Shadowing Practice: Why Steinway Grand Pianos Are So Expensive | So Expensive - Learn English Speaking with Video
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It takes about 11 months to craft just one Steinway & Sons grand piano.
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And these instruments don't come cheap.
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A Model D concert piano in ebony, the most affordable finish of any Steinway piano, will cost you about $187,000.
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But that's nowhere near how high prices can reach.
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Steinway has produced two of the most expensive pianos in the world, worth over $2 million each.
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The next most expensive piano is half the price, at $1.2 million.
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But with several other premium pianos on the market, is there something about Steinway's sound that stands out?
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And is that what makes these pianos so expensive?
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Named the Rolls Royce of pianos by the BBC, Steinway has produced some of the most sought-after grand pianos for over 160 years.
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It's the piano of choice for Billy Joel, Lang Lang, and many other professional musicians.
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But compared to other high-end piano makers, it's often Steinway's sound that sets it apart.
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As a performer, I can wear many different masks depending on the piece that I'm playing.
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There's some pieces you want to be very, very diabolical, you know, enlist.
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And at the same time, lightness.
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Creating that sound starts here in New York, at one of only two Steinway factories in the world.
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Each grand piano is 5 to 9 feet long, and weighs between 540 and 990 pounds.
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Often, the bigger the piano, the pricier it will be.
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About 85% of a Steinway piano is made of wood, and one of the most crucial woods is used for the soundboard.
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The soundboard is the life of the instrument, the soul of the instrument.
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This is Alaskan Sitka spruce.
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This is the most expensive wood that we have in the piano.
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And we actually get it from the trees primarily that are on the shady side, the north-facing side of these islands.
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So they grow very little each year, and that means that we have growth rings that are very close together, not spaced apart.
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Sitka spruce is used in other stringed instruments like guitars.
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and it grows in a few areas in the northwest US.
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But more than 50% of the Alaskan sickest spruce they source won't meet Steinway's standards.
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The wood must have a very specific grain density and direction, both which can impact the quality of sound.
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Steinway looks for closely packed, straight grains, no more than plus or minus 15 degrees off a 90-degree vertical grain.
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There's a reason it's so strict about this.
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That's partly why, when you press a key on a Steinway piano, you hear a distinctly long, sustained tone.
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The soundboard's edge must attach perfectly to the piano's rim, the curved wooden frame of the instrument.
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The full rim is made up of an inner and outer rim.
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Some piano makers attach each of these pieces separately, but at Steinway, a team of artisans bends both together.
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Steinway says this method gives the piano a stronger foundation, lowering the chances it will break.
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Steinway uses hard rock maple for both the inner and outer rims.
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The key here is to use wood that will, again, allow sound to flow freely.
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Some companies, as an example, will have hard rock maple for the outside rim, but the inside rim, to save money, they'll use something like Luan.
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Luan is not as dense and hard as hard rock maple.
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And when you have your sound waves in that soundboard, some of them are being absorbed a little bit by that luon, more than they would be by hard rock maple.
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The consistent touch of the keys is another valuable element unique to each sideway piano.
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There are just two artisans in the entire factory, trusted with weighing off all 88 keys of every keyboard.
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This ensures each key is balanced, so a pianist won't have to use more force to press one key over another.
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I used to dream about the pianos chasing me.
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Now it's not a problem.
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It's up to me.
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They the boss.
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I listen, you know, I pay attention to what it wants.
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The key to it is pay attention and watch that hammer.
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That's the key to it.
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Each key is connected to a felt hammer.
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When pressed, the hammer strikes the strings to create sound.
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A key shouldn't respond to the finger's touch too quickly or too slowly.
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So when I go to check the return, it stays.
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You see the hesitation?
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It's no good.
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That means it'll stay up in the piano.
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You see how fast that one is?
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That's too fast.
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So I take this one away.
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Then I put this one back, and it wants the small one.
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You see?
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So I put the small one.
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You see how nice it is?
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And that tells me what it wants.
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So that shows you the difference.
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Everyone is different.
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One of the most difficult jobs is the final tone inspection.
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The goal is to create a balanced tone throughout the piano by slightly adjusting the hammers as needed.
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From note to note, we can soften or harden these mallets, or hammers as we call them,
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and balance the sound that they generate into the string.
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The quality of the piano's tone is incredibly nuanced, something only an experienced ear can decipher.
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If I take this note and then soften it, In this case, I will put a needle in the hammer to soften it.
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Then you'll hear that tone change.
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It's a little bit smaller.
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And in increments, small steps, I can go through and find the notes that are too big, too bright, and step them down.
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Well, I'm 58, and I started when I was 28, so that's 30 years and counting.
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I'm still learning how to do this.
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It never stops.
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Unlike the ways you can customize a Rolls Royce car, you can do similarly with a Steinway piano.
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Depending on special editions, veneers, and wood finishes, prices for a single piece can reach $500,000,
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like these pianos designed for Steinway by Lenny Kravitz.
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In the piano vault underneath the factory, Steinway houses one of the most expensive pianos it's ever produced, worth $2.5 million.
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On average, the price of a new Steinway piano increases about 4% every year.
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This is partly because the cost of Alaskan Sitka spruce increases at a higher rate than inflation, according to Steinway.
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And while the new pieces get more expensive, old ones become more valuable too.
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A Steinway piano can last several decades with the required touch-ups and restorations.
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A 1965 Steinway Model D piano is worth over $98,000 today.
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That's more than 13 times what it likely sold for.
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And although there are several elements that greatly impact the price, it's the musician who ultimately decides what the piano is worth to them.
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Thank you.
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Woordenschat en spreektips bij deze les
Deze spreekles op niveau B2 is gebaseerd op de video “Why Steinway Grand Pianos Are So Expensive”. Deze woorden komen het vaakst terug: piano, Steinway, key, sound, rim. Deze video bevat 90 zinnen en 1119 woorden om na te spreken. Het gesproken deel duurt 8:40. De spreker praat in een gelijkmatig tempo van ongeveer 129 woorden per minuut, prettig om te shadowen. Slechts 77% van de woorden hoort bij de 3.000 meest gebruikte Engelse woorden, dus de woordenschat is pittig.
Belangrijke woorden in deze video
De 15 moeilijkste woorden uit de video, met uitspraak en betekenis:
| Woord | Uitspraak | Betekenis |
|---|---|---|
| hammer zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈhæmɚ/ | hamer |
| spruce zelfstandig naamwoord | /spɹuːs/ | spar |
| maple zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈmeɪpl̩/ | esdoorn |
| soften werkwoord | /ˈsɑfən/ | verzachten |
| grain zelfstandig naamwoord | /ɡɹeɪn/ | koren, graan |
| artisan zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈɑɹtɪzən/ | ambachtsman, ambachtsvrouw |
| attach werkwoord | /əˈtæt͡ʃ/ | vastmaken |
| weigh werkwoord | /weɪ/ | wegen |
| musician zelfstandig naamwoord | /mjuˈzɪʃən/ | muzikant, muzikante |
| depend werkwoord | /dɪˈpɛnd/ | afhangen |
| decipher werkwoord | /dɪˈsaɪfə(ɹ)/ | ontcijferen |
| increment zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈɪŋkɹɪmn̩t/ | toename, verhoging |
| nuance zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈnjuː.ɑːns/ | nuance |
| pianist zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈpi.ənɪst/ | pianist, pianiste |
| pricey bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /ˈpɹaɪsi/ | prijzig, duur |
Zinnen om te herhalen
Korte, volledige zinnen uit de video die je in alledaagse gesprekken kunt gebruiken:
- You see the hesitation?
- You see how fast that one is?
- You see how nice it is?
- Then you'll hear that tone change.
- I'm still learning how to do this.
Grammatica in deze video
De structuren die de spreker het meest gebruikt, met de exacte woorden uit de video:
| Structuur | In de video |
|---|---|
| Lijdende vorm be + voltooid deelwoord — het gaat om wat er gebeurt, niet om wie het doet | is made · being absorbed · is balanced |
| Present perfect have/has + voltooid deelwoord — iets uit het verleden dat nu nog telt | has produced |
Uitspraak om op te letten
De spreker gebruikt 10 samentrekkingen en verkorte vormen, zoals I'm, won't, don't. Spreek ze kort uit, zoals je ze hoort.
- De “th”-klanken: underneath /ˌʌndɚˈniθ/, northwest /nɔɹθˈwɛst/
- De klanken “sh” en “zh”: musician /mjuˈzɪʃən/, hesitation /ˌhɛzɪˈteɪʃən/, shady /ˈʃeɪdi/, restoration /ɹɛstəˈɹeɪʃən/, inspection /ɪnˈspɛkʃən/
- Lange woorden — let op de klemtoon: diabolical [ˌdaɪəˈbɑlɪkəɫ], hesitation /ˌhɛzɪˈteɪʃən/, restoration /ɹɛstəˈɹeɪʃən/
Klanken die Nederlandstaligen lastig vinden:
- Stemhebbende eindmedeklinker — /b/, /d/, /g/, /z/, /v/ niet verscherpen: depend /dɪˈpɛnd/, customize /ˈkʌs.tə.maɪ̯z/, absorb /æbˈsɔɹb/, keyboard /ˈki.bɔɹd/, bend /bɛnd/
- /æ/ — opener dan de Nederlandse “e”: hammer /ˈhæmɚ/, attach /əˈtæt͡ʃ/, mallet /ˈmælɪt/, absorb /æbˈsɔɹb/
- /w/ — met ronde lippen: weigh /weɪ/, northwest /nɔɹθˈwɛst/
Zo oefen je met deze video
- Luister de hele video één keer zonder te spreken en noteer de woorden die je niet kent.
- Spreek zin voor zin na op normale snelheid en herhaal elke zin tot je ritme gelijk is aan dat van de spreker.
- Neem jezelf op en vergelijk met het origineel; let daarbij op woorden als hammer, spruce, maple.
Wat is de Shadowing-techniek?
Shadowing is een wetenschappelijk onderbouwde taalleermethode die oorspronkelijk is ontwikkeld voor professionele tolkentraining en gepopulariseerd door polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. De methode is eenvoudig maar krachtig: je luistert naar native Engelse audio en herhaalt het onmiddellijk hardop — als een schaduw die de spreker volgt met slechts 1–2 seconden vertraging. In tegenstelling tot passief luisteren of grammaticadrills, dwingt shadowing je hersenen en mondspieren om echte spraakpatronen tegelijkertijd te verwerken en te reproduceren. Onderzoek toont aan dat het de uitspraaknauwkeurigheid, intonatie, ritme, verbonden spraak, luisterbegrip en spreekvaardigheid aanzienlijk verbetert — waardoor het een van de meest effectieve methoden is voor IELTS Speaking-voorbereiding en echte Engelse communicatie.