Episode 41 - Pianos and Keyboards

🎙 Episode 41 – Pianos and Keyboards
G’day, and welcome back to Piano, Finally – the podcast by an old bloke, finally learning piano. In this episode, we take a look at a curious music theory making the rounds on YouTube, dip a toe into the world of electronic keyboards, and review a more contemporary collection of piano pieces from AMEB’s Rock School.

🎵 A Conspiracy in Classical Music?
It started with a video about using a metronome and ended with a full-blown theory claiming we’re all playing classical music twice as fast as intended. This “Whole Beat Theory” suggests tempo markings were meant for both ticks and tocks of a metronome, not just ticks. It’s an interesting idea… but does it hold up to scrutiny?

Turns out, not really. Performances by pianists like Ashkenazy and Yunchan Lim show that Chopin’s intended tempo for the Revolutionary Etude is quite playable the conventional way. We also get into why this theory falls apart when applied to opera or examined historically. You won’t find a link to the video here, but if you're curious, a quick search for “Whole Beat Conspiracy” should do the trick.

🎹 Essay – Getting Curious About Keyboards
Thanks to a few YouTube suggestions (and maybe a recent headphone search), I’ve found myself watching videos about electronic keyboards. Turns out, there's a whole universe of buttons, knobs and sliders up there beyond the keys.

A couple of videos worth checking out:

• How to sound like Elton John on a Nord Stage 3
• Patch walkthrough for iconic pop song sounds

It’s fascinating stuff – especially how a traditional piano performance can be shaped by modern tech. I’m definitely intrigued, and a stage piano might be on the wishlist now.

🎧 Review – AMEB Rock School Grade 1
If you’re looking for graded music that’s a bit more modern, the Rock School syllabus might be worth a look. I picked up the Grade One book and found pieces by the likes of Taylor Swift, The Beatles, and Sir Elton John. The pieces are short, approachable, and well within reach after a year of playing.

You can hear them before you buy too:

• Summit School of Music's Grade 1 playlist
• Buy the book at AMEB

🎼 Progress & Practice
This week, I was a bit out of sorts with my routine – left my practice notes at work – but still made some headway. Working on Blackout Blues by Andrew Craggs and a Mozart piece (Die Zauberflöte arrangement) with a focus on hands separately. Played on the Kawai

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