What is TEXTURE in piano music?

[@RolandHuettmann]

Now I am rethinking pieces in terms of their texture, trying to orchestrate -- creative work. Very well explained, Thank you !)

[@PianistAcademy1]

Great! Love hearing this, and thanks for watching!

[@bethanywakim6175]

Piano orchestration is such a concrete way to think about texture and voicing. I distinctly remember my high school piano teacher writing “horns” and “cello” above sections of music (and supplying lyrics for imaginary singers). It really does help the mindset. That Haydn is so sparkly!

[@PianistAcademy1]

Absolutely, Bethany! I only truly starting thinking about music in this way when I would write in the actual orchestrations for piano reductions... but the more of that I did, the more I realized that the great composers orchestrated all of their piano solo works as well!

[@JoeLinux2000]

Good points particularly when you are working with synthesizers, it's best to have an imaginary ensemble in your mind.

[@derekdaniels8649]

Wow! What a stunning tutorial. This guy is an absolutely superb teacher.The depth of analysis here is really inspirational for all pianists what ever their level.

[@PianistAcademy1]

Thanks so much, Derek! Glad you enjoyed this deep dive into something not talked about often on KZbin :-)

[@hetedeleambacht6608]

@@PianistAcademy1 i think this is really key to any music making, even pop.....indeed good videos like this are worth gold and enjoyable most! These `aha`moments when you suddenly see patterns in music, thats what musicians do it for !! at least thats what gives me most pleasure when I practice piano

[@hetedeleambacht6608]

what a rich channel this is, thank you so much. I m mostly a singer (semi pro) witch some piano and guitar accompaniment skills, mostly self-taught and with kind help of musical friends, i thoroughly enjoyed music througout my life, so this is a real treasure, that being said my playing technique is lousy to non-existant according to all serious standards, thereby I m very bad at sightreading piano music (singing music is better) but i m able to pull of to play some very, very simple accompaniment by ear for a lot of mainly pop songs, I try to scale up by starting to use octaves in the left hand, learning all the chord inversions, play around with voicing and trying to impromptu modulate a simple song in any key of the keyboard, trying to get the fingering right (very bad at that, too) and play in one go flawlessly without stopping (perhaps the biggest one)....I think I want to learn by accompanying people with their (pop) singing (beginner to intermediate level), thats a fun way of learning piano too, I found out, its more like `making music together`. The thing that makes me advance so slow in piano is that its such a lonely business....playing together with people or being heard/seen is what gives me that extra motivation to practise more.....

[@PianistAcademy1]

Yes, it can be lonely, but no more than doing the "grind" work for any other instrument, voice included. If you like the collaborative aspect, keep looking for those opportunities! I'm technically a "solo pianist" or "concert pianist," but without a doubt some of the most fun I've had performing have been collab concerts. One in particular that comes to mind was an entire show of musical theater that I scored for a medium sized pit orchestra of 11 players and 3 singers. So much fun working with all of those other amazing musicians!

[@lovaaaa2451]

Absolutely marvelous video!

[@PianistAcademy1]

Thank you!

[@serwoolsley]

Very interesting title! I'll watch as soon as i can. Indeed.. what is texture🤔🤔

[@PianistAcademy1]

Hope you enjoy! The Haydn example is so much fun!

[@JoeLinux2000]

The totality of complete performance mastery.

[@PianistAcademy1]

It's one facet of mastery, but an important one. And usually one of a few that's missing between a highly degreed pianist and a true artist.

[@JoeLinux2000]

@@PianistAcademy1 I'm glad this video is getting more views. It's quite a valuable subject.

[@JoeLinux2000]

@@PianistAcademy1 Like Hampton Hawes for example?

[@JoeLinux2000]

I've never thought of musical texture, at least in solo piano, but it is a concept that makes sense when you begin to think about it. Managing textures would require the highest level of pianistic skill. It's clearly a very careful balancing act requiring a very good instrument. You are unlikely to make fine clothing out of a gunny sack. I think you could exchange the term tonal balance for texture, but that may not include melodic phrasing. The bottom line, Charles, is that this is the reason to practice musical repertoire, not monotonous finger exercises which do little to develop musical expression. Now apply this lesson to your frail textured Chopin Nocturne.

[@JoeLinux2000]

This may be one of Charles's best lessons ever.

[@JoeLinux2000]

How's this lady's management of texture with early level piano pieces? kzbin.info/www/bejne/iIHIpmeZjrloh68 This is the type of repertoire I believe students should concentrate on.

[@PianistAcademy1]

Thanks! Usually topics like this I reserve for my paid content lol.

[@PianistAcademy1]

I quite like the texture of my Nocturne... and it seems most audiences do too considering my last performance of it, the audience gave me a standing ovation right in the middle of the second half for it, which also included a man in the front row who starting also pumping his fist in the air because he loved it so much. I understand not every interpretation will fit everyone's taste, but I also don't think my Nocturne is lacking in ... well really anything. It's exactly as I intend it, textures, melody, emotion, and all.

[@PianistAcademy1]

Early pieces usually don't have much in the way of texture to work on... usually just a separation of melody from everything else. Gillock is great and I'm always teaching his rep. This performance is fine and competent and the top is brought out nicely... it could use more character though... I find it a bit 2D because the horn calls don't seem to be fully understood for what they are, only being executed as notated but without true intention or perhaps true understanding of the composition itself.

[@hetedeleambacht6608]

alI sincerely believe all piano voicing, orchestrations and texture started with or at least are in great debt of sung polyphony a cappella. I sang in an early music ensemble for 10 years, singing beautiful stuff from dufay, palestrina up until right before Bach. Key was listening what the other lines of the singers were singing all the time, and what my place or line was in the whole piece, all the time....and singing as required, as a melody, `harmonisation`of the melody, countermelody or something else (concept of harmony didnt exist as we understand it now from 1300-1600)....if you can hear musical lines and sing them, you can understand (written) piano music and how it should be played mmuch better... I think choir singing (especially some more complex pieces) really helps your musical education a great deal on a lot of levels, even if singing is not your main field of expertise, i would sincerely recommend it to anyone!

[@PianistAcademy1]

I agree with this as well! I started singing in a large concert choir when I was 14, and in a chamber acapella choir when I was 16... and also started accompanying choral music when I was 14 too. It completely changed my approach to the piano (and to composition) for the better!

[@antoniomaccagnan7200]

Last night I went to a concert where they played Pierre Boulez and wondered what Charles would have to say about his music.

[@PianistAcademy1]

Lol, did you enjoy it? That's all that matters :-D

[@antoniomaccagnan7200]

@@PianistAcademy1 I'm not sure if 'enjoy' would be the right word. It certainly makes you think. I'm a sucker for conceptual music and do not mind dissonances in jazz, but I felt a tad out of my dept with this. I assume to a trained musician's ear it would all make much more sense.

[@synhegola]

Regarding pedaling: Would you use the sostenuot pedal or the usual pedal? (EDIT: I mixed up sostenuto with sustain pedal and with harmonic pedal. Harmonic pedal is another 4th pedal, as i just found out)

[@PianistAcademy1]

Pedal is an incredibly complicated subject. Each example just in this video needs a slightly different approach to pedal, and the best pedaling has just as much to do with finger sustain as it does with foot work!

[@JoeLinux2000]

What does a harmonic pedal do?

[@synhegola]

@@JoeLinux2000 If I understand correctly, it stops the dampeners of the keys pressed from coming down again. Contrary to the usual pedal, which lifts all dampeners.

[@JoeLinux2000]

​@@synhegola What is the benefit? How is it different from the sostenuto pedal? I found an explanation: kzbin.info/www/bejne/laGTnWt4n7p-r7s It's a very nice effect in certain cases, but most pianos don't have it. At times his bass is very muddy.

[@synhegola]

@@JoeLinux2000 I wrote what the difference is... The sustain pedal lifts all dampeners, the middle pedal (sostenuto pedal) lifts only the dampeners of the keys pressed. It helps with playing and avoiding overtones that aren't suitable. However, it seems to be a very advanced topic. I just wanted to know from the OP if there is any sense in using it in the chopin literature.