Learning how to clean a piano is a very important to enhance the durability and the functionality of your instrument. Regular cleaning will not only keep your piano clean and presentable, it will also save you time and money spent to call on a professional for...
For generations – centuries even – pianists have sought the secret to playing with a beautiful tone. Teachers have attributed a beautiful sound to a certain type of hand and shape of the fingers, to touching the key with the “fleshy” part of the finger, to playing with...
Digital sheet music has come a very long way since the awkward initial attempts to turn laptops into contortionists a few daring musicians hoped would miraculously stay on a music stand. For several years, I’ve kept a digital score library on an iPad to supplement the traditional paper...
Piano technique is the ability to get the right sound at the right time out of the piano. It is the ability to realize music, how we interact with our instrument. It is the ability to say what we want to say, to speak through music. Like our instruments themselves, technique is but a means to an...
I’m humbled and overwhelmed to get to share some wonderful news with you. Toastmaster Magazine’s editorial staff unanimously chose me for a major cover story for its monthly print edition in over 140 countries!
For nearly a century, Toastmasters International has been the...
Key signatures are designed to simplify music notation by indicating the key. Without them, composers would be forced to write accidentals (sharps and flats) every time they’re used, which would greatly complicate reading music.
Because each key signature indicates two keys (one major and...
It’s a very easy way to learn the key signatures by depicting them graphically. With C major at the 12 o’clock position, the Circle of Fifths starts with zero sharps or flats, also called ...
Question: How do I calculate Bach’s musical signature?
– Alfi M.
Albert’s reply: Bach often wrote his name in musical notation, sometimes hiding it in his works. In German, the note B-flat is called B, and B natural is called H. Thus, B-A-C-H in German is played B-flat, A, C,...
I am studying the Bach B Minor Invention BWV 786. In the Explication, the manner of execution of the trill is very clear, and yet one can find conflicting interpretations in the recordings and in edited manuscripts.
Albert Frantz learned piano as an adult. Now a Bösendorfer Artist based in Vienna, his debut album was an official jury nomination for the German Record Critics' Award. As an international keynote speaker, Albert has presented frequently at TEDx conferences as well as at the United Nations. In his spare time he has trained with Formula One drivers and completed Ironman triathlons. Albert's unique story was the subject of a documentary and he was the cover story for Toastmaster Magazine in 142 countries.
