Episode 18 - It Works in Theory

welcome to Show 18 . Thank you for listening to the show . If this is the first time you've heard the podcast , I hope you find something interesting here . If you're also learning the piano , let me know If you're a returning listener . I'm very grateful . You've come back for more .

It's the beginning of the school holidays here at the moment a two-week break before we're back for the final term of the year . That also means a three-week break until my next piano lesson . As Debbie , my piano teacher , is overseas for a few weeks , I'll have to make lots of progress while I've got the extra time to get some more practice in .

I mentioned last week that the finals of the Leeds International Piano Competition were happening while I was recording the podcast . These were videoed and I was able to watch them on YouTube during the week . The finals were over two performances , with three finalists performing on the first evening and the other two on the second .

All the performances were great , with concerti from five different composers . Having watched the performances , I think I could judge at one of these competitions . All I have to do is put the competitors into the order I think is best and then reverse it .

The lead jury announced all five of the competitors' positions in the final , and it was almost the exact opposite of the order I had put them in . Still , the competition is back in three years' time , and we can see if the jury gets it right that time . Joking aside though , the winner was Jaden Itzik-erko with the Brahms Concerto no 2 in B-flat Major .

Both the final evening's competitions are worth a listen .

This week's YouTube channel is one that I've been enjoying greatly over the past few months , and that's Ryan Absher's channel . As I'm recording this , ryan has over 70 videos on his channel covering a wide range of piano-related subjects .

From analysing pieces that commonly appear when learning the piano to technique videos , there is content for just about every pianist , from beginners up to much more advanced players .

Ryan has a Master of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Nebraska and has worked in both university teaching and private piano tuition , so his ability to explain and illustrate concepts is well honed . Ryan and his wife Laura currently run Piano Artistry Studio in the Greater St Louis area .

Many of Ryan's videos take a light-hearted approach to the topic , but in every case , the technical discussion and explanations are clear and on point . For example , in Five Breakup Songs Not Called Moonlight Sonata , ryan plays examples of pieces evoking feelings of sadness , giving snippets from sections of the works .

In many of these videos , ryan approaches a subject from the point of view of someone wanting to learn to play the piece . The channel is definitely worth subscribing to . There's usually a new video each week and if you like Ryan's work and want to support him and get some additional content , you can become a channel member on YouTube . I've joined up .

It's $10 a month . Month . It works

in theory . As I mentioned earlier , this was the last week of term three and now it's the holidays . The first and last days of each term are often pupil-free days where staff work through various tasks . At the beginning of next term , I'll be working on implementing the new junior science syllabus with a group of teachers from other schools in the region .

Term three ended with a day in the mountains to relax and regroup after what was a busy term , as I work at a Catholic school . The day ended with a mass which included a little bit of singing . At one point I found myself thinking oh , that was a plagal cadence , as we were all singing an amen , look , music theory in action .

And of course that got me thinking once again about whether learning theory is a necessary part of learning music as an adult , and that in turn has led me to planning my next project . When I learned the guitar , there was no theory past learning to identify the notes on the treble clef , not even theory about the spacing of the strings .

It was a complete mystery to me why you use the fifth fret to tune the next string on all the strings , except for string four , where it was the fourth fret . I've worked it out since .

This lack of music theory meant that I never really developed an understanding of why things worked in music the way they did , and working out how anyone could possibly compose something or even why some things sounded good and others didn't , remained a mystery . Physics helped .

The study of waves is an important part of basic physics , so it's included in all levels , from high school to university . So it's included in all levels from high school to university . The wave theory that is needed to explain music is one of the earliest parts taught and it is included in the high school course .

What doesn't help so much is that the terminology used in physics comes from its mathematical underpinnings , whereas the terms in music come from the practicalities of playing an instrument . Musical instruments have overtones , physicists have harmonics . They're the same thing , except that the lowest note in a vibrating string or air column is the fundamental in music .

But the first harmonic in physics Go up an octave and you're at the first overtone or the second harmonic . Musicians count from zero , physicists from one . Counting from one makes the mathematics used much simpler than starting at zero , unless you want to count the zeroth harmonic , as silent Intervals are weird too .

The second is one step , the third is two steps , and a fifth plus a fourth equals an eighth . In the software I'm currently writing , each piano key gets a number from zero to 87 and that gets mapped to the note . So a major second is always two keys away , regardless of where you start .

For a software developer or a physicist , all this is important , but is it important for an adult piano player ? I'm limiting this to an adult or older children learning , because very young children generally don't have the math skills needed and usually can do very well at an instrument without them .

Now that I'm getting past the very early pieces , there tends to be a bit more structure in the music I'm seeing . That means that more patterns are becoming obvious . To begin with I was seeing dots as notes . It was enough effort just to see the dot and work out which finger to move , let alone looking for any larger pattern .

Now , with an understanding of the basic theory , I look at the first three notes of a new piece and see a C major chord . So I already know what my fingers will be doing . I look on and see the left hand also has a C major chord . So that's the first part of the piece under control . Well , at least theoretically under control .

The reality is a little harder . Theory is also helping to make sense of the music I'm listening to . That plagal cadence in the singing the other day is entirely expected because of its job in the music . I'm sure there's a lot more still to learn , though .

With that in mind , I've decided to embark on a new project to let me build my own knowledge of music theory . I'm going to make a series of short YouTube videos covering basic theory from both the musical and , where appropriate , the physics point of view .

I'm going to use some of my time off to experiment with one or two videos and put them up in the Piano . Finally , youtube channel . I don't know if they'll be successful or popular , but that's not the main point .

The main point is to make the information available to anyone who is interested and , secondly , to help me get my understanding of it all squared away . After all , the best way to thoroughly learn something is to teach it to somebody else . So keep your eye on the YouTube channel and I'll keep you posted with how it's all going .

With the upcoming departure of Finale from the music notation software scene , there are two paid packages available that cover most of the commercial market Dorico and Sibelius . This week I'll look at Sibelius . Sibelius was written by two brothers who were music students and didn't like writing music out by hand .

Originally it was only available on Acorn computers , which never really took off outside the United Kingdom . It wasn't until a Windows version became available that it really became known . In 2006 , avid Technologies bought the program and , despite some upheavals more on that later they still sell the software today .

Sibelius is available in three versions Sibelius First , which is a free version with some limitations , and Sibelius Artist and Sibelius Pro . The latter two versions are available via annual subscriptions or outright purchase . The current annual pricing is $99 US for Sibelius Artist and $199 US for Sibelius Pro .

If you're a student or a teacher , then Avid offers discounts on the subscription prices . Sibelius runs on both Windows and Macintosh computers , as well as iPads and iPhones . The subscription covers all the desktop and mobile versions . To say that Sibelius has its own way of doing things is an understatement .

To combat the software's increasing complexity , avid licensed the Ribbon idea from Microsoft , so if you've worked with Microsoft Office products , you'll be familiar with the Sibelius interface . The problem is that Sibelius seems to have made some weird decisions about where things are within the Ribbon . I don't find it intuitive at all .

My other complaint with Sibelius is the note entry system . Unlike MuseScore , where you can choose a note duration using the number keys , sibelius expects you to use the number pad . That shouldn't be a problem , except that most laptop computers don't have one , so you are reduced to using a mouse to click on an overlay window that blocks part of the score .

I have found Sibelius frustrating to use and I really can't recommend it over MuseScore . However , if you want to give it a try , download Sibelius first the free version , and you may find that it works well for you as a coda to the Sibelius story . After Avid bought Sibelius from the original developers in 2012 , they sacked the entire development team .

They eventually hired new developers in Montreal and Kiev . What happened to the original team ? Most of them moved to the German company Steinberg and went to work developing the notation software we'll look at next week , dorico .

Well , that's it for this week . If you'd like to contact me , email is the best way . You'll find me at david at pianofinelyshow and the website at wwwpianofallyshow . In both cases , piano , finally , is all one word . Let me know where you are in your piano journey or if you'd like to test my practice software when it's ready .

The show is also on Facebook and Instagram . You can subscribe via any popular iOS or Android podcast application or from directories such as Apple Podcasts , spotify or Player FM . So until the next episode , I hope your piano stays in tune and you enjoy your time at the Keys .

I'm still working on Nino Rota's A Time for Us from Franco Zeffirelli's film Romeo and Juliet , but unfortunately I've got to leave now to go to a family dinner , so I'm not going to have time to record it for this week's show . I promise that next week I will put in some extra recordings of my progress . Until then , bye .