

  • Do you prefer an upright or grand piano?
  • Do you prefer an acoustic or a digital?
  • Would something portable be more beneficial, or will it hold a special place within your home?
  • How much are you willing to spend?

By answering those few questions, you can easily have all you’ll need to make the perfect choice.

Uprights come in all different types of heights, finishes and cabinets. The height is measured from the floor to the top of the piano; the overall size being the most important factor in determining tone quality and volume. The taller the piano, the longer the strings, the bigger the soundboard, the louder the sound. There are some professional or full size upright pianos that may have larger strings and larger soundboards than some small grand pianos.

Grand pianos also range in size, style and finish. The length of a grand piano is measured from the front of the keyboard to the very back of the piano when the lid is closed. Piano teachers, music schools, universities and serious amateurs often prefer a medium grand piano because of its tone and its volume. The largest grands – concert grands – are mostly used in concert halls, auditoriums, churches and public performing locations.

Choosing an upright versus a grand is usually a personal choice based on space. Both can look beautiful and play equally well, depending on your final selection. Other than the most common characteristics – finish, style, size, shape – the most important aspect in choosing a piano is the action of the piano. In grands, the strings are horizontal, with the hammer hitting the string from below and dropping back into place. The movement is the same direction as gravity, allowing for faster repetition and better tone quality. In uprights, the hammers hit the strings from the side, so slower sound repetition is produced. Depending on your desires, a higher quality upright can meet higher standards in sound compared with the smallest of grands. Be sure to test and know what you’re getting to avoid disappointment later.

Digital pianos are purchased for a variety of reasons, and may be the perfect choice for the budding musician in your life. They don’t require tuning, can easily be moved from place to place, have a lot of functionality with them, and can offer both recording and playback features you won’t find with acoustic pianos. Although they cannot compare with the quality sound of an acoustic piano, they do provide opportunity for creating sound in many different ways. And for the price, its often a good choice for teens playing in bands or starting up other musical groups.

Whether you only have an idea of what type of piano you want, or know the exact model and brand, stop by today. We can help you select the perfect piano, and help you keep it a surprise right up until the big day.

Making Piano Playing A Habit For Life

Making Piano Playing A Habit For Life

“We become what we repeatedly do.” ~Sean Covey

Motivation, expectations, and foundational habits; all are needed in order to become a great piano player and enjoy it in the process.

Though in this case we’re talking about playing the piano, the same characteristics can be applied to any new direction you’re taking in life. Good habits lead to success, which leads to happiness. At its root is the process of forming good habits. The better you become at putting something new into your life, the more you’ll make it stick and be happy with the results.Making Piano Playing A Habit For Life

Yet as a human, I’m sure you realize that saying (or reading) this and actually accomplishing it are two different things. Saying you want to be a great piano player, for instance, and building it into a successful habit are two different things. Life gets in the way, and before you know it, weeks have flown by with no action taken.

Its hard to make piano playing a habit under those circumstances.

If piano playing is truly important in your life, or in the life of your child’s, there are a few things you can do that will put the odds in your favor.

Be 100% Committed

If piano playing is a part of your child’s future, you have to commit to making it a part of your life. That means taking the good with the bad, the fun with the not-so-much fun. You can’t approach it with the attitude of doing it as long as its fun. Invariably your child will burn out, whine and complain. Its your job to keep them motivated, and look for ways of making it fun.

Practice. Practice. Practice.

What makes a child better at addition or multiplication tables? Practice. What makes someone a better swimmer? Practice. Piano playing is no different. You can’t sit down and play a popular tune your first time at the keyboard. It takes practice to learn the notes, and practice to learn how to combine notes into a song. The more you practice, the better it will sound, the more fun you will have.

The Ultimate Purpose

Practicing should never be overwhelming. In fact, the true purpose of practicing is simply to get it down to a routine. When you first start, the hardest part is putting it into your life. Practice should always be about establishing a healthy habit of putting it into your life. Five minutes a day every day at 3 pm is much better than playing a scale a few dozen times once per week. Practice is the health way of bringing this new talent into your life. Once it becomes a habit you enjoy, then you can build other key points into the routine – scales, playing songs a number of times, etc.

Provide Encouragement

For an 8 year old boy, 1 minute of practice may be a huge accomplishment. Recognize the effort put into practice and encourage him for what he’s accomplished. Tell him you recognize how much he’s improved. Tell him how good of a job he’s doing. Tell him you are impressed with his attitude towards playing every day. All of these can impress on your child the desire to want to take the next step, and build on skills already developed.

What Skills Does A Piano Tuner Have?

What Skills Does A Piano Tuner Have?

With certain jobs, skill and knowledge might not have much of an impact. Take, for instance, the clerk down at the local discount store. They were hired to ring up sales, maybe answer a question or two about where something is in the store, and get as many people in and out in the quickest way possible. It doesn’t really matter is she knows where a certain product is; she can ask several people around her and provide you with the answer.What Skills Does A Piano Tuner Have?

But that mindset doesn’t follow through to all jobs. If you hire the right piano tuner, your piano will have a beautiful sound after he leaves, and carry that sound through many hours of play in the coming weeks and months. Hire the wrong one, and well … probably not so great results.

But how do you know? How can you protect yourself from piano tuners that aren’t in it for quality, just merely for the money? This is the the time to ask the right questions to find the right person for the job.

Question #1 What qualifications do you have?

There are several ways for a piano tuner to gain the qualifications it takes to be a great piano tuner.

  • They can receive training and become a registered piano technician through the Piano Technicians Guild, which provides classes and training for both beginning piano tuners and for those wanting to improve their skills. They also have a series of tests to be awarded with the certification of being a registered piano technician.
  • They can attend a school or training program specifically for piano tuning. Colleges, universities, even piano manufacturers put on classes for people to learn more about the art of piano tuning. This can provide training with many of the artists in the industry, and give a person hands on experience with a variety of instruments while being overseen by musicians that love what they do.
  • They can complete an apprenticeship with an experienced piano tuner. In some cases a love of the art and on the job training can provide the skills necessary to be a great piano tuner.

While any way can be valid, keep in mind that in many cases its about the drive to become better at what they do. You can tell if a person loves music and cares about quality just by talking to them.

Question #2 What experience do you have?

It seems like there are all kinds of start up opportunities out there right now with people trying to make a few extra bucks by setting up shop and undercutting people that have been in business for years. Its happening in all kinds of trades and industries, and its easy to be swayed by their low-ball fees.

In some cases it may be worth looking at. In other cases, not so much.

Imagine hiring a piano tuner that read an online manual and decided to open up a business on nights and weekends. Sure, they might be able to tune a piano, but what’s the quality and how long will it last?

Piano tuning is an art. It takes years to develop a sense about what to do in every situation. You have to continue to run into new problems, ask the right questions, and learn from people that have been in situations before to really get a feel for the right processes. Because its not just about tightening a string here or reducing tension on the strings over there. Its about the coordination of the entire process, and learning how one piece integrates with another to reach and maintain the perfect sound.

And all of that doesn’t come from reading a book and trying your skills out on a piano or two. It comes from learning from many other piano tuners and working on different pianos year after year.

In the end, finding and trusting the right piano tuner is a personal choice. When you get that “feeling”, you know you’ve found the right piano tuner for you.

How To Fix Piano Keys

How To Fix Piano Keys

What’s the first sign you have a problem with your piano? Usually it starts with the keys.

One of the most common calls we receive is for us to repair a broken key. Broken keys can mean a variety of things to different people, usually we find a “broken” key usually has one of two problems:

  • When the key is pressed, it won’t come back up
  • When the key is pressed, the note doesn’t play

In either case, fixing the problem could involve a variety of things.

How To Fix Piano Keys

In a newer piano, the most common reason why a key sticks is when the felt bushing binds up against the front rail pin. This will most likely occur during more humid times of the year when the felt swells from the moisture. A piano technician has a tool that can easily compress the felt back into its original shape.

In older pianos, there may be several causes.

  • Sometimes the hammers are too close together and rub against one another, causing a note not to play.
  • Sometimes the hammer shank breaks.
  • Sometimes the key itself can crack at the balance rail hole.

These are all common problems, ones we work with on a regular basis.

Keep in mind that some piano key problems are not problems with the piano at all. In some cases, an animal or a human was involved. I’ve found pencils, toys or other objects inside the piano lying across the backs of the keys. And I’ve found small items wedged between the keys.

While a broken key can signify a variety of things, there’s only one way to tell for sure: get inside the piano and discover where the problem lies. As trained piano technicians, we can fix broken keys, tune your piano so it plays at its optimal pitch, and provide you with full service for all of your piano needs.

Downsizing? Maybe Its Time For A Piano

Downsizing? Maybe Its Time For A Piano

When the kids are at home, there is so much to do with your days. Carpooling. After school activities. Events. The time seems to fly by as you keep up with everyone’s schedule.

Then you move to an empty nest stage, and you start considering your options. How should you fill your days? What interests you most? For some people, empty nest signals a time to downsize, move to a comfortable place that suits your needs, and only have things that allow you to do what you choose to do.Downsizing? Maybe Its Time For A Piano

While you’re moving into a smaller location, selling off or giving away things you no longer need, its also a time to consider investing in the things you’ve always wanted to try.

How about a piano?

A piano is known for its ability to bring joy not only into your life, but of those around you as well. You can learn to play for the enjoyment of making music in your own style. And you can also discover the joy of playing and entertaining friends and guests with your new-found talents.

And the best thing about taking up piano as a mature adult is its something you can continue for a very long time. Its not difficult to learn to play in your 40s, 50s, even 60s or beyond. The desire to learn is really all you need. Find a piano teacher that is accustomed to teaching adults, and you’ll soon find yourself playing your favorite tunes.

While piano lessons will help you become more musically inclined, they can also help you become better at organizing your time and schedule as well. As we get older, we tend to systematize the things we do, giving ourselves time limits for doing things. As you prove to yourself that you can implement music into life, you begin to trust and have faith you can do other things too. Things you might not have tried before because you were afraid it wasn’t possible, suddenly seem a little bit easier. Why not try it – what have you got to lose?

If you are ready to bring a piano into your life, the best place to start is by stopping by. We’ll show you all of your options – new or used, an upright or a grand piano – whatever fits your needs best, you can try it out here first to make sure it’s the perfect fit for your new lifestyle.

Proper Piano Tuning Is More Than Listening To The Sound

Proper Piano Tuning Is More Than Listening To The Sound

Have you ever been to a antique car show? The owners take great pride in their cars, shining them up and detailing them to make everything look brand new.

If you have a musician in your life, you probably have experienced the same thing. They take great pride in their instruments, making sure they are at peak playability.

When a piano is freshly tuned, there is no other sound like it. Proper Piano Tuning Is More Than Listening To The SoundWhen someone loves to play the piano, they can get lost in their own music. That’s a feeling most piano players can relate to. Every note sounds perfect. Every chord blends together impeccably.

But the more you play, the more the music loses that preciseness. Its not difficult to know when a piano is out of tune. Even those who are tone-deaf can usually pick up on the cues fairly quickly. It’s a flat note here, and an off-sound there. And when it doesn’t sound right, its just not as fun to play.

Sound is only the first aspect of tuning a piano. Its usually the easiest to pick up on, the cue that lets you know immediately that something is changing. But tuning goes beyond creating a balanced tune.

  • A proper tuning helps the soundboard retain its shape, creating the perfect tension that enhances the sound quality.
  • A proper tuning keeps the strings perfectly taut and kink-free, to keep the notes from sounding “off”.
  • A proper tuning eliminates broken strings.
  • A proper tuning protects the pinblock from receiving too much wear, which can reduce the piano’s pitch.
  • A proper tuning can provide a stable environment that helps keep a piano in tune for longer periods of time. The more regular you are with tuning, the more stable your piano will become.

If you are wondering if its time to schedule tuning for your piano, ask yourself two questions.

When was the last time your piano was tuned?

What is the sound quality of your piano as you play it?

Those two questions can be big indicators of when its time for a tuning. Not only will it improve your playing, but it will keep your piano in top shape as well.

Why Tuning Your Own Piano Is A Bad Idea

Why Tuning Your Own Piano Is A Bad Idea

Thinking of tuning your own piano? Think again. There is an art form to piano tuning, and even the professionals agree that it takes hundreds of tunings to perfect the skill.

The average piano tuning for a professional can take anywhere from 1 to 2 hours of time. If you’re a novice trying it on your own, double, triple or even quadruple that time period, knowing you may never achieve the results you are looking for. Add into it the fact that the longer it takes to tune, the more exhausted your ears become to the note precision, meaning it becomes harder and harder to hear the tonality quality you are looking for.Why Tuning Your Own Piano Is A Bad Idea

But I know how to tune a guitar, isn’t it the same thing?

They are both instruments; they both have strings, unfortunately that’s where the similarities end. Each piano’s temperament is tuned differently depending on the structure of the piano. Each brand, each style has their own unique gauges and lengths of strings. Therefore what works on one piano may not work precisely in the same manner on another. Professionals use tools and software, as well as acoustic tests to calculate how to precisely tune each piano.

Can’t I just buy a tool to adjust the strings?

While anyone can buy the tools needed to tune a piano, knowing how to use them is a different story. To tune a piano, the tuning pin and string must be set and secured by the tuner. A tuner will move the pin only as much as needed to get the desired pitch; then the pin is set in place. If its not done correctly, one strike of the key and the note will pop out of tune. This is called tuning stability. Its one of the last things a professional tuner masters because of the detailed process of the work.

What if a string is broken?

Occasionally strings break on a piano, especially if they are old and brittle. During the tuning process, if a string is adjusted too far sharp, it may snap. Which means the string must be replaced. A professional tuner will have the proper tools to remove the action, remove the string, and replace it with new wire. If your piano has been restored and in original state, your tuner will also understand how to retain its value as a restored instrument, choosing only the highest of quality wire that will ensure it remains as original as possible.

Can I just put off tuning for awhile? Does it really need it regularly?

With everything that goes on in our busy lives, taking the time to tune a piano on a regular basis may be something that falls to the wayside. Pianos need regular tuning to retain their value. It doesn’t matter how much its played, or even if its been played at all. Only regular tuning will keep a piano up to its full potential. If you choose to put off tuning, it may require several passes at tuning to raise the pitch, before a final tuning refines the tonal quality, providing clean unisons and octaves. That requires more time, more risk for repair work needed, and more money and effort down the road.

Can Anyone Repair A Piano?

Can Anyone Repair A Piano?

We’re a nation of do-it-yourselfers. We love tinkering with small projects, fixing things up and saving a little money in the process. Yet in some cases, a little do-it-yourself project can do more harm then good.

Such is the case with a piano. Grand piano owners are advised to leave all repair work to a professional piano technician. And while upright piano owners are advised to seek professional help as well, there are a few things you can learn about the repair process that will help you pinpoint the problem, and make communicating the process easier with the technician who comes in for the repair.Can Anyone Repair A Piano?

Gaining access to piano parts…

With an upright, you can gain access to the working piano parts by opening the top lid and reaching in to undo the clips inside at each end. The top is secured to the back of the bottom lid by two dowels. The bottom panel is removed by swinging back the top catches at each end. Carefully stow the panels away to keep them safe while working inside the piano.

If your piano sounds out of tune…

A piano tuner uses a special tool to properly tune your piano. Without that tool, you cannot tune your piano. If only a note or two sound bad, it could be that one of the three strings of a particular note has gone flat in comparison to the rest.

If your piano has a broken string…

If a string is broken and has cut off sound to other notes, it must be removed by removing the action and identifying where the string is attached to the piano. The string can be removed from the hitch pin where it is connected. However, chances are the string is shared with adjacent strings, making removal even more difficult. Do not cut a string in order to remove it. Any string that is successfully removed should be stowed away until a technician can evaluate the situation.

If a note doesn’t sound…

First determine if it’s the key or the action that is malfunctioning. If the key stays down after it has been pressed, the key is causing the problem. If the key sticks, first check that it is clear of the key slip – the finished piece of wood that runs along the front of the keys. Next check to see that nothing is wedged between the neighboring keys. It is common for crumbs, dust, or other debris to accumulate and cause sticking problems. To access the key, the key slip can be removed either by removing screws or pins at either end of the key slip. Removing the key can reveal the cause of the problem, and give you access to be able to thoroughly clean between the keys.

If however, the problem lies with the hammer not connecting properly with the string, then the problem is in the action, and a technician will have to be called in to rectify the problem.

If a group of adjacent notes don’t produce sound…

If several adjacent notes do not play, a foreign object may be causing the problem. Even something as simple as a ball point pen can block up to six adjacent keys very effectively. Inspect along the action to see if you can find the blocking object.

Keep in mind that when keys stick, its not for the same reasons that other mechanical items throughout your home stick. You cannot and should not use oil, or silicon sprays such as WD-40 to free sticking parts. It leaves a sticky mess, which is difficult to remove, and can in many cases cause more harm to the piano.

If the soft pedal has no effect…

Check to see if the rods connecting the pedal to the action are intact and adjusted. In the case of the soft pedal, the steel bracket may have become detached from the hammer rail. Older pianos use a piece of leather to connect the two pieces together. If it has come loose, simply regluing the pieces together may solve the problem.

If the pedal squeaks…

As with other noises, try and locate the origin of the problem. Start with where the pedal comes through the opening to the front of the piano. The felt around the inside opening may be worn or missing after continuous play, and may be rubbing against the bare wood. If there is no felt at the opening, you’ve found your problem.

These are just a few of the many things that can cause your piano to not work at its optimal level, therefore reducing its sound quality. If you have questions, contact us for a reputable piano technician to evaluate your piano’s condition, and provide you with results.