You'll Hear It: Full Album Deep Dives with Jazz Musicians - Piano Technique Questions

Episode Date: October 16, 2020

It's another listener question on today's episode - today, it's a two part question about pedal technique and glissandos.Interested in more music advice? Go here to browse our catalog of jazz lessons and courses available for purchase. And be sure to check out our All Access Pass - every course from Open Studio on every instrument.Friday's Open Studio Live Events:1:00 PM - Adam's Daily Guided Practice Session (for Members Only)3:00 PM - Piano Guided Practice Session with Adam on YouTube8:00 PM - Shelter in Place solo piano concert with Peter on YouTubeFor the rest of this week's calendar, follow this linkLet us know what you think by leaving a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review, or head over to our YouTube channel.Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hey, Peter. Hey. I've been working on this new technique where I put my palms to the sky and I try to play Bach preludes. You want to hear? Yes. It's a work in progress. That's a real backhanded compliment.

You just played that keyboard. I'm Adam Manus. And I'm Peter Martin. And you're listening to the You'll Hear podcast. Daily music advice and inspiration and life analysis coming at you. Now, Peter, you ended the last episode by Sing Us Out. And I was wondering if maybe you wanted to sing us back in. Well, I don't know.

Adamanis with one end but two essence. Wait, we've been friends for a few years now, and are you just now getting that my name is spelled one end? I have to think about it every time. It is a weird spelling. It doesn't make any sense. Is it though, I mean, is that a, what is the etymology of the manis name?

Scottish. Scottish. Yeah. Oh, how's your Scottish accent? Can we offend some Scots with some attempts at a Scottish accent? I'd rather. It's so bad. Wow.

No, I've got, you know, I have, we have a couple of Scots in the Daily Gotter practice. session. Did you know that? No. We have like two or three. Okay. Yeah. Of Scottish origin. So I have a little bit of Scottish origin. Maybe not as much as you, but on my pop side, one of the grand, great, pretty far back, but yeah, there's some Scottish heritage here too. And I have some relatives in Scotland, not, but on the other side of the family in Edinburgh. Oh, really? Yeah. So your dad, see, this is so interesting, right? I think our people were probably in the Carolinas around the same time because a lot of Scots came to the Carolinas. That's from North Carolina.

They thought they were in New York. Right. They were in. years later they realized they were a little far of their south. They were in Raleigh, Durham. That's right. No, but so the manuses were, there's so many manuses in Carolina. They call them manuses, which is wrong. But they all came from Scotland, and they settled in North Carolina. And then you said your dad's people were from Scotland, and then they came to North

Carolina, too. Is that right? That is right. See, there's what I'm saying, man. Bam. There's some cousins back there somewhere, I swear. That's right. Hopefully not the kissing cousins kind that are common down there.

Oh. So, okay, yeah. So we, what are we talking about today? Today we're talking. That was awkward. That was awkward and inappropriate. Sorry. We have a question.

We have another email. You know, I just found all these in my, they were in my trash folder. Don't ask how they got there. Are you serious? I was kidding before. No, no, no. We have a new system. We're going to get all the, and look, you can always ask us a question.

Oh, no, we were just finishing up the, the shot out. We had one more about I'll do it at the end. Oh, right on. Yeah, yeah. us a, I don't know, that's the same one. You know what I am digging with the, with the Hammer 88s on the, because we're doing audio-only podcast right now, these recordings, and just being able to accompany ourselves. I know, but why do we, once we do it, we, our default is very cocktail-esque.

Is it? It's a little bit. Maybe yours is. It's either gospely or cocktail-y. I go straight, shoo-gazing. Shoe-gazing. See what I'm saying? We have a question from Rob on email.

Give me a little, give me a little shug-gaze, please. A little shoe-gays, please. Thank you. Rob says, I wonder if you would address two piano technique topics. Pedal technique. What are good and not good uses of the sustain pedal. Should the pedal be almost always in use or only rarely? Is it okay to use the pedal for connecting block chord passages or is using the pedal a sign of bad technique?

It's a sign of weakness. There's a bonus question that we can get to later. And then glisandos. I've heard both of you use these. You know, we'll get to the second question later. Let's just deal with the pedal. technique first. What are good and not good uses of the sustained pedal? Should the pedal be almost always unused or only rarely? So why does it have to be one of those too? Yeah, well, exactly.

Because it usually is with beginner or intermediate players. They're usually using way too much, in my experience. Absolutely. Yeah, I mean, rarely do we come across a situation where we say, ooh, they're not using enough pedal. Yeah, we, I've never actually said, you should use more pedal. Said no one ever. You should use more pedal. Yeah. So I think that for almost every, everybody, the situation is either going to be like, wow, that was a perfect amount, which is really normally when you listen to someone, you don't notice it. That's exactly right. Like you want to hear a tune, a performance, or even like a segment of an improvisation.

And look, this is all part of the challenges of playing and the joys of playing jazz piano are that we don't have a chance to ultimately plan these things out, just like everything else that we're playing. Pedal is integral and good pedal technique, I think, can be a very effective way to ultimately tell your story through this instrument and to make it more human sounding and less percussive and not less percussive but less only a percussive

instrument like to really like to make the instrument bigger and more nuanced and evil easier to speak it's a tool of expression a tool of expression like exactly and so I think that good pedal technique can be practiced but ultimately as you're practicing the way to go next level with it for jazz is to not just learn it from the classical standpoint, although that's certainly how I learned it

and what my concept is it, but to really understand and listen as you're practicing good pedal technique, like how it affects different situations and internalize that and make it as intuitive possible so that when you are improvising, it becomes just like another appendage of what you're doing. It's not like, oh, am I using enough pedal?

Am I not using enough? Like you understand so innately how it affects the sound that your foot's just going, at the right times, you know. For sure. But that only comes from listening. People think it's about like Wade and where you're putting your foot on it.

Yeah, I mean, from a technical standpoint as you're learning it, it's that. But how you actually regulate that is you have those things in mind, but you're thinking about the musical message that you want to make and you're making those adjustments. Just as a great, you know, LeBron James is jibbling down the court, you know, and he switches to the left hand because the defender's coming, not because he's like, oh, it's time to use my left hand technique. Now, he's playing chess. He's a step ahead seeing how he's going to get the Alibu.

That's right. That's just a means to an end's to tell his story of getting down the court. So I think the pedal is like, look, you press the pedal like I'm doing now, and it makes no music on its own. So it's an accessory. It is. It's accessory to the crime. That's right. And, you know, to get specific about, you're talking about, is it okay to use the pedal for connecting block chords?

Like, there's no rule against using or not using the pedal. But what you really want to be able to do is press. practice as much as you can. I don't have a pedal over here. I took it for something else. So I can't use it. But that's good. I want to be able to use as little as possible.

And that way when I apply the pedal, like if I'm in performance on a real piano that has a pedal, I can link all these up with just a touch, just the minimal amount. It really is then me singing with these block chords. And that pedal is just a very light aid in it. But what you hear are beginner or intermediate appeal. players just laying on that pedal

and they don't then develop a nice legato touch. They don't, they don't, they aren't able to comp in a way that connects voicings. Yeah. Like there's stuff like this, perfect example, right? Like I'm able to go with my fourth and fifth fingers here on top

and on bottom a way that makes this chord sound more connected than if you were to look at like the MIDI samples of it than it actually is, right? I don't even actually have to change my fingers because I practice using my fingers like shocks, shocks and struts on a car, that I can go very fast between. So if I'm using pedal to get that sound, I never develop that finger technique.

You want to get the sound of it smooth in your, and you can do this. It doesn't have to be black chords, any comping. It's a dry sound. Right, but I'm able to connect it in the way that it's not like, like, and then when I add pedal, if I wanted to add pedal, I can connect it even more. I mean, it really is something that you need to, oh, here's a good bonus. something you need to work on. What are the other pedals, Sastanudo and Unicorda? What about the other pedals? Do you ever use these? So yeah, I use the Sastanuda all the time.

I've used the Unicorda. Yeah. Like twice in my professional career. Yeah, the Unicorda, it's funny because it potentially, I mean, it's the most, you know, for the right situation, it's kind of the most powerful of the three. Oh, yeah. I mean, the times I've used it, I couldn't imagine. not having it. Yeah. It was so useful. I remember some classical pieces, some modern stuff I played years ago,

you know, required it or called on it. I mean, it notated it. Yeah. And there's been a couple of ballad situations where I'll work something out with it. Then I usually,

by the time I get to the gig, I kind of abandon it. Not that it wouldn't work good. I don't know. It just, yeah. So I'm the same way. I've rarely used it. The Sastanuno pedal,

I think, could be one of the most expressive parts of an instrument. Yeah. And I, you know, that, I'm pretty good about not overusing the sustain pedal, I think. Although I'm sure somebody could easily find a YouTube video of me overdoing it.

But I try not to. I mean, I've kind of tuned my ear to that. I do occasionally, not going to lie, I overuse the soft. I grew up calling it the soft pedal. I do too. Yes, the sastinudo. But I use that sometimes to control instruments that I'm not crazy about the sound on them. Because you can affect the sound.

You can change the tone. You can darken up an instrument quite a bit. Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, on most panels, the way that the action is working. I mean, this depends a little bit, but you know, you're moving over and just, you're playing less strings, you know, so. Or you're on a different part of the hammer that doesn't get hit a lot. Right. You know, it's a little softer. But not all of them lined up evenly

within, you know, but I do find it's like the better the instrument, the less I use. Totally. 100%. But there's sometimes like on a ballet, especially a company and playing when there's nothing like, like it's that, like I always think about it, you know, on a string instrument you can put the mute on. Yeah. Like those rubber mutes. It's almost like that. Or what about on like that? It's a cool sound. on like a nice soft, easy swinger right here. Because, you know, the thing with the soft pedal is, is you don't have to go all the way down. Right.

Like, it has a beautiful range. Yeah. And every piano is different. And so sometimes on those light swingers, this range of the piano up here with that soft, if you half soft that pedal. Yeah. I mean, I'm on a friggin' hammer 88 here with no pedals at all.

There's no way I'm getting it. But you understand, like, you can soften up that tone and make it just like nice and punchy and beautiful, man. It's great. Yeah. And I find, like, I've been in the studio before. on, so there was a time, and a lot of these instruments are still around and they haven't necessarily aged great, these Yamaha C-7s and, like, they're great instruments, but, you know, like anything,

they're played a lot, they're sitting in studios and the temperatures may be changing, but sometimes in that same register, you're talking about that kind of, you know, alto register, you'll, you can kind of control the edge a little bit of, totally, lines by, by just moving, and I like this concept, and look, all the pedals, you can, that's not done enough is like the gradients of, of, of how much your, pushing down is so important to practice with to learn that i don't even think about it on the sustain pedal i think about it more on the soft pedal but i find myself like just kind of on instinct just just barely putting the sustain so that you don't get that muddy sound you know you can just literally

just feather that sustain so they're just lifting just barely oh if you guys could see right just how tenderly he's demonstrated that's what you know what you pull out a feather that was weird an actual feather uh flexiglasses up here between us so rob says i've heard both of you Glissondos. Now, I rarely play glissol. I've heard both of you use these. I'm super desperate when I do it. No, I've done it, but only in very desperate times.

I mean, I'm like, the audience has a tomato in their hand and is about to throw it. Oh, you're going dope you. I'm going Harry Connich Jr. Or what about if I had a sustain pedal? A little harp effect. I've heard both of you use these, but I never learned how to do them right and they hurt my hand. Yeah, I don't really know either. I see in movies, like guys use their thumb.

Chico marks, remember? I'm like, what kind of psychopath uses their thumb? Yeah. So the one that I love the most, actually,

is a really, you don't... A mask. Maybe that would work. That's kind of difficult. Now you've got to use a different mask, man. Now the one that I love,

my favorite style of glistando, Nat King Cole, use this all the time. Oh, like the one octave. Yeah. Like just... Exactly, yeah. It's a specific interval, yeah.

It's like, you gotta go from A to B. Why not slide on over? he wouldn't do that, but like... Yeah. I mean, it really is a... Are you going up on your nail on that one? Yeah.

Like my third finger usually. Liberace was kind of the master of the glistando. Fun fact, Liberace is from Milwaukee, hometown of Jeffrey Dahmer. Nice. Nice. Milwaukee's a little more than that. My other favorite one is Oscar Peterson style.

No, sorry, Art Tatum, either one. I think both of these guys do this, but I can't even do it. That hurts. Yeah. So it would be like one, two, one, two, three, and... I can't do it. Timing it like a triple.

Exactly. Yeah. But I mean, it sounds like it's in time perfectly. Yeah. That's the, yeah, that's really the other. I like the one, now this I might have done at some seriously some desperate situations where you're kind of white key, but you're throwing in some chromatic,

like you're grabbing a couple of black keys at the same time. You know, it's just kind of a, help, I'm perfect. playing the blues or something. I'll do, I'll rip on some organ swipes. Doesn't work on the piano. All the visuals here. I do like, you know what I love though?

It's like a nice low sweep. This isn't even glistando. It's kind of a grotto. A roll in her hand. Yeah. I think it works really well on the piano. Then Rob concludes. Now if you, he might be referring

Rob might have known about my violin playing years. Now there, I was all about the glist there. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. The chromatic glyph. He concludes with, Thanks so much for the podcast and all the incredible stuff you guys are putting into the world these days. Shelter and Place concerts.

The DGPS sessions. Rob, you're speaking our language here. I'm not speaking. You see it's like. Usually. Traditionally. He's playing a glistando. He's not playing a misnomer.

I don't know what that is. Herbie Hancock play a glistando. You got to sing it. Don't say it. Sing it, don't say it. It's hard to play it while I'm singing it. Oh, now, Herbie did that. That's a Glissondo.

I almost had like a sitar-esque. You didn't get right, it did. You got super like... Trying to express ourselves here, right? Yeah, when all those fail, it fails, don't even glissando, pitch bend. I mean, you could probably program this to do a couple octaves, so go for... Oh, there you go. Love it.

Well, till tomorrow, you'll hear.