Your video is incredible! Subtle in practise but so amazing! All the instruction I've had, all the slow Hanon and scales (10+ years now) and yet I'm still struggling with playing 'fast'. Assumed with my small hands I would never really have it. Yet after trying your suggestion, within 1 hour I couldn't believe how much faster / smoother I was playing...and more importantly how it was feeling so so different! It's almost like adding in the idea of a 'pre-load' to your finger, in addition to the better sense of finger independence. It's going to take a little bit of re-practising my normal routines to incorporate this...but worth it I'm sure. Will report back! Thx for sharing...watching from North Vancouver, Canada.
@@darykinnaman2319 Does size really matter? I've heard Keith Jarrett had a huge hand span. My early teacher, Mary Field, had fairly small hands, but was a formidable bebopper! But in the end, it's all about our awareness, and using what we have to our best ability. Pianist/Harpsichordist Wanda Landowska had serious hand issues (Focal Dystonia), that distorted her fingers. Yet she is considered among the greatest in her field. Thanks for watching!
@@Dharmajazz Size does matter !! also when playing the Piano (pun intended)😉I have kinda big hands, chubby fingers but about avg. reach. can max reach the 13'th comfortable. Recently watched a video about how many Pianists would have a much easier time learning new pieces if you could get a custom made Piano with slightly narrower keys so we all could comfortable reach 14. Was kinda interesting with an interview with a guy that actually did make custom made Piano Keybeds in his business in his spare time.
@@mrdali67 I did see an article about alternate scale (size) keyboards. Something about the "tyranny" of the modern pianoforte dimensions. But alas, we have what we have. Thanks for chiming in.
@@Dharmajazz Yes, I used that too. Thank you! i am only just starting Intermediate piano levels after playing for 2 years, but I learned correctly and didn't use much from this video.
My pleasure! You can't go wrong with solid fundamentals. It's surprising that so many players - even at more advanced levels - neglect cleaning up such fundamental skills. Congrats on your piano journey. Thanks for watching.
Oh yes, finally a piano "TEACHER" !!!!. So many of these piano players dont know how to teach. So glad I found you sir, you have wisdom, calm confidence, you articulate your instructions in a wonderful way, you are great. Have dabbled in piano for over 50 years, even though I am old I want to reach a better level, I will do that by following your lessons.
@@Dharmajazz I have tried to master Oscar Petersen's "night train" for years to no avail, the contra-punctual bars are just too difficult, the great Billy Joel's "root beer rag" is a marvellous piece, but for me, my fingers get tired. Billy is one of the greatest piano rockers of all time, absolutely the best. But of course Art Tatum, Fats Waller were outstanding for their era. I am going to try and study your techniques religiously, you have so much great knowledge and fabulous ability. Oh, not to forget about Joe Haiashi (probably misspelt that), OH the Japanese are such good pianists and composers, could go on and on.
@@paulmurphy3838 Those are ambitious tunes, but you can do it. If you haven't done so already, break down the challenging parts into smaller sections, and practice hands separately, slowy, gradually building up to performance tempo. Play each of those sections to the point of memorization. Then put hands together, again, in sections, slowly at first, then gradually building tempo. Even the thorniest counterpoint can be worked out this way. The key is patience at slow tempos. Happy practicing!
He is isn't he? I mean, I feel I am listening to my actual teacher who happens to have a DMA in piano. This guys is the real deal. All the many thousands of dollars I have spent with a concert pianist to learn had also taught me who are the good teachers and who just don't know. PRICELESS if nothing else learned there!
Thanks. I've always thought "gnarly" applies to Prokofiev and the real knuckle-buster stuff - Rachmaninov, etc - but I appreciate the thought. This particular exercise is surprisingly challenging though. Let me know if you any questions or comments about your piano journey, and thanks for watching.
It's so true about the tensions in the hands that slow down the movements. This is very similar to recreative tennis players. No matter how long they've played tennis, if the body is not relaxed it takes away part of the main source of power coming from the legs. I've thought about using this principle of playing tennis to apply to piano but didn't know how to. This video will be my bible. Thanks so much
Thanks for your comment, Tom. I've been pondering how the concept of "relaxation" can apply to so many areas of our lives. Good luck with your tennis skills! And thanks for watching.
I'm laughing, because that's me when I play a note, a pinky pops up lol. Your exactly right. I came here trying to learn to play fast scales with sharps and regular keys. This has been very helpful, thank you for the lesson. I'm sure all of us watching, appreciate your help🙏😀
Thanks for watching - I'm glad to know you found it useful. Yeah, the "errant pinkie" syndrome. It's pretty common, but so easy to clean up. Let me know if there's another topic you'd like to see a post about. Happy practicing!
Perfect!! I’m 55 and when I was about 15 or 16, I somehow by sheer dumb luck figured this out. My piano teacher (who was my dad) always had tight fingers, and he was stunned the day I figured this out because suddenly I was playing speedy lines way faster than he ever could. I knew what was going on, but I couldn’t explain it to him. Ever since then I’ve never been able to teach people what they were doing wrong. I could see their fingers were tight, but I couldn’t find a way to help them loosen up. I’m going to send them to this video. Thank you!!!
Besides being an amazing musician you are also an amazing teacher! For some who play at such a high skill level it's difficult for them to break down something as simple as a five note chromatic pattern and apply methodology to it. That exercise is great for anyone at any level. Keep on sharing your amazing videos with us you have a gift and a gentle way about you.
You got it 👏i was studying for 4 years on the highest level classical music conservatory until i changed teacher who learned me These excersis (couldn't do them because of to much tension) .Simpel and so effective 👍
Thanks for your comment. I have shown this to many professional pianists and they have also found it challenging! It's a nearly universal problem. Thanks for watching.
Equal pressure from all fingers is extremely important in the development of technique. Some reasons you see concert artists execute incredibly fast passages is consistent fingering, quiet wrists, 4 octave scales, etc., and focusing on economy of motion. Equal strength in all fingers is very important and a philosophy that should be taught with all students. Fast passages sound uneven and introduce articulations that don't exist in the composition.
I'm a mostly self-taught jazz piano player. I have never had more obvious results from a simple exercise than when I started this one earlier this year. I added the exercise to my routine and made it the first thing. I had the same kind of involuntary twitchiness in my 4th and 5th fingers when I started. But I kept doing this exercise daily (it only took 5-10 minutes). After 3-4 months, I no longer get that weird twitchiness. Those fingers are getting stronger and more independent. I still do this every day and will probably do it every day for years to come. This stuff WORKS. Thank you!
@@stevesnelling7615 thanks for the reply. I appreciate your theoretical discussions. But I'm really interested in concrete exercises you have to offer. The one I mentioned worked so well. I want more please. I might even pay for it. Thank you for what you do.
Great exercise! Do you know Czeslaw Marek „Lehre des Klavierspiels „ (I don’t know if there is an english edition available). In chapter VIII he teaches the exercise in four movements. 1. lift up the finger 2. relax the muscles and let the finger drop on the key without pressing down 3. press down the key very slowly so that the piano doesn’t generates any sound 4. relax the muscles again but don’t lift the finger active, just let the key move it up. The hardest challenge here is 2. and 4. where you only have to relax the finger and not moving it actively. While doing so be careful to have all the other fingers resting relaxed on the keys. This will improve your control on every finger!
Thank you thank you thank you! I have always said to myself that there was something wrong with my fingers - they just don't flow like great musicians like yourself. I always thought I was too tense in my posture & hands - so seeing your video - I now have some hope! Will practice faithfully these exercises. Bless you!
Happy to offer the encouragement. Remember to start these exercises slowly and be sure to stay as relaxed as possible. Speed always comes with repetition, so just make sure the mechanics are clean before letting it pick up speed. Also, make sure to only do the initial preparatory "finger lift" exercises in small doses, and just until you have the finger isolation consistently. Then let that go. (Mission accomplished.) Happy practicing!
This was maybe the most valuable video I ever watched at YT. Thank you!!! I have wondered for years why I could not play the piano....... Now I know some.....
@@Dharmajazz I am so thankful. I belong to the large herd of people trying to play the piano although we never even saw a teacher one minute. All the best from Sweden!!!
"I find that the trick of playing fast tempos or fast streams of notes with good time is to play very lightly with a feathery touch on the piano (or any instrument). It's also helpful to eliminate all "frantic" (extra) motions from the body as these detract from the flow." - Chick Corea
Yep, Chic was not wrong. Sometimes though, we need to play very fast with a steely, hard tone when the music requires it. For that, it is helpful to train the hands/fingers to operate with relaxation and independence. That's the aim of this video. (The relaxation/independence, not the "steely" part.)
yeh, also work on fav licks or fast runs or sequences and have them ready miliseconds before the changes they will be played over.. workout especially fingerings for them.
Thank you so much. I am trying to unlearn all the horrible habits I taught myself over the years and not ever taking any lessons. AT 55, I am finally learning using an app connected to the keyboard.
Kudos on tackling the learning curve. I'm still learning new stuff myself. Stick with it! Please let me know if you have any questions about practice or technique and I'll see if I can be of assistance. Thanks for watching.
This is a great video and is such an important aspect of playing to look over. We should only have tension in our chords from time to time not our hands!!
What an amazing and helpful lesson. I’ve only been doing this a few days now in all keys, I too have shovels for hands and of course finding problems between the black keys…this video not only helps with the strength and accuracy in my fingers, but I’m now managing in between the blacks with less double notes. I thank you sir for this great lesson…much appreciated👍
I have never heard the idea that a musicians hand doesn't move any faster than a non musician. I relaxed and wow. I never realized I wasn't relaxed. Thank you!!!
I'm surprised that more teachers don't emphasize this aspect. It would save a lot of unnecessary struggle. I'm glad you found it helpful - and thanks for watching!
Awesome video. I am 70 and have just started learning to play the Piano Keyboard. I will definitely do the finger exercises as explained. Subscribed the channel. Many thanks for the video 🙏
Excellent! The important factor is relaxation. Check back for a video I'm posting soon on using the idea of gravity and weight to help get a more relaxed, richer tone. Thanks for watching.
Es sollte. Ein Großteil unserer Nackenverspannungen kommt vom Aufhängen des Gewichts unserer Arme. Das Erlernen der Entspannung der Hände und Arme nimmt viel Stress von unseren Schultern. Viel Glück! Danke fürs zuschauen.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I like the tone of your voice and the peaceful way you express everything. I really enjoyed it! These are apparently simple ideas, but very powerful to avoid bad habits. Keep it up! 😀
Dear Dharmajazz, I'd like to thank you so much for this video. I'm not a pianist or keyboardist but a guitar player, but I was struggling for a long time with this issue. I can play just about any chord comfortably and relaxed, but scale runs made my muscles very tight and consequently it sounded not that good and it was harder to play. Today I focused on relaxing all my muscles and it made a huge difference. Playing anything feels and sounds so much more natural and comes a little easier too. This is such an essential component of playing that often gets overlooked. I certainly wish I knew about it sooner!
Thanks for your comment. Yeah, turns out this is a universal challenge, regardless of instrument. As you can see in the comments, addressing the factor of tension/relaxation has value for all musicians. I'm glad you found it helpful. Thanks for watching, and let me know if there's a musical topic you'd like to see a post about.
Wow, I think this lesson exactly what I've been looking for. I'm going to try these exercises! Four years into learning piano, I hope I can fix this problem.
I loved your video. Over the years, I've developed teaching techniques that parallel your ideas! I'm thrilled to have that confirmation. I play/teach the violin/viola and I can tell you that your ideas transfer to other instruments as well. (As an aside, one of the most valuable classes I enrolled in during my last year at the University of North Texas was jazz improv. I was surrounded by keyboard, brass, woodwind, and percussion artists who inspired me in so many ways. To a person, they could all play fast - which pushed me [or pulled me] to do the same. I experimented with ways to eliminate tension. I could tell you stories!) Thanks for your wonderful video!
Thanks, George. Several instrumentalists have also made similar comments about the universality of the approach. And kudos for digging into improv'! I meet so many string players who can otherwise play well, but don't improv' one bit. Thanks for watching.
My DAD💔 bought me up as an embryo. Home was always filled with music. (I’ve never met a bigger fan, but he’s mates we’re all the same. My first gig l was 3yrs old, & Hearing DAVE BRUBECK. He taught me chopsticks on the stage! ( no people)! So, it ended up that EUGENE ‘the Senator’ WRIGHT is my Godfather. 🫢 Absolutely amazing upbringing. I miss you DAD 💔 But ‘UNC’is there. with you too!! ✨❤️🥰😘😘😘😘😘
So glad my first piano teacher was a pianist for a symphony. Won’t say which one. But from the beginning he stressed the importance of correct finger and hand position. And how to use them correctly. Time to watch something else.
This was exactly what I was looking for! I also play drums and guitar and it's very easy to forget concepts that help me play faster on them. They are all related to relaxing and having no tension. I subscribed and printed off your e book. Thanks so much for labeling all the fingering for the scales.
Thanks for watching! I was talking with two drummer/teacher friends about teaching/lessons and we all agreed: the best focus is on fundamentals! One of them shared about going to a lesson with some famous drummer (Peter Erskine or ?), expecting to get some inside 'Ninja' skills, but all they talked about was stick control! I show this exercise to even advanced pianists and many of them struggle with it at first. You can't go wrong with fundamentals.
My teacher is a concert pianist who works with the Van Cliburn for Kids. I am new to good technique, but I definitely already keep my fingers on the keys, not lifting them - he says at 5:45 to just watch something else, I can't. This is really good instruction. His hand position so far is exactly as my teacher works for me to achieve. The rest should be great.
Thank you for the video, a nice addition to this technique, is alternating this but playing 2 fingers / 3 / 4 fingers at the same time. Like 1+3-2+4-3-5 and back. Cheers!
Indeed! I'm mindful of the same approach when doing just about everything. Of course, there are times when high fingers are required, but as a general practice, staying in light contact with the keys is beneficial. Thanks for watching.
@@Jehudi That is interesting isn't it? I'm also amazed at how difficult it is to do that super slow practice with classical pieces - even when I have it totally memorized at tempo. It's as if I never even learned the piece! Thanks for the comments.
glad you found it useful. Remember, this exaggerated "lift" in this exercise is about learning finger relaxation and independence. Once you feel progress with that, make sure to stay relaxed as you play your other exercises and pieces. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the comments. I've got several things ready to edit, and tons more content in the wings! Please click the bell for notifications for new posts. Thanks for watching.
Thank you for this incredibly helpful video. I though. I also really liked the camera angles and how you explained moving the finger from the knuckle joint and your little bird beak analogy. Thank you also for discussing using The Black Keys and not getting stuck in the "Canyon" . These are extremely important details. Thank you thank you thank you!
My pleasure - glad you found it useful. That "bird beak" finger angle is something I've stumbled on quite recently, and it really affects my tone! Thanks for watching.
Thank you very much, very useful for me. I begin to learn piano and keyboard, and your video comes at the very best moment. So I can learn and built GOOD habits from the very beginning. Thank you very much to remind me of practicing slow enough to play exact. My keywords from your video: Relaxed fingers and hands (instead of tension) - slow AND exact practicing - speed comes with repetition.
Slow and steady is the key. The metronome can help - super slow though, to get the hands confident and relaxed. Then bring up the tempo a bit at a time, always staying relaxed. Stay tuned for an upcoming video on clean scale practice. Thanks for watching.
Yeah, starting with simple foundational concepts like these makes the whole process go more smoothly. Glad you found it useful, and thanks for watching.
Thank you. That few minutes was brilliant. My fingers are normally heavy on the keys, even slapping at them. Your advice is very sound and I will use it starting now. Please do more on this very topic. I subscribed, thumbs up, and rang the bell.
Thks so much for this i been learning on simply piano..really been getting back into it..even tho i had since xmas i sing and songwrite so im trying to incorporate it all
So simple, right? Releasing the tension is just the beginning though - it's surprising more teachers don't start with this concept. I actually came into it rather late, but since I've focused on it - the last 10 years or so - my playing has really smoothed out. Thanks for watching.
I loved the joke at 5:30 ... It seemed the guy belonged to my space or the other way around.... I mean, the teacher constructed a nice togetherness! It brought in relaxation!! This is music!! Great class!
Excellent. This is a rarity on youtube. Thank you, I needed this clear reminder in working with students. I don't see that the metronome is needed though, I was taught better to internalize rhythm, unless the student has a significant problem
Thanks. Yeah, the metronome here is just to get started with a clear idea of "on-off" for each finger isolation. There are real benefits from working correctly with a metronome, but as I tell all my students: the metronome is a tool, not a crutch! I'll be doing a post on some helpful options for practice with a metronome. Thanks for watching.
Wow - you must have a great ear! This simple exercise has helped a lot of viewers make instant progress - hope it works for you too. Thanks for watching.
Economy of motion. It applies to other instruments in various ways as well. Watch the fastest guitar or violin players - the best ones look like they're barely moving. Great video here.
Thanks for watching. Let me know how it goes. Once you have the basic exercise comfortably, notice how it affects your other playing. Happy practicing!
Hi So happy and sad I fell upon your channel . I love piano but when I was a kid I had a piano teacher who allowed me to get away with sloppy finger placement and even tho I took to piano like a duck to water and I could play truly advanced music … my forte’ was feeling the music almost to the point of tears.… I couldn’t advance and one day I actually just stopped and became a great appreciative audience for pianists !!👍🥰. Now years later I want to go back and start over LOL All this because I watched your “ lesson” !! Going to try again and you are my teacher and I will practice 😂✌🏼♥️ Thank you !
Thanks for your comment. It's very rewarding for me that you found some inspiration in the video. Feel free to keep me posted about your progress as you return to the piano. Thanks for watching.
I'm really encouraged that so many have found this post useful. Please feel free to let me know how your progress with it goes. I love to hear about folks' experience from using these concepts. Thanks for your comment.
It's worth a try. Many people have found this simple practice technique quite useful. Once you begin to weed out the tension, the hands/fingers/wrists can flow much more freely. Good luck, and feel free to share about your experience with the exercise. Thanks for watching.
Thanks for your comment. The same approach can be applied to all the scales-linear patterns in general. There are a coupe additional considerations for attaining more speed, having to do with the angles and height of the wrists, and that's forthcoming in a video I'm working on. Now that I'm getting back in the saddle after my seizure last year, I'm able to make more progress with this channel. Do stay tuned, and thanks for watching!
@@akashboinpally9228 It helped out to some degree. Something I found to be helpful is circular motion in the wrist, plenty of videos on youtube about it
The proof is in giving it a try. Everyone who has worked with the concept a bit reports that it helps. It's so simple, yet so effective. Thanks for watching.
I'm glad you found it useful. The concept is so simple, yet so many have commented how it helps them. In truth, I still go back to deliberate practice with this exercise occasionally - it's tricky! Thanks for your comment.
I always lovit when somebody can tell me WHY I'm successfully unique. Yeah, both things. Touching the keys always and using the aid of a metronome to direct timing alleviating the brain from having to figure that as well. Touching the keys always. I love the feel of them. They are a magnetic reassurance to me -- like the heart-wrenching title i red yesterday where the person sed, playing Chopin opus 10 no 1 while my parents argue. 😩 My parents never argued. Twice maybe there was closed door low notes from my dad in response to higher pitch low sounds from EM my mother. But TENSION..., that was simply the water in which this fish was raised to swim. But my every weekday from age 5 to 16 started with scales from Hanon technique from 6-6:30 AM. And my fingertips rested lightly on each key, waiting for its turn to strike the notes in predetermined succession, a deep level of focus that developed a muscle memory unrivaled in other students my age. 40 years later, having been away, I was surprised how proper technique enabled me to sit at the keyboard an in 50 minutes of re-initiation, ignite that level of crisp clear seemingly virtuoso sound thats has me marvel even to myself that: i really am just playing scales. ...but the rhythm, the intention. The focus, the love ...and the connection of finger to key when that metronome tick clicks. 280 bmp. 🙂 Ahhh, who needs talk therapy, when there is Hanon technique, played as you described, unlimited recording capability on WhatsApp for me to hear my own verbalized thots (sent to myself), and Google mail compose draft to write whatever I need to say about what's happening or isn't and access it from anywhere at any time with no additional paid storage. Thank you for this incredible tip. I will still finish watching the video. Who knows... there may be another life-altering tip. They usually come when I'm just open to learning how I can alter a tiny bit each day to be the best ME I can be, and a better me today than I was yesterday. More or just as expansive and a tiny bit more functional. Loving this experience. Cheers.
Such a great pianist, and I also loved his performance as Joey in the movie A History of Violence. What a compelling character. I heard he makes great coffee too.
Great!!! I'm self taught on Piano (but have a classical percussion degree playing advanced "mallet" percussion) I Started myself playing piano, and Wow.. Pinky man is always curled up in the air ;}
Thank you what a wonderful exercise, its hard to believe that i could do it right away... Will keep practicing. I beleive this is the exercise that will help me the most.
Hi Dane - the basic major chords - "triads" (for 3-note chords) - can be found by looking at the building blocks, or "intervals," in a consistent sequence. Starting from the "root" (letter name of the chord), the first interval up (to the right on the keyboard) is 2 whole steps (that's 4 half-steps); the next interval up is another 3 half-steps. Easy to see in C maj.: C-E-G. Every triad contains three letter name notes, and in this position (with the root on the bottom) the sequence skips one letter of the 7-notes in the western musical system: ABCDEFG. So for Cmaj, that's C-E-G; for Fmaj. it's F-A-C; for Gmaj. it's G-B-D. But what happens when we go outside those three chords? We have to keep the alternating letter names, and we do that using sharps or flats when necessary. So, Dmaj needs D-F#-A; Amaj. is A-C#-E; Bbmaj is Bb(flat)-D-F; and so on. Sometimes there are ALL the sharps or flats (never both though) in certain keys. The chords F#maj and Gbmaj. use the same keys on the piano (all black), but are spelled according to their context. Keeping the alternating letter name sequence, we get: F#maj.= F#-A#-C#, and Gbmaj. gives us Gb-Bb-Db. They are the same keys on the piano, but with different names, depending on how we use them. This is really only important when writing or reading notation-the important thing to keep in mind (fingers?) is the interval combinations. Hope this helps, and thanks for watching!
ETA: if you read this comment, please also read Dharmajazz's response and my reply to it for a more complete picture that may be lacking in this comment alone. As a classically trained pianist, I will say, first, yes, relaxation is crucial to playing anything well and more importantly, _consistently,_ whether it's easy or hard. Tension leads to erratic movements, which leads to inconsistency. But regarding the finger exercise, I would strongly advise against actively lifting fingers above the keys, even as part of an exercise, especially as high as you demonstrate in spots. I don't think it's an inherently bad motion, but it's unnecessary, and for a pianist who is already struggling with tension (and doesn't have a teacher there to point out what they're doing wrong), I think it is more likely to lead to _more_ tension from trying to raise the finger. What I would recommend is to practice _relaxing_ the finger rather than raising it. Try this: - First, play the note. This inherently requires tension, but not close to as much as people with tension issues think. - Then relax the finger as soon as you get to the bottom of the key -- at that point, extra force won't make the note louder, which is obvious once you think about it, but not everyone thinks about it, and you need only a tiny amount of weight to keep a key down after playing it. Experiment with how little force is actually required to hold the key down. It's less than you think, even if you don't think it's very much. - Then lift the finger very slightly such that the key comes up, but the finger remains in contact with the key. It doesn't actually matter that much whether the finger remains in contact, so _please_ do not tense up trying to keep it in contact. The reason you should pay attention to whether your finger is in contact with the key is because if it loses contact, you probably are applying too much tension lifting your finger upward. The actually important point is that your finger should be resting on the key once the key has returned to its original position, ie do not lift your fingers above the keyboard. Practice very slowly relaxing your finger(s) _immediately_ after they get to the bottom of the keys. There should only be a few hundredths of a second where your fingers tense up (and still, not excessively, just enough to play the notes) followed by almost complete relaxation. The last thing I want to mention is that arm weight and hand position, much more than any amount of isolated finger movements, are what allow high level pianists to play unbelievably fast. There's a gentle inward and outward rotation of the hand (wrist) as you play from 5 to 1 and 1 to 5, respectively. This allows hand _weight_ to do most of the effort, rather than finger muscles. Using a muscle inherently involves tension. Weight only requires the muscles to stabilize (not collapse) under the weight, whereas pressing requires the muscles to move, which requires more tension. Practice relaxing your arm fully and dropping it from your head level down to the piano. Don't push down, but make sure you're not holding it up, either. It may take you a bit to get the hang of it, but you will know when you've fully relaxed your arm, because it will be _loud._ Counter-intuitively, you can play far louder using the weight of your hand at freefall than you can by tensing up and pushing down.
Thank you for your very thoughtful reply. Your comments are well appreciated and I have no argument or pushback against anything you mentioned. I will say that the part of the exercise regarding the lift, as I tried to make clear (perhaps insufficiently), is that raising the fingers is only a preparatory step for those unable to start with isolating one finger at will. Oddly enough, I'm currently working with a new student whose previous teacher had him using a very exaggerated raised fingers attack - a habit from which I've been trying to free him. This video also deals with but one aspect of working toward a reliable technique; I do have other videos in the works around the concepts of dropping the weight and circular motions as you seem to have been describing. As you well know, there are so many variables in developing a healthy and musical approach to the keyboard, it's impossible to include them all in one or even several videos. It takes years - often many of those spent correcting bad habits. Your suggestions encourage me to reëxamine my original post, placing more emphasis on the temporary/preparatory phase of the exercise. For what it's worth, the approach in my video has in every case been effective in my students progressing toward more relaxation, and in no case has it resulted in students developing unnaturally elevated fingers. Your comments are nonetheless well taken, and I appreciate the input. Thanks for watching.
@@Dharmajazz thank you for the thoughtful response. It was completely clear to me that the finger raising exercise was just preparatory, as you say, and I don't think there is anything wrong with doing it that way - I can see why you chose this as a recommendation, and you make it very clear that one should not 'force' the fingers up beyond what can be done comfortably and easily. My concern is that pianists already struggling with tension, and who are performing the finger lifting exercise without an experienced teacher watching them, may inadvertently create more tension without realizing it, and I think lifting fingers is something that, if done incorrectly, can have the exact opposite of the intended effect. It wasn't till I was 20 years old, after taking lessons for 15 years, that I found a teacher who was able to help me understand what tension-free playing feels like - I was so accustomed to tense hands, wrists, forearms, shoulders, neck, even breathing, that I wasn't even aware playing could feel any different. The consequence was that, while I was aware on a cognitive level that I had excess tension that was inhibiting my playing, I couldn't even tell whether it was there or not when trying various methods of getting rid of tension - I was almost entirely reliant on my teacher to say, 'that looks better' or 'that looks worse'. After many years of working on it, something finally clicked after, by chance, I felt what it was like to have almost no tension, and I can now notice tension immediately as it arises and adjust, but if I had tried an exercise like this on my own ten years ago, I likely would have made things worse for myself without even realizing I was doing so. Perhaps, however, I am incorrectly generalizing my own experience, and that this may not be a common issue among people watching the video. I afterall have no experience teaching others, so I have very little idea of how various people will respond to the same instruction. I apologize if my comment came across as too negative or critical. My intent was to add some extra information that might be helpful to others, but I can see how it likely came across as too much of a 'well actually' response, when, as you say, there's no one correct way of doing or teaching things, but rather lots of different ways to achieve a good result, with some working better for some, and others for others. I think that the advice and exercises in this video, if applied correctly, are very valuable, and I also haven't seen your other videos - I'm not a jazz pianist and just came across this video by chance - but I'm glad to know you cover these other topics as well. I'll check them out - I imagine there are things I could learn that aren't commonly talked about in classical circles. Again, thank you for the response, and apologies that my comment did not convey some of the nuance that I've hopefully added here.
@@voskresenie- I myself didn't start appreciating the importance of relaxation until I was in my 50's when I met a classical teacher who hipped me to the concept. It sounds like your experience with the "awakening" to the approach is not too dissimilar from mine. And I did find your comments insightful and useful. I didn't take any of what you mentioned in a negative way at all. I wish more viewers would be so engaged! Thanks again for watching and commenting.
It's so simple, yet surprisingly challenging. I think it's related to how, when we usually use our hands, we grasp with all fingers in concert. So when we need to control one finger individually, our hand gets confused. Hmmm... Thanks for watching.
I suggest gaining finger control first with this exercise. Once you've made some progress-that is, can execute the exercise cleanly, in a relaxed and confident fashion-then you'll be ready to begin scale practice, using this same touch for starters. But, there are other basic skills to learn which can be more valuable to pick up before tackling scales. I highly recommend finding a qualified teacher in your area. Ask around, check with your local university/college music department or music stores for recommendations. A good teacher will help you avoid picking up bad habits that will actually impede progress. Good luck and have fun! Thanks for watching.
Horowitz played with flat fingers of course he was a virtuoso but playing flat fingered is absolutely good sometimes but for most of us only in slow lyrical sections. More finger contact creates a much richer “golden sound” as Kissin would say.
Absolutely! I tried to make clear that technique is situational. We do what we need to get the desired sound. Thanks for your comment, and thanks for watching.
Your video is incredible! Subtle in practise but so amazing! All the instruction I've had, all the slow Hanon and scales (10+ years now) and yet I'm still struggling with playing 'fast'. Assumed with my small hands I would never really have it. Yet after trying your suggestion, within 1 hour I couldn't believe how much faster / smoother I was playing...and more importantly how it was feeling so so different! It's almost like adding in the idea of a 'pre-load' to your finger, in addition to the better sense of finger independence. It's going to take a little bit of re-practising my normal routines to incorporate this...but worth it I'm sure. Will report back! Thx for sharing...watching from North Vancouver, Canada.
That makes me happy that you found it useful! I look forward to hearing how it goes with other material. Happy practicing!
I have huge hands and struggle in the same way. Some of the best piano players I know have small hands.
@@darykinnaman2319 Does size really matter? I've heard Keith Jarrett had a huge hand span. My early teacher, Mary Field, had fairly small hands, but was a formidable bebopper! But in the end, it's all about our awareness, and using what we have to our best ability. Pianist/Harpsichordist Wanda Landowska had serious hand issues (Focal Dystonia), that distorted her fingers. Yet she is considered among the greatest in her field. Thanks for watching!
@@Dharmajazz Size does matter !! also when playing the Piano (pun intended)😉I have kinda big hands, chubby fingers but about avg. reach. can max reach the 13'th comfortable. Recently watched a video about how many Pianists would have a much easier time learning new pieces if you could get a custom made Piano with slightly narrower keys so we all could comfortable reach 14. Was kinda interesting with an interview with a guy that actually did make custom made Piano Keybeds in his business in his spare time.
@@mrdali67 I did see an article about alternate scale (size) keyboards. Something about the "tyranny" of the modern pianoforte dimensions. But alas, we have what we have. Thanks for chiming in.
Also love that you said to turn off video if you already had the technique. Acknowledging a range of watchers and humility.
Just trying to be respectful of other folks time. So much YT content now! Thanks for watching.
@@Dharmajazz Yes, I used that too. Thank you! i am only just starting Intermediate piano levels after playing for 2 years, but I learned correctly and didn't use much from this video.
@@falconswiss5217 i'm glad you had correct teachers so early in your piano journey. Thanks for watching.
Being a beginner, I've found this to be tremendously helpful in building a strong foundation. So glad I found your channel, thank you!
My pleasure! You can't go wrong with solid fundamentals. It's surprising that so many players - even at more advanced levels - neglect cleaning up such fundamental skills. Congrats on your piano journey. Thanks for watching.
Oh yes, finally a piano "TEACHER" !!!!. So many of these piano players dont know how to teach. So glad I found you sir, you have wisdom, calm confidence, you articulate your instructions in a wonderful way, you are great. Have dabbled in piano for over 50 years, even though I am old I want to reach a better level, I will do that by following your lessons.
Appreciate the comments - glad you found the info useful. Feel free to check in with your progress - and thanks for watching!
@@Dharmajazz I have tried to master Oscar Petersen's "night train" for years to no avail, the contra-punctual bars are just too difficult, the great Billy Joel's "root beer rag" is a marvellous piece, but for me, my fingers get tired. Billy is one of the greatest piano rockers of all time, absolutely the best. But of course Art Tatum, Fats Waller were outstanding for their era. I am going to try and study your techniques religiously, you have so much great knowledge and fabulous ability. Oh, not to forget about Joe Haiashi (probably misspelt that), OH the Japanese are such good pianists and composers, could go on and on.
@@paulmurphy3838 Those are ambitious tunes, but you can do it. If you haven't done so already, break down the challenging parts into smaller sections, and practice hands separately, slowy, gradually building up to performance tempo. Play each of those sections to the point of memorization. Then put hands together, again, in sections, slowly at first, then gradually building tempo. Even the thorniest counterpoint can be worked out this way. The key is patience at slow tempos. Happy practicing!
He is isn't he? I mean, I feel I am listening to my actual teacher who happens to have a DMA in piano. This guys is the real deal. All the many thousands of dollars I have spent with a concert pianist to learn had also taught me who are the good teachers and who just don't know. PRICELESS if nothing else learned there!
diggin' the whole ambiance and smoothness of your teaching/technique style.. gnarly stuff dude..
Thanks. I've always thought "gnarly" applies to Prokofiev and the real knuckle-buster stuff - Rachmaninov, etc - but I appreciate the thought. This particular exercise is surprisingly challenging though. Let me know if you any questions or comments about your piano journey, and thanks for watching.
Great serious practice advise...thx from a senior beginner!
It's so true about the tensions in the hands that slow down the movements. This is very similar to recreative tennis players. No matter how long they've played tennis, if the body is not relaxed it takes away part of the main source of power coming from the legs. I've thought about using this principle of playing tennis to apply to piano but didn't know how to. This video will be my bible. Thanks so much
Thanks for your comment, Tom. I've been pondering how the concept of "relaxation" can apply to so many areas of our lives. Good luck with your tennis skills! And thanks for watching.
I'm laughing, because that's me when I play a note, a pinky pops up lol. Your exactly right.
I came here trying to learn to play fast scales with sharps and regular keys. This has been very helpful, thank you for the lesson. I'm sure all of us watching, appreciate your help🙏😀
Thanks for watching - I'm glad to know you found it useful. Yeah, the "errant pinkie" syndrome. It's pretty common, but so easy to clean up. Let me know if there's another topic you'd like to see a post about. Happy practicing!
Me too now i can stop crying in a corner all nite🤣🤣🤣
Perfect!! I’m 55 and when I was about 15 or 16, I somehow by sheer dumb luck figured this out. My piano teacher (who was my dad) always had tight fingers, and he was stunned the day I figured this out because suddenly I was playing speedy lines way faster than he ever could. I knew what was going on, but I couldn’t explain it to him. Ever since then I’ve never been able to teach people what they were doing wrong. I could see their fingers were tight, but I couldn’t find a way to help them loosen up. I’m going to send them to this video. Thank you!!!
Thanks for sharing that. It's amazingly simple, but, as you've found, leads to immediate results. Thanks for watching!
This is very basic but imperative to teach from the beginning!! I’m super strict about that with my students 👍
Besides being an amazing musician you are also an amazing teacher! For some who play at such a high skill level it's difficult for them to break down something as simple as a five note chromatic pattern and apply methodology to it. That exercise is great for anyone at any level. Keep on sharing your amazing videos with us you have a gift and a gentle way about you.
Thanks! This video seems to have really resonated with folks. I've got more in the works. Thanks for watching.
@@stevesnelling7615o
You got it 👏i was studying for 4 years on the highest level classical music conservatory until i changed teacher who learned me These excersis (couldn't do them because of to much tension) .Simpel and so effective 👍
Thanks for your comment. I have shown this to many professional pianists and they have also found it challenging! It's a nearly universal problem. Thanks for watching.
Equal pressure from all fingers is extremely important in the development of technique. Some reasons you see concert artists execute incredibly fast passages is consistent fingering, quiet wrists, 4 octave scales, etc., and focusing on economy of motion. Equal strength in all fingers is very important and a philosophy that should be taught with all students. Fast passages sound uneven and introduce articulations that don't exist in the composition.
I'm a mostly self-taught jazz piano player. I have never had more obvious results from a simple exercise than when I started this one earlier this year. I added the exercise to my routine and made it the first thing. I had the same kind of involuntary twitchiness in my 4th and 5th fingers when I started. But I kept doing this exercise daily (it only took 5-10 minutes). After 3-4 months, I no longer get that weird twitchiness. Those fingers are getting stronger and more independent. I still do this every day and will probably do it every day for years to come. This stuff WORKS. Thank you!
It gladdens my heart to hear you have found value in this simple exercise. Thanks for the affirmation that it works, and thanks for watching!
@@stevesnelling7615 thanks for the reply. I appreciate your theoretical discussions. But I'm really interested in concrete exercises you have to offer. The one I mentioned worked so well. I want more please. I might even pay for it. Thank you for what you do.
This is exactly what my piano instructor teaches. Great job!
Thanks for the affirmation - yeah, as I was shown, it's from a Russian Conservatory type approach. Powerful tools!
This has significantly improved my piano riffs exponentially, and i thought my 16th notes were already fast! Thank you for the tips!
Glad it worked! Thanks for watching.
Great exercise! Do you know Czeslaw Marek „Lehre des Klavierspiels „ (I don’t know if there is an english edition available). In chapter VIII he teaches the exercise in four movements. 1. lift up the finger 2. relax the muscles and let the finger drop on the key without pressing down 3. press down the key very slowly so that the piano doesn’t generates any sound 4. relax the muscles again but don’t lift the finger active, just let the key move it up. The hardest challenge here is 2. and 4. where you only have to relax the finger and not moving it actively. While doing so be careful to have all the other fingers resting relaxed on the keys. This will improve your control on every finger!
Thanks for watching. I'm not familiar with Marek, but the concept is familiar. I'll look for his exercises. Thanks for the tip.
Thank you thank you thank you! I have always said to myself that there was something wrong with my fingers - they just don't flow like great musicians like yourself. I always thought I was too tense in my posture & hands - so seeing your video - I now have some hope! Will practice faithfully these exercises. Bless you!
Happy to offer the encouragement. Remember to start these exercises slowly and be sure to stay as relaxed as possible. Speed always comes with repetition, so just make sure the mechanics are clean before letting it pick up speed. Also, make sure to only do the initial preparatory "finger lift" exercises in small doses, and just until you have the finger isolation consistently. Then let that go. (Mission accomplished.) Happy practicing!
Wonderful~
This was maybe the most valuable video I ever watched at YT. Thank you!!! I have wondered for years why I could not play the piano....... Now I know some.....
I'm glad you found it useful. I watched your video on your channel. It looks like you've done quite a bit of playing already! Thanks for watching.
@@Dharmajazz I am so thankful. I belong to the large herd of people trying to play the piano although we never even saw a teacher one minute. All the best from Sweden!!!
Thanks for the video! I will give it a try right now! 😊
Thanks for checking in. Feel free to let me know how it goes with the approach. Happy practicing!
Excellent video. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks! It does seem to resonate with a lot of folks. It's often the simplest things... and thanks for watching.
"I find that the trick of playing fast tempos or fast streams of notes with good time is to play very
lightly with a feathery touch on the piano (or any instrument). It's also helpful to eliminate all
"frantic" (extra) motions from the body as these detract from the flow." - Chick Corea
Yep, Chic was not wrong. Sometimes though, we need to play very fast with a steely, hard tone when the music requires it. For that, it is helpful to train the hands/fingers to operate with relaxation and independence. That's the aim of this video. (The relaxation/independence, not the "steely" part.)
yeh, also work on fav licks or fast runs or sequences and have them ready miliseconds before the changes they will be played over.. workout especially fingerings for them.
Thanks for sharing! Could you provide a reference to the source of that quote? I want to check out the full version if possible
@@csm-csm chapter 4 making time, being a musician, a work in progress.
Thank you so much. I am trying to unlearn all the horrible habits I taught myself over the years and not ever taking any lessons. AT 55, I am finally learning using an app connected to the keyboard.
Kudos on tackling the learning curve. I'm still learning new stuff myself. Stick with it! Please let me know if you have any questions about practice or technique and I'll see if I can be of assistance. Thanks for watching.
This is a great video and is such an important aspect of playing to look over. We should only have tension in our chords from time to time not our hands!!
What an amazing and helpful lesson.
I’ve only been doing this a few days now in all keys, I too have shovels for hands and of course finding problems between the black keys…this video not only helps with the strength and accuracy in my fingers, but I’m now managing in between the blacks with less double notes.
I thank you sir for this great lesson…much appreciated👍
Apologies for the late response - glad you found it useful. How has your progress been these past few months?
I have never heard the idea that a musicians hand doesn't move any faster than a non musician. I relaxed and wow. I never realized I wasn't relaxed. Thank you!!!
I'm surprised that more teachers don't emphasize this aspect. It would save a lot of unnecessary struggle. I'm glad you found it helpful - and thanks for watching!
Awesome video. I am 70 and have just started learning to play the Piano Keyboard. I will definitely do the finger exercises as explained. Subscribed the channel. Many thanks for the video 🙏
Excellent! The important factor is relaxation. Check back for a video I'm posting soon on using the idea of gravity and weight to help get a more relaxed, richer tone. Thanks for watching.
Danke, Danke, ich hoffe, dass ich damit meine Schulter- und Nackenverspannungen lösen kann.
Es sollte. Ein Großteil unserer Nackenverspannungen kommt vom Aufhängen des Gewichts unserer Arme. Das Erlernen der Entspannung der Hände und Arme nimmt viel Stress von unseren Schultern. Viel Glück! Danke fürs zuschauen.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I like the tone of your voice and the peaceful way you express everything. I really enjoyed it! These are apparently simple ideas, but very powerful to avoid bad habits. Keep it up! 😀
Glad you enjoyed my video. Yes, "simple" is frequently the best approach. Thanks for watching.
Beautiful video, great share, super nice demo.
🌹👍🎹
Thanks for your kind words. I viewed some of your videos - what a lovely channel you have! Thanks for watching.
Thank you so much, sir.
I'm glad you found it useful. Let me know how your experience with this goes as you work with it. Thanks for the comment.
Dear Dharmajazz, I'd like to thank you so much for this video. I'm not a pianist or keyboardist but a guitar player, but I was struggling for a long time with this issue. I can play just about any chord comfortably and relaxed, but scale runs made my muscles very tight and consequently it sounded not that good and it was harder to play. Today I focused on relaxing all my muscles and it made a huge difference. Playing anything feels and sounds so much more natural and comes a little easier too. This is such an essential component of playing that often gets overlooked. I certainly wish I knew about it sooner!
Thanks for your comment. Yeah, turns out this is a universal challenge, regardless of instrument. As you can see in the comments, addressing the factor of tension/relaxation has value for all musicians. I'm glad you found it helpful. Thanks for watching, and let me know if there's a musical topic you'd like to see a post about.
Very good, well presented, clear. The art in teaching is inspiring a student to go give it a try that instant!
Wow, I think this lesson exactly what I've been looking for. I'm going to try these exercises! Four years into learning piano, I hope I can fix this problem.
I teach this as the first lesson at the keyboard for all my new students. Happy practicing!
@@stevesnelling7615 I’m 6 months into lessons and my teacher is the same. However, 6 months in I still have tense thumbs. It’s incredibly frustrating.
Yes ..thx.. it great
I tried your note by note pressing and released muscle tension at the same time..🤙🖖🙌
So glad to hear! Thanks for watching.
I loved your video. Over the years, I've developed teaching techniques that parallel your ideas! I'm thrilled to have that confirmation. I play/teach the violin/viola and I can tell you that your ideas transfer to other instruments as well.
(As an aside, one of the most valuable classes I enrolled in during my last year at the University of North Texas was jazz improv. I was surrounded by keyboard, brass, woodwind, and percussion artists who inspired me in so many ways. To a person, they could all play fast - which pushed me [or pulled me] to do the same. I experimented with ways to eliminate tension. I could tell you stories!)
Thanks for your wonderful video!
Thanks, George. Several instrumentalists have also made similar comments about the universality of the approach. And kudos for digging into improv'! I meet so many string players who can otherwise play well, but don't improv' one bit. Thanks for watching.
My DAD💔 bought me up as an embryo. Home was always filled with music. (I’ve never met a bigger fan, but he’s mates we’re all the same. My first gig l was 3yrs old, & Hearing DAVE BRUBECK. He taught me chopsticks on the stage! ( no people)! So, it ended up that EUGENE ‘the Senator’ WRIGHT is my Godfather. 🫢 Absolutely amazing upbringing. I miss you DAD 💔 But ‘UNC’is there. with you too!! ✨❤️🥰😘😘😘😘😘
So glad my first piano teacher was a pianist for a symphony. Won’t say which one. But from the beginning he stressed the importance of correct finger and hand position. And how to use them correctly. Time to watch something else.
Nagyon szépen köszönöm Dohnányi úr.Danke sehr..
Megtiszteltetés számomra. Köszönöm, hogy megnézted a videót // It's my honor. Thanks for watching the video.
Tiszteletem..@@Dharmajazz
Thank you. It was VERY helpful!!!!!!!!!
Glad to hear it, and thanks for sharing that. I'm kind of amazed at how many people are finding real value in this concept. Thanks for watching!
This was exactly what I was looking for! I also play drums and guitar and it's very easy to forget concepts that help me play faster on them. They are all related to relaxing and having no tension. I subscribed and printed off your e book. Thanks so much for labeling all the fingering for the scales.
Thanks for watching! I was talking with two drummer/teacher friends about teaching/lessons and we all agreed: the best focus is on fundamentals! One of them shared about going to a lesson with some famous drummer (Peter Erskine or ?), expecting to get some inside 'Ninja' skills, but all they talked about was stick control! I show this exercise to even advanced pianists and many of them struggle with it at first. You can't go wrong with fundamentals.
I'll try to do the repetitions you've sugest. Thanks
Cool! Remember, ez does it, stay relaxed. Best wishes for happy practice, and thanks for your comment.
My teacher is a concert pianist who works with the Van Cliburn for Kids. I am new to good technique, but I definitely already keep my fingers on the keys, not lifting them - he says at 5:45 to just watch something else, I can't. This is really good instruction. His hand position so far is exactly as my teacher works for me to achieve. The rest should be great.
Thank you for the video,
a nice addition to this technique, is alternating this but playing 2 fingers / 3 / 4 fingers at the same time. Like 1+3-2+4-3-5 and back.
Cheers!
Indeed! I'm mindful of the same approach when doing just about everything. Of course, there are times when high fingers are required, but as a general practice, staying in light contact with the keys is beneficial. Thanks for watching.
@@Dharmajazz Interesting to notice, when you do the lifting and landing slower, it becomes harder!
I wish you a nice day.
@@Jehudi That is interesting isn't it? I'm also amazed at how difficult it is to do that super slow practice with classical pieces - even when I have it totally memorized at tempo. It's as if I never even learned the piece! Thanks for the comments.
Thank you Sir! I learned the up beat ready ing of the finger to hit the next note. And the exercises tips are great.. Will definitely use .thank you
glad you found it useful. Remember, this exaggerated "lift" in this exercise is about learning finger relaxation and independence. Once you feel progress with that, make sure to stay relaxed as you play your other exercises and pieces. Thanks for watching!
Great lesson from a natural teacher. Thanks for sharing; hope to see more of your work sson.
Thanks for the comments. I've got several things ready to edit, and tons more content in the wings! Please click the bell for notifications for new posts. Thanks for watching.
Thank you for this incredibly helpful video. I though. I also really liked the camera angles and how you explained moving the finger from the knuckle joint and your little bird beak analogy. Thank you also for discussing using The Black Keys and not getting stuck in the "Canyon" . These are extremely important details. Thank you thank you thank you!
My pleasure - glad you found it useful. That "bird beak" finger angle is something I've stumbled on quite recently, and it really affects my tone! Thanks for watching.
This is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you so much for this!!!!!
I'm glad you find it useful. It's so simple, yet so powerful in helping clean things up. Thanks for watching.
Thank you very much, very useful for me. I begin to learn piano and keyboard, and your video comes at the very best moment. So I can learn and built GOOD habits from the very beginning. Thank you very much to remind me of practicing slow enough to play exact. My keywords from your video: Relaxed fingers and hands (instead of tension) - slow AND exact practicing - speed comes with repetition.
Yes, you got the important takeaways! Thanks for watching.
Great video. Im a 54yo adult beginner+ of 4 years and struggling with scales! My little finger has a mind of it's own.....
Slow and steady is the key. The metronome can help - super slow though, to get the hands confident and relaxed. Then bring up the tempo a bit at a time, always staying relaxed. Stay tuned for an upcoming video on clean scale practice. Thanks for watching.
Very helpful tips for a beginner such as myself. Thank you kindly!
Yeah, starting with simple foundational concepts like these makes the whole process go more smoothly. Glad you found it useful, and thanks for watching.
Thank you. That few minutes was brilliant. My fingers are normally heavy on the keys, even slapping at them. Your advice is very sound and I will use it starting now. Please do more on this very topic. I subscribed, thumbs up, and rang the bell.
Glad you found it useful - thanks for watching!
Thks so much for this i been learning on simply piano..really been getting back into it..even tho i had since xmas i sing and songwrite so im trying to incorporate it all
Thanks for watching. This simple exercise can help so many things so more smoothly. Happy practicing!
Simple yet SO INTERESTING
Simple is good! Thanks for watching.
My fingers always go up I am glad to see your video. Thank you
Yes, "flyaway fingers" is a common issue. This exercise really helps clean that up. Thanks for watching.
Really nice high level discussion. All you have to do is release the tension 🙂 Thank you.
So simple, right? Releasing the tension is just the beginning though - it's surprising more teachers don't start with this concept. I actually came into it rather late, but since I've focused on it - the last 10 years or so - my playing has really smoothed out. Thanks for watching.
“Weeding out the tension, speed will come with repetition” 🔥💯
So true! Such a simple approach, but really powerful. Thanks for watching.
He said simple melodic ideas and played a really fast jazzy riff lolol. Love it!
I loved the joke at 5:30 ... It seemed the guy belonged to my space or the other way around.... I mean, the teacher constructed a nice togetherness! It brought in relaxation!! This is music!! Great class!
Thanks for the comments. I try to keep it light - we're all just trying to get better, yes? Thanks for watching.
You're a fantastic teacher. Round of applause.
That's very kind. Please let me know if there is a topic on which you'd like to see a video-maybe I'd have something to offer. Thanks for watching.
Great video. The same principle applies to playing fast runs on the guitar.
Thanks for watching. Yeah, several guitarists have chimed in confirming that. Relaxation is key.
Excellent. This is a rarity on youtube. Thank you, I needed this clear reminder in working with students. I don't see that the metronome is needed though, I was taught better to internalize rhythm, unless the student has a significant problem
Thanks. Yeah, the metronome here is just to get started with a clear idea of "on-off" for each finger isolation. There are real benefits from working correctly with a metronome, but as I tell all my students: the metronome is a tool, not a crutch! I'll be doing a post on some helpful options for practice with a metronome. Thanks for watching.
Mant Thanks, Best "Dharma Talk" I've Heard........
Funny, I've found meditation is like this too: relaxation, weeding out the tension, not grasping with the mind, is important. Thanks for watching.
Thx so much. Play classical by ear. I’ll practice tonight.
Wow - you must have a great ear! This simple exercise has helped a lot of viewers make instant progress - hope it works for you too. Thanks for watching.
Economy of motion. It applies to other instruments in various ways as well. Watch the fastest guitar or violin players - the best ones look like they're barely moving. Great video here.
Thanks for watching. Yeah - it's not just for pianists.
This is something that I've noticed. If someone plays it and makes it seem way easier, that's a pro there
I have to practice it thank God for this amazing talent.Godbless you my new friend
Thanks for watching. Let me know how it goes. Once you have the basic exercise comfortably, notice how it affects your other playing. Happy practicing!
JUST what I am dealing with! Thank u. Did not know how to fix :))
It's a quick remedy for what is a really common problem. Thanks for watching!
Great Video. Coming back to the piano after nearly 30-years, and it's been a slow process. Will definitely try your technique. Thanks for sharing.
Let me know how it's been going with your return to piano. Would love to hear how the relaxation technique has helped. Thanks for watching.
Very useful and in-depth as it can get in a short lesson 🙏🏼🙏🏼
Thanks - it could have been shorter if I didn't tend to ramble so much 😊 but some things benefit from deeper explanation. Thanks for watching.
- put hand on the keys, all fingers touching keys
- up down to metronome
- cover all black white combinations
- 12 keys
Nice Cliff notes! That's pretty much it. Thanks for watching.
الدرس حقا مفيد جدا وانا اعاني من هذة المشكلة ولكن بعد هذا الشرح المميز استفدت كثيرا شكرا جزيلا
أنا سعيد لأنك وجدتها مفيدة. شكرا لمشاهدتك.
@@SteveSnelling الشكر لك مجددا
Hi So happy and sad I fell upon your channel . I love piano but when I was a kid I had a piano teacher who allowed me to get away with sloppy finger placement and even tho I took to piano like a duck to water and I could play truly advanced music … my forte’ was feeling the music almost to the point of tears.… I couldn’t advance and one day I actually just stopped and became a great appreciative audience for pianists !!👍🥰. Now years later I want to go back and start over LOL All this because I watched your “ lesson” !! Going to try again and you are my teacher and I will practice 😂✌🏼♥️ Thank you !
Thanks for your comment. It's very rewarding for me that you found some inspiration in the video. Feel free to keep me posted about your progress as you return to the piano. Thanks for watching.
Thank you for this amazing lesson
I'm really encouraged that so many have found this post useful. Please feel free to let me know how your progress with it goes. I love to hear about folks' experience from using these concepts. Thanks for your comment.
I will follow up and practice what you instructed sir. Thank you for the help .
It's worth a try. Many people have found this simple practice technique quite useful. Once you begin to weed out the tension, the hands/fingers/wrists can flow much more freely. Good luck, and feel free to share about your experience with the exercise. Thanks for watching.
What a great video!
Great video! Could you please do a video of all the scales and how you play them correctly and fast?
Thanks for your comment. The same approach can be applied to all the scales-linear patterns in general. There are a coupe additional considerations for attaining more speed, having to do with the angles and height of the wrists, and that's forthcoming in a video I'm working on. Now that I'm getting back in the saddle after my seizure last year, I'm able to make more progress with this channel. Do stay tuned, and thanks for watching!
Nice .Thanks.. No one taught the very basic skill of handling the keys..
It's surprising that so many teachers overlook this most fundamental aspect of playing the piano. Thanks for watching.
I love your content and your channel name❤
thanks for watching.
Going to try this out for a few weeks, and see how it goes
Howd it go?
@@akashboinpally9228 It helped out to some degree. Something I found to be helpful is circular motion in the wrist, plenty of videos on youtube about it
@@AWARENESS911 I see,thanks
@@AWARENESS911 I've got a video in the works on circular motion in the wrists! (More like ovals...)
Very Nice!!!
You're doing Your Gift so amazingly Bro! Thank You!
Appreciate the comment - and thanks for watching.
so good. i really like all the techniques and the reasons he explains why we should do that techniques
The proof is in giving it a try. Everyone who has worked with the concept a bit reports that it helps. It's so simple, yet so effective. Thanks for watching.
That’s perfect, thank you so much for this video
Wow... I am going to show my kids this video!!
It's a great concept for beginners - it helps avoid so many technical issues later on. Thanks for watching!
Dharmajazz, thanks for educating us in your unique and creative way.
Trying to bring some light to the topic. Thanks for watching.
WOW, I will definitely add this to my practice...thank you!
Let me know how it goes! Thanks for watching.
The very first few seconds. The opening chords to San Lorenzo by Pat Methany. Thank you for this inspiring video
Well spotted! I got to see Pat and Lyle Mays with Joni Mitchell (and Brecker!) years ago. Thanks for watching.
You diagnosed my problem perfectly
I'm glad you found it useful. The concept is so simple, yet so many have commented how it helps them. In truth, I still go back to deliberate practice with this exercise occasionally - it's tricky! Thanks for your comment.
I always lovit when somebody can tell me WHY I'm successfully unique. Yeah, both things. Touching the keys always and using the aid of a metronome to direct timing alleviating the brain from having to figure that as well.
Touching the keys always. I love the feel of them. They are a magnetic reassurance to me -- like the heart-wrenching title i red yesterday where the person sed, playing Chopin opus 10 no 1 while my parents argue. 😩 My parents never argued. Twice maybe there was closed door low notes from my dad in response to higher pitch low sounds from EM my mother. But TENSION..., that was simply the water in which this fish was raised to swim. But my every weekday from age 5 to 16 started with scales from Hanon technique from 6-6:30 AM. And my fingertips rested lightly on each key, waiting for its turn to strike the notes in predetermined succession, a deep level of focus that developed a muscle memory unrivaled in other students my age.
40 years later, having been away, I was surprised how proper technique enabled me to sit at the keyboard an in 50 minutes of re-initiation, ignite that level of crisp clear seemingly virtuoso sound thats has me marvel even to myself that: i really am just playing scales. ...but the rhythm, the intention. The focus, the love ...and the connection of finger to key when that metronome tick clicks. 280 bmp. 🙂 Ahhh, who needs talk therapy, when there is Hanon technique, played as you described, unlimited recording capability on WhatsApp for me to hear my own verbalized thots (sent to myself), and Google mail compose draft to write whatever I need to say about what's happening or isn't and access it from anywhere at any time with no additional paid storage.
Thank you for this incredible tip. I will still finish watching the video. Who knows... there may be another life-altering tip. They usually come when I'm just open to learning how I can alter a tiny bit each day to be the best ME I can be, and a better me today than I was yesterday. More or just as expansive and a tiny bit more functional. Loving this experience.
Cheers.
I still find the piano a comfort, everytime I sit to practice. Thanks for watching.
Such a great pianist, and I also loved his performance as Joey in the movie A History of Violence. What a compelling character. I heard he makes great coffee too.
Yeah, you know me - I love the fresh ground beans. Now if I could just get Viggo to stop impersonating me!
@@Dharmajazz Hahaha... You're awesome my friend! Keep up the skills on the piano and the personality! It's a rarity these days.
Great!!! I'm self taught on Piano (but have a classical percussion degree playing advanced "mallet" percussion) I Started myself playing piano, and Wow.. Pinky man is always curled up in the air ;}
Yep, that pesky pinky! This exercise will clear that up. Thanks for watching.
Superb advice! Thanks!
Most welcome! Thanks for watching.
Thank you what a wonderful exercise, its hard to believe that i could do it right away... Will keep practicing. I beleive this is the exercise that will help me the most.
Glad you found it useful. Once you have it, it's a good one to stay in touch with from time to time. Thanks for watching.
@@Dharmajazz 🙏🙏🙏
I don’t even know how to make all the major chords with their sharp/flat variants but I’m going to try and learn them with this technique
Hi Dane - the basic major chords - "triads" (for 3-note chords) - can be found by looking at the building blocks, or "intervals," in a consistent sequence. Starting from the "root" (letter name of the chord), the first interval up (to the right on the keyboard) is 2 whole steps (that's 4 half-steps); the next interval up is another 3 half-steps. Easy to see in C maj.: C-E-G. Every triad contains three letter name notes, and in this position (with the root on the bottom) the sequence skips one letter of the 7-notes in the western musical system: ABCDEFG. So for Cmaj, that's C-E-G; for Fmaj. it's F-A-C; for Gmaj. it's G-B-D. But what happens when we go outside those three chords? We have to keep the alternating letter names, and we do that using sharps or flats when necessary. So, Dmaj needs D-F#-A; Amaj. is A-C#-E; Bbmaj is Bb(flat)-D-F; and so on. Sometimes there are ALL the sharps or flats (never both though) in certain keys. The chords F#maj and Gbmaj. use the same keys on the piano (all black), but are spelled according to their context. Keeping the alternating letter name sequence, we get: F#maj.= F#-A#-C#, and Gbmaj. gives us Gb-Bb-Db. They are the same keys on the piano, but with different names, depending on how we use them. This is really only important when writing or reading notation-the important thing to keep in mind (fingers?) is the interval combinations. Hope this helps, and thanks for watching!
Watched this yesterday. Today I can play fast…well, the first 5 notes in C. But I can feel the difference in my hand/fingers. Thanks.
It seems counterintuitive, but the solution is to practice slowly, with relaxation. Glad you found it useful. Thanks for watching!
ETA: if you read this comment, please also read Dharmajazz's response and my reply to it for a more complete picture that may be lacking in this comment alone.
As a classically trained pianist, I will say, first, yes, relaxation is crucial to playing anything well and more importantly, _consistently,_ whether it's easy or hard. Tension leads to erratic movements, which leads to inconsistency.
But regarding the finger exercise, I would strongly advise against actively lifting fingers above the keys, even as part of an exercise, especially as high as you demonstrate in spots. I don't think it's an inherently bad motion, but it's unnecessary, and for a pianist who is already struggling with tension (and doesn't have a teacher there to point out what they're doing wrong), I think it is more likely to lead to _more_ tension from trying to raise the finger.
What I would recommend is to practice _relaxing_ the finger rather than raising it. Try this:
- First, play the note. This inherently requires tension, but not close to as much as people with tension issues think.
- Then relax the finger as soon as you get to the bottom of the key -- at that point, extra force won't make the note louder, which is obvious once you think about it, but not everyone thinks about it, and you need only a tiny amount of weight to keep a key down after playing it. Experiment with how little force is actually required to hold the key down. It's less than you think, even if you don't think it's very much.
- Then lift the finger very slightly such that the key comes up, but the finger remains in contact with the key. It doesn't actually matter that much whether the finger remains in contact, so _please_ do not tense up trying to keep it in contact. The reason you should pay attention to whether your finger is in contact with the key is because if it loses contact, you probably are applying too much tension lifting your finger upward. The actually important point is that your finger should be resting on the key once the key has returned to its original position, ie do not lift your fingers above the keyboard.
Practice very slowly relaxing your finger(s) _immediately_ after they get to the bottom of the keys. There should only be a few hundredths of a second where your fingers tense up (and still, not excessively, just enough to play the notes) followed by almost complete relaxation.
The last thing I want to mention is that arm weight and hand position, much more than any amount of isolated finger movements, are what allow high level pianists to play unbelievably fast. There's a gentle inward and outward rotation of the hand (wrist) as you play from 5 to 1 and 1 to 5, respectively. This allows hand _weight_ to do most of the effort, rather than finger muscles. Using a muscle inherently involves tension. Weight only requires the muscles to stabilize (not collapse) under the weight, whereas pressing requires the muscles to move, which requires more tension. Practice relaxing your arm fully and dropping it from your head level down to the piano. Don't push down, but make sure you're not holding it up, either. It may take you a bit to get the hang of it, but you will know when you've fully relaxed your arm, because it will be _loud._ Counter-intuitively, you can play far louder using the weight of your hand at freefall than you can by tensing up and pushing down.
Thank you for your very thoughtful reply. Your comments are well appreciated and I have no argument or pushback against anything you mentioned. I will say that the part of the exercise regarding the lift, as I tried to make clear (perhaps insufficiently), is that raising the fingers is only a preparatory step for those unable to start with isolating one finger at will. Oddly enough, I'm currently working with a new student whose previous teacher had him using a very exaggerated raised fingers attack - a habit from which I've been trying to free him. This video also deals with but one aspect of working toward a reliable technique; I do have other videos in the works around the concepts of dropping the weight and circular motions as you seem to have been describing. As you well know, there are so many variables in developing a healthy and musical approach to the keyboard, it's impossible to include them all in one or even several videos. It takes years - often many of those spent correcting bad habits. Your suggestions encourage me to reëxamine my original post, placing more emphasis on the temporary/preparatory phase of the exercise. For what it's worth, the approach in my video has in every case been effective in my students progressing toward more relaxation, and in no case has it resulted in students developing unnaturally elevated fingers. Your comments are nonetheless well taken, and I appreciate the input. Thanks for watching.
@@Dharmajazz thank you for the thoughtful response. It was completely clear to me that the finger raising exercise was just preparatory, as you say, and I don't think there is anything wrong with doing it that way - I can see why you chose this as a recommendation, and you make it very clear that one should not 'force' the fingers up beyond what can be done comfortably and easily. My concern is that pianists already struggling with tension, and who are performing the finger lifting exercise without an experienced teacher watching them, may inadvertently create more tension without realizing it, and I think lifting fingers is something that, if done incorrectly, can have the exact opposite of the intended effect.
It wasn't till I was 20 years old, after taking lessons for 15 years, that I found a teacher who was able to help me understand what tension-free playing feels like - I was so accustomed to tense hands, wrists, forearms, shoulders, neck, even breathing, that I wasn't even aware playing could feel any different. The consequence was that, while I was aware on a cognitive level that I had excess tension that was inhibiting my playing, I couldn't even tell whether it was there or not when trying various methods of getting rid of tension - I was almost entirely reliant on my teacher to say, 'that looks better' or 'that looks worse'. After many years of working on it, something finally clicked after, by chance, I felt what it was like to have almost no tension, and I can now notice tension immediately as it arises and adjust, but if I had tried an exercise like this on my own ten years ago, I likely would have made things worse for myself without even realizing I was doing so.
Perhaps, however, I am incorrectly generalizing my own experience, and that this may not be a common issue among people watching the video. I afterall have no experience teaching others, so I have very little idea of how various people will respond to the same instruction. I apologize if my comment came across as too negative or critical. My intent was to add some extra information that might be helpful to others, but I can see how it likely came across as too much of a 'well actually' response, when, as you say, there's no one correct way of doing or teaching things, but rather lots of different ways to achieve a good result, with some working better for some, and others for others. I think that the advice and exercises in this video, if applied correctly, are very valuable, and I also haven't seen your other videos - I'm not a jazz pianist and just came across this video by chance - but I'm glad to know you cover these other topics as well. I'll check them out - I imagine there are things I could learn that aren't commonly talked about in classical circles.
Again, thank you for the response, and apologies that my comment did not convey some of the nuance that I've hopefully added here.
@@voskresenie- I myself didn't start appreciating the importance of relaxation until I was in my 50's when I met a classical teacher who hipped me to the concept. It sounds like your experience with the "awakening" to the approach is not too dissimilar from mine. And I did find your comments insightful and useful. I didn't take any of what you mentioned in a negative way at all. I wish more viewers would be so engaged! Thanks again for watching and commenting.
Somehow when practicing I found out this, but as I was on my own did not think I was right....thank you sir!!!
Thanks for watching - let me know how it goes with the exercise.
Perfect!!! I am a teacher and it is a perfect explanation!!!
It's so simple, yet surprisingly challenging. I think it's related to how, when we usually use our hands, we grasp with all fingers in concert. So when we need to control one finger individually, our hand gets confused. Hmmm... Thanks for watching.
Very useful and helpful content. As a beginner, what shall I learn first? scales or fingers training ?
I suggest gaining finger control first with this exercise. Once you've made some progress-that is, can execute the exercise cleanly, in a relaxed and confident fashion-then you'll be ready to begin scale practice, using this same touch for starters. But, there are other basic skills to learn which can be more valuable to pick up before tackling scales. I highly recommend finding a qualified teacher in your area. Ask around, check with your local university/college music department or music stores for recommendations. A good teacher will help you avoid picking up bad habits that will actually impede progress. Good luck and have fun! Thanks for watching.
Thank you! I'm using this for accordion.
Nice! It does seem to have universal applications. Thanks for watching.
Horowitz played with flat fingers of course he was a virtuoso but playing flat fingered is absolutely good sometimes but for most of us only in slow lyrical sections. More finger contact creates a much richer “golden sound” as Kissin would say.
Absolutely! I tried to make clear that technique is situational. We do what we need to get the desired sound. Thanks for your comment, and thanks for watching.
5:32 okay, bye :)
(and thanks for the tips)