Piano

Many folks think that playing the piano is like using a typewriter: press a key, you get a note. But on a typewriter, there are two main limitations: 1. You can't change what each "note" looks like, and 2. You can't repeat that "note" very quickly. What makes the piano action truly remarkable is its ability to provide a nearly infinite range of volume and texture for each note, as well as its ability to enable incredibly fast repetitions, all with a minimum of physical effort. Despite less than half an inch of motion from the top of the key to the bottom of its stroke, the piano action can provide an incredible amount of power from the finger to the hammer that strikes the piano string. I like to call this, "bio-mechanical amplification"!  In this video, we explore the inner workings of how the piano action works, and how that translates to provide the piano player with true 3D control of the piano sound.

   One of the very best ways to improve your playing is LISTENING to great jazz as much as you can!  Jazz, particularly, is like getting a nice, soulful massage for your ears;  I’d bet that if they hooked us up to some machine to measure what happens when we listen to good jazz all the indicators would start flashing GREEN.  Tower of Power has that great tune “Soul Vaccination”, and if we ever needed such a vaccination, the time is definitely NOW!  

So, to help fill your phone/pod/watch/cassette deck/8-track with some great music, here are 5 suggestions for some tracks of great piano music, all different, but all great!  And the albums from which these tunes are derived are well worth owning in their entirety as well!

Imagine the sound of color on an infinite canvas. That is what the experience of playing on the Bösendorfer 214 VC 7' Grand Piano is like. From extraordinary power and strength, to shimmering clarity throughout the entire range of the keyboard, the Bösendorfer 214 VC provides an unmatched palette of tonal colors to express yourself completely. Whether you are rising above a full orchestra with a concerto or whispering an intimate musical breath, this piano will inspire your creativity like never before. Your canvas awaits.

Dr. Daniel Immel is a concert pianist who has been performing for over 25 years and is an Assistant Professor of Music at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. Dan actually has an interesting “origin story” – as a kid, he was obsessed with basketball and actually hated playing the piano. But he was blessed with special musical “superpowers”, and his parents forced him to go to his first piano lessons. What happened to turn his obsession from basketball to the piano? And what’s the deal with his obsession with Star Wars? Watch this fascinating interview to find out!