Piano Tuning, Piano Restoration & Piano Repair in NE Indiana & NW Ohio

How often should you get your piano tuned?

Thu, 21 Jan 2021 20:39:00 GMT

Chances are good that you not only spent thousands of dollars on your family piano, but you probably spent more on lessons, books and everything that goes into learning to be a pianist. The bottom line is that your piano is an investment.

The only way to protect any investment is through proper maintenance and care. For your piano, that means regular dusting, polishing and regular professional tuning. All of these things help ensure the longevity of your piano and your investment.

We get this question often: How often should I get my piano professionally tuned?

In this article, we will guide you through that answer to make sure your piano is always in top notch shape and maintains its quality sound.

Why Do Pianos Go Out of Tune?

It’s a common misconception that pianos go out of tune based on how often it’s played. Some think the more the piano sits idle, the quicker it will need to be tuned.

However, not using the instrument is not the reason it needs tuning. The largest contributing factors to needing professional tuning are t emperature and humidity fluctuations .

A piano is mainly made of strings, hammers and a soundboard. The soundboard is the part that supports the strings and creates the rich sound that a piano makes. As temperature and humidity increase, the soundboard expands or contracts. This puts more pressure on the strings and causes the notes to go sharp.

Since each fluctuation of the soundboard unbalances the strong tension, frequent changes in temperature and humidity will make your strings go flat quicker. However, even without these fluctuations, strings can still stretch and go flat with use. Even if your physical environment is perfect, just regular use can cause you to need professional tuning.

How Often Should I Get My Piano Tuned?

Most piano manufacturers recommend getting your piano tuned four times a year for the first year of the life of your new piano. After that first year, it is recommended you get it tuned twice yearly. The absolute minimum we recommend getting your piano tuned is once a year unless you have dramatic humidity changes in your home or it is an instrument used by an extremely proficient pianist.

On a side note, if you have recently moved, it’s important to let your piano sit a good three weeks before calling a tuner. Give the instrument some time to acclimate to the climate of your new home so that your next professional tuning will be more accurate.

Another reason to get your piano professionally tuned on a regular basis is because a piano tuner can help make sure your piano’s parts are in good working order. A piano has thousands of moving parts, and during a routine tuning, parts that are starting to wear out can be identified before they break.

About our tuning services

Our expert piano tuner, Ron Moore, has extensive experience tuning pianos in this part of the country and is very familiar with the havoc that humidity in the Great Lakes region can play on pianos. He knows just how to make sure you keep your investment in the best shape it can be with tuning, inspection and repairs.

We offer services for private homes as well as churches, schools and other public buildings that use a piano. From basic service to tuning and pitch adjustment to full services, Moore Piano has a solution for your instrument at a price you can afford. Contac us today to discuss how we can help you protect your investment and keep your piano in top shape for years to come.

Still have more questions about our services? Visit our Frequently Asked Questions page to get all the information you need on getting your piano tuned.

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How QRS PNOscan Works

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 15:17:00 GMT

Recording a piano can be a difficult proposition at best–the quality of the recording depends on the quality of the microphone and the quality of the microphone placement.

Digital pianos can fix this by having a MIDI output. This allows you to plug directly into an audio system like at a church or school or into a computer for a MIDI audio editing/engineering program.

The problem is… many pianists don’t like playing a digital piano. Digital pianos have improved but they still haven’t fully replicated the feeling or tone, let alone the inherent quirks of an object made from largely organic substances like an acoustic piano.

Using PNOScan to Record

QRS has made this problem obsolete through the application of an optical scanning strip installed under the keys of your piano. PNOScan reads your keystrokes and converts them to a MIDI file, just as a digital keyboard would do.

PNOScan also has the ability to record them for playback, such as a lesson with an instructor or a performance for Grandma if you wish. It can do this as long as your piano is equipped with a compatible player system, like QRS’s PnoMAtion3.

The other use is with programs like Piano Marvel. Not only does PNOScan record which keys you play, it records how hard you pressed on the key by reading its speed as it moves down, as well as recording the length of time held. This allows you to record expression (expression is the way you’ve expressed yourself through the music, including volume of notes, speed of notes played and repetition, length of sustain etc.) and every aspect your playing.

As long as your piano is equipped with PnoMation3, the newest player system offered by QRS, your piano will recreate your performance exactly. Some older player systems and other manufacturers don’t offer expression or pedal control or the compatibility is limited.

Installing the PNOScan

While there is some installation involved, it is done at our shop and will not damage or get sawdust all over your room. It also will not negatively affect the piano in any way. There are some precise measurements and placement involved and this system may not fit into the older pianos (100 years old +).

PNOScan Silent System

The PNOScan Silent System allows for the piano to be played without the acoustic piano making any sound. There is a strip installed in the piano that blocks the hammers from striking the strings.

This strip is installed precisely and allows the piano to play just as it would normally, the only difference is that the hammers don’t actually strike, they hit the padded strip instead of the strings and don’t make any noise.

Instead, the optical strip detects the keys movement and turns the keystroke into sound transmitted through any headphones that are plugged into the control unit. This allows you to play your piano without bothering anyone else in the house, just as you could with a digital piano.

If you’ve been having issues with recording or with lessons, making too much noise or just wanting to be able to play back your pieces on your own piano, then contact Moore Piano and we’ll find a solution for you.

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How To Use Piano Marvel to Become A Better Piano Player

Thu, 13 Aug 2020 15:02:00 GMT

Used by piano teachers and students at all levels, the Piano Marvel app helps people learn to play the piano up to four times faster than traditional methods. It connects to your iPad or computer (PC and Mac friendly) and delivers short, manageable lessons while tracking your progress.

Whether you are teaching yourself or you are taking in-person lessons, Piano Marvel is a fun, interactive teaching tool that combines cutting-edge technology with time-tested learning strategies. Some users even say this piano app is a little addictive!

Piano Marvel lessons cover all kinds of piano basics, from sight-reading tests and ear training to playing technique. The app also has an enormous library of songs and sheet music.

Another great asset of the Piano Marvel app is three great tools: “Prepare Mode,” “Assess Mode,” and the “Standard Assessment of Sight Reading”. Each mode has its own benefits for growing pianists. Here’s a quick overview of the three and how you can use them to develop your piano playing skills.

Piano Marvel Prepare Mode

This new addition to Piano Marvel gives pianists instant feedback as you practice your songs. Also called “wait for me mode,” it’s a great feature when you’re learning a tricky song. When the Prepare mode is on, you can practice songs at any speed, and the app will follow you, instead of you trying to keep up with the app. You will be able to slow down or speed up as needed to work on note accuracy.

Instant feedback tells you what notes you’re playing correctly, so you can improve your accuracy. And, there are no bouncy dots, or video game notes scrolling past you, so you learn to read and play real sheet music!

The Prepare Mode also breaks the song into short sections so you can give attention to every part of the song to avoid a strong start and a weak finish.

It’s available for all the songs and exercises in the Piano Marvel library. All you need to do is open the song you’re learning and click the “Prepare” play button at the bottom of the screen.

Piano Marvel’s Assess Mode

The old saying goes, “practice makes perfect.” But most piano teachers will tell you, “perfect practice makes perfect.” It doesn’t help to keep repeating the same mistakes! The Assess Mode enables you to identify the small errors that most pianists don’t notice until someone points them out.

When the Assess Mode is active, red and green markings under each note indicate what you’re playing correctly and incorrectly to improve your accuracy. It’s almost like having your piano teacher with you through every practice!

When you play using the Assess Mode, the detailed “micro-assessments” track your note and rhythm accuracy. You can “practice perfectly” instead of reinforcing mistakes. Overall, this will help you learn faster and more effectively.

If you’re the type of person who likes to keep track of progress, you’ll love the option to receive a “score” on your performances in the Assess Mode! Even better, you can earn awards in the app for improving your accuracy rates. You can practice a song or exercise repeatedly to improve your accuracy over time and earn higher accuracy awards.

One thing the Assess Mode does not do is grade how expressively you play the song because that is something very personal. Musicians naturally want to express themselves when they play and put their own unique touches to the music.

As you watch the video tutorials and play along with a wide range of musical accompaniments, you’ll learn a wide range of expressive techniques to incorporate in your own piano style. Rest assured that you’ll be able to develop your own unique style when learning to play piano with Piano Marvel.

Standard Assessment of Sight Reading Tool

Sight-reading is the ability to play music proficiently, whether you’ve seen and practiced the piece before or not. Pianists that are proficient at sight-reading music can learn new music easier and faster. Sight-reading also helps you recognize, name, and play notes quickly and you’ll become better at looking ahead while playing.

Many music instructors say that sight-reading is a good indicator of a musician’s overall understanding of music theory and musical literacy. So, the Standard Assessment of Sight Reading Mode is an incredible tool for any pianist who wants to become a well-rounded musician.

Piano Marvel has been developing and perfecting their Standard Assessment of Sight Reading (SASR) Mode over the last five years. It’s truly a work of art, featuring over 2,000 sight-reading excerpts, divided into 18 levels and 90 individual sublevels.

As you take SASR tests, Piano Marvel will track your scores and automatically choose the next appropriately challenging song experts for your skill level. It’s a customized sight-reading workout for every pianist.

Plus, if you want to improve your sight-reading quickly, you can take the 30-day SASR challenge. You’ll improve your overall ability to read sheet music in just 12 minutes a day.

Overall, Piano Marvel is packed with extraordinary features that will benefit any pianist.

Whether you want to learn piano for the first time or improve your piano skills and whether you’re learning on your own or taking in-person lessons, we believe Piano Marvel is one of the best tools on the market.

It guides people to become well-rounded musicians who are not dependent on an app and genuinely enjoy playing piano in any setting.

The post How To Use Piano Marvel to Become A Better Piano Player appeared first on Moore Piano .

How to Use Piano Marvel App with an Acoustic Piano

Tue, 21 Jul 2020 15:13:00 GMT

This post may contain affiliate links, meaning when you click the links and make a purchase, we receive a commission.

Piano Marvel is a top rated online program (also available in App form on the iPad) for learning how to play the piano. It can take you from a beginner who is just learning notes all the way to an advanced player, all while you learn technique as well.

Piano Marvel will track your key-playing, showing you the notes you got right or wrong.

Piano Marvel also works well with teachers for online lessons (they have an accreditation program that allows teachers to get certified with Piano Marvel). With the equipment we talk about in this post you’ll be able to have accelerated lessons with a piano teacher without ever having to step foot in his or her studio. With the equipment mentioned below, you can send your teacher your lesson via the cloud, or live stream your lesson over Zoom or another platform with your teacher.

The are literally hundreds of songs for you to practice with as well as many years worth of lessons, both fundamental and technical. It works on PC, Apple Mac and iPad. Watch the video below for a demo of some of the features of Piano Marvel:

The only downside to Piano Marvel is that it requires a MIDI connection, which is usually found on digital pianos but not on acoustic pianos. However, now there is finally a solution that allows people to us the Piano Marvel app with an acoustic piano: QRS PNOScan.

How QRS PNOScan and PNOScan Studio work with Piano Marvel

Recently, the Pennsylvania-based company QRS released PNOScan , an optical scanning device for acoustic pianos. With PNOScan you can not only record your performance digitally, you can have Piano Marvel follow you in real time with a MIDI connection. The PNOScan system is an optical scanning device that records your key strokes as you play.

This hardware has two advantages. You can record yourself for practice purposes and listen back to your playing. If your piano is also equipped with a QRS player system, you’ll be able to listen to your recording on the actual piano itself. With PnoScan Studio you can also send a recording to your piano teacher during this time of not being able to socialize much.

Secondly, you can play an acoustic piano and still have Piano Marvel follow along for your lessons.

QRS PNOScan Studio

QRS PNOScan Studio takes it a couple of steps further. This selection offers a “silent” system which blocks the hammers from actually striking the strings, but you’ll still get sound from the recording strip.

This allows you to wear headphones while practicing so you aren’t disturbing neighbors or the rest of the household. It also includes a powered speaker for accompaniment, allowing the piano to be accompanied or to have other instrument sounds with no piano. It also includes a cloud QRS connect option to be able to send your recordings anywhere, like to your pianol teacher.

The QRS PNOScan Studio also gives you 1 free year of online lessons from Piano Marvel.

Both units are WIFI-enabled and have Bluetooth and MIDI outputs for any accessories or to attach to Bluetooth speakers to hear your recording.

With this amazing new technology, you can now use your acoustic piano for things previously required a digital piano, including using the Piano Marvel app .

The post How to Use Piano Marvel App with an Acoustic Piano appeared first on Moore Piano .

How to Record Your Acoustic Piano

Tue, 16 Jun 2020 19:27:00 GMT

In the past few months of our “Stay Home Orders” there has been an exponential increase in online concerts. Whether these were major stars like the “One World” concert back in April or the many Facebook Live recordings from an individual’s home, we have heard the importance of two things:

Acoustic pianos have their own nuances just by the nature of their engineering. They have partials and back scale areas that make mic placement important. Placed incorrectly you can end up amplifying areas of the piano that would normally blend in when not mic’ed, causing the piano to sound harsh or muddy.

Piano Tuning

Microphones of any type will exaggerate any faults in your tuning, clicks, hammer strike noise, and pretty much anything else. Major recording studios will have their recording piano tuned each day before a session and sometimes mid-day if it’s going to be an all day event.

This is because the piano needs to sound as clean as possible, and tunings can drift just enough through the day that the microphones will pick up and exaggerate how out of tune the piano is. It is likely not enough for the human ear to hear in person, but the mic sure will pick it up.

Mic’ing a grand piano

There are many good ways to mic a Grand Piano for recording or live streaming. Unfortunately as we’ve heard, your microphone on your phone or iPad isn’t really one of them.

A regular vocal mic on a stand can work well if its placed properly. It should be placed near, or in, the tail of the piano a few inches above the strings. Try to have it near the area that the strings cross.

One big downside to this method is that these microphones are multidirectional and will pick up all noises around them, like loud motorcycles outside, firetrucks etc. The tendency with this method is to put the mic in the side of the piano near the treble strings. The problem with this is that the mic will pick up a high level of the treble and very little bass.

Here are some more ideal methods (see images below). There are also specific mic clamps for these applications.

Use two small diaphragm omnidirectional mic’s placed a few inches behind the dampers and a couple of inches above the strings. Separate them by about 18”, one over the bass and one over the mid treble area. There are a few manufactures that make a setup like this specifically for a Grand Piano, like Earthworks .

You can also use one small diaphragm omnidirectional mic in the center of the piano. Place this mic in the middle of the piano just a few inches behind the dampers.

A third method would be similar to using the vocal microphone, but will work better. Place a large diaphragm cardioid mic at the tail of the piano where the strings cross a few inches above the strings.

Mic’ing an Upright Piano

Putting a microphone in an upright piano can be a bit more tricky. It may require some case parts being removed as well as some experimentation. These will be some general areas that are recommended as opposed to the specific locations listed for Grands.

It is best to use two microphones for an upright, one at the bass side and one at the treble and route them both through a mono channel. If you try to use only one mic you’ll likely end up picking up mostly bass, leading to a muddy sound, or mostly treble, leading to a very bright harsh sound.

If you place the microphones up near lid level you will end up with a brighter sound but will pick up the hammer attack, which might not be optimal.

If you move the microphones down to just above the hammer line you’ll get a slightly mellower sound with less hammer attack. If you move the microphones further down, below the hammer line, the tone will mellow out even more.

The bottom line is that properly mic’ing any piano, especially an upright, can take some experimentation to get the sound you want. Moving the mic just a few inches one way or another can make a big difference in tone, sound quality, and whether the mic picks up any other noise such as the dampers lifting or the hammer attack.

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Carpet Cleaning and Piano Tuning

Mon, 18 May 2020 13:19:00 GMT

Mud season has shown up a couple of weeks late this year, and as we’re still dealing with COVID-19 we may not be far away from needing to have our carpets cleaned.

In my yearly rounds I run into people that have had or are going to have their carpets cleaned within a couple of days of having the piano tuned. This can cause a massive shift in humidity depending on who you hire to clean your carpets. We usually run into this issue 2 times per year–holidays in the fall and winter, and mud season in the spring.

Humidity and Piano Tuning

I’m sure many of you have heard my speech about relative humidity changes causing the piano to go out of tune. This is the biggest reason for a properly tuned piano to go out of tune.

Around the Great Lakes region we can have 5-6 humidity changes a day, along with seeing all four seasons in one day! Carpet cleaning can cause these changes as well. They use a lot of water to clean your floors, it can take days to dry fully.

The biggest thing you can do to avoid this is to have the carpets cleaned a couple of weeks prior to your tuning. The next best thing would be to use a company that uses less water. There is one company that I am aware of in Allen county that uses 80%-90% less water than any of the Steam Cleaners around here.

Chem-Dry of Allen County uses a Carbonated water cleaning method that uses very little chemicals and very little water to get your carpet cleaned, as well as monitoring humidity as they clean. Their method of cleaning, along with using far less water, allows the carpets are dry in 1-2 hours instead of overnight or longer.

What does this mean for you?

Less water and a quicker drying time lead to no or very little change in your tuning.

It’s easy to forget to schedule things during the spring, due to cleaning, planting, getting the Lake house ready etc. Same for the fall/winter holidays (Christmas, Hanukkah, Thanksgiving etc.) due to family events and obligations. Using a company like ChemDry of Allen county can help to alleviate any scheduling problems that busyness may cause by allowing you to schedule these appointments closer together and not have your piano tuning totally ruined.

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Staying Proficient at Piano During COVID-19 Stay at Home Orders

Mon, 20 Apr 2020 18:20:00 GMT

This is an uncommon and very strange time, but let’s see if we can find some resources and advice to make sure you don’t move backwards in your piano studies.

Much of this advice will remain the same as staying proficient over summer break, but some will not due to social distancing restrictions. You can review our previous summer break post here.

When possible use an instructor that teaches online

Many instructors have moved to online instructions via Skype, Zoom or another platform that’s similar, check with your instructor or if need be look around for an instructor that does online instruction or video lessons.

If this is impossible look for online resources for self learning such as this one by the N.C. Symphony Orchestra or this list of YouTube channels for learning piano .

Motivation can be an issue

Motivation can always be an issue, especially when you think you have all the time in the world. Plan an online recital for grandparents or other family members. Set a specific date a few weeks in the future and invite everyone. Nothing motivates better than a deadline and it can help other members of the family that are dealing with loneliness by bringing back at least some normality.

Make a practice schedule

Even if its only a few minutes a day, a daily practice schedule is very important. Remove distractions, schedule it for the same time each day, pick out a song you’ve always wanted to try or one that you love and practice towards that recital.

Above all remember why you or your child were taking lessons to begin with

Many people take piano simply because they enjoy it.

There have been many studies though, several from North Western University, that show additional benefits to music lessons .

Keeping up with piano practice can help your other home-school activities as well during this stay at home order.

Music helps improve language skills, academic skills and spatial and motor skills.

Using the above recommendations you can improve your self discipline and time management skills as well as your self confidence and presenting skills when you have your recital.

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Are Piano Cleaning Products Worth the Money?

Tue, 17 Mar 2020 17:49:00 GMT

Many people are tempted to use ordinary household cleaners and polishes on their beautiful pianos. However, investing in cleaners and polishes designed specifically for pianos will keep your piano clean and beautiful, much longer than household cleaners.

Moore Piano recommends using Cory piano cleaning products because they are safe for instruments, and we believe they’re the best products on the market. Customers who begin using Cory cleaning products notice the difference immediately.

Caring for your piano’s finish

Piano finishes evolved dramatically over the years. Today, many pianos have synthetic finishes made of polyurethane and polyester. Each type of finish has unique cleaning needs.

If oil-based cleaners and polishes were used on the piano in the past, experts recommend using a pre-polish cleaner to remove oil buildup. Cory Coconut Wood Cleaner will cut through years of oil, dirt, and skin oil deposits.

Satin finishes

Satin finishes come in any color or wood tone. Caring for satin finishes can be tricky because the finish has microscopic grooves that easily trap oils and dirt, making it difficult to clean with a dust cloth.

It’s important to polish the satin finish in the same direction as the grooves. If you wipe in a circular motion or against the “grain” of the finish, the grooves become uneven, which ruins the satin effect. Over time, polishing in the wrong direction can remove the grooves entirely, creating a more semigloss appearance.

Using cleaning products with oils, petroleum-based cleaners, or aerosol cleaners will often make satin finishes appear smeared, milky, or hazy.

Instead, use the Cory Pre-Polish Finish cleaner and a microfiber cloth to remove oils, fingerprints, and dirt that clings to the grain of the finish. Don’t forget to wipe in the direction of the grain to preserve the beautiful satin finish.

High-gloss finishes

High-gloss finishes reflect both light and images. Most high-gloss finishes today are made with polyester and are one of the most durable types of piano finishes.

High gloss finishes are usually easier to clean and maintain than other finishes. However, it is still essential to use the right cleaning products. Avoid products with wax, ammonia, or other solvents. These cleaners will give your piano a dull, “smudged,” uneven appearance, especially as residue from the cleaning products build up over time.

It’s critical to use a soft, microfiber cloth when cleaning pianos with a high-gloss finish to avoid scratches. The best practice is to clean dirt and oils with the Cory Pre-Polish Finish cleaner and polish with Cory Super High-Gloss Piano Polish . This polish is water-based and does not contain any waxes or harmful additives. Customers also love that Cory polishes also help repel dust while restoring the original shine.

One disadvantage to high-gloss finishes is that even small surface scratches can be very noticeable. Unfortunately, no piano polish will not remove scratches. However, you can use the Cory Pro Wood Touch Up Marker to fill in small scratches.

Cory products are all water-based. You will be able to clean and polish without being concerned about mixing oil-based and water-based products, which can lead to disastrous outcomes.

Open-pore finishes

This type of finish isn’t as common as satin or high-gloss finishes. Open-pore finishes are somewhere between satin and matte sheen because the grain of the wood isn’t completely filled with the finish. Unlike satin or high-gloss finishes, experts recommend caring for pianos with open-pore finishes using oil or petroleum-based cleaning products.

Piano experts recommend using Core Harmony Detailing Oil or one of their specific blends to match your piano, like Honey Oak or Natural Wood .

When using oil-based cleaners, it’s critical to ensure you remove all the excess cleaner to keep dust and grime buildup.

Cleaning piano keys

Even if you wash your hands before you sit down to play, your piano keys will still gather dirt, oils, and grime. The Cory Key-Brite cleaner is safe to use on both plastic and ivory piano keys. It will safely clean oil and dirt without damaging the surface or making the keys feel slick or sticky.

Chemically based cleaners and polishes will leave a residue on your piano keys and may damage their finish. When cleaning piano keys, use a soft, lint-free cloth that won’t leave a residue or tear easily.

Make sure you wipe the keys from top to bottom instead of side-to-side. Wiping from side-to-side can allow moisture and excess cleaning products to get between the keys.

During cold and flu season, you might be tempted to spray disinfectant on your piano keys. These products have harsh chemicals that can damage the surface of the keys. Aerosol cleaners can also carry into other parts of the piano and cause damage.

If you are concerned about cleaning bacteria and germs, dampen a clean, soft rag with mild soap and warm water. Be careful not to use too much soapy water. Wipe everything dry quickly to prevent water damage.

A clean, well-maintained piano is beautiful and enjoyable to play. The right cleaning products will keep your beautiful piano looking like a masterpiece for many years to come and give you peace of mind. It’s certainly worth a few extra dollars each year to keep your instrument looking like the day you purchased it.

Contact Moore Piano for all your piano cleaning and maintenance needs. We also proudly sell Cory piano cleaning products.

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Moore Piano Statement on Anti-COVID-19 Precautions

Tue, 17 Mar 2020 12:49:00 GMT

As the novel coronavirus continues to spread around the country and the state of Indiana, we are taking proactive measures to consider your well-being during each appointment, including the following:

We are asking you to please reschedule your appointment if anyone in your household is exhibiting symptoms or has had recent contact with anyone else who is ill.

Per the Governor’s mandate as of July 27th 2020 we will also be wearing masks in your home/facility. We DO NOT expect you to wear one, please do as you wish though. This is simply to comply with the legality of the mandate on our end.

We are doing everything reasonable on our part to prevent the unnecessary spread of any illness. See this article for more information on piano hygiene.

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Best John Williams Music for the Piano

Wed, 12 Feb 2020 19:51:00 GMT

History was made at the Oscars this year when Hildur Gudnadottir became the first woman to win an Oscar for a dramatic composition since the Academy combined all the score categories. That got us thinking about other famous Oscar-winning composers, and which scores are great to play on the piano.

Of course, John Williams is the king of original movie scores. He’s received more than 50 Oscar nominations (more than any other living composer) and won five Oscars for his original scores.

Williams won his first Oscar in 1972 for his original music in the film adaptation of Fiddler on the Roof and continued racking up the trophies. We decided to round up some of the best John Williams scores to play on the piano so you can impress your friends at your next Oscars party.

Let’s start with the newest nominated song on the block! John Williams received his 59th Oscar nomination for the last Star Wars movie, and rightfully so! It’s a beautiful blend of new music and revisions of previous themes from other Star Wars movies.

While the soundtrack was recorded with a 102-piece freelance orchestra and a 100-voice chorale, you can play some of the best scores on your piano!

Some of the best known Star Wars songs from the saga include the Imperial March and The Force Theme . There’s also the main Star Wars Theme song that translates well to the piano. It’s relatively easy to find Star Wars sheet music for nearly every skill level, and everyone loves a good Imperial March!

Harry Potter Movies

It’s surprising that, though it’s the second biggest film franchise of all-time , the Harry Potter films never won an Oscar (though the movies received 12 nominations across the eight movies). These movies—and the soundtracks—are beloved by millions. John Williams again wrote original music that ranges from lighthearted and upbeat to terrifying and dark!

Arguably one of the most famous scores from the Harry Potter movies for young pianists is Hedwig’s Theme . Others will probably enjoy Double Trouble (from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) and other compilations available for beginner and intermediate pianists.

Jurassic Park (1993)

This early 1990’s science fiction classic is based on the Michael Crichton novel and thrilled audiences around the world. While John Williams didn’t win any awards for his Jurassic Park music scores (some speculate that’s because it was overshadowed by his musical masterpiece he wrote for Schindler’s List the same year), the Jurassic Park theme song is a great piece to learn for the piano.

Some have described the theme song as “an instant old friend.” Somehow Williams managed to capture the enormous dinosaurs in music. There are a wide variety of renditions of this majestic theme song for pianists and you’re sure to win over any audience (dinosaur and human alike).

Indiana Jones

John Williams composed original scores for all four Indiana Jones movies (and many other films by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg). The Indiana Jones movies have one of the most well-known and loved theme songs ! There are a host of variations to the theme (also called the “Raider’s March” ) for pianists at every skill level.

Now you’re ready to impress your friends and family with Oscar-nominated and winning music scores! Don’t forget to contact Moore Piano for all your piano needs. We’re always ready to help pianists at every level, from beginners to Oscar-nominee status.

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Five Good New Years Resolutions for Piano Players in 2020

Thu, 16 Jan 2020 19:43:00 GMT

Welcome to a new year and a new decade! Many people are making “new year’s resolutions” for various aspects of their lives, including their musical abilities.

Have you considered making some new year’s piano resolutions? Setting specific goals will help you get the most out of your practice time and lessons so you can improve as a piano player.

Here are five new year’s resolutions for pianists that are achievable and beneficial for people at every level.

Make a practice schedule

It is essential to schedule regular practice times if you want to get the most out of your lessons and improve as a pianist. If you are taking weekly lessons and you are serious about improving this year, you should schedule three to four hours of practice each week .

You are more likely to actually sit down and practice if you write it in your schedule. Block out time in your day when you are alert and attentive so you can get the most out of your practice time.

Try to prioritize your practice time and protect it from other intrusions. Treat it like an appointment with yourself. If you must move or reschedule your practice, be sure and move it to another day or time, so it doesn’t get pushed aside or forgotten.

Try a new app to improve your practice time or mix things up

Online music apps are a great way to add a little variety to your practices. They also provide new ways to improve your music skills even when you aren’t sitting in front of a keyboard.

Music apps for pianos can offer tutorials, provide new sheet music, and even give feedback on your piano playing! Some apps also include fun games to improve your sight-reading and other skills.

Choose a quality music app for pianos and set a goal to incorporate it regularly, either during your practice time or at other times in your day.

Go to a piano or orchestra performance

What better way to get inspired or stay motivated as a pianist than to enjoy a beautiful concert. Whether you attend a local orchestra concert or plan an elaborate trip, attending musical performances will keep you inspired and may even help improve your own musical ability .

Listening to music helps improve your “aural skills.” At the concert, take the time to notice different sounds, rhythms, and melodies.

Do something you’ve never done before

Challenge yourself to do something you’ve never done before with your piano skills, like playing a duet, performing in a recital, or learning a song that you’ve always wanted to play,

Setting new goals helps you stay inspired, motivated, and gives a specific purpose to your practice time. The goal should be just out of reach, so you are forced to grow as a pianist, but not so audacious that you become overwhelmed and abandon the resolution. Your instructor can usually help you set goals that are reasonably challenging and help create a plan to accomplish your objective.

Get your piano tuned and cleaned

Have you heard the Emmert Wolf quote, “A man is only as good as his tools”? It applies to pianists, too! Even a world-class pianist will find it difficult to enjoy playing a piano that is out of tune or poorly maintained.

When was the last time you had your piano professionally cleaned? It is essential to clean the inside, soundboard, and keyboard of your piano. Dust and dirt build-up can affect the sound of your piano and even cause allergies and hay fever!

Moore Piano experts recommend having your piano professionally cleaned every five to ten years, depending on the condition and cleanliness of the environment.

We also recommend having your piano professionally tuned at least once a year. Changes in humidity and temperature, among other things, cause pianos to go out of tune. During the tuning process, technicians can also identify and replace parts that are wearing out before they break and cause more damage.

Playing a clean, tuned piano is far more enjoyable for all pianists (and anyone in earshot)!

Each of these resolutions will help you improve as a pianist and make the process more exciting and enjoyable. Moore Piano is always ready to help you accomplish your new year’s piano resolutions.

The post Five Good New Years Resolutions for Piano Players in 2020 appeared first on Moore Piano .

A Brief History of 10 Top Christmas Carols for the Piano

Thu, 12 Dec 2019 17:44:00 GMT

For the benefit of our readers, Moore Piano has curated a list of the top 10 Christmas carols for the piano that nearly anyone can learn how to play, along with a short history of the songs and some trivia about each one.

#1: Silent Night

The real history of the hymn, Silent Night (Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht), is shrouded in mystery. The most common tale is that Joseph Mohr, an Austrian priest, wrote this iconic Christmas carol in 1816 . Then, on Christmas Eve in 1818, Mohr discovered the church organ was damaged by mice and would not be repaired in time for the midnight mass.

Mohr asked his friend, Fraz Gruber, to write some simple music for his congregation. Gruber composed the gentle lullaby and performed it on the guitar at midnight Christmas mass.

After Christmas, the repairman who came to fix the organ was so impressed by the song that he made a copy and shared it with the Strassar Family, who performed it at their concerts. The Strassars published Silent Night in 1838.

Though this tale is probably not 100% accurate, the truth is Silent Night is now translated into more than 100 languages . It remains one of the most recognized and popular Christmas carols in the world. It was even sung by the troops on both sides at the December 25 truce during World War I.

The music is very simple and beautiful. It’s written in C Major and has a ¾ time signature, making it ideal for pianists of every ability. Get the sheet music for Silent Night .

#2: Oh Come All Ye Faithful

John Francis Wade wrote the Latin version of this Christmas carol in 1760. John fled England after the 1745 Jacobite rebellion. Some historians assert that Wade took the words from a Latin hymn written by monks as early as the 13th century . Other people believe Wade designed this song to double as a coded message, calling the faithful to rally behind the Stewart cause in the on-going rebellion in England.

While Wade wrote the lyrics, Samuel Webbe composed the tune around 1782. Frederick Oakley and William Brooke translated the song into English in 1841.

During the Victorian era, this carol gained the nickname and reputation, “the Portuguese hymn.” Nobody is quite sure where this reputation came from. Some people say it came about because it was a popular Christmas song at the Portuguese embassy.

Oh Come All Ye Faithful is written in the key of G major. It is a bold tune that is fun to play.

#3: Oh Holy Night

This Christmas hymn has a strange history. The lyrics were written by Placide Cappeau, an atheist; and the beautiful music composed by Adolphe Adams, a Jew.

Oh Holy Night focuses on humility and shared humanity among all people–including slaves and women. These were controversial ideas in the 1850s! There are many wild and wonderful legends connected to Oh Holy Night that are worth further exploration.

Download the sheet music for Oh Holy Night and learn to play this courageous little hymn for your next family Christmas gathering or recital.

#4: What Child Is This?

The Christmas carol, What Child Is This is set to the tune “Greensleeves,” which was initially a pub song with some salacious lyrics. The music dates back to around 1580 , and the original lyrics spoke of a lover accusing “Lady Greensleeves” of casting him off even though he pays for her lodging and buys her nice things.

The song Greensleeves remained popular, and people even added their own lyrics. William Chatterton Dix wrote his own poem titled “The Manger Throne” in 1865 while recovering from depression and near-fatal illness. Then, in 1871, Sir John Stainer set Dix’s poetry to the Greensleeves tune, and it quickly became a popular Christmas carol.

You can find the sheet music for What Child Is This here .

#5: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Nobody is quite sure who wrote the words or tune of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. The lyrics were first published in 1833 . Some speculate the song came from one of the bands that traveled around London playing in taverns.

The song was featured in Bing Crosby’s White Christmas album in 1945, which is the best-selling Christmas record of all time.

It is a peppy song that is fun and easy to play on the piano .

#6: We Three Kings

John Henry Hopkins, Jr composed the words and lyrics of this popular Christmas carol. Hopkins wrote the song based on the narrative of the magi traveling to find Jesus (found in Matthew 2). He meant for the tune to have a “plodding feel of a long journey,” so the singer can better identify with the magi.

For many years, hymnal editors considered this carol to be the only Christmas song contributed by an American composer. It remains a popular song at Christmas pageants and recitals.

Download the sheet music here .

#7: Away In A Manger

With only three short verses, this Christmas carol is a popular song for young children to learn. Nobody is quite sure where the hymn came from, and there are so many legends that it is difficult to separate fact from myth.

Away In A Manger was first published in Philadelphia in the 1885 edition of Little Children’s Book for Schools and Families . It only included two verses and was set to a tune called “St. Kilda.”

In 1887, American hymn writer, James Ramsey Murray included the song in his booklet, Dainty Songs for Little Lads and Lasses, but he gave Martin Luther credit. Murray titled it “Luther’s Cradle Hymn,” claiming Luther wrote it for his children and that German mothers often sing it to their children.

Martin Luther did not write this carol. It was probably a clever marketing ploy, but the song remains popular, especially for young children to sing and play during the Christmas season.

Download the piano sheet music here .

#8: Joy To The World

This Christmas carol is the result of a collaboration of at least three people and is based on Psalm 98, not the Christmas story. English poet, Isaac Watts, paraphrased Psalm 98 in two parts.

George Frederic Handel composed the wonderful “Handel’s Messiah.” Though Handel and Watts were contemporaries and both lived in London, they did not collaborate. Boston music educator Lowell Mason published his own rendition of parts of Handel’s Messiah in 1836 and named the tune “Antioch.” This is the most popular tune to which Joy To The World is sung (though this version remains virtually unknown in England).

The result of this unlikely collaboration is a wildly popular Christmas hymn based on an Old Testament psalm, set to music composed in England by a German musician, and put together by an American.

Download piano sheet music for Joy To The World here .

#9: The First Noel

The First Noel dates back to the 13th or 14th century. Historians believe the song came from popular dramatizations of favorite Bible stories called “Miracle Plays.” “Noel” is the French word for Christmas. It’s from the Latin word “natalis,” which means “birthday.”

Most medieval poetry was written to be sung, so historians assume the words were written for a tune that was already popular.

In the early 19th century, singing Christmas carols was not very popular in England, and some people were concerned that celebrating Christmas was ‘on the wane.’ William Sandys compiled a collection of corals to preserve them and try to revive their popularity . Sandys is credited with being the first to publish The First Noel with words. All the versions of this carol published since 1833 have been based on the one in Sandys’ collection.

Download piano sheet music for The First Noel here.

#10: Angels We Have Heard On High

No one is quite sure where this popular Christmas carol came from. Historians tend to connect it to southern France, where shepherds had a tradition of celebrating the birth of Jesus by shouting “Gloria in Excelsis Deo, Gloria in Excelsis Deo!” from one hill to the next on Christmas eve. The shouts filled the night air all over the French countryside.

The words were put to music sometime in the 18th century, and it became the French carol “Les Anges dans nos Campagnes.” The version we know today was first published in an1855 collection of Christmas carols.

Download the sheet music and lead your friends and family in a rousing rendition of Angels We Have Heard On High this Christmas eve in honor of the ancient French shepherds.

Now that you know a brief history of the top ten Christmas carols, we hope you will learn to play a few new carols and perhaps wow your friends with some festive trivia.

The post A Brief History of 10 Top Christmas Carols for the Piano appeared first on Moore Piano .

Back-to-School Piano Practice Tips

Wed, 11 Sep 2019 13:19:00 GMT

Here are some tips and tricks to get back into your groove of piano lessons and practice without regressing too much.

Be Patient

Many students return from summer break rejuvenated and excited to continue their lessons. Some people become frustrated and overwhelmed as they return to lessons and school.

Students forget some of what they learned because they didn’t practice and reinforce it. This primarily happens to new skills learned just before the break, simply because there wasn’t much time to practice and master those skills.

As you or your students get back into the rhythm of piano lessons, practicing, and school (or any other routine), be patient. You might feel a little overwhelmed by a sudden return to structure and routine. Give yourself or your students permission to be tired for the first week or two.

Playing the piano may feel a bit awkward for the first few practices and lessons. Explain to your children (or remind yourself) that it’s reasonable to spend the first few lessons dusting off the cobwebs, reviewing, and remembering what you learned. It’s normal to need to refresh your memory and remind your muscles how to play.

Ease Back In

In a perfect world, people would keep up their piano skills throughout the summer with short practice sessions a few times a week. But summer holidays are full of visiting relatives, trips to the beach, and summer camps that quickly crowd out piano practice.

Willpower is like a muscle that must gain strength. Starting small helps you regain your willpower and increases the likelihood that you will succeed at reestablishing a good piano practice and lesson routine.

Ease back into practicing. Instead of returning to the full allotted time right away, start with half or two-thirds of the practice time. If you or your child typically practice for 30 minutes each day, ease back into piano practice with 15 minutes each day for the first few days. This will help keep your mind fresh, ward off frustration, and help you feel less overwhelmed than if you tried jumping in right where you left off.

Allow them to start with songs they mastered or really enjoy playing. This will boost their confidence and let their fingers and mind remember how to play.

Give Yourself All the Tools for Success

As you return to piano lessons and practice, take the time to get your piano tuned and professionally cleaned . Practicing on a piano that is out of tune is not very enjoyable (for the pianist or the audience).

The end of summer is also an excellent season to have your piano tuned as fall weather approaches. Pianos hold their tune better when the weather is mild, and it’s good practice to have your piano serviced after the hot, humid summer weather.

Make sure your practice area is clean and inviting before your first lesson. Organize your music and treat yourself to a new music book or some other small “back to piano lessons” gift.

In many ways, our environment encourages our behavior. Make it as easy and enjoyable as possible to practice the piano. Set the music on the stand. Make sure the light bulbs in all the lights work. Update, change, or freshen up whatever you feel will make it easier to get back into the habit of practicing the piano.

Choose a Specific Piano Practice Time and Motivate Creatively

Consistency and routine matter, especially for children who thrive on schedules and structure. Agree together on the best time to practice, whether it’s right after school, before dinner, or wherever it fits into your schedule. Allow children to have some input, so they begin to take ownership of their piano lessons.

Create an encouraging way to log progress. Whether it’s coloring in each day on a calendar, putting stickers on a chart, or earning candy, track your daily progress and use positive reinforcements. See how many days in a row you can practice.

If a friend also takes piano lessons, create an accountability and encouragement group and use fun competitions (like a “100 days of practice” challenge or agree that the first person to skip a piano practice must buy the other person their favorite snack item).

Remove Distractions

Remove as many distractions as possible from the practice area. Put away cell phones and other electronic devices. Turn off the television, even if you cannot hear it from the practice area. Uninterrupted practice time helps your brain and body become more immersed in playing the piano. This will help you improve more quickly and enjoy playing the piano more.

Variety is the Spice of Life

There are countless benefits to rhythm and routine in our daily lives but practicing the same way every day can become monotonous and boring. Avoid hitting a plateau by changing the practice techniques from time to time.

It really doesn’t matter what you change in your practice routine as long as you change something . Try practicing your scales at the end of practice instead of the beginning. Play a song one hand at a time instead of both hands. Adding a little variety to your practice routine can help you master new techniques faster and learn more quickly because you are teaching your mind to adapt easily to new rhythms and feedback.

Remember, playing the piano is meant to be fun, rewarding, and challenging. As everyone returns to regular schedules after a fun summer, try to keep the fun going by making piano practice times relaxing and enjoyable for everyone. Don’t be afraid to try new things until you find the practice routine and sources of motivation that work best for you.

The post Back-to-School Piano Practice Tips appeared first on Moore Piano .

A Short History of the Recorder and its Role in Music Education

Thu, 15 Aug 2019 13:25:00 GMT

In the 20 ^th century, schools began using recorders in elementary music classes, much to the chagrin of parents worldwide. How did the recorder become the instrument of choice for music education in primary schools? Does it really prepare children to play other instruments?

The short answer is yes. Recorders help young children understand music theory, practice creative thinking skills, and develop finger dexterity. These skills will serve them well in piano lessons when they get a little older.

A Brief History of The Recorder

The recorder is probably the original flute. It is an “internal duct flute,” meaning it has a whistle mouthpiece. Recorders come in different sizes and are traditionally made from wood and ivory. Most teachers today give children molded plastic recorders that are cheap, durable, and surprisingly, have excellent sound quality compared to expensive recorders.

Many cultures around the world have similar flute-like pipe instruments, but the recorder is generally associated with western European culture.

The recorder dates back to Europe in the middle ages and was a popular instrument throughout the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Monteverdi, Bach, Purcell, and other composers wrote beautiful concertos for the recorder. Vivaldi composed Recorder Concerto in C —a far cry from little Bobby’s squawking rendition of “Mary Had A Little Lamb.”

Legend has it that King Henry VIII owned 76 recorders, also called English flutes. However, its popularity waned with the introduction of the oboe, clarinet, flute, and other wind instruments.

The recorder fell out of favor during the Classical and Romantic periods. Some say it was tossed aside when it became “ungentlemanly” to play an instrument with a mouthpiece. Renaissance author, Baldassare Castilgione wrote that men should only play the recorder in private and, preferably in the presence of a woman.

In the 1900s, Carl Orff, the German composer who wrote Carmina Burana , decided to try using a soprano recorder as a music education tool. Orff encouraged teaching methods that focused on rhythm, movement, and creative thinking to make learning more enjoyable for small children.

Orff thought that if children could sing the notes they were playing, they would better understand the basic principles of music theory. The soprano recorder is ideal because it is simple, easy to play, and is similar to the vocal range of small children. You don’t have to develop a good embouchure (the way to shape your mouth muscles) to play the recorder, so it is an easy starter-instrument.

The Benefits of Learning the Recorder

Parents groan when young children triumphantly pull little plastic recorders from their backpacks and begin to produce noises with them that can only be compared to the squawks of a dying seagull. But don’t despair! There are many benefits of learning the recorder that make those obnoxious squawks worthwhile.

The recorder teaches fine motor skills, hand dexterity, and finger placement: Most instruments, including the piano, require fine motor skills and hand dexterity. The recorder requires the finger holes to be covered in different configurations to make different notes.

Their small hands are also able to hold a recorder properly so they can begin playing it at a very young age. Children learn finger placement, and they practice moving their fingers to play scales or simple songs.

The recorder is good for brain development: As children learn to play the recorder, they must learn to coordinate their breath, their fingers, and their tongue. This type of learning helps with brain development . It might not make your child smarter, but it will help them develop skills that will serve them well through their entire education.

The recorder prepares children for band and orchestra instruments: Many band instruments require correct breathing, posture, tonguing, embouchure, and hand positioning. The recorder helps teach young children proper breathing, tonguing, and hand positioning techniques. It is a very forgiving instrument that will make the correct notes without perfect form.

Children must focus on many things at once when playing the recorder—breath, finger placement, tonguing, staying with the beat, and even reading music. If they continue with music lessons (on any instrument) they will have experience following along with the music, playing in a group, and multitasking.

Not every child will go on to play other musical instruments, but learning to play the recorder has many benefits for children’s overall education. It also equips children to be more successful when they begin piano lessons. So, if your child brings home a little plastic recorder this fall, remember that Vivaldi wrote beautiful concertos specifically for that torturous instrument. Your child just might be the next Vivaldi!

The post A Short History of the Recorder and its Role in Music Education appeared first on Moore Piano .

Kurzweil Piano Reviews

Mon, 17 Jun 2019 20:56:00 GMT

Kurzwail Music Systems continue to produce high quality digital keyboards and customers continue to appreciate its quality sound and durability over time. But don’t take our word for it. Here are some real reviews that real Kurzweil users have posted online.

“Powerful synthesizer, stage piano, and performance controller”

“T” from Philadelphia is a professional musician who loves the Kurzweil Forte. He is impressed with the piano and electric piano sounds and the Forte’s performance mode that allows you to configure 16 keyboard zones and run them all at the same time. Add the 3.3 GB of user samples and “T” says, “Unreal! …the best Kurzweil keyboard to date.”

“Kurzweil does it again! While I would not consider this to be the next ‘K’ series synthesizer, it does come very close. The Forte is being marketed as a stage piano. This is an unfortunate over-simplification of this beast. I am loving the Forte and here is why:

“No wonder Kurzweil is one of the most common keyboards to see in Broadway pits.”

Vsyevolod says though he owns keyboards from other companies like Yamaha, Roland, and Nord, the Kurzweil is one of the best for sound, feel, and to use as a master controller. He credits Kurzweil with one of the better sounding acoustic pianos on the market. He also points out how easy it is to learn your way around the Kurzweil keyboard. The reviewer goes on to assert that no other master controller can do quite what his Kurzweil keyboard can.

“I’m a long time Kurzweil user, though I also own keyboards by Roland, Yamaha, Nord etc. Kurzweil has always been at the top of the heap in terms of sounds, feel, and use as a Master Controller. For starters, the Programs that come stock in the board are of higher overall quality than any other manufacturer, hands down. While other companies may give you hundreds if not thousands of sounds, if 80% of them are unusable, it’s both a waste of time and space to include them. With the PC3, roughly 80% of the Programs are such high quality that they are readily usable in most circumstances. Some of the ePianos for instance are so well modeled, I sometimes find myself looking under the keybed for the squeaky key only to find that it’s been programmed in that way.”

Click here to read more of Vsyevold’s review.

“The best sound for under a grand.”

A customer from Zzounds gave five stars for overall sound, quality, and value and 4.5 stars for manufacturer support. They gave 3.5 stars for features but gave high praise for the overall experience, quality, and sound. This musician says he uses his Kurzweil for over 100 gigs a year and it’s held up splendidly under 5 years of heavy use.

“Sound: The best piano sound available for under a grand. Some decent FM, Rhodes, organ, and string sounds as well.

Feature: I play most of my gigs with it–a hundred a year. It’s durable, and so light that I can carry piano, stand, and amp in a single trip and without help! The biggest disappointment is the lack of bass sounds and inability to split the keyboard. I tried it as a midi controller, but it’s fussy, time-consuming, not worth the hassle. The tuned and untuned strings business is a waste.

Quality: It’s held up better than my Kurzweil PC-2. 5 years of continuous use. The biggest potential problem is the thin wire on the adaptor. Trip on it and the gig’s over. Better get another, even though Kurzweil charges an exhorbitant price for this little sucker.

Value: For $500-600 nothing is close. Sounds better than the PC2.

Manufacturer Support: Good. Kurzweil doesn’t have the many customers, so the rep at the site will answer personally.

Overall: I’ve gotten my money back many times over on this one because of the heavy use I make of it.”

“Lots of cool features!”

“ PianoManChuck ” gives the Kurzweil Forte two thumbs up overall for being solid, well-built, and easy-to-read board in poorly-lit areas. He loves the cool little “extra” features like LED lights on the sliders that show the position the faders should be. Chuck says one of the best things about this board is the KB3 mode. Transposing is easy with the transpose button!

Kurzweil Reviews In Summary

In summary, Kurzweil customers give high marks to this digital piano for the overall quality, value, and durability. Many users find the myriad of features intuitive and easy to learn across almost all of Kurzweil’s piano models.

Some reviewers gave lower marks to Kurzweil for poor key action , particularly in the MP-10 model, but that didn’t seem to be a major sticking point for very many people. And even those who didn’t love Kurzweil’s key action agree the sound is good and the digital features are quality.

The post Kurzweil Piano Reviews appeared first on Moore Piano .

Ten Great Movies Starring Pianos

Tue, 14 May 2019 13:58:00 GMT

At Moore Piano we enjoy all things piano, including pianos and piano music featured in the movies. Whether you’re looking for inspiration, motivation, or a chill Friday night, these movies that feature pianos or tell the story of influential pianists are definitely worth the watch!

The Green Book

Inspired by true events, this movie tells the story of African American classical and jazz pianist Don Shirley’s landmark tour down south during the height of segregation. Don Shirley hires Italian-American bouncer, Frank “Tony Lip” Vallelonga as his bodyguard and chauffer.

Donald “Don” Walbridge Shirley recorded many piano albums in the 1950s and 60s. He wrote organ symphonies, piano concerti, and a host of other pieces. He brilliantly experimented with jazz music with a classical influence.

According to the movie and accounts from Tony Lip, one of Don’s quirks is that he only performed on Steinway pianos. One of Tony’s tasks was to ensure a Steinway was at each concert site for Don.

The Green Book will make you laugh, cry, dance, and mourn. It’s a historical tale of racial tension and a celebration of a concert pianist who influenced music and culture.

The Pianist

This 2002 film is an adaptation of the autobiography The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man’s Survival In Warsaw . Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jewish radio station pianist, is forced into the Warsaw Ghetto and later separated from his family during Operation Reinhard. Refusing to surrender, Szpilman hides among the ruins and rubble of war-torn Warsaw to evade Nazi occupiers and survive the Holocaust.

The Pianist tells a terribly beautiful story of survival and how music can help the human soul fight impossible battles for survival. The featured song is the hauntingly beautiful Nocturne in C-Sharp Minor by Chopin. Other masterpieces by Chopin, Bach, and Beethoven make this film a cinematic and musical work of art.

Adrian Brody took the lead role as Wladyslaw Szpilman but the director desperately wanted the film to be as realistic as possible. Any scene showing Brody playing the piano was actually him playing but the music was dubbed over later. Brody practiced for months so the keystrokes on the piano matched the music and would convince the audience that Brody was the one playing.

Shine

Shine is a biographical drama that tells the story of Australian pianist, David Helfgott. Helfgott suffered a mental breakdown and spent a number of years in a mental institution.

The featured song is Flight of the Bumblebee by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Shine won a number of awards, including an Academy Award for Best Actor. It’s a beautiful story of overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds. If you’d like to learn more about Helfgott’s life you can read Out of Tune, by Margaret Helfgott, David’s sister.

Amadeus

This movie was adapted from the stage play, Amadeus . Set in Vienna, Austria this is a fictional biography of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It focuses on the rivalry between Mozart and Italian composer Antonio Salieri at the court of Emperor Joseph II.

While Amadeus is a work of fiction, Wolfgang Mozart’s real life was quite dramatic in itself. He showed musical talent at a very young age and began composing around the age of 5. He stayed in Vienna where he achieved fame but not fortune. Mozart composed most of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas near the end of his short life.

Mozart died at age 35 but the cause of death cannot be identified with confidence. Researchers debate and suggest at least 100 potential causes of death. During the last days of his life, Mozart was rushing to complete unfinished works, including his famous Requiem .

Because it’s a story about Wolfgang Mozart, his music punctuates the entire film. It’s considered a cinematic classic and a must-watch for any piano aficionado.

The Piano

This 1993 film is a tale about a mute piano player and her daughter in a 19 ^th century New Zealand town. It focuses on the passion of the musician and her herculean efforts to recover her piano after it is sold.

Michael Nyman wrote the score and it became a best-selling soundtrack album. It is rated in the top 100 soundtrack albums of all time. Because the lead character is mute, the music speaks loudest!

Holly Hunter, the lead actress, insisted on playing her own piano pieces for the film and she won awards for Best Actress for her performances.

Ray

This biopic tells the story of the life and career of legendary rhythm and soul musician, Ray Charles.

Ray began to play the piano before age 5. He lost his sight to glaucoma at age seven, not long after tragically watching his younger brother drown. He studied composition and learned to play the alto saxophone, clarinet, trumpet, and organ at St. Augustine School for the Deaf and the Blind.

Ray Charles began touring the “Chitlin Circuit”, a series of performance venues that accepted African-American musicians and other entertainers during the era of segregation. He burst onto the worldwide music scene as he masterfully blended rhythm and blues, rock and roll, gospel, country, jazz, and even orchestral influences together in a unique sound. Some of Ray’s hits include “Unchain My Heart”, “I’ve Got A Woman”, and What I’d Say”.

Rhapsody In Blue

Set in 1930’s New York City, this film uses George Gershwin’s song, “Rhapsody in Blue” to tell about a day in the life of four people longing for something more in life. A construction worker dreams of being a drummer at a jazz club; a young girl who longs for more time with her parents instead of with her governess; a rich man whose marriage is on the rocks; an unemployed man searches for a job.

The song, Rhapsody in Blue , was originally composed in 1924 by George Gershwin. Gershwin left school at age 15 to become a “song plugger” and his first song was published when he was just 17 years old. He began working for Aeolian Company and Standard Music Rolls in New York, recording and arranging music. He produced work under his own name and assumed names.

The story is that Gershwin got the idea for the title song, Rhapsody in Blue, while riding the train to Boston. While the movie doesn’t tell George Gershwin’s story, it does weave an engaging tale. Gershwin’s sound was a sort of classical music with a jazz twist. He primarily focused on show tunes and jazz during his career.

Four Minutes

This is a German film about a piano teacher, Traude Krueger, in a women’s prison. Krueger is surprised by the raw talent of Jenny, a prisoner who is at first banned from taking piano lessons. Krueger agrees to give Jenny lessons under the condition of absolute obedience. Jenny learns quickly and reaches the finals of a piano competition but must face many unforeseen obstacles along the way.

We won’t spoil the film for you but we do think it should be one everyone’s Netflix queue. While it doesn’t have any award-winning songs or featured music, it’s a heart-warming story about rising above and about love of music that every pianist will appreciate.

La La Land

This film was a box office hit in 2016 and tells the tale of an aspiring actress and a struggling jazz pianist. It’s a romantic musical film about falling in love and pursuing your dreams.

It was critically acclaimed for its musical score, cinematography, and production design and won a record-breaking seven Golden Globe awards. Justin Hurwitz composed and orchestrated the songs and scores for La La Land and the movie features a number of scenes and scores with beautiful piano music.

Ryan Gosling learned to play jazz piano in just three months to take the lead role as Sebastian in this film. It required practicing hours a day for months leading up to filming La La Land so Ryan could play all the piano music on screen.

Rocketman

This biopic about the life of musician Elton John, is set to debut on 31 May, 2019. Sir Elton Hercules John is an English singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer. Over his star-studded career he has sold over 300 million records and has more than 50 Top Forty hits to his name along with a laundry list of accolades, awards, and honors.

Sir Elton got his musical start at age 15 as a pub pianist on the weekends and enjoyed a meteoric rise through the ranks. It is unclear how much of his life the movie Rocketman will cover, or how much of his known music will be included. But one thing is certain, anyone who loves Elton John or appreciates his influence on modern music should consider seeing this film.

The official soundtrack has not yet been released so we are waiting to find out just how much piano music will be woven into the movie. We do know it will contain 22 tracks and feature a number of artists. We are also sure it will have all the flare and music that defines the life and legacy of Sir Elton John.

The post Ten Great Movies Starring Pianos appeared first on Moore Piano .

What Are the Most Popular Piano Styles?

Mon, 18 Mar 2019 20:24:00 GMT

The piano is arguably the most versatile and popular instrument, found in nearly every musical genre. From classical to jazz, the piano makes its presence known!

Today, we are going to take a look at some of the most popular piano playing styles to give you a feel for the broad range of music that embraces the piano. We’ll point out the differences and help you determine what type of piano might be best for the style you intend to play or learn. We’ll also include some video links to give you a reference— you can hear for yourself the differences in each style!

Style #1: Classical

In the mid-1700s, composers began writing music for the newly-invented piano. True “classical” piano includes the works of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven. Later, artists like Haydn, Chopin, Handel, and Debussy continued the classical style through the baroque and romantic periods.

Classical piano is often the starting point for many when learning piano, as the nature of this genre requires good playing technique and knowledge of music theory. Grand and upright acoustic pianos are both great choices for classical playing styles.

Take a listen ! This YouTube video (audio only) explores several different classical pieces for piano.

Style #2: Jazz

On the opposite end of the spectrum from Classical lies Jazz, where improvisation and playing by ear are commonplace. Jazz piano has developed over the course of the past 100 years, with its roots in ragtime, evolving into subgenres of blues, swing, bebop, cool jazz, and free jazz. This genre consists of experimental sounds, unconventional rhythms, and generally “all the wrong notes, but sounds so good” sounds, deviating from the classical techniques.

Jazz was popularized in New York, Chicago, and New Orleans, created by masters like Thelonius Monk, John Coltrane, Mary Lou Williams, Bud Powell, Herbie Hancock, Duke Ellington, and Miles Davis. Jazz is generally played on upright or grand acoustic pianos; however, some newer “smooth jazz” is played on electronic keyboards, as they offer versatility in sound options.

Take a listen! This YouTube video is an hour-long session of Duke Ellington playing and telling stories – a fascinating watch!

This YouTube video features Spyro Gyra, a popular jazz fusion band (notice the use of an electronic keyboard for varied sounds along with a traditional piano sound)

Pop and Rock

The late 1940s and 1950s saw the birth of yet another new style of rebellious music, Rock and roll. Early rock and roll has roots in rhythm and blues. However, over time, it evolved into its own style.

Early rock and roll artists like Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard helped launch the piano into the popular music scene. The ’70s brought Billy Joel and Elton John, who are undoubtedly the kings of rock piano even today.

Piano remains a staple in pop music, thanks to musicians like Ben Folds, Chris Martin of Coldplay, John Legend. Rock musicians who incorporate piano include Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy, Brendon Urie of Panic! and the Disco, and Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots. These musicians continue to make the piano a mainstay of rock/pop music.

You’ll notice in the videos linked below, many pop and rock artists play acoustic grand pianos in their live shows. However, when it comes time to record, many opt for electronic keyboards that allow for many different sounds from pure piano sounds to organ sounds, to completely distorted or digitally created effects.

Take a listen! This YouTube video features Billy Joel and Elton John playing together on The Tonight Show

This YouTube video features Chris Martin of Coldplay playing a piano and vocal only version of Everglow

This YouTube Video features Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy playing piano for Fall Out Boy’s “Save Rock and Roll”

Liturgical

Liturgical piano is a broad term for music associated with religious ceremonies. While many religions have traditionally rooted pieces hundreds of years old that are based on classical styles, there are still plenty of musicians creating and composing new music today for religious worship that has its roots in classical music, modern pop, and jazz/blues.

Many traditionally styled places of worship utilize acoustic upright pianos, organs, and grand pianos. However, many more contemporary churches are opting for electronic keyboards— partly for their compact size and partly for their ability to mimic multiple instruments.

Take a listen: This YouTube video features an extensive playlist of traditional Christian hymns for piano

This YouTube video features composer and pianist Damien Sneed explaining gospel styles as he plays

Even if you are well versed in one style, branching out and learning a new style can give you a push out of a musical rut, and inspire you to play more music. When you are ready to make the investment in a piano, whether acoustic or electronic, Moore Piano can help. Make an appointment today for a personalized demo on our in-stock instruments!

The post What Are the Most Popular Piano Styles? appeared first on Moore Piano .

The Piano, an Origin Story: Profile of Bartolomeo Cristofori

Thu, 14 Mar 2019 16:53:00 GMT

Bartolomeo Cristofori is a name that is mostly unrecognized today. However, his greatest invention has been a constant influence in music since the mid- 1700s and is still relevant today as a fundamental instrument in modern music.

The pianoforte (or as we commonly know it today, the piano) has become a musical staple crossing centuries and spanning a multitude of musical genres, despite the slow adoption over its first 50 years of existence. Today, we’ll dig in and look at who Bartolomeo Cristofori was as well as the origins of the piano, the ubiquitous instrument we know and love.

Who Was Bartolomeo Cristofori?

Bartolomeo Cristofori was born in Padua, Venice in 1655. Not much is known of his early life, and it isn’t entirely clear how exactly he came to work for the Medici family in 1690. But we do know that it was around this time that he began working on what would be his masterwork – the pianoforte.

It is generally believed that the Prince Ferdinando de’ Medici of Florence – an accomplished harpsichordist and art collector who was known to sight read a piece once and play it from memory – recruited Cristofari in about 1690 to create a new instrument, while caring for the courts’ harpsichords and other instruments in the vast Medici collection.

Although we don’t know the details, his recruitment by the Medici family suggests Cristofori was already well known as a highly-skilled keyed instrument builder. Cristofori was really an employee of the royal court, and even though he was recruited for his abilities, he was initially working in a noisy warehouse type space with up to a hundred other artisans (surviving papers from Cristofori note that he had a terrible time working in the noise of it all).

By 1711, Cristofori had built four of his new instrument, the pianoforte. Like many revolutionary artists and inventors, his invention of the piano was not well known or appreciated in his lifetime.

The Beginnings: Strings and Keys

Cristofori built many other stringed, keyed instruments before the piano. A three-keyboard harpsichord built by Cristofori that bears the coat of the Medici family is kept in the Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments at the University of Michigan.

Some of his own lesser-known and less successful inventions were created while he worked for the Medici family. For example, he built the spinettone, a harpsichord style instrument built in a space-saving format meant for use in tight spaces like orchestra pits. He also created the highly unusual oval spinet, whose strings ran parallel to the keyboard and in a layout with the longer strings to the middle, giving a roughly oval shape to the body of the instrument.

These and other keyed instruments like the harpsichord and clavichord were only able to play either soft pieces (clavichord) or louder pieces (harpsichord) thanks to their construction. Users had to utilize a “plucking” action mechanism which could not be attenuated to “pluck” with a softer or heavier pull.

The First Piano: Hammers of Change

Cristofori’s invention of using hammer mechanisms to strike the strings, which allow the volume of each note to change depending on how hard the musician pressed the keys. This breakthrough revolutionized music.

The sophisticated features we see in today’s pianos, including mechanisms that hold the hammer away from the string after striking and dampers that silence strings that aren’t in use, were all developed by Cristofori and found in his original work. Some of the more elaborate action mechanisms found in Cristofori’s original pianos were costly to reproduce, eventually leading many 18th century makers to drop pricier features – only for them to be reintroduced later.

The earliest surviving piano is housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and is dated 1720. This instrument, which closely resembles a harpsichord, has only 54 keys in a single keyboard, as opposed to the pianos of today with 88. You can listen to pianist Dongsok Shin perform a Sonata on the oldest surviving piano on this YouTube video. As you can hear, the early piano has a sound more like a harpsichord than what we think of when we consider a modern piano timbre. This is thanks to thinner strings and harder hammer materials. These early pianos offered a quieter voice, well suited for accompanying a vocalist or played as a solo.

The Piano’s Influence

Although today the piano is found in virtually every major musical genre, the piano wasn’t an instant hit. In fact, even many years after the initial introduction, Bach learned to play on a harpsichord – not a piano. He generally dismissed the piano in its original Cristofori form. The first documented music written specifically for piano was in 1732 by Lodovico Giustini.

Around this time, an organ builder in Germany, Gottfried Silbermann built his own version of the piano based on Cristofori’s design, expanding the influence of the instrument throughout central Europe – and eventually becoming a household mainstay across Europe and America.

While today’s pianos may have a far more refined sound and wider dynamic range, we owe it to Cristofori to recognize their origins. Interested in owning a piano? Make an appointment for a one on one demo of Moore piano’s stock today!

The post The Piano, an Origin Story: Profile of Bartolomeo Cristofori appeared first on Moore Piano .

Valuation of Used Pianos

Mon, 18 Feb 2019 20:27:00 GMT

Maybe you are ready to upgrade your older piano, or maybe you are just ready to part ways with your instrument to free up some space. Regardless, it’s good to have a handle on what your used piano is worth before you attempt to sell.

Today, we’ll discuss the many factors involved in how used pianos are valued and what to expect from the process of selling a used piano to a dealer.

6 Factors Considered in Used Piano Valuation

There are several factors that are taken into consideration when a dealer is making a valuation of your used piano. Of course, one big factor is supply and demand. If the market is already pretty saturated, the economy is not great, or demand for used pianos is low at the moment for any number of reasons, you’ll likely be given a lower offer for your used piano than you would expect.

Another factor is location. In big cities, things just cost more. So if you live in a rural area and are selling your piano, you’ll probably get a lower price for it than you would if you were selling the exact same piano in midtown Manhattan. The good news is that you also don’t have to pay hundreds of dollars a month (or more) to park your car!

Here are four more factors that affect the price of a used piano:

Quality of Brand – As with anything, a piano from a highly-regarded , “best” brand is going to hold its value and be worth more than an average brand. Expect to fetch slightly more for your piano if it is a Steinway, Mason & Hamlin, Bechstein, Bluthner or Bosendorfer from any era.“Better” or “above average” brands include older names like Chickering and Knabe, as well as more current names like Sohmer, Yamaha, Everett, and Baldwin

Condition of the Piano – Just as with a car, you’ll need to be realistic about the condition of your piano. The condition scale ratings are Better, Average, and Worse. Realize that an unplayable piano doesn’t even rate on the valuation scale, and appearances count.

A musically sound piano that is in rough shape cosmetically will likely fetch a price that is in the “Worse” range, as many buyers tend to judge the piano by its appearance when buying. Wear and tear based on the age of the piano is taken into consideration as well.

Value Minus Restoration Cost – In this instance, consider that the piano may have seen better days appearance wise and may be musically unplayable, but is still worth overhauling. This valuation takes into consideration the cost of rebuilding and restoring your piano to like-new condition.

For example, if a rebuilt version of your piano would be worth $40,000, but it would cost $20,000 to get it to that like-new condition, the valuation would begin at $20,000. This valuation is usually only considered when a piano is in really rough shape, possibly unplayable, and in need of major repair. When selling to a dealer, this is usually rated as a “salvage value” which takes into consideration the costs of restoration as well as well as discounts to account for the dealer’s time and investment in restoration while still making a profit.

Depreciation – Depreciation is a percentage of the value of a comparable new model piano. Just as with cars, there is a larger depreciation within the first few years that tapers off to about 1.5 to 2% loss annually. Best brands, specifically by makers that have kept their ownership, building processes, and standards at a consistently high level over the decades (like Steinway) will have a more predictable, easy to calculate scale of depreciation. As a result, their consistent quality will hold a higher value over time.

Tips for Selling Your Used Piano

If you are truly interested in selling your piano, and you feel it has significant value (over $1,500) you should highly consider having the instrument tuned and cleaned. You can clean and polish the surface yourself with a good quality wood polish and brass cleaner, but if you have reservations, have a professional take care of things (Note–if you are selling your piano to us, we will tune and clean it before reselling it and will take that cost into consideration when making you an offer on the piano).

When anticipating a dealer or potential buyer, make sure the room the piano is in is as clutter and distraction-free as possible. It may seem futile to clean and tune your piano before getting rid of it, but sometimes you will have to spend a bit of money in order to make more.

Selling to a Private Party vs. a Dealer

Selling your piano is much like selling a car. In the day and age of social media and easy access to marketplace sites, one may think it is best and easiest to sell to a private party— an individual that will pay you directly for the purchase for the instrument.

When considering this, realize the amount of time and energy it will take to meet up with potential buyers, allow them to inspect and play the instrument, and depending on your asking price, they may attempt to haggle over the price.

Having a dealer purchase your piano may give you less cash in hand (the dealer will have to pay for any repairs as well as make their own profit to continue operating). However, the process of selling to a dealer is much simpler, less time consuming, and far less stressful than trying to sell outright to another individual.

Selling your piano may be a bit of a humbling experience, as music and the instruments we create music with may hold deep sentimental value, and your piano may be worth more to you emotionally than it will realistically be worth to a dealer or private sale. Letting go can sometimes be an emotional time.

Working with a reputable piano dealer like Moore Piano can make the process easier, quicker, and more profitable for you in the long run. When you are ready to sell your used piano and are looking for a dealer with experience while still providing personalized service, contact Moore Piano .

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Best Places to Get Sheet Music Online

Wed, 16 Jan 2019 22:24:00 GMT

Note: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning when you click the links and make a purchase, we receive a commission.

Whether you are a music teacher searching for fresh material to work into your curriculum, a parent looking for a specific piece your child might like, or a musician yourself on the hunt for something new to play, you’ll be happy to find that there are many resources online that will satisfy your need for piano sheet music. Better yet, some are even free!

Read on as we share some of the best places online to find piano sheet music.

Paid Sites

While you once had to visit a specialty music shop to get sheet music— if you could even find the specific music you were looking for— now, you can simply search online to get access to thousands of pieces from the comfort of your own home. Here are some of the top paid sites to find the music you seek.

Sheet Music Plus – Sheet Music Plus will be a familiar name to teachers. This site claims the world’s largest selection of sheet music, with plenty of digital downloads available. Sheet Music Plus has been a reliable, go-to for music teachers and enthusiasts alike since 1997. Their website looks dated in comparison to Music Notes, but easy to find what you are looking for.

Sheet Music Plus offers both individual songs and full books of music in digital format. Like Music Notes, they offer a wide variety of styles from current pop and country favorites, holiday tunes, classical and classical, as well as children’s, world music, and Latin. Prices range from $1.99 for some individual songs to $19.95 for full songbooks of multiple pieces, with major credit cards and PayPal accepted.

Sheet Music Now – Another long-standing site for sheet music is Online Sheet Music, now known as Sheet Music Now. Just like the other paid sites, they offer a wide variety of genres from current popular music like Calvin Harris and Coldplay to Broadway show tunes from Cats and Jesus Christ Superstar to classical pieces. They even offer the basics of 5 finger playing like Chopsticks. Individual songs are available for around $3-4.99, available for purchase through PayPal or major credit card.

Noviscore – Noviscore is a unique resource that offers sheet music for piano, in that each piece has been adapted for up to four levels of playing ability. Some of the scores even offer a “reading aid” to help in learning music theory. Music is searchable by style, playing level, and instrument.

They offer a large selection of different styles, just as other sites do – current popular favorites like Despacito or Pink’s What About Us, to classical like Mendelssohn and Beethoven, as well as a selection of Noviscore monthly exclusives. Each song is around $4.99 per level with a small additional fee for the reading aid if you choose to add that on. Sheet music is available for download as well as for use in their Noviscore app. Payments by PayPal, credit card and bank transfer are accepted.

Free Sites

In addition to the many sites that you can find sheet music for sale, you can even find sheet music for free. While you might not find exactly what you seek, the price can’t be beat!

Musescore – Musescore is an expansive site that offers free, user-uploaded sheet music. This resource offers sheet music for multiple genres, Adele to Chopin, Mozart to Twenty One Pilots, and everything in between, however, there seems to be a much greater selection for popular music than classical.

This site’s browse function isn’t terribly intuitive, so be prepared to browse by artist, by instrument, or search for specifically what you are looking for. That said, Musescore offers adaptations of harder to find pieces and original music that you will likely not find anywhere else. Musescore also offers a completely free, open source music notation program under the same name, so you can create your own sheet music to contribute.

Of course, nothing is 100% free – Musescore offers a Pro level membership that offers more tools and features for playback and printing, as well as more space for saving your own work.

8notes – 8notes.com offers free sheet music for a variety of genres. This site allows you to view the sheet music on screen and print a passable version for free – with more extensive features like saving to PDF, high-resolution printing, and unlimited midi preview available with a $20/year membership.

IMSLP – The International Music Score Library Project is a vast collection of public domain sheet music. With over 400,000 scores, if it is classical, traditional folk, or maybe some jazz music you are after, this site is a gold mine. The sheet music varies in quality, however, as much of it is scanned from physical copies.

With these resources, you should never find yourself in a musical rut. Take some time to visit each of these sites, as each offer something a little different.

Music is more enjoyable when it’s played on a piano that’s tuned and receiving regularly-scheduled maintenance. Whether you’re looking for support services or shopping for a new piano, Moore Piano is ready to help! Click here to contact us today!

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The Many Benefits of Music Lessons for Children

Tue, 18 Dec 2018 14:59:00 GMT

Music education draws on many skills and senses simultaneously, including sight, sound, and gross and fine motor skills. Research proves that learning music (any instrument) improves development in other areas. Your child might not become the next Beethoven, but enrolling them in music education will benefit them for a lifetime.

Improves Language Skills

Children between ages two and nine enrolled in music education demonstrate significant development in language skills . Music enhances the brain’s ability to decode sounds and words. This means as children learn an instrument, they learn to hear and process new sounds, training their ears and brains to identify nuances and sounds in languages.

Musical training develops a part of the left side of the brain where language processing takes place. This language development leads to greater social competence, as children are better able to comprehend speech and writing, verbally interact, and clearly express themselves.

These neurological benefits last a lifetime! A study by a neuroscientist at Northwestern University showed that adults between 55 and 76 years of age who received four to 14 years of music education had faster responses to speech sounds than people who did not receive any musical training (even though none of them had played an instrument in about 40 years).

Improves Academic Skills

Dozens of studies demonstrated that even a few weeks of music lessons increases overall brain activity and some parts of the brain even grow larger or develop new pathways to transmit information.

Music and math come together. Understanding rhythm, beat, and scales demands learning how to divide, understand fractions, and identify patterns. Music also improves both short-term and long-term memory in children.

Additionally, learning to read and memorize music improves reading comprehension skills.

Develops Spatial and Motor Skills

Playing an instrument requires coordination and both fine and gross motor skills. Depending on the instrument, it may require full-body coordination between your arms and legs (like drums). Other instruments, like piano or trumpet, demand coordinating different actions from your right and left hands at the same time. This improves overall coordination, timing, and fine motor skills.

There is also a casual connection between music education and spatial intelligence. Understanding music may help children develop the skills to solve multistep problems like in math, engineering, architecture, and art.

Teaches Social Skills and Manners

If your child plays in a group, this provides opportunities to learn to work together, communicate, and plan. It teaches tolerance, teamwork and problem solving.

Children practice patience and good manners as they wait their turn and listen to other musicians play. They learn how to show respect for their fellow musicians and practice sitting quietly and attentively for a set amount of time.

Develops Discipline and Time Management

Music education takes time, patience, perseverance, and good old-fashioned discipline. Most instruments have a steep learning curve. Learning to play an instrument helps children to develop discipline and understand delayed gratification through hours and years of consistent practice to accomplish goals.

Playing an instrument that demands a practice routine teaches children to manage and organize their time well.

Builds Self-Confidence and Presentation Skills

Music lessons are an ideal place for children to learn to accept and offer critique. Self-confidence comes from learning to take constructive criticism and negative feedback and make positive changes.

It’s important for children to learn how to present themselves and their skills in public. This is an important skill whether the child becomes a professional musician or not! Group lessons or recitals are a great platform to learn this.

Children also build a healthy self-esteem when they work to learn a new skill and see improvement and accomplishment over time. This translates to every other area of life as they apply themselves to school, jobs, hobbies, relationships, etc.

Teaches Value for Culture

Quality music education includes learning the basic history of instruments and music styles. This exposes children to other cultures and fosters openness to cultures and traditions.

Reduces Stress

Studies show that playing the piano reduces stress and anxiety . Pausing for just a few minutes to play the piano can help refocus your mind and even lower blood pressure. Music education is also one form of therapy for Attention Deficit Disorder.

How To Choose The Right Instrument

One of the biggest considerations when choosing an instrument is cost. What instruments can you afford? Be sure to factor the maintenance costs when you consider the cost on an instrument.

It is important to consider your child’s interest. Is he attracted to a particular type of music or specific instrument? If you aren’t sure, expose your child to a number of instruments before helping them choose one. Some music schools offer “open houses” that are designed to introduce children to a variety of instruments.

Also take into account instruments that you like and don’t like. Do you like the instrument enough to listen to your child practice for hours over the coming months and years? Are there other family members or neighbors to consider?

Consider your child’s personality . The piano is a wonderful starting instrument that develops a strong musical foundation, but if your child is extremely social he likely won’t enjoy it as much because it will take years of practice before he can play with other musicians.

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Hailun Special Offer for School Pianos

Mon, 19 Nov 2018 14:24:00 GMT

If you’re a music teacher, you may have noticed an unfortunate trend lately. The quality of some popular models of pianos commonly used in schools and other institutions has fallen backward due in part to changes in manufacturing locations.

In the meantime, requirements imposed by schools for pianos–such as toe blocks, large easy rolling wheels, and key locks–make it difficult or impossible to simply purchase different brands of pianos that are of a higher quality.

Well, the folks at Hailun piano noticed this trend as well and decided to do something about it. That’s why they put together two special packages only available for schools and music institutions around two of their award-winning pianos–the HU1P upright piano and the HG178 grand piano.

The packages include the following (in addition to the piano):

All of this is included at the same price as a regular HU1P or HG178 piano, which means that they will be competitively priced with other pianos normally considered by institutions. The difference is that these pianos are considered much higher quality.

This offer is only available to schools or institutions, not the general public. Contact us to request pricing information for the package you are interested in for your school.

The post Hailun Special Offer for School Pianos appeared first on Moore Piano .

Institutional Pianos Buyer’s Guide

Thu, 15 Nov 2018 20:32:00 GMT

Have questions? Want to visit and look at our piano selection? Give Moore Piano a call at 260-238-8743 or schedule an appointment on our website . We look forward to helping you!

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How Humidity Control Devices for Pianos Work

Wed, 17 Oct 2018 21:04:00 GMT

Humidity can do irreparable damage to a piano. Because a grand piano has more individual parts than a car , the majority of which are wood, along with felt and metal, monitoring the humidity inside a piano is crucial to maintaining it in playable order. All of these materials are adversely affected by humidity that is either too high, too low, or that fluctuates. Many piano manufacturers describe this as “abusive” in the wording of their warranties .

The wood in your piano absorbs moisture when the humidity is high, and swells. When the humidity is low, the piano releases moisture and shrinks. This constant expanding-and-contracting cycle damages the wood. The joints holding the piano together can eventually become unglued and fail, and components can crack.

The piano’s pitch will be adversely affected by the fluctuating humidity, and a technician will need to correct the pitch before tuning the piano, passing the cost on to you. A piano’s felt hammers are made of wool that will also swell and shrink, negatively impacting the tone of your piano, and the piano’s steel strings will eventually rust if they are subject to too much moisture.

The Optimal Environment for Piano Longevity

A stable relative humidity of 45% and a temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit are the optimal ambient conditions for a piano’s longevity. Depending on where in the United States you live and what the typical climate is, maintaining this can be challenging.

How Humidity Control Devices for Pianos Work

The easiest way to maintain a stable relative humidity in a piano is with a humidity control device. The device that Moore Piano recommends and installs for our clients is the Piano Life Saver System.

The Piano Life Saver System is a humidity control device that continuously monitors the amount of humidity inside the piano, and responds accordingly. When the electric humidistat registers humidity that is too low, it activates the humidifier. When the humidistat registers humidity that is too high, it activates the dehumidifier.

Features

The Piano Life Saver System is available in two different models, the Grand System , which is installed on the underside of the piano, and the Upright System , which is installed inside the piano. Both systems have the same 5 components:

The panel features a green POWER light to let you know that the system is receiving power, and a yellow WATER light to indicate when the humidifier needs more water. If you purchase a system with the optional Smart Bracket on the humidifier tank, the red PADS light will blink when the pads are no longer wicking water, indicating that they should be replaced.

Comparison with Portable Room Equipment

Unlike portable room equipment used to achieve the desired humidity level in a room, the Piano Life Saver System automatically monitors the humidity level inside the piano efficiently, silently, and discreetly.

Both systems use less electricity than the average piece of similar equipment, which uses approximately 5.280 kWh of electricity in a 24-hour period. By contrast, the Grand System only uses 0.864 kWh of electricity in that same timeframe, and the Upright System uses only 0.564 kWh.

You’ll only need to fill the water reservoir an average of two times per month, rather than daily, as you would with portable room equipment. In cold weather, humidifiers can cause mold growth and structural damage by forcing moisture into the walls of homes. The Piano Life Saver System will not do this.

About the Dampp-Chaser Corporation

The Piano Life Saver System is manufactured by the Dampp-Chaser Corporation, which for the past 71 years has has been manufacturing products that provide humidity control for small, enclosed spaces , from the smallest closet to the biggest grand piano.

Headquartered in Hendersonville, NC, Dammp-Chaser’s products are used around the country and around the world. The company values its shareholders, employees, clients, the communities in which it does business, and pledges to bring to market the highest quality products possible while modeling the honesty, embracing creativity, and valuing diversity.

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How Humidity Affects Pianos

Thu, 11 Oct 2018 17:48:00 GMT

In a previous post, we discussed how crucial it is to control the humidity in your home so that your piano’s lifespan isn’t accidentally, dramatically shortened. Now, we want to explain how pianos are affected by humidity and why it is important to control the humidity around a piano.

What Will Humidity Do to My piano?

All of the materials that are used in piano construction, including, felt, cloth, leather, and, of course, wood , are extremely sensitive to humidity. Wood breathes, stretches, and flexes in response to fluctuations in humidity, the amount of moisture in the air. Your piano needs a constant ideal humidity (40-50%) so that its tone, pitch, and quality of action can be maintained and so that it doesn’t become damaged.

How Humidity Affects Pitch and Tone

The piano’s soundboard is the largest piece of wood in the instrument, is approximately 3/8” thick, and acts as the piano’s speaker. It has a slight upward curve, known as the crown. The piano’s strings, bridge, and soundboard must be in tension together. The strings pass over the soundboard and are connected to it by the piano’s bridge.

The soundboard’s crown presses the bridge against the strings. This ensures the piano’s proper tone. The strings, bridge, and soundboard are aligned precisely to achieve this, and the slightest change in the tension will alter the piano’s tone.

When the humidity drops, the soundboard shrinks and flattens, lowering the tension on the strings. This causes the piano’s pitch to become flat, and you will need to have a piano technician complete a pitch raise to fix the pitch before you can fine tune the piano. Conversely, when the humidity rises, the soundboard absorbs moisture, making it swell.

When the soundboard swells, the crown increases, and so, too, does the pitch, which becomes sharp. Fluctuating humidity also will eventually result in pressure ridges and cracks in the soundboard, which will render the piano unplayable.

How Humidity Affects Quality of Action

A piano’s “action” refers to the process that begins with the key (or keys) that you hit with your fingers and ends when the hammer (or hammers) strike the string(s). A piano’s quality of action is diminished when changes in humidity affect the precision to which all of these parts have been adjusted (in a process called “regulation”).

When humidity is high, its keys may respond slowly to your pressing them, or they may become stuck down. When the humidity is low, and the air is dry, the keys may rattle or become noisy. The piano’s wooden parts can shrink due to dryness and become loose and move around, leaving them more susceptible to damage.

How Humidity Affects Piano Strings

Piano strings are coiled around tuning pins that are driven into holes in a multilayered piece of wood called the “pinblock.” Each pin is slightly larger than the hole it is in; the tight fit makes it possible to tune the piano. An increase in humidity means that the pinblock swells, and the fit of the pins is so tight that a technician can’t turn them easily.

When the humidity drops, the pinblock shrinks, and the pins become loose in their holes, which means that the piano will not stay in tune for long, or it will become untenable, which means that you will need to replace the pinblock or the piano itself. Changing humidity can also result in the layers of wood in the pinblock to delaminate and crack. The cost of repairing the pinblock can often exceed the value of the piano.

Fluctuations in humidity can also cause the strings to rust and corrode over time, and the pins to rust. A hardened bond forms where the rusted strings wrap around the rusted pins. When a technician attempts to tune the piano and turns the pins to stretch the strings, they will snap.

Beware of Dryness, too!

We’ve mentioned some of the adverse effects of low humidity, and want to underscore this point. Humidity can damage pianos, and so can dryness. In naturally dry climates, the piano’s wood has enough of its own moisture to prevent it from drying out.

When the piano becomes dry because of heating or cooling systems used in homes, the wood and other parts of the piano can shrink, and crack. The soundboard, joints, and laminated parts of the piano may separate if the glue holding them together dries out.

Do you need to have your piano tuned, cleaned, repaired, or restored? Contact Moore Piano today to schedule an appointment . If you are a first-time customer, we’re happy to offer you $25 off the price of services.

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What Are People Saying About Hailun Pianos?

Fri, 21 Sep 2018 21:41:00 GMT

The following are real Hailun piano reviews by people who have purchased these pianos.

Hailun Piano Review #1: Impressed

This first review is from a buyer in St. Paul, Minnesota , who was impressed by not only the price of the Hailun piano but by the craftsmanship and sound. See what he has to say about his Hailun piano experience:

Hailun Piano Review #2: Sound is On Par

This reviewer from Piano World Forums speaks of the sound of the Hailun piano versus the more commonly bought European models or the Japanese models. As a side note at the end, he talks about the longevity as an unknown because Hailun has not been out on the market very long.

When you talk about European companies who have had pianos on the market for hundreds of years and some of them still around today– that is the longevity standards newer companies can’t hope to compete with. This makes it a “risk” because you don’t know if your piano is a purchase that will last 100 years. Not all buyers are likely worried about that.

Hailun Piano Review #3: Best Piano Out of China

John Ebata is seen in this YouTube video speaking about his experiences playing the Hailun piano. From five feet to full concert grands, he has nothing but positive words to say about the tone. John explains there is great action, range of tone and sustainment (or how long the tone lasts after it is played) even when playing in pianissimo. The tone changes as you play the piano differently.

Similar to European pianos that are five or even ten times the price, Hailun offers a warm tone to its audiences and players. The pianos have a 90 guarantee so that if you buy a Hailun piano and it does not work for your home or space you are using it for, they will exchange it for a model that will. They also have a 10-year warranty for parts and labor, beating out many competitors on the market.

Hailun Piano Reviews: What do they have in common?

All of the reviews for the Hailun pianos mention the value. They are priced low for the quality of piano and sound that you receive. The only drawback is that the longevity of the piano is not proven, so there is no way to know if your purchase of a Hailun will last generations, as a purchase of an older brand likely would. However, this does not seem to be reason enough not to buy a Hailun for many reviewers.

If you’d like to compare Hailun pianos to others on the market, make an appointment to stop by our shop and demo some of our in-stock pianos, including popular models from Hailun.

The post What Are People Saying About Hailun Pianos? appeared first on Moore Piano .

Hailun Pianos Rack Up Awards

Fri, 17 Aug 2018 15:12:00 GMT

If you watch any amount of television, you’ve probably seen car commercials from various manufacturers boasting about how many awards their cars have won from organizations like Motor Trends, J.D. Power, and other organizations.

Well, did you know that piano manufacturers can also win awards from industry associations like Musical Merchandise Review and the National Association of Music Merchants? These organizations have awards for individual pianos, lines of pianos, and piano manufacturers every year, and one of the manufacturers that has recently been consistently winning those awards is one you may not be familiar with: Hailun .

As one of the only Hailun piano dealers in the region, Moore Piano is proud to be associated with this award-winning brand. Here is a breakdown of some of the awards they’ve won in recent years, including a description of the criteria for the award, details about the organization presenting the award, and what products won the award.

MMR Dealer’s Choice Awards

The Dealer’s Choice Awards from the Musical Merchandise Review magazine are awarded every year. The candidates for the awards are nominated and voted on by the magazine’s readers, who are musical industry dealers, retailers, and other professionals.

There are 17 categories for these awards, including everything from “Microphone Line of the Year” to “Band and Orchestra Instrument Line of the Year”.

In the category of “Acoustic Piano Line of the Year”, Hailun has won three times in the past six years–for the Hailun HU-5 piano line (2012) and the HG 178 piano line (2013 and 2014).

In 2015, the MMR made some changes to the award categories and the nomination and voting process in order to increase participation and enure fairness. After these changes, in 2017 Hailun won the Dealer’s Choice award for “Acoustic Piano of the Year”.

Also in 2015, the MMR introduced the Legacy Award, which is given to products that are two-time winners in the same category. The award recognizes the products for achieving that honor while also retiring them from future consideration. Hailun won this award for the HG 178 in 2017.

International Six Golden Star Medal from Diapason

The French magazine Diapason is an international journal devoted to the organ, the harpsichord, the carillon, and church music. Founded in 1909, it is highly respected as an authority in the music industry.

In 2008, Hailun piano won the magazine’s prestigious Six Golden Star medal, which was the first time a Chinese manufacturer had won that honor.

Joseph A. Schumpeter Award

Joseph Schumpeter was one of the most influential economists of the 20th century. Today, a society bearing his name gives out an annual award normally honoring those who achieve innovation in business management, economics and economic policy. However, in 2016 the award was given to Mr. Hailun Chen in recognition of excellence in the realm of music. It was the first time a Chinese citizen had won the award.

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Six Great YouTube Channels for Learning Piano

Thu, 16 Aug 2018 18:51:00 GMT

It’s possible to learn just about anything on the internet these days, and playing piano is no exception. In fact, there are so many how-to videos about piano playing online that it can sometimes be hard to sort through them all to find the good ones.

That’s why we put together this post about six of the best YouTube channels for learning piano. The channels we recommend below represent a variety of instructional techniques, styles of piano playing, and personality types of instructors.

Do you want a serious traditional musical education that includes theory, formal lessons, and practice routines? Perhaps you’d rather just quickly learn to play popular songs on the piano to impress your friends. Either way, you’ll find a YouTube channel on the list below for you.

So, read through our list, watch some of the intro videos for the various channels, and then pick one that will help you accomplish your goals for becoming a better piano player.

Piano Hero

The Piano Hero YouTube channel was started by a music producer from France who goes by the alias “The Gadget”. On his Facebook page , he describes himself as a “dreamy-catchy-punchy melodic bass music producer”.

His videos focus on teaching people individual songs on the piano. Each video is rated according to difficulty, ranging from “easy” to “legendary”. Sheet music is provided in the description of the videos, and the video itself consists of an animation of the song being played on a keyboard while the music plays in the background (see example below).

Some of the music in the videos is original compositions, while other videos feature modern music of various types. “The Gadget” himself doesn’t appear in the videos, and other than demonstrating the songs being played, there is no instructional component to the videos.

In summary, this YouTube channel would be great for someone who already knows the basics of piano playing and wants to learn individual songs.

Andrew Furmanczyk

Andrew Furmanczyk is the owner of Furmanczyk Academy of Music . According to his bio , he lives in British Colombia and has been playing piano since the age of 5. He seems to have a great passion for teaching others about music, and that passion definitely comes through in his videos.

He offers several free courses both on his YouTube channel and on his website on music theory and how to play piano. All of his videos are free, and there are quite a few of them.

You’ll quickly get a sense of what Andrew’s channel is about as well as his personality by watching his intro video below.

Andrew’s YouTube channel would be a good option for people who want to learn music theory in addition to learning piano, and who enjoy his enthusiasm and his personality.

Instant Piano Genius

Piano Genius , created by Tim Gross, seeks to shortcut the “unnecessary and confusing typical ‘piano teacher’ curriculum” by teaching you how to how to “play chords and songs immediately without all the memorization and frustration” (according to the description on his channel).

It’s safe to say that Tim’s approach to piano playing and instruction is almost the polar opposite of Andrew Furmanczyk’s. Not only does he not cover any music theory, he also charges for access to most of his content–that’s why you’ll only find a few ungated videos on his YouTube channel (you can visit his website to request a password to access more videos).

Tim is focused more on teaching the style of piano used by rock musicians, with a lot of focus on chords and improvisation. His channel would be great for those who aren’t interested in learning how to read sheet music, don’t want to learn music theory, and just want to get right to playing piano.

You cant watch Tim’s intro video to his channel below.

Piano in 21 Days

Jacques Hopkins, the founder of Piano in 21 Days , claims his method is great for “regular people who want to learn to play popular songs on the piano as quickly as possible.” His approach is similar to that of Tim Gross, with a heavy focus on chords, but also incorporating some elements of traditional piano instruction.

Like Tim, he also offers paid courses, but has more free content on his YouTube channel , including a playlist with 34 videos teaching you how to play just about every possible chord on the piano.

Here is Jacques’s intro video:

This YouTube channel is great for people interested in quickly learning popular modern songs on the piano, or those who want to learn chords so they can do improv on the piano.

Become a Piano Superhuman

Zach Evans has created an online course called “Become a Piano Superhuman” which he says will take you from “zero to hero” as quickly as possible. The course focuses on skills like sight reading, right-hand/left-hand coordination, and others that are essential to becoming a better piano player.

Below is the intro video for the course, which you can sign up for here .

Zach has a number of great videos on his YouTube channel , but he saves the best content for his course, which is free for now but might not always be free.

This course would be good for people who want to learn specific piano skills but aren’t interested in music theory or an overall music education.

Hoffman Academy

The Hoffman Academy , in contrast to the last three channels we listed, takes a very traditional approach to piano education. It claims to “offer the most complete foundation in music you can find online”, and covers everything from sight reading to technique and music theory.

Appropriate for both kids and adults, this paid course has over 100 videos and is a great option for those who want a complete education in piano.

It would be great for music students or people who want to play piano professionally at some point.

While you have to pay for the full course, there are a number of very good free videos on their YouTube channel .

You can watch a video about the Hoffman Academy below:

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Why Hammer Replacement on Pianos is Necessary

Thu, 12 Jul 2018 13:05:00 GMT

The original design of a piano governs the basic character of the instrument’s tone, but the deterioration of its hammers over time will undoubtedly change its tone for the worse.

What are Hammers, How Do They Work, and Why do They Deteriorate?

Hammers are responsible for producing the sound of the piano when you depress its keys. They are manufactured with thick, stiff felt stretched around a wooden core or molding at great tension. This tension is designed to cause a “bounce.” When the hammer strikes a string, its deflection results in a specific vibration or tone.

Hammers are designed to be extremely durable but are worn down with use. Over time, your piano’s steel treble strings and the copper windings of its bass strings tamp down the felt, breaking its fibers into pulpy, dead layers with each repeated strike.

Not surprisingly, the piano’s sound is affected by this. Eventually, a hammer doesn’t produce a clean blow at all, but strikes with a flattened, grooved surface, generating a harsh and unsatisfactory sound and making the keys difficult to control. At this point, your piano’s original tone can only be restored by replacing the hammers.

Is There A Less Expensive Option?

If the damage is minimal, a technician can remove the broken felt and reshape the hammer. If doing so compromises the integrity of the hammer’s original shape (reminiscent of an egg), it will also compromise the voice (tone and quality) of the piano. So while reshaping is an option to consider early on, at some point in the life of your piano you will need to change its hammers.

What is the Process for Replacing Hammers?

Hammers are like eyeglasses in that they are custom-tailored for the specific needs of an individual. Because hammers play such a critical role in the tonal quality of a piano, the process for replacing them must be meticulous and done with great care and attention to detail .

Step 1: Selection

The first step in this process is to select a set of new hammers matching the original’s dimensions and the tonal preferences of the piano’s owner.

Once these hammers have been selected, careful measurements are taken to properly calibrate them, including:

Hammers are drilled with careful precision so that they strike the strings exactly as the originals did. Each detail is critical to achieving the best result; special drill presses bore holes in identical right angles to and within the confines of the original’s location and position.

Step 2: Installation

Hammers are then glued into position, a process that sounds simple on its face, but is, in fact, a complex undertaking. Technicians must select a glue to accurately match the piano’s requirements, taking into consideration whether a cold glue or a hot glue (at specific temperatures and viscosity) might be used. Experts will check for a ring of excess glue in the form of a well-defined “collar” to determine if a replacement has been done correctly.

If original shanks and butts are retained, the technician must remove the remains of the old glue with a great deal of care, and size the end of each shank using a specialized tool; the fit must be neither too tight nor too loose for proper adjustment.

A straightedge is then used to take four separate measurements as a quality control measure and adjustments are made as necessary to achieve a “factory” level finish.

How Does Hammer Replacement on Pianos Affect Their Value?

The value of a piano, in fact, lessens if old hammers are not replaced. If you think in terms of a classic car with a balding set of tires, a set of worn hammers negatively affects performance, and are obviously an indication that the piano is in need of maintenance. If the beauty of a piano’s voice is masked by worn hammers, its valuation goes down significantly.

It’s important to engage the services of experienced technicians with expert knowledge of traditional methods when replacing piano hammers. For excellent service and top-quality workmanship, contact the professionals at Moore Pianos . They offer a risk-free guarantee, and you’ll know you’re in great hands because unlike big box supply stores, pianos are their exclusive focus.

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10 Best Music Apps for Piano Enthusiasts

Wed, 11 Jul 2018 20:54:00 GMT

Note: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning when you click the links and make a purchase, we receive a commission.

“Play it once, Sam, for old times’ sake.” This often-misquoted line from Michael Curtiz’s classic film “Casablanca” is one of the most iconic in cinema history. The truth is, a song well played on the piano is capable of evoking such profound emotional resonance, from maudlin woe to joyful exuberance .

It’s not hard to see why online music apps are exploding, as both beginners and pros hone their ability to play the piano. In fact, there are so many apps, it can be intimidating to cut through all the noise (pun intended) to find the best ones. Not to worry – we’re here to help with our curated list of the best music apps for piano players, teachers, and students. Let’s dive in!

#1 Musicnotes Sheet Music Player

With this reasonably priced app, you can browse, preview, and play over 300,000 officially licensed sheet music arrangements. The app allows you to select your favorite pieces and organize them into folders and set lists that make sense to you. Here are a few more great features:

This is a fantastic app for beginners who want to download easy versions of songs and then challenge themselves later with pro versions. (Note: this app is only available on the App Store for iOS devices.) Click here to learn more on the Musicnotes.com website .

#2 Note Rush

This clever app uses fun themes and timed games to increase your note reading IQ. It uses your device’s microphone to detect whether the note you’ve just played matches the note on the sheet music, so newbie musicians will form a strong association between notes on the page and their instrument. Note Rush features include:

This app is a must-have for any pianist wanting to master sight-reading skills and is great for kids who will love playing the built-in games as they try to break their own high scores. This app is compatible with iPhone, iPad, Android and Kindle Fire platforms.

#3 Metronome Beats

The once exclusively mechanical metronome is now available as a free Android app on your smartphone. Here are a few of this app’s key features that’ll help keep your beats on point:

If you’re willing to deal with a few advertisements in exchange for this free, feature-rich and easy to use tool, Metronome Beats is the app for you!

#4 Perfect Piano

Feel the need to tickle the ivories but aren’t near a keyboard? Head over to the Google Play store and pick up this intelligent piano simulator designed for Android phones and tablets:

With the click of a widget on your home screen, now you can play the piano anytime, anywhere!

#5 NotateMe

Want to play your own original tunes? This music composition and notation app allows you to quickly and accurately enter music notation with your finger or stylus:

Whether awaiting a delayed flight at the airport or lounging by the pool , now you can write music anywhere! (Recommended for use with the iPhone 5 or larger for best results.)

#6 Piano Lessons

If you’re more of a ‘show me don’t tell me’ kind of learner, this auto-renewing subscription service app from OnlinePianist is for you. You’ll learn how to play piano through thousands of animated piano tutorials:

This user-friendly app includes a generous song library (both free and for purchase) and is designed with colors and a teaching style that makes for a fun, interactive learning experience.

#7 Flowkey

Not sure where to start or even what skill level you might be? This innovative app will assess your talent level and suggest lessons appropriate for you. Other features include:

Flowkey teaches you how to play piano with easy to follow, step-by-step lessons tailored to your skill level, and is equally effective for beginners and returners alike.

#8 Piano Marvel

If you’re looking for a cost-effective way to quickly learn to play your favorite songs, without the expense of face-to-face lessons, Piano Marvel is perfect for you:

With Piano Marvel, you can set up a free account, or purchase a premium account for a monthly fee. You can also use Piano Marvel with the QRS PNOScan system (available from Moore Piano), which turns an acoustic piano into a MIDI recording device.

#9 Piano Dust Buster

The premise: help Granny dust off her piano! This is a fantastic way to introduce your little ones to the piano since it’s designed exclusively to teach piano to toddlers :

This entertaining app will introduce piano letters to kids and give them a foundation for reading sheet music later on. (Only available on iOS devices.)

#10 Rhythm Lab

Even seasoned pianists sometimes feel the need to fine-tune their sense of rhythm or challenge themselves to learn new ones. This iOS-compatible app is a comprehensive rhythm trainer and worksheet creator, which lets you create a virtually unlimited number of custom rhythm patterns:

Equally appropriate for both experts and beginners alike, this app is designed for students, teachers and any musician who wants to improve their rhythmic performance and accuracy.

As time goes by, piano playing can become a form of benign addiction, and you just may be tempted to run out and splurge on a Steinway or Bösendorfer – and we’d totally understand if you did!

Of course, we strongly suggest researching and consulting with an expert before buying one of your own. The staff at Moore Piano are authorities on the subject and are delighted to help you pick out just the right piano for you and your family. If you already have your dream piano, ask Moore Piano about repairs, tunings, restoration and cleaning.

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How You (Or Your Child) Can Stay Proficient in Piano Over Summer Break

Mon, 18 Jun 2018 19:23:00 GMT

You spend so much time during the school year getting from lesson to lesson, practicing with the guidance of your teacher. Then it’s summertime … and you’re suddenly on your own.

This scenario is common among piano students, from conservatory students who are home from college and hundreds of miles from their teacher, to children whose teachers aren’t taking summer students. So how can you (or your child, if you’re a parent of a young pianist) prevent summer slump?

When you’re the student…

If possible, take lessons with a trusted teacher. If your own teacher isn’t available, that doesn’t mean you can’t branch out. Is there someone close that your teacher thinks might be a good fit? If not, even traveling a little further for one master class or lesson can be helpful.

Need motivation? Plan a recital for the end of the summer. This doesn’t have to be anything huge. Churches are often happy to host musical performances. Perhaps the local historical society would appreciate something period appropriate. Even a recital at home for grandma and her bridge club can be enough to get you to focus.

Feeling frustrated? Cultivate curiosity. Yes, it can be aggravating when you’re struggling with a piece and don’t have your teacher around to help you work through it. When that happens, try approaching it less like a roadblock and more like a mystery:

Make a schedule for focused practice, but also make room for fun. If there is a particular skill you want to develop or a piece you want to learn, you’ll want to focus on that. Keeping good practice notes, getting back to basics, and making sure your practice sessions aren’t haphazard are all key when you don’t have someone else giving you assignments.

At the same time, the summer is a great opportunity to experiment. Join a folk ensemble, practice improvisation, try something new! Do the things you wish you could do during the school year, but can never seem to find the time.

When you’re the parent…

Before the end of the year, meet with your child’s teacher. If you haven’t attended any classes, do so a couple of times towards the end of the school year. Put together a plan for the summer: What are the goals? What pieces should they be learning?

Don’t count yourself out because you’re not an “expert.” If you have a musical background at all (even if you’re not too familiar with the piano in particular), that’s very helpful. You already know how to practice and have an understanding of the kinds of skills your child is trying to learn.

If not, don’t feel useless! You still know a lot about how to learn . You understand that repeating smaller things can help with larger things, and you can tell when your child seems awkward or uncomfortable in their playing. YouTube is a great source of examples. You can listen to the pieces your child is learning, enabling you to spot things like rhythms that need work.

No piano lessons available? Consider other musical options. While it’s not a replacement for piano practice, joining a community choir, taking a Dalcroze eurhythmics class, or participating in making music in other ways can be very helpful for young pianists to develop a better ear and sense of musicality.

Daily is better than long, so make it part of your routine. Even five minutes of practice a day is better than trying to cram practice into the days right before school starts again, or falling off the piano wagon after an intense couple of weeks in June.

Are you traveling? Stay in the practice habit. Find a piano if you can, but even spending that daily practice time playing musical games keeps children in the habit of spending a little bit of time on their music every day.

Remember that learning the piano is the task of a lifetime…

Sometimes that progress is swift and obvious, while at other times growth is more subtle. But no matter where you or your loved ones are in their musical journey, Moore Piano is here to support you with the services you need , and the instruments you love . Stop by our store this summer! We’d love to hear you play.

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Digital Piano Repair Tips

Mon, 18 Jun 2018 16:46:00 GMT

Digital pianos have a lot of advantages . They are lighter, smaller, and more portable than their acoustic ancestors. Their variable volume levels enable both students and performers to practice at any time of day without worrying about disturbing others. And the opportunities for recording can help players critique their own progress and development.

They do come with some unique challenges, though. Among these is repair. When your digital piano breaks down, what is fixable? Here are some of the most common issues with digital pianos and how they are typically addressed.

Broken or stuck keys

If a key on your digital piano feels like it is sticking, the cause is most often dirt or other buildup that requires cleaning. Trying compressed air (the same way you would clean a computer keyboard with sticking keys) is always a good place to start, as it’s quite simple and doesn’t require any kind of special skills.

If that doesn’t solve the problem, removing the key and cleaning it by hand with a soft cloth is another potentially DIY solution. However, make sure you’re following the guidelines in your digital piano’s manual! Keys should never be forced off, or you risk causing more extensive damage. Chemical cleaners can also cause problems for your digital piano. If you’re not handy and don’t feel comfortable with this process, having it cleaned professionally is also a good option.

If cleaning doesn’t fix the issue or if the key is visibly off-track or broken, you’re probably looking at replacing the key. Many models are meant for the keys to wear out to avoid wearing out a larger more expensive item, like the keybed or mechanism that allows the key to move. This is also a situation where the key just needs to be replaced. Unlike traditional pianos, digital piano keys are not usually interchangeable between models, even when they come from the same manufacturer. Contact the manufacturer in question to see if you can order a replacement part. If your piano is an older model that is no longer being manufactured, you might find a secondhand replacement on eBay or other websites that host third-party sellers.

Electrical issues

One of the most frustrating issues of digital pianos (especially if you’re used to acoustic instruments) is a piano that simply refuses to turn on . Check for obvious issues first: Is the piano plugged in? Is the power cord in good shape? Is the electricity on?

Many a pianist has panicked about a broken piano only to discover that the cord came unplugged while someone was vacuuming. Try plugging a lamp into the same outlet. If it turns on, the issue is with your piano and not your wiring.

Like any digital product, some problems with digital pianos can be solved by rebooting them. Your manual should have instructions for a factory reset or initialization. Keep in mind that this can cause you to lose any recordings stored on your piano. Backing up your recordings on a computer or external hard drive on a regular basis is a good idea if they’re something you want to hang onto over the long term.

When things get complicated

If there’s more wrong with your digital piano than a simple DIY repair can handle, there may still be options. Digital pianos are computers at heart. Sometimes there are software or hardware fixes that an expert can handle even if the cause of the problem isn’t immediately apparent to the owner.

At a certain point, though, digital pianos become outdated. While the technology behind the traditional piano has stayed remarkably stable since the 1700s, digital technology is always advancing. Inherent in this process of rapid development is the fact that older models become obsolete much more quickly.

Electronics grow and change rapidly. If you’re Digital Piano is more than 15 years old, chances are good that the manufacturer no longer makes parts for it. If this is the case your Digital Piano may not be repairable.

Finding someone with the right tools and expertise to repair an older model digital piano might be even more challenging than finding someone local who can repair your harpsichord. In the end, it’s better to remember that your digital piano is a very specialized piece of electronic equipment with many wonderful capabilities but also a natural lifespan. Like a computer or television, no digital piano lasts forever.

Having an issue with your digital piano? Let us come to you.

Most digital piano repair services require you to bring the piano in for service. At Moore Piano, though, we come to you. In fact, we’re the only company with a full range of digital piano cleaning and repair services in the region that provides in-home service.

Worried about waiting around? There’s no need. Schedule an appointment online and we’ll be there right when you need us.

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Humidity Control for Pianos

Wed, 09 May 2018 14:49:00 GMT

Pianos are complex instruments predominantly made of wood. This wood is specially selected by piano makers, then dried and conditioned to their exact specifications to create the instrument. Unless you are one of the lucky people living in a perfectly balanced place (like Santa Barbara, California ), then you know cold & warm temperatures can change humidity from humid to dry every season.

Regulating the humidity in your home is often a battle that wages all year long. It becomes an even bigger concern when you want to maintain optimal conditions for your (likely very expensive) piano. When humidity is high, wood expands with the moisture; when humidity is low the wood can become too dry and crack, if humidity is too high for too long it can cause glue joints to fail. Either of these issues can cause your piano to be out of tune and could even lead to long-term irreversible damage.

Thanks to modern technology, there are many options available to keep your entire home at an appropriate humidity level . A good rule of thumb to keep in mind for maintaining proper humidity in your home is to keep it at about 42%. Anything over 60% is too humid, while anything less than 30% is much too dry.

How Do You Maintain an Ideal Environment for Your Piano?

Monitoring Humidity

One of the first things you need to do is monitor your humidity. A lot of customers use this as a reason to do a science experiment with their children and buy an indoor/outdoor weather station. While fun, this isn’t necessary. A simple hygrometer will do–a little disk-style hygrometers that you can buy for around $4 will work fine.

We aren’t worried about whether your humidity is 40.2% or 42%. We’re worried whether it 16% or 63%. Minute accuracy of humidity is not what we are looking at. Major changes of +/-20% are what we’re concerned with.

Increasing Humidity

If you live in a place where the humidity drops significantly during the winter months (i.e. you shock each other when you kiss during the winter–it’s not good to be scared of your wife until May!), you need to consider adding humidity to your home— especially in the room where your piano resides.

Here are a couple of ways you increase humidity when your home’s natural humidity decreases.

Low-Tech Methods

There are plenty of methods to increase your humidity without needing to make a single purchase. You can place a pan of water over your floor vents. This will release humidity into the air.

Another low-tech way to add humidity to your home is to fill each room with houseplants. If you keep them properly watered, they will continually release water vapor through their leaves. Bonus: there are certain varieties of houseplant that will also help purify their air in your home. You’ll have an appropriate amount of humidity AND higher-quality air to breathe!

One of the best methods is to put a pot of water on the stove during the driest of seasons. When I was a kid and I got sick, my mother made me stand over a pot with Viks vapo rub and a towel over my heads. It sounds silly, but it actually worked, and it will work to increase the humidity level in your home as well.

Single Room: If you are most concerned about ensuring that the room your piano is in has the right balance of humidity, a single room humidifier might be your best option. There are several different brands you can choose from that will work efficiently for a single room. Most brands will tell you the square footage they cover, so when you’re shopping for a humidifier make sure you know the square footage of the room where your piano sits.

Throughout the Home : You can also purchase a humidifier that attaches to your furnace and regulates the humidity of your entire home. There are units that look like slightly larger versions of the single room humidifiers we mentioned above; they can regulate your entire home’s humidity as well.

Again, it’s essential that you know your home’s square footage. You’ll also want to determine how much water a whole-home humidifier will require. When attaching anything to your furnace, take time to learn how the sensors work so you can easily track the humidity of your home.

Decreasing Humidity

If you live in a place where humidity levels go up in the summertime, make sure your humidifiers from the winter are turned off. There are several things you can do to decrease the humidity in the area where your piano resides as well as your entire home.

Low Tech Methods

If you have indoor plants to increase humidity during the winter, check to see if they can become outdoor plants. You might be able to put them on your porch or patio for the summer. At the very least, consider removing the plants from the area where you have the piano. Make sure to use exhaust fans when cooking or showering to vent excess water vapors.

Dehumidifiers — In most places, dehumidifiers aren’t strictly necessary, unless it’s for places naturally prone to moisture, such as the basement. If your piano happens to be in a basement, a dehumidifier would become a necessity.

However, if you live in a place where the humidity in your home is out of control, a dehumidifier would be a benefit—not just to your piano, but for your home’s overall wellness. Too much humidity is not only bad for the piano, but it is also bad for your other furniture and the health of your family.

Humidity Control Device in Your Piano

You can also find humidity control devices that go directly into your piano. These tools regulate the environment of the piano from the inside. While this may seem like an ideal solution, you need to take stock of your home’s environment before making the decision to install one of these devices.

If you are already controlling the humidity levels in your home, adding a humidity control device might not be a good idea. However, if you live in a very humid climate where even dehumidifiers have a tough time regulating the water in the air or a very arid climate where it is almost impossible to get any humidity into the air, a humidity control device could be beneficial for your piano and extend the life of your instrument.

Creating the perfect environment for your piano might seem daunting, but it is worth it in the long run . Modulating the humidity in your home will keep your piano looking and sounding as good as it did the day you bought it.

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Your Piano and Multi-tasking

Tue, 20 Mar 2018 18:34:00 GMT

If you’re an avid player, you probably already know what you personally gain from playing the piano – perhaps a sense of tranquility or peace, perhaps the satisfaction of learning a difficult piece. Whether you play as a hobby or more professionally, you could probably dish out a laundry list of reasons why you love playing. But did you know there are some unique benefits to playing the piano as well?

Playing The Piano Teaches Split Concentration

You know the old saying about not being able to walk and chew gum at the same time, right? Well, while that might be a bit extreme, playing the piano does teach us the skill to concentrate on two or more things at once.

Think about how frustrating it may have been when you first started playing, to use a different rhythm or playing pattern on each hand. Over time, however, you got used to it, and it’s likely now second nature to play two different things.

Additionally, if you had a teacher, you had to focus on your playing while they may have been instructing or helping you, etc. When you’re playing live, either by yourself, or with a group, you have to pay attention to the other sounds around you, as well as your playing.

In a chaotic world where it seems like nothing is ever just happening singularly, this skill can be incredibly useful in our day-to-day lives. You’ve essentially been mentally training yourself through the piano, in order to become a multi-tasker.

Think about that incredible skill you have this month as you look at your list of things to do, and feel confident that you can take on anything – all thanks to that piano, of course!

Keep Playing!

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Your Brain on Piano

Tue, 20 Mar 2018 18:32:00 GMT

Sure, playing the piano is fun, and has a lot of different benefits, but have you ever thought about what your brain is actually doing when you’re playing a tune through different outlets of your body?

Eyes – When you’re sight reading music, your eyes have to focus on two lines at the same time, in different clefs. This is a basic function of your brain’s ‘motor cortex.’

Hands – When you’re playing a song, oftentimes your hands will have to play in two completely different rhythms at the same time. This also uses the motor cortex, as well as the cerebellum.

Touch – Pianists know the importance of dynamics, so on top of the hand-eye coordination required to play, touch is also an extremely important factor when it comes to putting more force on particular keys in order to make them louder, or less to make them softer.

Fingers – Can you think of another instrument that requires you to use all ten fingers at once? That’s a lot to think about!

We’ll talk more about the ‘artistic’ side your brain has to use when it comes to playing the piano in another newsletter.

For now, take pride in knowing that every time you sit down to play, your mind is working in overdrive just to make sure your body is performing the way it’s supposed to – and that makes you pretty smart!

The post Your Brain on Piano appeared first on Moore Piano .

Piano-based Movies

Tue, 20 Mar 2018 18:28:00 GMT

The post Piano-based Movies appeared first on Moore Piano .

Who Invented the Piano

Tue, 20 Mar 2018 18:26:00 GMT

Last year, Google Doodle paid a tribute to Bartolomeo Cristofori, the inventor of the piano, which was a great way to get people talking who may not know who Cristofori is in the first place. But, there’s always room for more, and even the most avid piano players may not know everything there is to know about the famous musician. Here are a few fun facts about Bartolomeo you may not have heard before.

1. Bartolomeo’s invention was actually considered to be the Italian Harpsichord, and he gave it the description, “harpsichord that plays loud or soft.”

2. He went on to create two additional varieties of harpsichord in his life, as well – obviously, they didn’t reach the same level of popularity.

3. Only three original Cristofori pianos are still in existence today: One in Rome, one in New York City, and one in Germany.

4. Bartolomeo was working in his variations of the piano as early as 1698.

5. He was under the employment of the Royal Family of Tuscany during the time he invented the piano.

So, during the holidays, break out one of these fun facts the next time you’re in a music conversation with your family and friends – chances are, they won’t know many, if any of them. Let’s all give credit where it’s due, to Bartolomeo Cristofori.

Keep Playing!

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