Piano
OVERVIEW
The word “piano” literally means “soft”. Originally, the instrument was known as a “forte piano”, which literally means “loud soft”. Before the invention of the piano the instrument most popularly used for a similar purpose was the harpsichord. The problem with a harpsichord is that it can only be played at one volume. In other words, no matter how hard or soft you press a key it plays the note with the same amount of volume. Instead of plucking the internal strings like a harpsichord the piano uses hammers that hit the strings with force relative to how hard the key is pressed. So, you can play a piano softly or you can play it loudly.
PIANO HISTORY
Since not long after its invention in the late 17th century the piano has been one of the most popular instruments in the world despite its immense size and cost. Typically, as a solo instrument, the piano is used to play harmony and melody together, generally using the left hand for harmony and the right for melody. With an orchestra or a band the piano can be used for accompaniment and/or for melodic leads and soloing. Sheet music for the instrument uses the grand staff and the keyboard is designed to make it relatively simple to visualize and comprehend the language of music.
WHEN TO START
The piano is a great instrument to start a young musician on for a few reasons. It is fairly simple to play a note and make it sound good, you don’t have to hold it while you play it, and the notes on the keyboard are laid out in a way that makes it easier to understand how key signatures work. While it is fairly simple to play a single note and make it sound good, playing the piano competently on a professional level takes extreme dedication to practice and commitment to proper technique.
PIANOS
There are two basic types of acoustic piano, grand and upright, with a few different variations. While standard pianos all have keyboards with 88 keys that are all relatively the same size there are modern electric varieties, player pianos that play by themselves, pianos with a silent mode for practicing, and transposing pianos that can be adjusted to sound in a different key. Some of the best and most popular acoustic pianos are made by Steinway & Sons, Baldwin, and Bechstein. Roland is the leading maker of digital pianos.
PIANISTS
Inspiration for playing the piano can be found in almost any variety of music from classical to jazz to hard rock. There are the piano concertos of Mozart and Tchaikovsky, the poppy jazz-classical of Gershwin, Vince Guaraldi, Thelonious Monk, Jelly Roll Morton, Dr. John, Elton John & Billy Joel, etc. A used upright is typically the most inexpensive way to get started with an acoustic piano, but many different variables apply and buying a piano takes a lot of research.
ADVANCED TECHNIQUES
For those who already play the piano and want to learn new styles there’s: Boogie Woogie, Cocktail, Rock, Ragtime, Rhythm & Blues, Jazz, Classical, New Age, Gospel, and many others.
Alexandra Schiano
Ms.
Dorothy Lu (Xiang Lu)
Xiang Lu has been playing violin for fifteen years and viola for five years. She also has six years of experience teaching private violin lessons to children using a combination of the Essential Elements and Suzuki texts. From 2003 to 2006, she performed with the Albuquerque Youth Symphony Program, performing Dvorak's New World Symphony (No. 9) on their tour across Brazil, and accompanying Midori in the Bruch Violin Concerto Finale in January, 2006. She was also principal violinist of the Albuquerque Youth Symphony String Quartet in 2006.
Julian Machala
Julian Machala, a native of Urbana-Champaign Illinois, began playing the violin at age 5. During HighSchool he played concertmaster for the Illinois Allstate Orchestra and the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. Julian starting coaching and teaching his own classmates as a freshman in HighSchool. He later went on to study with Paul Kantor at Cleveland Institute of Music, where he received his B.A. in Violin Performance. Upon graduation Julian was accepted into the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.
Claire Connelly
Claire Connelly (soprano) has been repeatedly praised in the Cleveland Plain Dealer for having “dulcet tones,” singing with “bright assurance,” and being “a fine soprano with a vivacious presence.” She is comfortable on stage performing both musical theatre repertoire as well as opera. She has performed with regional companies in Oklahoma such as Cimmarron Circuit Opera Company and Light Opera Oklahoma and in Ohio at the Fairmount Center of the Arts, Garfield Heights Theater, and with Apollo’s Fire.
Carole Mertz
Carole Mertz received her training in piano and organ performance and pedagogy at Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio, and at The Mozarteum Akademie in Salzburg, Austria. She performed as keyboardist with the Jupiter Symphony and the Naumburg Orchestra in New York City, and with the Rutgers Orchestra.
Alex Schrock
Alex Schrock (b. 1987) is a composer and guitarist in the Greater Cleveland area. Originally from Canton, Ohio, Alex received his bachelor's degree in music composition from the University of Akron and is currently pursuing a master's degree at Cleveland State University. His composition teachers include Daniel McCarthy, Nicolo Resonavic, Greg D'Alessio and Andrew Rindfleisch.
Chris Trotman
Chris Trotman is a 2010 graduate of the University of Alabama School of Music, where he earned the Master of Music Degree in Music Composition. During his graduate work, he also pursued secondary studies in organ and harpsichord. In 2008, he received the Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance from the Samford University School of the Arts, where he also studied composition, piano and organ. While in high school, Chris performed on a variety of musical instruments including the flute, saxophone and bassoon.
Amy Davis
Amelia Davis is a native of Wilmington, NC. She has sung in a variety of styles and venues which range from opera and musical theatre to performing on cruise ships. Praised for her "expressive and captivating" delivery (Encore Magazine review of her performance as Julie Jordan in Carousel), Amelia was a recipient of the Finalist Honorarium and Encouragement Awards from Palm Beach Opera's Vocal Competition at just twenty years old.
