Yamaha C6 Before Tuning
Yamaha C6 After Tuning
If your piano seems a bit out of whack, don't panic. That is normal. Abrupt temperature chances effect the tuning in pianos. All summer we have kept the high school choral room at constant temperature. One week ago, someone decided to kick the air off. I go in yesterday and the pianos are all out of tune and consistently sharp. Normal. What can you do? Close the shades, keep the AC at a consistent temperature. If you can wait until you turn the heat on in the fall for a tuning -- super. If you use your piano a lot, you may not be able to stand it. I tuned a church sanctuary piano, a Yamaha C6, yesterday as there was a concert last night. This piano has been in a sanctuary with large fluctuations in temperature lately due to the AC going and a lengthy process of getting a new unit installed. Below are before and after files.
Yamaha C6 Before Tuning Yamaha C6 After Tuning
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With Rule #15, Perfect Practice, begins a section the important teaching tool of modeling. As a choral teacher this is a tool that I use often. But I also think it very important for private students of piano and voice to find good models. Attending recitals of professionals or even college level students is very instructive -- i.e. announcing the song, stage presence, and observing vocal or piano technique skills. One can even learn when things are done incorrectly. We have just completed a summer season of music camps. The opportunity at these camps to observe faculty and professional performers is a great learning experience -- modeling.
The authors remind us that it is not enough just to model. As teachers, we can guide students by giving an outline or description of what is being modeled. Help them to identify what they are hearing and seeing. Going further we can find appropriate recordings of the music the student is working on or we can record a session of what is being modeled. Why not create a "modeling reference" library of specific skills. Is your practice efficient? I look back on my favorite and most effective teachers and they were obsessively concerned about making every minute of class or rehearsal count! We should all take this to heart in planning our individual practice times. What are the biggest time wasters? Practice Perfect names some: Milling around (setting up for rehearsal ... ); Waiting time ( spend more time in line than actually practicing); Long directions (spend too much time explaining); Too little attentiveness ( not focused, talking.....); Too much time on discussion; small moments are overlooked (look for ways to insert pract
"Really, plan out my practice?" Yes, set down and plan your practice before you get to the practice room. What are you going to do first? What skills/drills do you need to work on? What are the tough passages you need to isolate and drill? Plan Plan. Videotape your practice -- study it -- reflect -- revise your plan and get back in the practice room.
Create a name for warm-ups, technique drill, and specific learned skills. I had tuned this Kimball over year ago -- at that time I did a pitch raise. Today, A=440 was only 3.5 cents flat. The piano was in need of cleaning and I found a few treasures. Always interesting what one find in pianos. I need to go back and fix a couple of dampers that aren't doing their job around the middle C area. And you will notice that the C8 sticks after i get it tuned -- the fall board was too far back and the linkage was rubbing against the key. You will notice that the piano before tuning had a really un-even tone. As I tuned I was able to make a few adjustments that made it sound more unified. I tuned a Baldwin upright today that was in need of TLC. The client had the good fortune to have gotten the instrument free after I had inspected it. The piano is in great shape -- the former owner simply had not had it tuned in years. I found the piano over 1/2 flat. The piano was fairly dirty -- the hammers had a good deal of dust all over them. The tone was uneven and on the bright side. So, we cleaned her up, voiced the hammers, and performed a pitch raise. I hope to get back in a couple of months to assess again and tune. Baldwin Before Baldwin After Voicing and Tuning Below are some before and after photos.
Training, training, training. I just sat in a rehearsal with Helnuth Rilling rehearsing the Bach St. John's Passion. He is celebrating his 80th birthday today. He conducts this piece from memory yet he studied it again in preparation for this performance. He comments that his most recent thoughts are marked in red in his score. Actually, he called it his current thought. His life worknhasbbeen studying Bach. He is an example of one who has never ceased to learn and to share what he learns. It is evident that sharing music his his mission. Anyway, listening to him today revealed a conductor-coach who has anylaized the game. He was also so knowledgable about the skills needed to execute a performance that would deliver Bach's intentions to the audience. He had developed a clear map. And I must add, he delivered it with such passion. The result was a visually and emotionally engaged performer. I am sure the performance of the St. John's Passion will not be a sterile rendering of the printed score but one that will move, touch, impact, and engage the listener. Performers, do you have a map? No, seek out teachers and mentors that can help you. And for me: score stud |