Baldwin Pianos: A History of Strength and Perseverance

Author: A. Nutt

The majority of piano companies began in foreign countries, such as Japan or Germany. Baldwin Pianos, however is a 100% American company, founded right here in the US.



From Humble Beginnings



In 1862, a music teacher named Dwight Hamilton Baldwin began a small retail company in Cincinnati. The Baldwin company sold pianos and organs, but at the outset, was only for retail. However, all that changed in 1973 when Baldwin formed a partnership with one of his employees, Lucien Wulsin. Together, the two men expanded the company, setting up little shops in various cities.



By 1980, the partners weren`t satisfied with simply selling other manufacturers` instruments and began to design and plan their own. A year later, the first Baldwin upright piano appeared on the market and four short years later, they had also come out with a grand piano.



Moving On



In 1899, both Baldwin and his wife died. They left their share of the company, 80%, to a church, but it was quickly bought up by Baldwin`s business partner, Lucien Wulsin. Under his leadership, the Baldwin Piano Company thrived and a year later, a Baldwin grand piano garnered the Grand Prix award.



Despite the fact that radio appeared and the Great Depression hit causing many piano companies to go bankrupt, Baldwin not only managed to continue on thanks to an emergency fund that had been gathering for years, the company actually began to do sound research. With the help of the University of Cincinnati, Baldwin worked on investigating new techniques for sound-production.



Pausing for the War



Like other factories, Baldwin stopped producing pianos and focused on aircraft production, instead. It was something that many businesses were forced into, doing their part for the American war effort. This wasn`t a bad thing, however, since the techniques used to make wooden wings for aircraft ended up teaching Baldwin better techniques that would later be used to improve the construction of their pianos.



Once World War II ended, the economy was robust and Baldwin found itself in the middle of a rush of orders for organs and pianos. Churches were looking for new musical instruments after years of frugality and people wanted pianos in their own homes. It was an excellent time to be one of the few piano manufacturers that had made it through the Depression.



As time progressed, the company moved production further south, establishing factories in Arkansas and Mississippi before moving down into Mexico where costs were cheaper. New electronic organs were being produced now, as well and the company was doing very well. But it wouldn`t last for long.



In 1961, Lucien`s grandson, Lucien Wulsin III, took over the company from his father, Lucien Wulsin II. It would mark the beginning of a rollercoaster ride for the small business that nearly ended in bankruptcy in 2001. Despite this, Baldwin pianos has bounced back and today is stronger than ever. They`ve produced over 1,000,000 vertical pianos over the years, established various patents, won awards for their fine piano construction and are bounding into the future with high hopes. Famous Baldwin Artists have included Liberace and composer Aaron Copland and it has been remarked that if Beethoven had the option of playing a piano, music would have changed drastically.




Continuing to produce handmade pianos, Baldwin is proving that it can stand the test of time. An all American company that has worked hard to maintain its original standards of high quality and constantly improving and expanding, Baldwin Pianos is certainly not giving up any time soon.

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Memorizing Your Piano Lessons

People have been debating the pros and cons of the memory technique used in taking piano learning lessons. Some of the champions of this technique line up a long list of benefits those can be accrued from this technique. Their major claim for the suitability of this technique lies in the perception that the player doesn't need a book to turn to for taking the lessons or playing the piano. Once can simply memorize and start playing the instrument. Another advantage cited by these people is that the player doesn't need to divert his attention to book - one can concentrate solely on the fingers. This focused attention leads to better performance. Moreover, one need not spend time on turning the pages of the book. Add to that the benefit of ability of playing piano anywhere, even if the book is not available. The benefits can be stretched to an extent where the player can play the piano in dark and that it can also be done by closing eyes.

Those against the use of this technique for piano learning lessons assert that this technique is difficult for some people. People with limited memory retention are at a disadvantage to use this technique. Even if a student is good at it, he may forget some parts of the lessons while performing, and this may have detrimental effect on his overall capabilities of taking piano lessons and play at a pro level.

While you are taking piano lessons, it is important to know what to be memorized. In other words, which pieces must be memorized so that the performance is not at risk. One must be very good listener in order to have larger chunk of piece being memorized with ease. Further, you must try to memorize something which you have started practicing. It shouldn't be other way around - you first memorize and then memorize the same.

You or your tutor must be able to analyze the piece by splitting it into parts clearly identifying the rhythmic, melodic and harmonic units separately. This analysis must mandatorily precede memorizing. Experts also offer this piece of advice for those taking piano lessons - technique of verbal mediation. This technique employs simple procedure - student should speak out the lessons and practice it simultaneously. Memorizing process can be reinforced with the help of visual memory.



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Dave is the owner of www.learn-piano.info and www.play-piano.info websites providing information on playing the piano.

Which Piano Brands Are Most Popular?

By: Amy Nutt

When choosing a piano, most people want to ensure they get a good quality one and the best way to do this is to buy a popular brand that has been around for a while and has an established reputation. There are quite a few popular piano brands available to select from.



Baldwin Pianos



This company was established back in the late 1800`s and still provides some of the best pianos on the market. They also own a number of piano companies including Wurlitzer. Created by Dwight Hamilton Baldwin, the first Baldwin piano was an upright, though they later manufactured grand pianos, as well.

The Baldwin piano is well-liked because of the high quality available. As a family piano, it`s very good choice. Liberace and Bela Bartok both played this piano.



Steinway Pianos



Of all the different piano brands, Steinway and Sons is definitely at the top of the list in popularity and best known. It`s a real boon to have a Steinway in your home and is a goal for many true piano students who dream of owning one.



Henry Steinway was originally a cabinet maker who began to manufacture pianos professionally back in the 1850`s. Some of the most famous pianists of all time have use Steinways, including Wagner, Liszt, Rachmaninoff and Gershwin among others. With an elegant quality about them, these pianos are on the wish list of every pianist.



Schimmel Pianos



This German piano brand is a good one, as well. Many pianists and aspiring pianists find Schimmel pianos to be a dream for playing on and as a result, Schimmel pianos can be found around the world, not just in Germany. It`s a great option for anyone who is looking for a high quality piano, but doesn`t want to invest in a Steinway.



Wilhelm Schimmel was the founder of this company in 1885, but it was later passed on to his grandson in the 60`s. It is one of the few piano companies that is still run by the original family, while most other piano manufacturers have been bought out by larger companies.



Kawai Pianos



A Japanese brand, the Kawai piano is an interesting one. Most people think of electronic keyboards when they think of Japanese pianos, but for those in the know, Kawai is the place to go for high quality, decently priced pianos that offer great sound.



As far as first pianos go, this Japanese model is ideal to get started in the world of owning your very own piano. The Kawai piano brand is well liked and well known, but still not the most popular, which means prices haven`t gone through the roof like they have with many other models. This alone, makes these pianos a hot commodity.



Mason and Hamlin Pianos



This is a company that actually went bankrupt in 1995, but they have made a comeback and are still one of the most popular piano brands in existence. The pianos have been around since the founding in 1854. Though the original families are no longer involved in the business, it continues to do well after the bankruptcy.



The financial struggles in the past of this company hasn`t affected the quality of their piano design. It`s still an excellent design that people from around the world long to have.



Choosing the right piano brand is an important choice and one that must be made with care. If you go with a more popular brand of piano, chances are you will be more than happy with it. The years of growth and development have made these pianos some of the best in the world and they are popular brands for good reason.

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Tchaikovsky''s Piano Concerto No. 1 & Rachmaninoff''s Piano Concerto No. 2: With Orchestral Reduction for Second Piano Tchaikovsky''s Piano Concerto No. 1 & Rachmaninoff''s Piano Concerto No. 2: With Orchestral Reduction for Second Piano

Jazz Piano – the history

Jazz Piano is an integral part of jazz idiom since it has been incepted in both ensemble and solo settings. Due to its harmonic and melodic nature, the instrument is quite important for understanding the jazz arranging and theory. Along with a jazz guitar, a jazz piano is also one of those instruments of jazz combo which may be played with chords as with a trumpet or saxophone.

If you are into practice jazz piano, you must know about jazz practice tool where chords are the primary substance in the instrument, and the second skill you will have to learn is how to play jazz piano with swing rhythm. Then is the skill of improvisation which requires you to make something on the spot. This is a skill that requires tremendous skills and extreme knowledge of the piano.

Earlier, the jazz piano used to be heavily stride technique and it was often played solo. Historically influential promoters of early piano include Earl Hines, Jelly Roll Morton, Teddy Wilson and Art Tatum. The playing style of Mary Lou Williams, Wilie Smith and James P. Johnson shaped the history of jazz piano. The 1950s and the 1960s were the golden age of the jazz which created many important and influential jazz piano players. These powerful players included Red Garland, Ahmad Jamal, Don Pullen, Bud Powell, Cecil Taylor and Horace Silver. The jazz pianists require an exclusive skills set and the piano’s extended range as a playing instrument offers the solo players an exhaustive variety of choices. One can use bass register for playing a pattern of ostinato such as that of a melodious counterline or boogie woogie emulating the playing of upright bass. Stride piano is a style of playing in which the left hand of the player changes positions rapidly while he plays notes in bass register and the chords in tenor register. This can also be done in a more syncopated variant.

Bill Evans sat at the front line of new generation players who emerged in 1960s including Chick Corea, John Taylor, Dave Brubeck and Keith Jarrett. Today, the popular figures in the field of jazz piano include Bill Charlap, Brad Mehldau, Jacky Terrasson, Danilo Perez and Geoffrey Keezer.


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Myself webmaster of http://www.studiobypass.com - find tools for learning jazz music,intermediate jazz tools, Big Band jazz music, jazz midi files etc play about jazz music.


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Solo Jazz Piano Solo Jazz Piano

Classic Baby Grand 30-key Piano by Schoenhut This professionally crafted, 30 key baby grand piano has a 2.5 octave span. It has full-size piano keys which strike precision-ground, steel music wires. The piano is chromatically tuned and produces great sound and tone quality. A removable color-coordinated strip fits behind the keys to guide small fingers from chord to chord. This teaches children proper "finger stretch" from the very beginning. The accompanying Songbook contains a collection of familiar tunes. Available in Black, White and Pink. Bench is included. Piano dimensions of 19 1/4H X 20 1/2D X 19 7/8W. Bench dimensions of 9 1/4H X 5 3/4D X 11 7/8W.Ages 3 and upBy Schoenhut

Children''s Christmas Songs: Easy Piano 21 holiday favorites, including: Away in a Manger * Frosty the Snow Man * Here Comes Santa Claus * Jingle Bells * Jolly Old St...

Gospel Lover

Dear Gospel Lover,
TIME is of the essence! Isn't that how we all feel?
Many piano students spend too much TIME learning how to play the piano... years upon years of studying various techniques, music theory, and 'level' after 'level. If you want to start playing ALL of your favorite congregational songs by ear right away, I've definitely found something that's
going to help you do just that.
Over the weekend, my friend Jermaine, the owner of the piano site, HearandPlay.com, was telling me about an idea of his, and it really made A LOT of sense. In fact, our conversation went
so well, he decided to put the information on his website (see below).

http://www.hearandplay.com/437773/gospel101reg.html

Jermaine Griggs,the pioneer of the award-winning
GospelKeys learning concepts, has come up with 3 simple steps so that you won't waste any time at all.
In fact, it'll virtually cut your learning time in half! I copied and pasted the most important parts below so you can get a general idea.
HERE IT GOES...
Step One: Determining the Melody
Step Two: Harmonizing the Melody
Step Three: Adding the Bass

These three steps are not super complicated theories that require several years of experience. In fact, they were designed for the total beginner with absolutely no musical experience.
What most people don't understand is that most songs follow patterns. If you've been mistakenly learning songs, one by one, you're only exercising your ability to MEMORIZE chords --- and that's exactly why it takes SO LONG to learn just one song.
BUT...
If you concentrate on LEARNING PATTERNS, you'll never go wrong because songs are built on repeating patterns. You should NEVER
EVER have to memorize over 100 songs when they all share the same exact CHORDS, PROGRESSIONS, AND PATTERNS.

Click here for more information: http://www.hearandplay.com/437773/gospel101reg.html

(...and if you're really serious about taking your piano playing to the next level, you might want to consider taking them up on their "Secrets to Learning Piano by Ear" 300 pg.
course).
Click here for more information:
http://www.hearandplay.com/437773/course

All the best,

P.S. - You might find more interesting information, techniques, or resources just by clicking around on their website..