Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
When ordering a piano bench I have noticed that many people do not care about the type of piano bench leg that goes on the bench. Most of them are not aware of the many choices that they have in front of them when they are ordering. I like to tell people that they should always order a piano bench that will match the legs of their piano so that the look of their set can be continuous and beautiful.
Much like the wood finish of a piano bench, the legs should also match the leg style of the piano. The legs come in many styles: straight, fluted, brass ferruled, round, spade, straight tapered, square tapered, antique looking Louis XV, Queen Anne, Early American, round reeded and even octagonal. You can see a picture of each of the leg types by looking at the piano benches section of a popular web site.
To be sure to order the right type of leg, simply look at the pictures of legs provided on the piano bench supplier site and then compare it to the leg of your piano. Be sure to look at whether the leg is square or rounded, if it has a brass ferrule on the bottom of it and whether or not the leg has a series of decorations at the bottom of it. Asking yourself these questions prior to ordering a matching bench will make the job or selection much easier because it will limit your choices somewhat through the ordering process.
Some people have told me they feel that limiting their choices is a bad thing and I always respond the same way and tell them that is much better to have selected the right piano bench, leg, upholstery and wood finish to match your piano than to have everyone who looks at your piano set and stop and wonder for a moment or two what is wrong with the look and why it does not all appear to fit together in the right way.
I once went to a cocktail party and the host played a game asking people to identify the pieces of furniture that did not go together. I must admit that I was not very good at the game and did not enjoy playing the game all that much (my wife, however, enjoyed the game quite a bit) but it did bring to mind some of the pieces that should go together in a house. His piano and bench did not go together. It turned out that he had owned two pianos and had switched benches. Both were black pianos but one was a grand and the other an upright. The size of the benches and the legs to each one did not fit the piano they were sitting in front of. I admit also that I did not notice until after it was brought to my attention but after it was I realized how the pieces simply did not go together and that I would have stared at the piano and bench combination not liking the tandem had the mismatch not been corrected.
My last piece of advice is to not find yourself as an embarrassed host by getting a piano bench that matches your piano.
Tags: Choices, Game Pieces, Leg Style, Many People, Match, Piano Bench, Pictures Of Legs, Wood Bench
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Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
It was a dark and stormy night. A feeble old man’s hands shivered with excited anticipation as he carved away the last curled shaving from the ancient piece of maple.
“Magnifique!” he exclaimed at his masterpiece as he caressed it like a mother with a newborn child. He kissed the smooth wood then gently hung it from a wire attached to a gold-gilded chandelier. The shapely object swayed gently above the master’s head. Flickering candlelight danced with the ox-hair brush as the violin received its first of more than twenty fine coats of hot oil varnish.
The violin was completed and labeled at the poignant stroke of midnight on the start of the year 1912 in Lyon, France. The year would later be known for other historic events such as the establishment of the Republic of China, the discovery of the South Pole, and more notably, the addition of prizes to Cracker Jack boxes. All these events are shadowed by the creation of a violin that would someday find its way to me.
My violin’s rust-brown varnish had just finished curing when it was wrapped in fine silk and sent away in a wooden case. Due to highway congestion and no available carrier pigeons, French aviator Henri Seimet was asked to deliver the violin and made the first non-stop airplane flight from Paris to London in three hours.
The violin’s first owner was the great-grandson of legendary violinist Nicol
Tags: Carrier Pigeons, Cruise Ship, Dark And Stormy Night, Newborn Child, Paris To London, Red Violin, Smooth Wood, Violin Varnish
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Monday, June 28th, 2010
So you are searching the internet trying to figure out how to learn the violin, huh? Well, you aren’t the only violin player trying to do so. Violin is one of the most difficult instruments to just pick up and play.
With other stringed instruments like guitars, you have advantages that you just don’t have with the violin. With a guitar, you have frets. Frets show you exactly where the note you are trying to play is. It is always there, and there is no guessing as to are you playing the right note or not. Violin doesn’t have frets. Your muscle memory and ear have to guide you to the right note.
With guitar, there are basic finger patterns that you can use to play every chord. With violin, you are generally playing one note at a time, so your fingers are moving a lot more often. You can play a bar chord up and down the neck of a guitar. Not so with a violin.
With a guitar, you can see what you are doing. It’s a little more difficult with a violin. It is off to the side and out of your line of site. That will eventually be a good thing, but not starting out.
So, how to learn the violin? Well, you need to get some training. Not training out of a book! You cannot learn violin from a book, especially from the beginning. You need live instruction, but private lessons are expensive and only last as long 30 minutes. Then what? You go home and try to remember what you learned?
Tags: 30 Minutes, Bar Chord, Guitars, Learn Violin, Searching The Internet, Stringed Instruments, Try To Remember, Violin Player
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Saturday, June 26th, 2010
A piano and a piano bench can be a center piece to any living or music room. The beauty of the wood can look great but it usually it’s not the most comfortable to sit on. The easy solution is to add the right piano bench cushion to a piano bench. Choosing the right piano bench cushion can be fun and easy. The right piano bench cushion will have you playing longer as it is more comfortable to sit, adding to the overall playing experience for the player. There are several different styles and colors of fabric to choose from. A piano bench cushion can add a lot of style and flare to any room. Some of my favorite styles are listed below. Keep in mind that if you do not see a style that is right for you, a piano bench cushion can be made specifically from any fabric that is provided by the customer. It will truly give your decorating that custom look.
A tufted cushion is a great place to start. It makes a great addition to any piano bench. The cushion is made of 1″ foam padding. The facing and back is made of a soft polyester material that is soil and stain resistant. Each piano bench cushion is reversible and has matching tie down strings made of the exact material. With several sizes and colors to choose from this cushion will compliment any room.
A cashmere velour cushion has a boxed edge design that looks and feels great. It is made of a thicker 2″ cushion. Each cushion is also made of soil and stain resistant material with matching tie down strings. Multiple colors and sizes make this piano bench cushion very easy to choose.
Tapestry Cushions have quickly become my favorite for the piano bench. They are creative and really make a fashion statement. Each cushion has several standard sizes available. Each cushion is made of 1″ or 2″ foam. The tops have several different designs to choose from. There will be a piano bench cushion favorite of yours to choose from, I took the liberty of listing some of my favorites. The Keyboard and Rose cushion shows the gorgeous look of roses. The Grand Piano cushion shows the grand piano for all its grandiose design. The Violin and Horn cushion shows all of the instruments that compliment the piano. The Musical Notes cushion puts a person in the right musical frame of mind. The last is Beethoven’s 5th cushion. This creative piece is one of the most well known arrangements that can double as a cushion and as sheet music. The bottoms are made of a custom standard color with matching tie down strings.
The important thing to remember is that any type of cushion can be custom made to fit any piano bench cushion from any fabric that a customer provides. It will truly accent any style of room giving the decor a beautiful custom look. Piano bench cushions are loaded with comfort and are also loaded with style!
Tags: Easy Solution, Edge Design, Exact Material, Fabric, Flare, Keyboard, Piano Bench Cushions, Soil
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Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
When it comes to playing the piano for contemporary worship, skill is less a matter of being able to play many notes quickly and more a question of choosing the right notes. If you want to improve your skill in playing the piano for the Lord in church, how can you do it? Other than practice your scales and try to learn new songs?
There are three ways to increase your skill in choosing the right notes to play for worship.
1) Learn a complementary style of music.
If you are a classically trained musician, take lessons in jazz piano. Learn a few jazz standards and how to do jazz improvisation. You will then learn how to feel what are the more appropriate notes to use on the piano to get the effect you want.
If you are more of a contemporary/jazz player, learn music notation and study two-part inventions. They will train you to use less notes to imply the chords, instead of banging out everything and crowding out the congregation’s singing, as many others do.
2) Sing and play.
Pay special attention to how the songs interact with the chords and rhythms created. Are the chords and rhythms you’re given the best fit for the song? If you are unable to sing a song comfortably using certain chords or rhythms, those chords and rhythms may not be the best fit for the song.
Singing and playing will also allow you to test out any ideas you may have, to see if they will work for supporting the congregation’s singing of a song.
3) Learn the guitar.
Many church pianists are weak in two areas: their overall sense of rhythm and their choice of notes. Learning the guitar strengthens you in these two areas.
Because the sound of a guitar is thinner than that of a piano, you can strum more actively on a guitar than you can comp on a piano. This allows you to get a feeling of rhythmic intensity, and you can carry over the effect to piano playing when you know what you are looking for.
On the piano, you can pile up the notes to create really thick chords. But these don’t usually work well for contemporary church worship. Guitars give you only six (or often five) notes to work with. You have to choose your notes really well, because you don’t have that many to work with.
Conclusion: These three tips are simple, but not easy. They require you to go out of what many pianists have as their comfort zone, and it’s tempting to rationalize away the need for these methods.
But if you are deadly serious about serving the Lord with the best you can give him, these three methods of increasing your skill as a worship pianist will give you the greatest growth in the shortest amount of time. So are you up to the challenge?
Tags: Best Fit, Church Pianists, Contemporary Worship, Jazz Piano, Learning The Guitar, Music Notation, Playing The Piano, Three Ways
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Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
We all need to dream and to believe that one day our dreams will come true. But without a plan for success, our dreams are unlikely to materialize. The dream of learning to play the piano is no different. Even young students, however, can learn to set goals and take responsibility for their success. Helping your child keep a piano journal is an easy way to start them thinking about how they will bring their musical dreams to life. Follow the guide below to help your child in piano map out a simple plan for success, and see how easy and beneficial keeping a piano journal can be.
Example: I want to play the piano like my grandpa. He’s awesome!
How do I want to see myself in one year?
Example: Playing well at my Spring Recital.
In Two years?
In Five to ten years?
What can I accomplish toward my piano dream this week?
Example: Learn the new piece my piano teacher assigned G Major.
Are there specific goals that will help me achieve this objective?
Examples: Memorize Five-Finger Hand Position in G; Name each note; Identify difficult passages and; Play over these areas in the music many times.
What are some good habits I need to develop that will support my piano goals?
Examples: Set aside a specific time to practice each day; Avoid distractions while practicing, such as television; Tell friends I can play after I finish practicing my piano lesson; Attend my piano lesson with my teacher each week.
Planning to follow through with good habits that support our goals is how dreams are achieved.
Tags: Distractions, Friends, Hand Position, Learn Piano, Music, Piano Lesson, Play Piano, Spring Recital
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