This is absolutely incredible! To preface this, I have watched countless RUclips videos on octaves from a number of reputable creators such as Josh Wright, The Piano Prof, Dennis, etc and even spoken about issues with tension in my octaves with two piano teachers but this 6 minute video solved it! I feel so much more in control of my octaves now; I'm able to express the dynamics I want and play at the speed I want accurately without getting tired. I went back to play a piece I have been struggling with for over a month now and just by applying the ideas you mentioned in the video I was able to fix the poor musicality and articulation of my octaves as well get the piece up to tempo because the tension in my wrist and forearm has been significantly reduced to the point where I have the stamina to play a long passage of octave jumps in both hands without feeling too fatigued by the end! I honestly can't thank you enough!
Glad to hear it. Unfortunately mainstream thinking is built on such strong suppositions about the role of the arm, that it never seems to get to that which would otherwise have been blindingly obvious. The standard premise that arm energy is "safer than" internal hand energy is built on nothing meaningful- given that the hand has to engage even to pass on arm energy. We have a really badly skewed mainstream view of the issue. We create a situation in which the hand has to brace to transmit arm energy and then have to invent bizarre ideas of trying to relax the hand from the same premise we built everything around. Healthy approaches just aren't built around fixation to start with. Anyway, do subscribe for plenty more similar videos and share with anyone you think may find this helpful.
@@cziffra1980 Just subscribed and watched some more of your videos, your ability to articulate these concepts in an easily understandable manner is amazing. Ive been implementing your advice and although I still catch myself falling into previous bad habits, my playing overall is much more tension free and I have more control over it!
I've watched your other videos about rotation and trills and playing octaves and I must comment that your ideas make complete sense. It's obvious you understand the physics of movement. I wonder if you might address arm weight as it applies to playing scales. I've seen some people drop their hands from a high position onto the keys and sometimes on the fallboard to demonstrate how the fingers can support arm weight. I marvel that these people don't have serious injuries. Many people say that arm weight is necessary to play scales evenly, they also say that it's only through arem weight that the fingers can mimic walking so as to produce an even touch and tone. How does a person achieve this without pressing down too hard on the keys? I'd appreciate your insight. Thank you.
Yes, I'll do lots more videos on these kinds of issues. The problem is that people don't accurately portray the actual role of the arm. We hear this nonsense that it can replace the role of finger movement portrayed as if reality. The true role of the arm's mass (most of the time and including scales) is not as an accelerator for the fingers into the keys. Rather, it's a (gentle) brake for the reactions, so the hand can stay safely in the keys. You don't try to fight the reactions but accept them into the arm and the mass absorbs them. It's very important for the arm to be free but this portrayal of it as the source of movement did me severe harms. I don't understand why people are so devoted to this incorrect portrayal. The arm has an important role but not the one that is most commonly claimed. The idea that it causes the primary impulse for moving the keys is wrong and can easily ruin technique when taken at face value. This image only works for those who already has abundant finger technique.
By the way, most people assume on a heavier action you need more arm and less finger to be safe. It's the opposite. My piano is very heavy and I had to work really hard to learn to engage my fingers properly with the resistance, rather than pile more arm down. The arm can release more when fingers move well and maintain stable engagement, but you can't move the keys effectively by simply releasing more arm on fingers that haven't learned to move well. It makes everything far worse. All the more if you relax the fingers when holding keys down.
This is absolutely incredible!
To preface this, I have watched countless RUclips videos on octaves from a number of reputable creators such as Josh Wright, The Piano Prof, Dennis, etc and even spoken about issues with tension in my octaves with two piano teachers but this 6 minute video solved it!
I feel so much more in control of my octaves now; I'm able to express the dynamics I want and play at the speed I want accurately without getting tired. I went back to play a piece I have been struggling with for over a month now and just by applying the ideas you mentioned in the video I was able to fix the poor musicality and articulation of my octaves as well get the piece up to tempo because the tension in my wrist and forearm has been significantly reduced to the point where I have the stamina to play a long passage of octave jumps in both hands without feeling too fatigued by the end!
I honestly can't thank you enough!
Glad to hear it. Unfortunately mainstream thinking is built on such strong suppositions about the role of the arm, that it never seems to get to that which would otherwise have been blindingly obvious.
The standard premise that arm energy is "safer than" internal hand energy is built on nothing meaningful- given that the hand has to engage even to pass on arm energy. We have a really badly skewed mainstream view of the issue. We create a situation in which the hand has to brace to transmit arm energy and then have to invent bizarre ideas of trying to relax the hand from the same premise we built everything around. Healthy approaches just aren't built around fixation to start with.
Anyway, do subscribe for plenty more similar videos and share with anyone you think may find this helpful.
@@cziffra1980 Just subscribed and watched some more of your videos, your ability to articulate these concepts in an easily understandable manner is amazing. Ive been implementing your advice and although I still catch myself falling into previous bad habits, my playing overall is much more tension free and I have more control over it!
I've watched your other videos about rotation and trills and playing octaves and I must comment that your ideas make complete sense. It's obvious you understand the physics of movement. I wonder if you might address arm weight as it applies to playing scales. I've seen some people drop their hands from a high position onto the keys and sometimes on the fallboard to demonstrate how the fingers can support arm weight. I marvel that these people don't have serious injuries. Many people say that arm weight is necessary to play scales evenly, they also say that it's only through arem weight that the fingers can mimic walking so as to produce an even touch and tone. How does a person achieve this without pressing down too hard on the keys? I'd appreciate your insight. Thank you.
Yes, I'll do lots more videos on these kinds of issues.
The problem is that people don't accurately portray the actual role of the arm. We hear this nonsense that it can replace the role of finger movement portrayed as if reality.
The true role of the arm's mass (most of the time and including scales) is not as an accelerator for the fingers into the keys. Rather, it's a (gentle) brake for the reactions, so the hand can stay safely in the keys. You don't try to fight the reactions but accept them into the arm and the mass absorbs them.
It's very important for the arm to be free but this portrayal of it as the source of movement did me severe harms. I don't understand why people are so devoted to this incorrect portrayal. The arm has an important role but not the one that is most commonly claimed. The idea that it causes the primary impulse for moving the keys is wrong and can easily ruin technique when taken at face value. This image only works for those who already has abundant finger technique.
By the way, most people assume on a heavier action you need more arm and less finger to be safe. It's the opposite. My piano is very heavy and I had to work really hard to learn to engage my fingers properly with the resistance, rather than pile more arm down.
The arm can release more when fingers move well and maintain stable engagement, but you can't move the keys effectively by simply releasing more arm on fingers that haven't learned to move well. It makes everything far worse. All the more if you relax the fingers when holding keys down.
My most recent couple of uploads were about this issue.