For the last year and some months, I’ve been giving piano lessons to a young boy who is apparently very attention deprived in his everyday life. I came to this conclusion pretty quickly; at his “trial lesson” actually. This little boy had a mind of his own! He’d find everything he could to get himself […]
The secret to wealth is spending much less than you make. In “The Millionaire Next Door”, Thomas Stanley and William Danko describe many of the unexpected characteristics of people with a high net worth. The starting point for a financially successful life is first learning to live within your means; spending no more than you […]
Let’s first address the issue of definition. Piano tuning is a process of adjusting the relative pitch relationship of 88 different pitches. As with politics and religion – everyone has a different opinion as to what “in tune” means, even among professional piano tuners. To add to the difficulty of defining “in tune” is the […]
I have found two meanings for this rule, one practical and one life changing. First the practical. Left to our own devises we will start our work at the beginning and work our way to the end. Cognitive science explains some of the phenomenon we experience with this approach. The two primary challenges we encounter […]
One of the most devastating things a fellow student said to me early in my freshman year of college was: “Everybody has to start some place.” The Op. 2 #1 was my first Beethoven Sonata I ever played. It seemed though that everybody else had already learned this work and I was pretty late to […]
Ever wonder why some pianos say “play me” and others, well, you can’t imagine why anybody would ever want to play them? Even if a piano action is regulated to an absolute perfection there can still be unevenness from one note to another. Regulation refers to the correct mechanical settings for various functions to occur, […]
1) Take your students to nursing homes to entertain the residents. Remember, the staff often has children or grand children who may be looking for a teacher. 2) Buy an ad in a play bill with a local arts organization. 3) Tell your students that you would happy to teach their friends. 4) Teach one […]
I say this as a lover of speed. I have worn out many metronomes in my life, not from throwing them out of frustration, but from use. I work meticulously to achieve my ambitious tempo goals and then exceed them by 10% to ensure ease. Yet all too often I get caught up on faster […]
Did you see that “p”? What does “senza sordino” mean? Did you see that accent? Some scores are full of performance instructions and others have no obvious markings. The details can include the obvious dynamic and expressive markings and also the much more subtle harmonic and melodic “markings”. Work to understand every word and symbol […]
This is another great myth of the piano. While cracks, or more accurately: breaks, are unpleasant cosmetically, they usually are meaningless musically. But before we go any further we must be sure we all know where and what is a soundboard and why it cracks. If you look under your strings in a grand piano […]
I saw your name when I was looking online. I wanted to listen...November 3, 2023 - 6:22 am by Mary Ledbetter
Thanks for all the help!April 30, 2023 - 5:11 pm by Andrew
Awesome.
I will arrange a contribution
BlessingsApril 27, 2023 - 7:11 pm by Kent ChownSorry, I didn't get your message. Be sure to use: Andrew@ANRPiano.com
I...April 27, 2023 - 7:06 pm by Andrew