How to Play Piano With More Depth and Brilliance
Download the example from this lesson:
| snow_storm_-_full_score.pdf |
Lesson Notes:
In this lesson, we will be talking about how to get your piano playing to sound much more lively and expressive so you can really bring out the brilliance in your piano playing. We are specifically learning about how to use phrasing, dynamics, and articulations.
Phrasing
Phrasing is when you blend notes correctly together and have subtle (or not so subtle) pauses, breaths and breaks in the music. This makes the difference between just playing notes and playing cohesive musical ideas that really come across. Playing without phrasing is just like speaking sentences without punctuation.
Dynamics
Dynamics essentially refer to the volume in which the music is played. Dynamics is a huge deal in terms of conveying ideas in music. You wouldn’t write a song about a thunderstorm and have the piece being played pianissimo. You wouldn’t be writing a song about a quiet morning and be playing fortissimo, it just wouldn’t make sense.
Articulations
What if you had to play a song that is about tip toeing across a floor? How would you play the notes? You would play them short and separated (staccato). Articulations such as staccato, legato, accented, sforzando, etc tell you HOW to play the note. Without articulations, music would sound flat and uninspired.
In this lesson, we will be talking about how to get your piano playing to sound much more lively and expressive so you can really bring out the brilliance in your piano playing. We are specifically learning about how to use phrasing, dynamics, and articulations.
Phrasing
Phrasing is when you blend notes correctly together and have subtle (or not so subtle) pauses, breaths and breaks in the music. This makes the difference between just playing notes and playing cohesive musical ideas that really come across. Playing without phrasing is just like speaking sentences without punctuation.
Dynamics
Dynamics essentially refer to the volume in which the music is played. Dynamics is a huge deal in terms of conveying ideas in music. You wouldn’t write a song about a thunderstorm and have the piece being played pianissimo. You wouldn’t be writing a song about a quiet morning and be playing fortissimo, it just wouldn’t make sense.
Articulations
What if you had to play a song that is about tip toeing across a floor? How would you play the notes? You would play them short and separated (staccato). Articulations such as staccato, legato, accented, sforzando, etc tell you HOW to play the note. Without articulations, music would sound flat and uninspired.