Ask a Pianist - Playing Above the Escapement 

Hello David, Thank you for your very kind comment; the original purpose of my channel was in fact to talk about pianistic concepts that we don't normally hear about, so I'm glad that I was able to shed some light on ideas you may not have had a chance to think about before. All the best, and keep on practicing! A.

A pleasure, Leonard. I'm always glad when my thoughts on these kinds of subjects can be of use to other musicians. A.

Thank you MusicallyFitMusician for your kind thoughts; I'm glad that you found my video enjoyable! Sadly, I haven't had much time lately to continue the series, but maybe in the future; we'll see. Thanks for watching! A.

Thanks dos gos! I'm glad it was helpful. A.

Hi jpage99999! I'm glad that my episode helped you to integrate with the instrument in an easier way. We must never forget that the piano as an instrument today is somewhat universal; every grand piano keyboard is nearly the same in terms of size, weight, and function. It is each of us who play the piano that is different; we all have different hands, arms, etc., so the 'trick' is to figure out how to integrate our individual and unique physique with a universal 'one-size-fits-all' piano keyboard. Thanks for watching! A.

It's a pleasure TheFunkNest! I'm happy that my videos can help others! Thanks for watching! A.

Thank you very much, stevenqirkle; I appreciate your kind comment, and I'm glad the video was helpful to you! All the best, A.

Thank you Dave Smith! It's a pleasure for me to share the 'inner workings' of piano performance, and I'm glad that these episodes have been helpful to so many people. Thanks for watching! A.

Thank you, zweiwelten, for your very kind comment. I'm glad that I can help! All the best, A.

Hi ABB, Thank you for your very kind comment! The mechanics of an instrument are always useful to know, but in truth the vast majority of our thought and concentration is centered on notes, dynamic control, sound quality, etc., so it's only in isolated technical issues like this (such as playing softly but fast using repeated notes) that 'knowing how the instrument functions' becomes directly useful. I'm glad that my video is helpful and enjoyable! All the best, and thanks for watching! A.

Hello njigyfd, I very much appreciate your kind thoughts, and I'm glad you enjoyed this episode! Thanks for watching! A.

Thanks bobafruti! I'm glad that you found the video helpful and enjoyable. Thanks for watching! A.

Thank you for watching, Raghunath! I'm glad that you enjoyed it, and most importantly I'm glad that you found my video useful and informative. All the best, A.

I appreciate it Search4Truth! Thanks for watching! A.

Thank you geniustotal for your very kind comment, and I'm glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks for watching! A.

Thanks for watching Cosi, and I'm glad this video was informative! All the best, A.

Hello Kathy, Thank you for your lovely comment! I'm glad that this episode was helpful to you; as pianists it's always important for us to understand what we're controlling, not only in terms of musical ideas or the sound we make but also the mechanism in the instrument that actually creates the sound for us. All the best of luck to you, and thanks for watching! A.

Thank you Beth! I'm glad that you found my video helpful. Thanks for watching! A.

I appreciate it Greg, and I'm glad this episode was informative for you! Thanks for watching! A.

I appreciate it a lot, P Higgison. Thank you for watching! A.

Thank you for your kind comment MusiMedMusi! I'm glad you enjoyed the episode! Thanks for watching, A.

Thank you Levi! I'm glad you enjoyed it! All the best, and thanks for watching. A.

Thank you Dihelson! I'm glad I can help illuminate the complicated nature of playing the piano. Thanks for watching! A.

Thanks for your thoughts Thomas. You had mentioned earlier the problems with the sound and the piano that I use; during the filming of Season 3, I upgraded the microphone setup, which means that lately I've been able to record more subtle changes in sound quality. There will still be a few episodes being released that have the old sound system though; I film them out of sequence, hence the change will not be uniform. That being said, it's absolutely fair to say that the instrument has its individual quirks (as it is over 100 years old), and I think it's important for people to understand that although it is easy to achieve subtle shifts of dynamics and sound quality on a concert grand in a great hall with a perfect recording setup, it is also possible to achieve the same thing on a house piano with an amateur microphone setup. The technique and the understanding of how things work is what is important and applicable, and as long as a grand piano is used, then the ideas and concepts behind how we play will always apply (though of course it will be limited by how good the piano is). I wish you good luck in your pianistic development. There are many piano companies that are becoming more affordable these days, and furthermore, the pre-owned and secondary market is quite vibrant today because many older owners are looking for younger buyers. Keep your eyes open, and make sure to have a piano technician look over the instrument before you purchase, just to make sure that everything is okay. Thanks for watching, A.

It is my pleasure, Luis! I'm happy that my video could be of help to you. Thanks for watching! A.

Thank you ollie61 for your kind and very thoughtful comment! I'll try to take each idea in turn. When I was a student, only one pedagogue I studied with integrated the issues of mechanical control of the piano with physical technique of the body, and he was known as one of the few who did so specifically, so I'm not surprised that you had not encountered this kind of approach before; it is definitely rare in the piano world. I've expanded his ideas with many of my own, but the core fundamentals stay the same. If I were to guess, then I'd say the reason why this line of thinking is rare is that the vast majority of students who study the piano do so because they love the sounds they can make, the music they can replicate or manifest, and the emotional gratification they can get from playing it comfortably, and therefore the mechanics of the instrument are not important to them from their perspective. From the other side, the vast majority of teachers were taught from the perspective of, 'I'm your teacher, play the music 'my way', and don't ask why', which leads to a 'broken-telephone' scenario where one teacher passes on ideas of interpretation to a student, who becomes a teacher in time and passes it on to another student, etc., without critical judgement or reflection on the quality of the content. This leads over generations to less precision and very little questioning of 'tradition'. From my point of view, the only way a student can do well is if they understand precisely 'why' they are doing things, not only in terms of musical interpretation but also in terms of physical choreography at the piano. The added evidence for this is simple: the modern piano can be considered 'universal' or 'standardized' in terms of its keyboard layout and measurements, whereas each individual human has a different body with different physical proportions. One of the most important jobs of a teacher is to help a student learn precisely how to integrate their own unique body with a standardized piano. To do this, a mechanical understanding is required. You are correct in your conclusion regarding the requirements of letting the key return to its resting position; this is one of the subtle techniques that students can learn, usually when being trained how to play trills easier. If we let the key rise to just above the 'bump', then we can play that note again with a clean hammer attack (though the dampers will not have engaged, so there will be resonance layover). This is advantageous with soft and fast playing as in the opening of Ondine as you point out. But there are two basic reasons why most techniques that we use involve having the key return to the full resting position: one is that if the distances of travel are universal, then our ability to predict the speed and acceleration required to create the sound we want is greatly enhanced. In other words, phrasing without having the key return to the top is more difficult and less predictable. Two is that increasing the volume requires as much key travel as possible, so anything above 'piano' will be difficult to produce without creating a percussive sound. So, playing just above the 'bump' is really something for soft or very fast repetitious technical concerns. It's a 'special effect', but one that needs to be in the technical arsenal of every pianist. All the best to you for the future, and thanks for watching! A.

@@andrewaarons1072 thank you for the kind reply. Your precision and insight really are remarkable. Your response on the limited application of not letting the key to return to full resting position is dead-on accurate. You are right that tonal control above 'piano' requires we have the full range of descent. However limited its application, the concept of working in this reduced range can be revolutionary, or it was for me. I am currently discovering how long I held on to some completely wrongheaded notion that the key must always return to the top before we replay it. Shocking to discover how ingrained this false notion was for me. Somehow it felt dishonest to not let the key fully rebound, like cheating! Ondine is one example but there are so many passages that seem now almost easy, or at least comprehensible technically when we embrace this very subtle engagement with the point of sound. My current eye-opener is Chopin's double thirds etude. The 'sotto voce' thirds are not so daunting, even easy in a way, when we work in the reduced range. Just like trills, as you point out, this makes an immense difference in the sounds we produce. Thanks again, so much.

I'm glad that it all makes sense! Thanks for watching, A.

The Berceuse is an awesome piece in terms of the mix between simplicity and complexity, and for pianists it also serves as a guaranteed hit when played as an encore. Thanks for watching! A.

Hi Zdrange03, It can be thought of in a different way. Consider this: we can affect the speed and acceleration of the downward movement of the key, but it's very difficult to affect the key's return to the top. In other words, we control the 'down', but not the 'up' of the key. Therefore, in order for a key to return to the top sooner than normal, we have to diminish our downward movement of the key so that it has less distance to travel to its resting state. To do so, we imagine or aim for a 'bottom' of the key that is higher than the actual 'bottom'; so, we aim to play 'above the escapement'. Technically, when we play 'above the escapement', we're essentially aiming to use acceleration on the key in the top portion, without continuing the application of power at the escapement engagement point or lower. However! The inertia of the key will make it travel downwards past the escapement engagement point, so the escapement will engage regardless. The modern grand piano action is sensitive enough that even a slight 'crossing' of the engagement point will cause the escapement to function properly, so there's never any fear that there will be a technical problem. Finally, to make a sound on the piano it is usually necessary to cross the escapement engagement point; it's difficult to make a sound without the key and the action actually doing so (you'd have to hold the key from the front, jerk it downwards to a height controlled above the escapement, and hope the hammer gets launched with enough energy to make it to the string). So, to answer your question, the key still crosses the escapement engagement point even though we 'aim' to play above this point. We're resetting the 'bottom' of the key in our physical commands, leading to a quick return of the key to the top and thus a quicker ability to replay the same key than if we'd played to the bottom. Since we only have full control of the key when its motion is begun from the resting state (as opposed to halfway up or 3/4 up from the bottom), we get the added benefit with this technique of being able to fully control the sound quality of the note that is being repeated. I hope this helps! Thanks for watching! A.

@@andrewaarons1072 Thank you for the detailed answer!

I was fortunate enough to be trained in North America and in Europe, so my approach is less geographically defined than someone who may have been trained in a specific aesthetic 'school' or 'tradition'. A.

@@andrewaarons1072 Lol what

Hi Tony, Upright pianos in general will respond differently, however, given that upright pianos are not used in concert except in emergencies or as a last resort, the only concern therefore becomes whether or not the technique can be practiced on an upright. The answer to that is dependent on the specific upright in question. Upright pianos tend to have quite a lot of variation between action designs than what we see in grand pianos, and this goes laterally through companies (as in, different upright pianos from the same decade) as well as backward historically (upright pianos from different decades). For an upright piano, you'll have to do this technique 'by feel' without a hard reference point. 1) depress the key to the bottom so you hear a note. 2) very slowly let the key rise until about halfway. 3) depress the key again and see if you hear a second strike. If you do, then you have the upright piano's version of the 'bump' of a grand, and in this case it is somewhere under the halfway point, though you won't feel it as a physical barrier. If you don't hear a second strike, then you'll have to let the key rise higher and try again until you can find it. Once you know the point of re-engagement, then you can tailor your technique to play just above this. I hope this helps. The modern grand piano action will offer you the most control of any action, and the upright piano action is one designed to save space and to approximate the grand feel and reaction. However, in my experience so far, the two never feel the same. All the best, and thanks for watching! A.

Thank you Composenberg! I appreciate your thoughts regarding the microphone situation; this episode was filmed about 3 years ago, and since then I've upgraded to a much better mic. The latest episodes in Season 3 feature this cleaner sound, though Season 3 will always be the 'transition' year for the sound quality of the recording. Thanks for watching, and I'm glad this episode was helpful for you! A.

Thanks, Andrew!

Hi Mark. Pianos are quite similar to cars in a way. You can lease them, you can do payment plans for them, you can buy and re-sell on the open market, and you can go new or vintage. Furthermore, the same problems occur; you have to tune and regulate pianos (and service cars), mechanical instruments vary in their quality (and cars their capability), and all the rest. I think that the question you have in front of you is this: 1) Buy a mid-level electric piano. It's cheaper, but you know that in a few years you'll want to buy a good acoustic that will likely cost more money but will be better. The downside is that you might wish to sell the electric, but by that point the electric might not be worth much money. So, money lost. 2) Buy a good upright or a decent grand piano now. Lots of money now, but you won't have to upgrade later on. The only downside is that you need to spend lots now (and also; do you have the space for the acoustic piano?). Electric pianos don't need servicing, they are more portable than acoustic pianos, and they give less trouble. Expensive electric pianos will mimic a lot of what an acoustic piano can do, but ultimately the 'feel' and 'response' of an electric is a facsimile, and is not real at all. Truth be told, as a professional I can easily feel the difference in the response between an electric and an acoustic, in the same way that I can feel the differences between actions of different pianos manufacturers. Your question is a serious one, but one that has a wildcard that is your private business: how much can you spend? You have to do the calculations to decide: 1) How long do I want this instrument for? 2) Can I re-sell it afterwards to help me upgrade to a better one? 3) Will I still be playing when I feel like upgrading (or will I have other responsibilities that take up all my time)? 4) Will I have the space (and will my neighbors not complain of the noise)? 5) Are there any financial considerations I need to have? If the equation were simple, then I'd say 'buy a piano that is so enjoyable to play that you want to practice all the time'. But that's too simple. If you want the bare-bones of it: 1) A good acoustic is far better than an electric. 2) A poor acoustic is far worse than an electric. Does that help at all? There are so many factors to take into consideration, and there are so many manufacturers that make instruments that you might consider that it may in fact be the best solution to go to a store that sells acoustics and digitals and see what you can find. That's the best I can suggest at the moment. I really hope that helps. Thanks for watching, and let me know how things go, whichever decision you make. All the best, A.

Buy a good upright piano. I bought a new Yamaha 20 years ago for $3000, I am still playing it almost every day. I can play soft shimmering tone, change tone color, play Chopin and Debussy on this upright piano. It feels different from a grand, but you only need to make minute tweaks to translate your techniques to a grand. You need to get used to the action of each piano you play anyway. I haven't out grown my piano, yet. My mother in law also loves my piano, she is a professional pianist graduated from the famous Moscow conservatory.

Hello Thomas! Thanks for your thoughtful comment; I'll address it point by point. 1)' above the escapement = after touch' is a correct statement, however after-touch is a term that is primarily used by piano technicians whereas 'the escapement' or 'the bump' or other various terms are more commonly used throughout the english-speaking pianist community, both in performers and pedagogues. Thus, my choice of saying to play 'above the escapement' was made specifically with this in mind. Most of the pianists I interact with do not regulate or tune their own instruments, therefore the choice of words was made with this in mind. When I'm teaching students, they will understand the feel of the key, where the 'bump' of the key is, and how to play through it or above it. It's a performance and muscular shorthand, in other words. 2) The technique itself is a special effect, used for specific moments in pieces rather than as a general technique to be used the majority of the time. In the most condensed terms, when we do not accelerate beyond the actual commencement of the movement of the jack when it hits the button, the inertia of the key will still bring the key down far enough for the escapement to engage, but the combination of our muscles resetting for the next strike, plus the key slowing down and eventually returning, allows us to achieve a much faster replay of the same key. It allows you to create a very specific soft dynamic, at a very specific speed range, but it is not the general way that we control our dynamics. This technique, as an example, would not be commonly used in Bach or Mozart (the only time I can think of would be for long trills). 3) This technique takes advantage of a well-regulated action; it is not a compensation for a poorly regulated one. This is obvious when this technique is applied to pianos out of regulation, or ones where there is too much after-touch, too much let-off, etc. I regulate my piano personally, and it is very complex procedure. I do appreciate the gentle reminder about the recommended specs for after-touch, but in short, regulating a piano is about balancing the factory recommended values with the actual values of the instrument at hand for the purposes of making the piano function at its most sensitive and reliable level. Furthermore, all of these adjustments are interconnected, which means that suggestions of a change to a specific issue (i.e. a change of after-touch, or a change of drop, etc.), while well-intended, will not be taking into account other factors which will be affected by the change or governed by the build quality of the instrument itself. Hand-made instruments all exhibit slight differences from factory recommended specs, which is why most of the specifications are given as ranges rather than precise values. When you combine this with climate induced change in the wood, you get situations where the regulation is severely affected in winter vs. summer. Thank you again for your thoughtful comment. It's exceedingly important for pianists to understand more about the instrument they play, if only to understand why a simple instruction from a teacher (i.e. 'play above the bump/escapement') can translate into something that is extremely complex in terms of how the instrument responds, what sounds we can create, and how we can do it reliably in the stress of live performance. I appreciate you bringing to my attention to your concerns regarding terminology; in all honesty, I had never thought technicians would ever be watching my videos. Thanks for watching! A.

Thanks for taking the time to answer. I still think I would love to work with you on a piano only because there's much to learn about how to maximize the piano for performance. Have you ever read Steinway concert technician Franz Mohr's book about Vladimir Horowitz? I played Horowitz's piano after he passed away. The piano was custom regulated in order to remove weight resistance from the keys. You would appreciate this piano I recommend reading the book. You will love it. I hope you get a chance to go to Steinway Hall in NY and play all the pianos. Thank you again for taking the time to reply. Much success.

Hi @@thomaslotito380 , Thank you for your recommendations regarding tech literature; I haven't read Mohr's book, but it is now on my list to do so! Concert pianists (in addition to Horowitz) always have the option if they are touring with an instrument to subtly customize it; some pianists like a very light touch, some like a very percussive sound, some like a pedal that is a little more responsive, etc. But today, the financial reality is that many touring artists use pianos that are at the venue already, or pianos that their piano sponsor provides for the specific event. This is why adaptive technique is so vital to all pianists. Playing above the escapement works on any well-regulated concert instrument; one doesn't need a custom regulated one for the effect to work. But if the piano is out of regulation, or has other technical flaws with the action itself, then this effect will be less clean. At the moment, I teach in Toronto, Canada, so if you're ever in the city, you're always welcome to contact me to arrange a lesson. All the best, and thanks for watching! A.

Good observation and comment; let's talk about this. The purpose of playing above the escapement is to facilitate quick repetitions of notes at a soft dynamic level while maintaining clarity and avoiding physical constraints. If we play through the escapement, the speed of the descent of the key contributes to a much louder sound, and the extra distance for both fingers and key result in a sluggish or delayed return for the next strike. In practical terms, this means that we'll end up playing louder and slower. Notice at 6:03-6:07, I demonstrate the problem of what would happen with Ondine if we aimed for fast repetitions, and I even mention the use of the una corda pedal. Now, take careful notice that at 6:13-6:15, I engage the una corda pedal (you can see the keyboard shift) in order to demonstrate the 'failed' example where the notes don't repeat fast enough. This is important to consider! In most of the examples that I used, the una corda pedal would be implemented during performance regardless of the keyboard technique; for example, I can't imagine a pianist refusing to use the una corda in the opening of Ondine, or in the Schubert, etc. Consider then that the addition of the una corda pedal in my examples is to illustrate the 'final product or effect' of the keyboard technique. It is not however a primal cause of the ability to play fast and soft. In other words, the purpose of the technique is to manipulate the action of the instrument to respond quickly and efficiently. The use of the una corda pedal simply makes the effect softer than it normally would be. But if you do not play above the escapement, no amount of una corda will allow you to repeat the notes reliably or quickly enough to achieve the musical effect. Regarding the timbre; the una corda absolutely affects the timbre, depending significantly on the condition of the hammers. On some pianos where the hammers are worn down, the grooves will be deep and the change of sound will be significant. If the hammers are new/nearly new, then the change will be more in line with the original una corda of the 1800's, where it's a shift of dynamic due to fewer strings being struck. This is what you tend to find on concert instruments. Finally, bear in mind that playing above the escapement works at its best if you're playing with the dampers raised. When you press the damper pedal (right pedal), you take weight off of the key, which means it will take less pressure to push downwards. It's for the same reason why trills are far easier to play if you use damper pedal than if you don't. However you can't see this in the video either...you can only infer it from the sound. Once again, great comment and observation. Thanks for watching! A.

Using the una corda pedal is not cheating..... It's a part of the instrument, it's there to be used, and all good classical pianists use it.

@@BromeliadBro In this case, this is cheating, since the author is talking about different methods of sound production, meaning *only the work of the fingers.* But at the same time, he helps with the una corda pedal to influence the character of the sound. Otherwise, I don't mind using this pedal. As a classical concert pianist myself, I almost never use it. And I'm not alone in this regard.