Hello Paul, thank you for everything you do, I have been learning classical piano since I was 40 and I am really interested in your approach, but I am French and my English is insufficient to understand your explanations in this video for example. Do you think it’s possible to turn on subtitles and machine translation when you download the videos when you’re speaking? Thank you very much and continue on this path.
Hi HENRION Régis -- greetings to France! Subtitles are turned on and have just appeared on the video at my end, (sometimes there is a little delay) are they working your end too? Also, I have a French language channel about the 4th harmonic pedal "LaPedaleHarmonique" I warn you my French isn't very good! :) ruclips.net/user/LaPedaleHarmonique
@@PaulBartonPiano Thank you very much Paul, the subtitles are working, I should have been more patient... Good kisses from France and your French is very good (but so rare!).🙂
This is so helpful. I injured my hands practicing the second half of Chopin’s Ballade #1 a few years ago and I’m just starting to get the strength back. It was a shock at the time to find out I could injure hands from practicing. Conventional wisdom seems to say that more practice is better. Now I’m careful not to repeat the same passage too many times in a row. I hope you can do more videos on the topic. The commenters suggestions of other exercises to try are very helpful too.
Im going to implement this one even though I dont struggle with injuries. After getting back to the piano last year, after almost 6 years away.. my 345 fingers are still super week, now one year later, as I dont really play pieces demanding too much from them! Great video, thank you!:)
ty so much Paul Barton -- you are superb to listen to AND learn from. i've been listening to your piano vids for a few years & absolutely LOVE hear you PLAY and INSTRUCT and share your KNOWLEDGE of all the composers. Chopin is the favorite (I always come back to) after learning & playing the Minute Waltz in recital when i was about 14. YOU R AWESOME
I've had a recurring mild injury around my left hand's fifth finger's third joint due to overstretching with legato broken chords accompaniment spanning a 10th. The injury wouldn't go away despite long periods of rest and avoiding playing the problematic pieces (I think I also kept re-injuring myself from the way I tend to hold my smartphone). I have now carefully practiced the chromatic scale with finders 3, 4, 5 of the LH for a week, and I can feel the discomfort improving. In my view the exercise promotes stability within the hand by encouraging a relaxed closed hand position, so that the tensions are distributed more evenly and thus naturally across the muscles. In fact the exercise does probably much more than that, but I am only viewing it through the lens of my particular problem. Thank you for this simple but effective advice! Greetings from Berlin!
Thanks for the advice. @whoever reads this: I got a chronic tendonitis from playing 3-4 hours on the piano years ago but got rid of it. Trust me, if you read this and you have it right now: I know how that feels like and I personally got rid of it with slow, regular stretches with longer duration (it's called "fascia training" = DE: Faszientraining; "Liebscher & Bracht" have some really good exercises on their channel. Why is stretching important? Because the fascia in the hands, around the wrist and the fingers have to be long enough for the tasks they're supposed to fulfill - otherwise they can get stiff or they already hurt when playing a lot without stretching; that just indicates that they are too short at the moment - the solution in this case is as I mentioned: regular stretching to lengthen them .) - also through regular training of the fingers and thumb 1-2 times a week (pressing them against each other, working with the grip trainer and contracting the thumb etc.), massage and acupressure - and applying a relaxation technique in my piano playing; that's also one of the most important aspects - "Ilinca Vartic" and "Denis Zhdanov" also have some really good videos on this topic on their channels. I can now practice/play the same amount as before everyday: 3-4 hours - and I'm fine. Again: I've dealt with chronic tendonitis, wrist pain and elbow pain already and I know how awful it feels to be not able to do anything. I Even quit piano playing for several years because I thought it made no sense at all then. So you can imagine how it feels now to be free from all that. You can do it, too - these methods work because they are based on natural principles of the human body. (Note: things like too much salt, sugar or extracted oils in your diet will easily get stuck in the fascia and cause pain - an alkaline nutrition is also important) Kind regards, Jerome
Hi there, i got exactly this problem atm, numbness and tingelling in my hand particularly 4 and 5 finger right hand, elbow pain. Sooo frustrating, going to physio, i do stretches, i play now just an hour, break, stretching in between and than practising again. I am heartbroken as I just cant practise like i would like to
It is helpful to play the right hand with both legato and non legato touch. Also, Hanon exercises 12 and 17 are excellent training for fingers 3, 4, and 5 on both hands.
You are so incredibly talented. I only listen to piano and am fascinated by watching pianists hands, often wondering how can you do that every day and not be in pain. Now I find out that in addition to 'speaking elephant' you also speak French. Thank you so much for sharing your life, work and family.
Been practicing the 3-4-5 chromatic scale in both hands every day for a little over a year now on your recommendation. It definitely works at improving technique, and as a warm up. I also practice the chromatic scale just using 1-2. I don't think i'm ready for chopin etude op 10 no.2 yet though 😂. I can barely play the 3-4-5 scale at 144bpm, couldn't imagine how much harder it is with the double notes added.
I might have a solution for you. I'm a retired Chiropractor, who had to completely change my techniques decades ago due to a major orthopaedic injury to my shoulder. And I succeeded. And I learned to pay particular attention to the upper extremity, which seems to be your topic of choice. I have filmed a video of my exercises and self treatments not only for the low back but also the hands, wrists,, forearms and shoulders. I don't want to start my own channel, but I've already contacted several piano channels that will be showing it. My daughter is editing it now, so it will be ready soon. There are several topics for the fifth finger that would interest many people. BTW your right shoulder is much lower than your left. It would be good to do a massage technique on your subscapular muscles....shown in the video. It can have miraculous results.
Thank you so much Paul, this is inspiring and I'll check your tutorial series out after the current piece I am working on. I know 10.2 is hard but somehow its melody hits me the most, I find it even sounds better than the more popular sibling 10.4. Your recommendation is a big encouragement. Have been admiring you and your little family, keep up the good work!
Paul is a great pianist. He gave me tips how to get a hold of Chopin's 12 Studies.Op. 10. I teach at the Music Institute of Roseville in California USA.
Hi Paul! That’s exactly the right topic I need to hear right now! I posted some days ago a shorts where I practice the chromatic scale only because my index finger is inflamed and I don’t want to make it worse. I’m quite worried though because I stopped practicing but my index doesn’t seem to recover. Maybe I have to stop scrolling the phone either. :)
Excellent tutorial. I hope someday you can record a tutorial on op25-6 at student tempo too. It is one of hardest etudes i find among the 24, not to mention try to play it evenly and clearly, and of course, it is the stepping stone for his beautiful barcarolle
I almost poked out my eye learning Schumann's Traumerei so I stepped it back some and am now learning Beethoven's Fur Elise with an eyepatch and head helmet.
Brilliant concept for strengthening weaker fingers for smoothness and consistency. My piano instructor taught me the Scotch Snap for making note runs more even. Do you know of any other corrective techniques?
Hi Paul, very interesting video as usual. I read somebody's talking about some way to heal from injuries by playing in a certain way, but he never explained more. I'm glad you did it. Do you know any ways to heal a shoulder tendonitis when you play the piano ? This plagued me since a long time already, it doesn't seem to worsen but, it still here after 2 years. By the way, we have a lot in common. I'm french, passionate about classical music and piano, I used to live in Thailand (Chiang Mai), my wife is from there and we have a son, "lookhung" like Emily, and he is now 5. I teach him the piano too -_- As I always watched your channel a lot, we always thought about Emily and our son Daniel since you posted the first video with her. Greeting from France, but we really hope to come back in Thailand some days.
Hi Alex, nice to meet you! We have a lot in common :) Sometimes you can have shoulder pains that can be related to the way you sleep. I don't know if it is the case with you but I am one of those people that can only sleep on my side not flat on my back. If the pillow is not high enough I get shoulder pains. We also play a lot of badminton and sports which helps keep us fit to some degree. I had a real issue with my neck many years ago. It caused a constant headache. After several years of pain a friend took me to see an osteopath (IN Brussels) he did a lot of manipulation that culminated in a big neck-crack and after that I was cured. He also cracked my back and I felt 20 years younger. A good osteopath with experience in sports injuries might be able to cure your shoulder pain. Greetings to Lookhung (Emilie is also Lookhung! :)
@@PaulBartonPiano Thank you very much for the great and very detailed answer. I was not aware that it could come from a sleeping disorder, and I can't say that I sleep very well. I'll have an appointment with an osteopath as soon as possible. Un grand bonjour à toute ta petite famille, ta fille a beaucoup de chance d'avoir un père aussi cool que toi -_-
Thanks Paul 👍. Since returning to the piano, I've been mindful of not causing injury to my hands and 🤞that won't happen. However, unfortunately I've got Dupuytren's Contracture (runs in the family ☹️) in my left hand. For the moment only one finger is affected (ring finger) and I do manage, but no idea how long that will last. Have you come across any pianists with Dupuytren's and if so, how have they got on playing the piano if they have had to have surgery?
I’ve played piano professionally for 40 years and have been operated on both hands for dupuytren, and am happy to say that I have lost none of my virtuosity/capacity. it’s a couple of bad weeks to pass but you quickly regain full finger control. this is of course a personal experience and in medical matters you can’t generalize, but at 66 I’m still practicing my Bach and Chopin as usual, no problems, only pleasure. No return of dupuytren after operation (2015, and 2020)
@@MichelvanderEsch Many thanks for sharing your experience 👍. Good to know that you've had no return of dupuytren following surgery. Yes, I fully appreciate that each person may have a different experience to the next.
Hello Paul, thank you for everything you do, I have been learning classical piano since I was 40 and I am really interested in your approach, but I am French and my English is insufficient to understand your explanations in this video for example. Do you think it’s possible to turn on subtitles and machine translation when you download the videos when you’re speaking? Thank you very much and continue on this path.
Hi HENRION Régis -- greetings to France! Subtitles are turned on and have just appeared on the video at my end, (sometimes there is a little delay) are they working your end too?
Also, I have a French language channel about the 4th harmonic pedal "LaPedaleHarmonique" I warn you my French isn't very good! :) ruclips.net/user/LaPedaleHarmonique
@@PaulBartonPiano Thank you very much Paul, the subtitles are working, I should have been more patient...
Good kisses from France and your French is very good (but so rare!).🙂
This is so helpful. I injured my hands practicing the second half of Chopin’s Ballade #1 a few years ago and I’m just starting to get the strength back. It was a shock at the time to find out I could injure hands from practicing. Conventional wisdom seems to say that more practice is better. Now I’m careful not to repeat the same passage too many times in a row. I hope you can do more videos on the topic. The commenters suggestions of other exercises to try are very helpful too.
Maestro you play everything beautiful. Thanks.
Im going to implement this one even though I dont struggle with injuries. After getting back to the piano last year, after almost 6 years away.. my 345 fingers are still super week, now one year later, as I dont really play pieces demanding too much from them! Great video, thank you!:)
ty so much Paul Barton -- you are superb to listen to AND learn from. i've been listening to your piano vids for a few years & absolutely LOVE hear you PLAY and INSTRUCT and share your KNOWLEDGE of all the composers. Chopin is the favorite (I always come back to) after learning & playing the Minute Waltz in recital when i was about 14. YOU R AWESOME
Hello Paul ! I'm happy to see you ...😍😍🎹🎹🎵🎵
I've had a recurring mild injury around my left hand's fifth finger's third joint due to overstretching with legato broken chords accompaniment spanning a 10th. The injury wouldn't go away despite long periods of rest and avoiding playing the problematic pieces (I think I also kept re-injuring myself from the way I tend to hold my smartphone). I have now carefully practiced the chromatic scale with finders 3, 4, 5 of the LH for a week, and I can feel the discomfort improving. In my view the exercise promotes stability within the hand by encouraging a relaxed closed hand position, so that the tensions are distributed more evenly and thus naturally across the muscles. In fact the exercise does probably much more than that, but I am only viewing it through the lens of my particular problem. Thank you for this simple but effective advice! Greetings from Berlin!
Most inspiring, Paul, thank you so much.
Thanks for the advice.
@whoever reads this: I got a chronic tendonitis from playing 3-4 hours on the piano years ago but got rid of it. Trust me, if you read this and you have it right now: I know how that feels like and I personally got rid of it with slow, regular stretches with longer duration (it's called "fascia training" = DE: Faszientraining; "Liebscher & Bracht" have some really good exercises on their channel. Why is stretching important? Because the fascia in the hands, around the wrist and the fingers have to be long enough for the tasks they're supposed to fulfill - otherwise they can get stiff or they already hurt when playing a lot without stretching; that just indicates that they are too short at the moment - the solution in this case is as I mentioned: regular stretching to lengthen them .) - also through regular training of the fingers and thumb 1-2 times a week (pressing them against each other, working with the grip trainer and contracting the thumb etc.), massage and acupressure - and applying a relaxation technique in my piano playing; that's also one of the most important aspects - "Ilinca Vartic" and "Denis Zhdanov" also have some really good videos on this topic on their channels. I can now practice/play the same amount as before everyday: 3-4 hours - and I'm fine. Again: I've dealt with chronic tendonitis, wrist pain and elbow pain already and I know how awful it feels to be not able to do anything. I Even quit piano playing for several years because I thought it made no sense at all then. So you can imagine how it feels now to be free from all that. You can do it, too - these methods work because they are based on natural principles of the human body. (Note: things like too much salt, sugar or extracted oils in your diet will easily get stuck in the fascia and cause pain - an alkaline nutrition is also important) Kind regards, Jerome
Hi there, i got exactly this problem atm, numbness and tingelling in my hand particularly 4 and 5 finger right hand, elbow pain. Sooo frustrating, going to physio, i do stretches, i play now just an hour, break, stretching in between and than practising again. I am heartbroken as I just cant practise like i would like to
It is helpful to play the right hand with both legato and non legato touch. Also, Hanon exercises 12 and 17 are excellent training for fingers 3, 4, and 5 on both hands.
You are so incredibly talented. I only listen to piano and am fascinated by watching pianists hands, often wondering how can you do that every day and not be in pain. Now I find out that in addition to 'speaking elephant' you also speak French. Thank you so much for sharing your life, work and family.
Been practicing the 3-4-5 chromatic scale in both hands every day for a little over a year now on your recommendation. It definitely works at improving technique, and as a warm up. I also practice the chromatic scale just using 1-2. I don't think i'm ready for chopin etude op 10 no.2 yet though 😂. I can barely play the 3-4-5 scale at 144bpm, couldn't imagine how much harder it is with the double notes added.
Thank you for your kind recommendations.
Paul, you are a lovely man. Thank you for your incredibly informative videos
Thanks a lot for all your help ♡
I might have a solution for you. I'm a retired Chiropractor, who had to completely change my techniques decades ago due to a major orthopaedic injury to my shoulder. And I succeeded. And I learned to pay particular attention to the upper extremity, which seems to be your topic of choice. I have filmed a video of my exercises and self treatments not only for the low back but also the hands, wrists,, forearms and shoulders. I don't want to start my own channel, but I've already contacted several piano channels that will be showing it. My daughter is editing it now, so it will be ready soon.
There are several topics for the fifth finger that would interest many people.
BTW your right shoulder is much lower than your left. It would be good to do a massage technique on your subscapular muscles....shown in the video. It can have miraculous results.
Can you send my the video when is uploaded? Thank you!
Learn Dorothy Taubman's Technical approach to practice the piano.
Thank you so much Paul, this is inspiring and I'll check your tutorial series out after the current piece I am working on.
I know 10.2 is hard but somehow its melody hits me the most, I find it even sounds better than the more popular sibling 10.4. Your recommendation is a big encouragement.
Have been admiring you and your little family, keep up the good work!
Paul is a great pianist. He gave me tips how to get a hold of Chopin's 12 Studies.Op. 10. I teach at the Music Institute of Roseville in California USA.
Amo teu Canal. Parabéns! Libere os IDIOMAS. Assim, todos vão amar.
Hi Paul! That’s exactly the right topic I need to hear right now! I posted some days ago a shorts where I practice the chromatic scale only because my index finger is inflamed and I don’t want to make it worse. I’m quite worried though because I stopped practicing but my index doesn’t seem to recover. Maybe I have to stop scrolling the phone either. :)
Excellent tutorial. I hope someday you can record a tutorial on op25-6 at student tempo too. It is one of hardest etudes i find among the 24, not to mention try to play it evenly and clearly, and of course, it is the stepping stone for his beautiful barcarolle
Great video 👏.
Uzb
Daniel Perales-- thank you!
Wonderful !
I almost poked out my eye learning Schumann's Traumerei so I stepped it back some and am now learning Beethoven's Fur Elise with an eyepatch and head helmet.
Brilliant concept for strengthening weaker fingers for smoothness and consistency. My piano instructor taught me the Scotch Snap for making note runs more even. Do you know of any other corrective techniques?
I was diagnosed with fingerarthritis. I‘ll try this as a form of ergotherapy.
Hi Paul, very interesting video as usual. I read somebody's talking about some way to heal from injuries by playing in a certain way, but he never explained more. I'm glad you did it.
Do you know any ways to heal a shoulder tendonitis when you play the piano ? This plagued me since a long time already, it doesn't seem to worsen but, it still here after 2 years.
By the way, we have a lot in common. I'm french, passionate about classical music and piano, I used to live in Thailand (Chiang Mai), my wife is from there and we have a son, "lookhung" like Emily, and he is now 5. I teach him the piano too -_-
As I always watched your channel a lot, we always thought about Emily and our son Daniel since you posted the first video with her.
Greeting from France, but we really hope to come back in Thailand some days.
Hi Alex, nice to meet you! We have a lot in common :) Sometimes you can have shoulder pains that can be related to the way you sleep. I don't know if it is the case with you but I am one of those people that can only sleep on my side not flat on my back. If the pillow is not high enough I get shoulder pains. We also play a lot of badminton and sports which helps keep us fit to some degree. I had a real issue with my neck many years ago. It caused a constant headache. After several years of pain a friend took me to see an osteopath (IN Brussels) he did a lot of manipulation that culminated in a big neck-crack and after that I was cured. He also cracked my back and I felt 20 years younger. A good osteopath with experience in sports injuries might be able to cure your shoulder pain. Greetings to Lookhung (Emilie is also Lookhung! :)
@@PaulBartonPiano Thank you very much for the great and very detailed answer. I was not aware that it could come from a sleeping disorder, and I can't say that I sleep very well. I'll have an appointment with an osteopath as soon as possible. Un grand bonjour à toute ta petite famille, ta fille a beaucoup de chance d'avoir un père aussi cool que toi -_-
A zilliion thanks this tutorial !
Hi Paul, thanks so much for you work, can I ask why the session practice of Op. 10 - 2, jump to stage 2 at 4? Thanks so much again...
To enjoy Chopin's music it's better to play it moderate.
This is superb, thanks. Paul, question : what would you regard as the most useful, broadly equivalent exercises / studies for the left hand?
Thanks Paul 👍. Since returning to the piano, I've been mindful of not causing injury to my hands and 🤞that won't happen. However, unfortunately I've got Dupuytren's Contracture (runs in the family ☹️) in my left hand. For the moment only one finger is affected (ring finger) and I do manage, but no idea how long that will last. Have you come across any pianists with Dupuytren's and if so, how have they got on playing the piano if they have had to have surgery?
I’ve played piano professionally for 40 years and have been operated on both hands for dupuytren, and am happy to say that I have lost none of my virtuosity/capacity. it’s a couple of bad weeks to pass but you quickly regain full finger control. this is of course a personal experience and in medical matters you can’t generalize, but at 66 I’m still practicing my Bach and Chopin as usual, no problems, only pleasure. No return of dupuytren after operation (2015, and 2020)
@@MichelvanderEsch Many thanks for sharing your experience 👍. Good to know that you've had no return of dupuytren following surgery. Yes, I fully appreciate that each person may have a different experience to the next.
👍👍👍👍
So, I read the title and thought Paul injured his hand. Thank God that’s not true.
ah, that is very kind. No, even though I am not young I never have any pains in my hands, everywhere else, but not hands:)