Archive for the ‘Piano Playing Physics’ Category
Toy Story 3 Piano Sheet Music
July 30th, 2010
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Your favorite characters from one of the best-loved, animated Disney & Pixar films have made a comeback in third Toy Story film. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, I urge you to go see it right now! In my opinion, it tops both the first and second movie by a long shot.
The piano sheet music for Toy Story 3 has just recently been released, featuring 32 pages of five great tunes composed by Randy Newman. This songbook is for piano/vocal/guitar and includes songs like Dream Weaver, Le Freak, We Belong Together, and two versions of You’ve Got A Friend In Me.
The book also features a special 8-page section of vibrant, full-coloured images from the movie.
Posted in Disney Sheet Music, Piano Playing Physics, Popular Sheet Music | 
Tags: Disney Sheet Music, Piano Sheet Music, Pixar, Toy Story 3 | 
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What Is “Staccato” And How Do I Play It?
December 14th, 2009
Staccato Notation
By its simplest definition, staccato is the execution of play in which the finger is instantly bounced off the key, producing a very brief sound with absolutely no sustain. Basically, it’s a very swift and quick “plunk” of the piano key or keys.
Playing staccato ensures that the backcheck is not engaged and the damper cuts off the piano’s sound immediately after the key is pressed. There are two music notations to denote staccato, the normal (dot) and hard (triangle). For normal staccato, the jack is released, while in hard staccato, the finger moves up and down much more quickly and leaves the key before the jack is released.
So, when playing in normal staccato, the key drop is generally about half way down, while in hard staccato, the key drop is usually less than half way down. The damper returns to the strings more rapidly, thus resulting in a shorter note duration. Since the backcheck is not engaged, the hammer can actually bounce and make repetitions seem very tricky depending on speed of playing.
In staccato, there is no sustain. Play the staccato notes as if they all include rests after each of them.
I, myself, have experienced problems executing staccato at relatively quick speeds. This happens with many piano players, usually because it is being played at the wrong frequency where the hammer bounces the wrong way. Changing the speed and the amount of key drop will help optimize the sound staccato and correct execution.
Considering the fact that I’ve talked a lot about key drops and hammers, you should know that it really helps to understand how a piano works to learn how to play staccato correctly. Staccato can be divided into three groups depending on how it is played:
Finger Staccato. This is played by holding the hand and arm still, using the finger to press the key in a pull motion.
Wrist Staccato. This is played with a very neutral motion. The hand neither pulls nor thrusts, and is mostly played with a flick of the wrist, or wrist action.
Arm Staccato. This is played using a thrusting motion, with the upper arm executing the motion.
As you progress from finger staccato toward wrist staccato and arm staccato, you’ll likely discover a number of new things. Working toward wrist and arm staccato adds more mass behind your fingers. Therefore, using finger staccato will give you the ability to produce the lightest staccato, and is mostly used for single notes, or notes played pianissimo. Obviously, arm staccato allows you to use the heaviest touch and is useful four passages that use a number of notes and/or chords and which are generally played forte. Wrist staccato lies there somewhere in between.
Elise’s Musical Tip For The Day:
Some music teachers frown upon the use of some staccato plays (specifically, wrist staccato), but it is generally very useful to become familiar with all three types. Changing between the three types of staccato can help reduce fatigue during a long piece. Body movement plays an integral part in playing in staccato, and you must learn to use the weight of your body to execute the sound, while remaining relaxed at the same time so as not to produce stress over the course of playing the passage or composition. To vary the speed of staccato you must remember that staccato repetition is controlled by the amount of up and down motions. Therefore, the smaller the motion, the faster the rate of repetition.
Posted in Musical Signs & Notation, Piano Playing Physics, Technique (Discussions) |
Tags: Notation, Staccato |
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The Art And Physics Of Mastering The "Trill"
November 11th, 2009
The Trill
If you are an intermediate to advanced piano player, it’s very likely that you’ve come across the trill in your compositions. Generally, a trill is shown in modern musical notation with the letters “tr” above the trilled note, and a wavy line that proceeds. In musical pieces composed during the baroque and early classical eras, the wavy line on its own is used.
Musical Notation Denoting A Trill
The usual way of performing a trill is to rapidly alternate between the note indicated on the staff with the “tr” and/or wavy line and the note that is directly above it in that given scale (unless the trill indicates an accidental).
This Is The Way You Would Execute The Trill As Shown In The Previous Notation Above
Many of Chopin’s classical compositions include trills. They sound like a fast, flicking motion of the two fingers playing two successive notes very, very fast.
There are two main problems that the piano player MUST solve in order to play the trill effectively: (1) speed and control, and (2) continuity.
With a simple trill, there are only two notes you need to focus on: the note indicated, and the note that lies directly above the one indicated. If the first two notes are not started properly, learning the trill will become a very difficult task.
We can solve the problems of the trill by applying an exercise called “parallel sets.” A parallel set is a group of notes that can be played as a chord, and all parallel sets can be played infinitely fast. Within the parallel set, the delay between the successive fingers is called the “phase angle.”
As an example, if we were going to used fingers 2 and 3 to execute the trill (2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 3, etc.), you can use the 3 as the conjunction and get those first two notes right. Next, practice 3,2. Then, move onto 2, 3, 2, and then 3, 2, 3, 2. It’s really just this simple.
Try not to focus on speed, as this is insufficient. Experimenting with hand and finger motions is also a must. Try soft fingers, rolling motions, flat fingers, and so on. Relaxation is also one of the most important aspects for executing the trill; more than almost any other technical skill out there because of the need to acquire rapid momentum and balance. Allowing stress to build up will cause the fingers to lock into its larger members, such as the palms, hands, and wrists, which in turn increases the effective mass of the fingers.
Your physics lesson for the day: An increased mass means slower motions. Relatively speaking, a hummingbird can flap its wings thousands upon thousands of times faster than other relative species of birds, and small insects can flap their wings even faster than that of the hummingbird.
Therefore, it’s very important to free yourself from stress when practicing trills, in order to let the fingers do the work without the weight of the rest of your body. Trills are one technical skill that require constant practice and maintenance.
Elise’s Musical Tip For The Day:
The chord attack is the best practice method for keeping your trills in shape. See my post on The Chord Attack Method to learn more. Make sure that you don’t treat your trills as a series of staccato notes. Your fingertips should be placed at the bottom of the keydrop as long as possible, and make sure you stay aware of the minimal lift needed for the repetition. If you practice on a grand piano, take a mental note that this lift distance can vary from around twice as high as those who practice on an upright piano. Remember, fast trills mean smaller lifts, so on an upright, you may need to slow down your trills.
A Closer Look At The “Gravity Drop”
October 9th, 2009
Don't Fight Gravity!
In my last post, I talked about something called the “gravity drop.” I think it’s important to take a closer look at it for you to really see how physics can work with you or against you when you play the piano. Try this exercise to see how the gravity drop works with your own hands and your own piano:
1. Place your right hand on the piano and your fingers (1, 3, and 5) in the correct position to play the chord, C-E-G.
2. Remember to keep your entire arm and body relaxed.
3. Keep your wrists flexible, and begin to lift your hand about 5 to 20 centimeters above the keys.
4. Allow gravity to let your hand drop, and let your hand and fingers drop as one entire unit, without moving the fingers.
5. Your hands should be completely relaxed during the entire drop, and then as your fingers come to impact the keys, you need to “set” your fingers and wrists to take the shock of landing and depressing those keys (remember to keep flexibility in your wrists).
You are now letting gravity lower your hand, therefore referencing your strength or sensitivity to a completely constant force. Maybe it doesn’t seem that interesting right now, but to really dig deep into piano playing, it’s necessary to look at how physics compliments the structure of the human body to create, you guessed it, music.
Did you know that an underweight 6 year-old and an enormous sumo wrestler dropping their hands from the exact same height onto the piano will produce sounds of equal loudness?
Why does this happen? This happens because the speed of gravitational fall is actually independent of weight or mass and the piano hammer will be launched into free flight as soon as the knuckles are taken off the jack, which are the last few millimeters before striking the strings.
If you majored in physics, you might say, “Ok, what about kinetic energy? Kinetic energy is conserved so the above statements are not precisely true.”
Piano keys do not have the mechanical structure to physically act like an “elastic collision.” In an elastic collision, the piano key would fly off the fingertip at a high velocity, sort of like when you play staccato. However, because the fingers are kept relaxed and fingertips soft, inelastic collisions are produced and kinetic energy is not conserved. The smaller mass, which are the piano keys, can stay with the larger mass, which are your fingers/arm/hands, which results in a controlled key drop.
Now, the sumo wrester will probably create a slightly louder sound because of his arm being 20 times heavier (momentum conservation), but the difference between his sound and the sound of the 6 year-old will be relatively small.
So, what’s so great about practicing YOUR gravity drop?
Using gravity to lower your hands allows you to rid yourself of all forces and all tenseness that cause some of your fingers to land before others. And most importantly, using the gravity drop allows you to practice relaxation.
Gravity is the perfect force for playing the piano, and it’s no coincidence. Human beings have evolved under the complete influence of gravity; walking, running, jumping, and of course, playing the piano. Just remember that you only need the amount of force that is relatively equal to that supplied by gravity. You don’t need to bang the keys or keep your hands tense. This will be detrimental to your practicing. It’s a great idea to practice the gravity drop for a number of weeks or even months, every time you practice. Once you are truly relaxed, you’ll be able to feel the gravitational effect on your hands as you play.
Elise’s Musical Tip For The Day:
At the time of impacting the keys, stiffening your hand will ensure that your entire weight of your arm will transfer to the key drop. However, make sure not to add force during the stiffening. This takes practice. A pure gravity drop becomes more difficult as you increase the height of your hand. That’s why I recommended a height of 5 to 20 centimeters from the keys. Choosing a height of 5 centimeters will be easier because you will have a better chance of not adding your own forceful impact in combination to gravity.
Posted in Piano Playing Physics, Technique (Discussions), The Practice Routine |
Tags: Arm, Chords, Energy, Fingers, Force, Gravity, Hands, Key Drop, Momentum, Relax, Relaxation, Wrists |
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