Ron's blog on piano improv and the role of music in our lives
The next time you watch your favorite pop singer perform on TV, check out the musicians who are in the shadows, dutifully playing their instruments. They’re making an indispensable contribution to the performance but they aren’t the “star.” Welcome to the world of the professional “studio” musician. And in this “underground”, partially-hidden musical world, a … Read More
When I was in college (University of Connecticut – “Go Huskies!”), my classical piano teacher used to always urge me to “isolate the difficulty” when practicing a piece of music. Of course I rarely took his advice. It’s the last thing we want to do: work on the hard parts. What exactly did my teacher, … Read More
For many teen piano students, going to college means the end of their involvement with the instrument. The unfortunate part of this is that it’s not a choice; it’s dictated by circumstances. This about it: A child starts learning piano at around age 5 and spends a great deal of time at the instrument over … Read More
Whenever any of my piano students gets discouraged from hitting a wrong note or making any type of musical mistake, I tell them, “Don’t worry about that; an “expert” is someone who’s made 1,000 mistakes, but has learned from them all.” Then I smile and say, “Congratulations! You only have 999 more to go!” This … Read More
Want to try an interesting musical experiment? Sit down at your piano or keyboard and play something you know pretty well. Now here’s the important part: LOVE the music, while you’re playing it. Let the sounds wash over you. Enjoy the feeling of your fingers on the keys, and the physicality of it all. Luxuriate … Read More
Got 50 cents? Or 50 small coins of any type? Here’s how to use them to become a great pianist: It’s simple. Just put them in a small pile on a table near your piano. (Don’t put them right on the piano since they might fall in.) After you’ve done that, pick a short musical … Read More
If you play music a lot, you need to find a way to keep it from becoming stale. I’ve read interviews with guitarists B.B. King and Eric Clapton where the interviewer asked them separately, “How do you keep your music fresh?” What interested me most was that they both gave what was essentially the same … Read More
The next time you find yourself accompanying a vocalist or instrumental soloist, do yourself a favor: find a little place in the music where you can really shine. Sure, the soloist might be the “main attraction” from the audience’s perspective, but you deserve to be noticed too. After all, you’re doing at least 50% of … Read More
Keith Jarrett at Carnegie Hall, New York City, March 3, 2015 Hearing Keith Jarrett’s solo piano concert at Carnegie Hall reminded me of how much I love music. It also reminded me that he (and indeed, “we”) aren’t getting any younger, and as Jarrett nears the age of 70, now is the time to go … Read More
Each week I get emails from people (and I’m speaking mostly about adults here) who love to play piano but have an extremely busy schedule. They want to stay with the instrument but have jobs that keep them busy all day or require frequent traveling. Not only do they not have any spare time, but … Read More