My teacher commonly tells me that my sound is 'muddy." This is yet another way to explain the problem, and a great one at that...'lazy fingers!" You give some great suggestions on how to overcome this problem and as I am learning this is another awesome video on this awesome channel. That you don't have tens of thousands of subscribers is a mystery to me. Thank you!
Truly appreciate the comment! It would be great to have more people watching, however, we enjoy music and appreciate to have this platform to share knowledge. It's wonderful that our video is helpful to you. - PTP team
Woooow thank you for this. Ive been having pain in my arms and hands the past year and this helped me really understand that I'm not pushing the finger down, I let the weight transfer to the finger about to play by lifting the previous finger off. I maybe over lifting now but Im reteaching my hand this position so I can keep doing this more consistently. This take much less effort than trying to push the keys down like I've been doing and letting physics handle the hard parts. I'm over the moon with this information, I've always had pain after a few minutes on playing and would have to stop even though I wanted to keep going. This has helped me play for longer periods without out pain. Thank you, thank you thank you and for giving this content for free, you are the best!!!
I've been practicing lifting my fingers high after pressing the key and it does produce a clear sound but two difficulties arise. First, lifting the finger high tends to cause me to press the next finger down too fast and I suddenly get a louder sound. This happens a lot playing scales, even at a very slow tempo. The other problem is that lifting the finger quickly after playing seems to cause tension and I have difficulties trying to relax. This might not happen to everyone. When I play slowly using this technique I certainly do get a superior legato sound and notes of similar value sound much more even. I will keep on practicing this method to see where it takes me. I do like the even tone it produces especially with the fourth and fifth fingers. Thanks for the tip. Got any tips about how to relax while actually playing; both slow and fast?
First, I would practice putting the "next" finger down before meeting the previous finger, separating the two motions until your fingers learn not to let one affect the other. Secondly, tension is caused when you lift your finger from your knuckles. That is, when the joint attached to your hand is the primary agent. These muscles can be engaged a little, but focus instead on all of the other joints in your finger working together. As a result, you will almost straighten your finger, lifting the tip forward and up. Also, rotate your wrist toward the next finger as you lift. This alleviates some of the burden from your finger. Is this clear enough? Keep working it in different ways, everyone's hands are built differently - Matt
@@PianoTeachingPros Yes, that's clear and the technique you suggest is helpful. Of course, I do know that lifting the fingers high should be practiced at a slow speed and that lifting the fingers high would be impractical at a fast tempo. I do strive to keep this new technique comfortable at all times. Thank you for the practical tips.
I would not call it lazy, rather tight and tense... So trying too hard... In the end, it is just semantics. Good tutorial... Not enough focus on this generally except for the injury free method instructors.
Excellent tutorial, agree - many beginners romanticize Mozart, even more with Bach. Though it's more lack of awareness than laziness.
My teacher commonly tells me that my sound is 'muddy." This is yet another way to explain the problem, and a great one at that...'lazy fingers!" You give some great suggestions on how to overcome this problem and as I am learning this is another awesome video on this awesome channel. That you don't have tens of thousands of subscribers is a mystery to me. Thank you!
Truly appreciate the comment! It would be great to have more people watching, however, we enjoy music and appreciate to have this platform to share knowledge. It's wonderful that our video is helpful to you. - PTP team
Woooow thank you for this. Ive been having pain in my arms and hands the past year and this helped me really understand that I'm not pushing the finger down, I let the weight transfer to the finger about to play by lifting the previous finger off. I maybe over lifting now but Im reteaching my hand this position so I can keep doing this more consistently. This take much less effort than trying to push the keys down like I've been doing and letting physics handle the hard parts. I'm over the moon with this information, I've always had pain after a few minutes on playing and would have to stop even though I wanted to keep going. This has helped me play for longer periods without out pain. Thank you, thank you thank you and for giving this content for free, you are the best!!!
Very interesting. I'm going to try and practice this technique for a while and then I'll get back to you. Thank you very much.
I've been practicing lifting my fingers high after pressing the key and it does produce a clear sound but two difficulties arise. First, lifting the finger high tends to cause me to press the next finger down too fast and I suddenly get a louder sound. This happens a lot playing scales, even at a very slow tempo. The other problem is that lifting the finger quickly after playing seems to cause tension and I have difficulties trying to relax. This might not happen to everyone. When I play slowly using this technique I certainly do get a superior legato sound and notes of similar value sound much more even. I will keep on practicing this method to see where it takes me. I do like the even tone it produces especially with the fourth and fifth fingers. Thanks for the tip. Got any tips about how to relax while actually playing; both slow and fast?
First, I would practice putting the "next" finger down before meeting the previous finger, separating the two motions until your fingers learn not to let one affect the other. Secondly, tension is caused when you lift your finger from your knuckles. That is, when the joint attached to your hand is the primary agent. These muscles can be engaged a little, but focus instead on all of the other joints in your finger working together. As a result, you will almost straighten your finger, lifting the tip forward and up. Also, rotate your wrist toward the next finger as you lift. This alleviates some of the burden from your finger. Is this clear enough? Keep working it in different ways, everyone's hands are built differently - Matt
@@PianoTeachingPros Yes, that's clear and the technique you suggest is helpful. Of course, I do know that lifting the fingers high should be practiced at a slow speed and that lifting the fingers high would be impractical at a fast tempo. I do strive to keep this new technique comfortable at all times. Thank you for the practical tips.
I would not call it lazy, rather tight and tense... So trying too hard... In the end, it is just semantics. Good tutorial... Not enough focus on this generally except for the injury free method instructors.