How Practicing Slower Will Get You There Faster
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- Опубликовано: 5 сен 2024
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Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I'm Robert Estrin. Today we're going to discuss the three worst piano practice habits. These might be things that you do in your piano practice. Maybe you're scared I'm going to bring something up that you do! Maybe you're not aware of these destructive habits that are part of your practice routine. But it's better to find out now than to continue on the wrong path.
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Thank you for sharing these valuable tips. I greatly appreciate it.
The worst habit of all time : not practicing
I'd say not practicing enough is far more common than practicing too much.
I am guilty of this one lol
I dont mean to be off topic but does someone know of a method to get back into an Instagram account?
I somehow forgot the account password. I would appreciate any help you can give me!
@Jared Mekhi instablaster ;)
Laying here fighting covid but this video cheered me up,,ill be up and practicing soon. 64 year old beginner.
61 year old beginner here
Are you still alive? If so yay
I'm still here, been a rough few days. Many have had worse. Thanks for the kind thoughts. Mozart symphony no 40, has been my companion.
@@cjadventures8840 well certainly hope he lives longer than you
@@flexusmaximus4701 Get well, soon or however long it takes!
Another worst piano practice that I would like to add in your list is I see some students playing the piano with a low wrist practicing their scales hands separately & improper posture that their back is slouching sitting on the bench. It is important to have good posture & wrists parallel with the hands to prevent muscle pain.
My mother was a professional concert pianist (solo performances at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and such) and I grew up listening to her practice. A lot. If she messed during a piece she exclaimed "D'oh!" (long before Homer Simpson invented it), maybe backed up a measure, and went through it until she got it right and proceeded on. I asked her what she did during a performance with a mistake. She said you just keep playing. She said most in an audience won't even notice the mistake. Or if playing a piece with an orchestra and a conductor, the conductor might not even notice, but there's a good chance he will. And if anyone brings it up after the concert, you can sometimes get away with saying, "it was just an embellishment". I used to play piano some and, not having my mother's talent, absolutely had to start slow. But once the "muscle memory" was there, I could play a piece at light speed if I wanted. Now I thrash on the trumpet and the "start slow" is still a good technique. And for a difficult piece I do something a little different. Instead of starting at the beginning, I might learn to play the LAST eight bars really well. Then move a little earlier in the piece until I'm playing the last sixteen bars well. And so forth. By the time I start at the beginning, I already have everything else pretty polished.
Yes! I teach this way too, so students never end up with a weak finish 😊👍
What my mum says.
„Embellishment“ is a good one, gotta memorize this! 😁
@@rbcm1 "Embellishment" is a real musical term. For the same thing there are also the musical terms "ornaments" and "flourishes".
Can be summed up with one statement. Practice does NOT make perfect - Perfect practice makes perfect. Slow down to a tempo that makes perfect, then increase speed. It is possible to play perfectly in time and the correct notes...practice the difficult phrases by beginning at different start points close the difficult passages. Then go back to the beginning and play the entire piece entering the tough passages in tempo.
Or, more literally, _proper_ practice makes _progress_.
3/3... crap. But I mostly do recordings so that's my excuse for restarting the piece, but not during practice mode
"Focus on the correction. Forget the mistake." Please make a life lesson video dedicated to that.
You have identified all my mistakes while practicing. So now I will set the metronome to a manageable speed then do all what you have suggested to correct my hesitations.
I am a singer and play piano as a 'second' instrument. I find in practicing both for me a focus on why I make a certain mistake can be quite valuable. Not to be confused with 'what' mistake I made. Because often the reason for a mistake is some misconception of what your hand of voice needs to do and from what 'position' at a given time. If you figure out what that misconception is, sometimes all it takes is just that realization and very few repeats.
I liked the comment about what happens if you focus on mistakes. Henry Ford had a similar adage, "Whether you think you can, or think you can't - you're right."
As someone who plays purely for pleasure, I must say all of these are the best points I have found so far that have helped me improve.
You are correct, keep going, don't stop. I perform my own compositions and sometimes if not practiced enough I make many mistakes, I mean A LOT of them, and forget passages, (I never perform with the score, don't bring one) ....no one noticed, no one has ever noticed. Does this mean I don't care, no! Incentive for more practice time is the consequence.
You're right on when it comes to not focusing on the mistake. One thing I learned from my golf instructor is that the best way to avoid hitting the ball in to water, a bunker, or the woods is to focus on where you want the ball to land, doing so takes the hazards out of your thought process. I applied this to piano by focusing on the music and what I want my muscles to do as opposed to thinking about what could go wrong.
🤔😎🙏
Guilty of all of these. Hard to hear, but so very thankful for the tips. Thank you
Very helpful. I’m always hesitating with my music and I’ve always know this is an issue. When I memorize the piece, I find that I hesitate less. Thank you for your video.
1:00 Good thing Beethoven allows a small pause to hesitate and start getting scared before the coda of the Pastorale Sonata last mvt :D
😳 I‘m guilty of all three...
Oh yeah same
I don't mean to hesitate, it only happens when I forget a section of the piece. Practice makes perfect.
Got to analyze why the hesitation or the mistake is there, and fix it!
Thank you for pointing out, that's me. I am trying to correct this bad habits. You're a good teacher.👍👍😁😁❤❤
These are all very logical, objective and common sense concepts and yet are we naturally inclined in doing these? Nope! We still need these reminders. This is an excellent reason why having a teacher (if you can afford one) is the best way to learn the piano.
We found an excellent teacher for my son and I agree. When you find a good one, it is money well spent.
My way of overcoming hesitation is to memorize that part so that I do not have to look at the score. It usually works. I think one of the worst habits is not practicing daily. This is especially true for adult students in their first year, they usually end up finding an excuse to drop out.
Your advice and professional experience is invaluable. Thanks for sharing your life’s passion with us beginners. 👍🏼
My pleasure!
Thank you, Mr. Estrin, for all the work you put into these awesome videos.
Useful! thank you Robert
Thank you once again great advise.
I like your accent and how you speak so much. You are so and so helpful. Thanks for your kindness, enthusiasm and beautiful videos you make with such good contents
Great advice! You hit those three of my major weaknesses on the head . Thank you! I will practice based on your methods.
My hesitations drive me nuts. I could play the problem area a thousand times and still hesitate. I hope your advice works, if not, I might have to take up the tambourine instead.
Try a slower tempo
Thanks. Mistakes to be aware of.
Good stuff. Solid advice that's harder to adhere to than it seems, at least at first
There is one problem with playing the difficult spot in slow speed - you try out some other fingering and it seems like a good idea and you play it slowly to really remember it, then when you start trying it at speed you realize the fingering doesn't work at all...
The solution is to first work out the best fingering at tempo then practice that fingering slowly.
This is GOLD...thank you Sir !!!!!
You hit the nail on the spot on everything I’m doing! Which is probably why I mess up all my recitals(other than the shaky hands from nerves). Thanks for those correction hints. Will start putting those in effect right away.
You give me the best life lesson here
Thank you
totally great. He just answered my problem.
When I play nuvole bianche during the triplet parts I start at a nice place but once I get in the groove I speed up. Trying my best to keep it all at the same speed even when I get a confidence boost. Certainly one of my habits to speed up when I am relaxed and slow down and fear making a mistake too much when stressed/not as confident with a part.
Excellent tips for me- a beginner trying not to develop bad habits from the start. Thank you!
Lovely, Robert. And Happy New Year!
I did not see these coming. Focus on the correction and not on the mistake. That's deep. :-)
I will try and use these good habits become I struggle a lot with reading
i call my hesitation , the 'death trap' lol... i agree with Robert, if you focus on the mistake, you will keep repeating it.. just as when I'm playing.. if in my mind i keep reminding myself that 'oh no.. the death trap is coming up'.. most often than not i will hesitate on that part or make mistake on that part.. so I gotta tell myself.. I can do it.. I can play it without hesitation/mistake or simply don't put too much thought about my death trap.. and be in the flow of playing
I loved that piano, it has the most realistic acoustic mechanism in the digital piano world, anyone know what brand and model is that?
Great advice
My problem is that because of a stroke about 3-1/2 years ago I have certain memory issues. I am playing a piece that I have memorized and all of a sudden the next measure of phrase is gone. I either have to return to the music or try to play it again until I can remember it.
What is your age Robert and how long were you playing before your stroke?
@@thomasmcclain8116 i am 65 now. I started piano when I was about 19 but life got in way for many years. I have been playing guitar since I was 13 and learned to read music when I was in the fourth grade. I was going to play an arrangement of The Christmas Song at Church last Sunday but I could not remember parts of it. It was a very difficult solo piece I must admit. I took up piano again about four years ago and am able to play some of the easier Bach pieces. I am fully recovered physically but I have the memory issues.
@@roberthurless4615 Wow! You have quite a skillset. Good luck to you but with your ability to read music I would hope that would balance out from losing your ability to memorize pieces.
Do you analyze or musically understand the pieces very well? For example, knowing every harmony in every bar, perceiving very well every modulation, every resolution of tension, recognizing every motive, etc. And also can you start the piece from any measure? All of this things make it harder for you to get to a point where you get lost and forget what’s next. If one plays only notes without really understanding their logic and one has never tried starting from random points and not just the beginning of the piece or of a phrase and it’s more just muscle memory it’s very easy to get completely lost when one is nervous. I can’t say anything about the stroke-related difficulties, but also don’t use it as an excuse or don’t repeat that to yourself and rather just try to overcome the difficulties, because psychology is very powerful.
Good luck!
@@juanferestrada i do understand the harmonies and chord progressions. I studied guitar with a Juliard educated teacher who was a real taskmaster. He was an incredible musician and could sight read anything. We went through the Mel Bay series of guitar method, all seven volumes. I learned a lot about theory and harmony from those books. I still practice guitar everyday along with the piano. I use Berkley Sight Reading Studies For Guitar which is quite a challenge sometimes. I cannot afford a piano teacher at this time. So I watch a lot of YT videos and practice at least three hours a day since I am retired now.
Thank you for this invaluable video. I confess I do not play piano, I am learning Saxophone but all you have said is equally applicable to other instruments.
Thanx, Maestro 🌹🌹🌹
The three problems your spoke about have the same resolution. Three magic words “play it slower”.
very helpful! thank you.
Wow. I had a great teacher. RIP, Ma'am Corral. I miss you.
I find that the practice of a pedagogical method / mind-body work / mindfulness (like the Alexander Technique) gives a bigger capacity to implement the solutions mentioned here.
Forget the mistake. Life lesson indeed
💥 If you can't play the piece on the correct speed and fluidly, it's not prepared to show to the public yet. Study more, don't ever play sloppy in public nor recordings. If it's too difficult to do, it means you're trying to play something beyond your current ability. Choose an easier piece. Sometimes, an easier piece well played cause more success than a hard, difficult piece badly played. 🎉❤
The metronome is needed by some students, but if too boring, invest in an arranger keyboard where you play with a virtual band. It is much more fun than a metronome some times. Always record your "band" performances and play back listening for timing errors.
You are right. For some styles of music, having backup tracks can be enlightening! For those who don't have arranger keyboards or accompaniment software, you can search by style and beats per minute (bpm) on RUclips for drum beats that suit the music you are playing.
Thanks for this good information. 🙂👍
I love this video. I can play the Chopin E minor nocturne decent I guess. But the trill section right before the scale run kills me. It's times like that I wish I had a teacher. Great video as always 👍 Piano struggles but I love it.
I like the way you approach piano techniques. Ive listened and applied what you say and its helping.
I have a question - what if your mistake is in a DIFFERENT place every time? What does that indicate, and how should you practice to minimize that?
You should probably just slow down until you get it 100% and then go back up to tempo, making sure it's still 100%
It's caused by not learning the notes with the correct fingering and at a tempo that you can manage without making any mistakes in notes. Every mistake in notes means you need to correct it many times, before proceeding. The other reason at a later stage is lack of concentration caused by not taking a break every few minutes.
agreed with the others. it means you can't play it at that speed yet. you need to slow down and drill
Spot on - Thank you Sir!
Guilty!
Okay, since you've confessed to the charges a paddy wagon will be on its way. In the mean time feel free to practice some scales or do some metronome work on difficult pieces.
@@KeepingOnTheWatch That is doable. Thank you.
Thanks a lot! This really helped me.
I had a famous teacher in college and he didn’t like for me to play a piece more than once per lesson, and today when I practice, I play a piece only once a day, I never do 2x in one day. think that’s to avoid ingraining errors.
I don't even play the piano, I don't make mistakes
@@Mr850man I like your style.
I'm not a surgeon,and I've never lost anyone on the operating table.
I hesitate on some sections of pieces and don't know what to do to play them fluently without pause or hesitation.
You forgot the absolute WORST of all habits: Playing along, screwing up, repeating the same measure or even the same beat and continuing on with all kinds of goofy insertions in the music like that. Worst thing ever, drives me bananas.
I have a bad habit, always stop when a mistake occurs.
Great video! Are you aware that your piano is missing a few parts?
Thanks
On off the best advices I've heard was start playing slow then you can play fast Latter on
Yes but these are performance habits caused by insufficient or incorrect practice.
How that type of piano that you have in the video is called? Or is just a piano without the case? It seems to retain the acoustic and touch properties but in less space. Thanks.
Now here is a bunch of “golden” tips to address these most troublesome problems.
Is it okay to go back to the beginning if you've completely lost your place?
Try to keep going with one hand and bring the other back when you can. I've done well in exams just playing whatever is under my fingers but staying with the beat. Don't worry if you play rhubarb for a couple of measures. Try NOT to stop. If this happens, next time you play, take it slower!
It would be better if you concentrate on where you mess up and isolate those couple of measures. Don’t keep playing the parts that are well and you know very well and rather just concentrate on the difficult parts so you balance them. Don’t play only from beginning to end, play starting from random measures. If you can start at any measure with no problem, when you mess up you can just keep going from there.
I would've thought that poor posture and/or wrist position would be anathema.
Is that a grand piano action digital piano?
I found it interesting when you talked about possibly playing a piece at half the tempo. Sometimes I slow it down so much that it sounds like a Bach corale! I get scared and discouraged if faster piece because I tell myself that if I can’t even play it at 60bpm how can I play it at 140bpm?? This slowing down while practicing really helps me to patiently and slowly get better without making so many mistakes. When I was in band in middle and high school, I learned a trick from a director. When we would have trouble playing marches, we’d slow down the tempo and play it as a slow piece. We could then hear all of the colors, textures, and the sonority of the band and it helped us developed good down in the middle of a fast piece! I love your videos and especially your upbeat personally, as mine is much the same way!
Italian Concerto is my current nemesis...
It's a fun piece of music to learn.
The battle is won and lost in the practice room 😁
can you talk about memorizing? thanks
Here is a video for you: ruclips.net/video/QeDEI0dGW_w/видео.html
What's up with his set up? Did he retrofit a real piano into his laptop?
Why do you use a DAW for piano?
I use many different instruments in my videos including many fine grand pianos.
very useful tips, by the way, how much do you charge for online piano lesson per hour?
I teach different length lessons. I am happy to set up a free video chat interview to answer all of your questions. Just shoot me an email at Robert@LivingPianos.com
Playing for an audience? My audience consists of my two inside voices.
Me playing 3 notes in one tempo.
inside voice 1: Yes! You did it!
inside voice 2: Pffff please, is that all? Please stop!
What kind of piano is that?
Good news if you are playing for a less knowledgable person they may not know the piece does not slow down
Good point.👍👍😁😁
my hands hurt after practice TT
Good content but you’re mixing up talking about practice and performance. That was a bit confusing.
That gave me pause as well.
🙏
Ummm one of your one of your bad piano practices is - you destroyed your piano case(LOL).
mah nsomma
Guilty of all of the above, your honor
Ok ok.so always relax the arm. I got it.
👍❤️,...........🙏
8 dislikes are those who wont admit they make any of these mistakes.