When was the last time your piano was tuned? You might not be getting a true pitch if it’s been more than six months. Has it been more than a year? You might be shocked to find that what you thought was middle “C” really isn’t. Piano tuning is an important part of maintaining quality sound.

Most major piano manufacturers recommend that piano tuning take place twice per year. The reason for this recommendation is that it doesn’t take much for a piano to slip out of tune. It’s a member of the stringed instrument family. It functions on a similar principle. It should be tuned regularly just like a guitar, harp, violin or other stringed instrument.

A piano consists of strings of varying lengths. Most notes are composed of 3 strings that must be tuned exactly the same. The strings are stretched between pegs, like stretching a rubber band between two fingers. The tone that is produced depends on how long and how taut the strings. Again, if you stretch a rubber band between your fingers, you can see this principle in action. A higher sound is produced if you stretch the band taut. A lower sound is produced if you release the tension.

Notes are produced on a piano when you strike the various piano keys. Each key causes a corresponding “hammer” to strike the corresponding string or strings inside the piano.

The problem is that with time the strings slip out of position. It’s usually a gradual slippage. The strings also wear and stretch. These two factors cause a piano to go out of tune. This may go unnoticed during day to day practice. However, you’ll begin to notice it if the piano goes untuned for long periods of time. You’ll really notice if you try to play along with another instrument and your piano “C” sounds different from another instrument’s “C.”

This is where piano tuning comes in. Piano tuning involves making tiny adjustments to the various strings in the instrument. You can accomplish this is several ways . The old fashioned way required a very talented ear. A tuning device was usually used to locate a reference frequency. This frequency was most often A440 and corresponded to the “A” above middle “C.”

The piano tuner, using his device, would tweak the “A” strings until they vibrated at 440 Hz. This note would then become the reference or “fixed” pitch. All of the other notes would be determined by the piano tuner himself, with just his ear to guide him.

Today many piano tuners use some type of electronic tuner. “A” above middle “C” may still be used as a fixed pitch and is still tuned to 440 Hz. However, modern electronic tuners can be used to tune more strings than just the “A” string. Some tune just a few of the notes. These can then be used as reference pitches to tune all of the others. More sophisticated electronic tuners can tune all 12 notes on the piano.

Electronic tuners work by comparing the sound of a note played on the piano to its proper frequency. The tuner analyzes the note played. It then displays the difference between the frequency of the note played and the proper frequency. It indicates whether the pitch should be adjusted higher or lower. The technician then adjusts the strings until the sound from the piano matches the sound from the electronic tuner.

Regular piano tuning will keep your instrument in top shape. Pianos that are mainly used at home for practice may need tuning only once per year. Any piano that is used for performance or teaching should be tuned twice per year. To make sure you are having your piano tuned by someone who really knows what they are doing, contact the Piano Technicians Guild at ptg.org for recommendations.

The charming crooner known best by the name Harry Connick, Jr. was born Joseph Harry Fowler Connick, Jr. on September 11, 1967 in New Orleans, Louisiana. His father was the district attorney of New Orleans. His mother was also a lawyer, judge and former Louisiana Supreme Court justice. In addition to their legal background, Harry Connick, Jr.’s parents also owned a record shop.

By three years old, Harry Connick, Jr. was already showing his musical talent by tinkering about on a keyboard. By age six, he was playing publicly. At age 10, he already made his first recording with a local jazz band. His formal education took place at Jesuit High School and Isidore Newman School in New Orleans.

After graduation, Connick made an attempt to study jazz at Loyola University, but it did not work out. He then moved to New York City to attend the Manhattan School of Music at Hunter College. Before much time passed, a music executive with Columbia Records, which is a subsidiary label of Sony, heard Harry Connick, Jr. and signed him to the label. Soon after, Connick released a self titled album.

His presence in the New York City jazz scene and major label success soon grew Connick a great reputation for musicianship. In 1989, Rob Reiner asked Harry to provide a soundtrack for the movie “When Harry Met Sally.” This was the major break Connick had been waiting for his whole career. The album, mostly comprised of jazz standards, went double-platinum and earned him a Grammy.

Connick then added to his success with an acting debut in the 1990 film Memphis Belle. He also earned another Grammy for his vocal performance on the album “We Are in Love” in the same year. Over the rest of the decade, Connick experienced continued success in both acting and music. His album entitled “She” saw the singer expand his jazz horizons into funk, and he appeared in the most successful film of 1996 alongside Will Smith when he played a role in “Independence Day.”

His first lead role in a film was in the 1998 movie Hope Floats. He starred alongside Sandra Bullock in the well-received romantic comedy. In 2000, he wrote the score for the Broadway musical “Thou Shalt Not,” and it earned Connick a Tony award nomination. The success of Harry Connick, Jr. in the entertainment field is as diverse as his interests, and his talent is seemingly limitless.

In recent years, Harry Connick, Jr. has musically returned to his jazz roots. He is also a noteworthy humanitarian. Connick championed relief efforts for local residents after the Hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005. On September 2, 2005, he helped organized and performed on the NBC telethon “A Concert for Hurricane Relief.”

Connick also spent several days touring the flood ravaged areas of his native city to drum up publicity and international attention in order to raise funds to aid flood victims. On September 6, Habitat for Humanity officially named him the honorary chair of their long-term project to rebuild homes in the city.

Connick married his wife, model Jill Goodacre, in 1994. They are happily married with three daughters named Georgia Tatom, Sarah Kate and Charlotte. Their family currently resides in Connecticut.

Starting piano lessons is a big step in a child’s life. Parents who value a musical education are usually eager to begin as soon as possible.

After all, many of piano’s great prodigies began playing at age three. Still many piano instructors advise parents to hold off starting piano

lessons until between ages six and eight. What age is actually best?

Parents should be thinking less about age when it comes to starting piano lessons and more about development. After all, children develop at

individual rates. Some children reach particular growth milestones earlier. Others reach them much later. Parents should evaluate their

children based on these milestones to determine readiness for piano lessons.

It’s true that a majority of children realize success in piano instruction when they begin lessons between ages six and eight. However, this

is because most of the mental, motor and emotional skills necessary to learn the piano arrive during those years. But not always.

Here are five signs to look for when determining if your child is ready to start piano lessons:

1. Can your child hold a pencil or crayon properly? The motor skills needed for these tasks are largely the same ones needed to play the

piano. A child who cannot properly hold a writing instrument will be overwhelmed trying to force unwieldy fingers into a “C” position. Ask a

doctor, teacher or occupational therapist to evaluate your child’s pencil-holding skills if you’re unsure.

2. Can your child count to 10? Rhythm and timing is very important when learning piano. A child who cannot count to at least 10 may have

trouble learning certain concepts about piano.

3. Can your child follow sets of instructions? A child who cannot follow a simple series of instructions is not ready for starting piano

lessons. Test your child by giving a series of three commands. Then evaluate how well the child follows through. Here’s one example: Ask your

child to go to his room, find a red sweatshirt in his drawer and put on the sweatshirt. Tell him to come back and see you when he’s finished.

He may be ready for piano lessons if he reports back to you in a reasonable amount of time with the job done. Does he go upstairs and forget

what you said? Does he only get half of the job done? Does he get extremely frustrated trying to complete the series of tasks? If so, he

probably isn’t quite ready for piano lessons.

4. Can your child sit still and pay attention for at least 30 minutes? Piano students usually begin with 30-minute lessons. A child who

fidgets or whose mind wanders before 30 minutes pass will not reap the maximum benefits of a piano lesson. He or she may become frustrated or

may be very slow to learn. Piano lessons are costly, so there isn’t much point in spending the money without getting the full benefit of

learning. Or at the very least, locate a teacher who gives shorter lessons for very young students.

5. Does your child express an interest in music? Children who love music will probably be very motivated to learn to play the piano. They

will enjoy practicing and won’t complain (at least not often) about going to the lesson. A child who doesn’t show an aptitude toward music

won’t have the motivation necessary to apply herself to learning the notes or concepts.

Very few children reach all these milestones at age three. Piano prodigies are considered so not because they began taking piano lessons at

an early age. Instead, it’s likely because they developed early both physically and emotionally. Most children fare best starting piano

lessons when they are truly ready in all aspects of development.

William Martin Joel, better known as pianist and pop tunesmith Billy Joel, was born on May 9, 1949 in the Bronx. He was raised in a town called Hicksville, New York by an English mother and a German father. He has a sister named Judith and a half-brother named Alexander, who is also an accomplished piano player and conductor. In fact, Joel’s father was an acclaimed piano player as well. A talent for tickling the ivories seems to run in the Joel family.

Ironically, Billy Joel didn’t initially want to take piano lessons. He finally did at his mother’s insistence, but neighborhood kids picked on Joel for being interested in music instead of sports. Joel studied under a Julliard music teacher who also happened to teach ballet, so bullies accused him of taking dance lessons.

Joel eventually took boxing lessons in order to defend himself. He ended up being a somewhat successful contender on the amateur Golden Glove circuit.

Partly due to his rock and roll lifestyle, Billy Joel was one credit short of graduating high school. Music was his true calling, and he decided to pursue his dreams of becoming a pop star after seeing The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. Joel made his first recording at age 16 with a British Invasion cover band called The Echoes.

Joel signed his first solo record contract in 1971 with Artie Ripp of Family Productions. It was entitled “Cold Spring Harbor,” but it was mastered at the wrong speed and distorted the pitch of Joel’s voice. Songs like “She’s Got a Way” and “Everybody Loves You Now” were on the album, but they consequently didn’t garner much attention until the 1980s when they were re-released.

Billy Joel’s first hit song was “The Piano Man.” Released in 1973, it is still a popular radio and jukebox tune around the world today. It skyrocketed his career, and he was then able to be more hands-on in the production of his own songs. He is one of a select few musicians recording today that are in charge of their own brand of music by having their name on the copyright instead of a recording company.

Once Joel was in control, the hits of the late ’70s and ’80s started to hit the streets. From ballads like “Just the Way You Are” to rocking tunes like “Uptown Girl,” Joel’s music made him a household name.
Billy Joel was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. Although he officially announced his retirement from recording music in 1993, he frequently tours and releases compilation albums. Rumors are circulating about an upcoming tour with Joel and Elton John, reuniting the two piano legends onstage.

Perfect pitch is a musical term. It is universally defined as “the ability to identify and/or recreate a musical note without comparing it to a reference note.” It is the ability to hum, sing or play on an instrument any given note without hearing it first. Perfect pitch is also referred to as “absolute pitch.”

Most musicians don’t have perfect pitch, and it is not a requirement for top musicians. Most musicians have excellent relative pitch, which is the ability to identify a 2nd tone relative to some other tone.

People with perfect or absolute pitch tend to fall into two classes. The first class consists of those who are born with it. It’s much like any other musical gift. It could be compared to the ability to play piano without ever taking lessons or learning to read music. Few people are born with this gift. Those who are tend to become proficient musicians. Some famous musicians with perfect pitch include Celine Dion, Julie Andrews, Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby and Glenn Gould.

The second class includes those who have trained themselves to have perfect pitch. Far more people with absolute pitch have learned it rather than were born with it. Those people with a natural aptitude towards music will probably be able to achieve it with practice.

A basic understanding of how musical notes work will help to determine whether you have perfect pitch. Western music consists of seven different whole tones. These tones or notes are assigned a letter of the alphabet as a name: A, B, C, D, E, F and G. There are also semitones between some of these notes. A C-scale, for example, contains the semitones C sharp, D sharp, F sharp, G sharp and A sharp.

Each note (whether a whole or semitone) is assigned a specific frequency. This frequency is the same no matter where in the world you live. It’s the same for every musical instrument and every sound, both natural and man-made. A “C” always sounds the same, everywhere and every time.

Most seasoned musicians are able to demonstrate relative pitch to some degree. This means that if a “C” is played, the person could then sing or play all of the other notes on the scale using the C as a reference point. Even young children with musical training can do this.

Someone with perfect or absolute pitch doesn’t need to have a “C” played to reproduce an accurate “C.” In fact, he or she can reproduce any note without a reference point. These people can also accurately name a single note that is played or sung. In fact, they can often hear a sound in the environment, like a car horn, and name its frequency.

So, do you have perfect pitch? If you’re a musician with at least a basic knowledge of notes and scales, test yourself. Play a CD and try to isolate a few notes. See if you can identify those notes without looking at a keyboard or other instrument. You may have perfect pitch if you are correct most or all of the time.

Another way to determine your ability level is to listen to music that’s relatively unfamiliar to you. See if you can determine what key a particular song is being played in after listening to a few bars. You can also listen to everyday sounds, like the refrigerator humming, and try to name those frequencies.

Ragtime is a style that developed from the roughest of neighborhoods and was originally performed in brothels. A precursor to jazz, it is enjoying a resurgence in popularity today. There are quite a few famous ragtime pianists, though many of the originators of the genre died before audio recording was widely available.

Though not famous purely for his piano playing, Scott Joplin remains the most influential ragtime composer. Joplin wrote the first instrumental (“Maple Leaf Rag”) to sell over one million copies. Though he never recorded a note, famous friends bore witness to his skills, saying that he played slowly but with perfect execution.

Joplin created several piano rolls for companies, some of which survive today. Unfortunately, the illness that eventually killed him also caused his later playing to suffer, which is why there is debate as to his technical skill. Still, Joplin’s mastery of ragtime composition laid the groundwork upon which later pianists would embellish.

Another ragtime composer noted for his piano skills was Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton. Beginning his training at a young age in a local brothel, Morton developed both great technical skills and a rather infamous ego. He brought the techniques he had learned from playing ragtime piano to Chicago, where he wrote the first jazz song, “Jelly Roll Blues.” Morton brought traditions from New Orleans to the rest of the world and turned piano playing, and music in general, completely upside down.

Eubie Blake was yet another practitioner of the style, though he incorporated other musical genres into his playing. As a boy of four or five, he climbed onto an organ bench while shopping with his mother. Blake started fooling around with the instrument, causing the store owner to proclaim him a genius. His parents bought a pump organ, and he received lessons from his neighbor. He also played in a bordello before moving on to play in proper bands.

Blake composed the song Charleston Rag, which became a huge crossover hit. He went on to write one of the first Broadway musicals written and directed by African Americans.

Sometimes referred to as New York Ragtime, stride piano developed from traditional styles into its own form of playing. Developed during World War I by Luckey Roberts and James Johnson, it relies heavily on the left hand playing a bass line and the right hand playing chords on alternating beats. Though it is often related more to jazz playing, stride was given birth through ragtime.

Modern pianists continue to keep ragtime in the public eye. Butch Thompson was an integral part of A Prairie Home Companion between 1974 and 1986, serving as both the house pianist and band leader. Thompson began playing at the age of three, taking up lessons a few years later. After playing the clarinet in high school, he went to college and joined a local jazz group. After this, he traveled to New Orleans to learn from the masters of jazz and ragtime. He currently tours the world and hosts a jazz program on the radio in Minneapolis.