Nice, man! It was fun rewatching this with your comments. I laughed with you at both Moonlight Sonata 3rd Mvt attempts 😂 To answer some of your questions, indeed I learned almost all of these pieces using RUclips tutorials, including Arabesque and Fantaisie Impromptu (Rousseau's videos). Looking back, dynamics and technique were lacking, but learning the maximum amount of pieces in the least possible time was what kept me going at the time. After uploading this video, I realised that I wanted to get more out of the piano and to do so I needed to work more on dynamics, musicality, technique, reading music and to learn some theory, so I decided to have a few private lessons for guidance. I started practicing scales and arpeggios at the beginning of each session (5-10min) and to use sheet music to learn pieces, instead of tutorials. I learned some Einaudi, Händel's Minuet in G Minor and Pathétique Sonata 2nd Mvt - I uploaded both in my channel. Once again, I only picked songs that I really enjoyed listening to, even though they were a little more advanced. I can learn pieces through sheets, but I can't sight read. It's not my main goal to be able to sight read. A little after that I decided I wanted to create my own piano arrangements / play by ear, and so far that's what I enjoyed the most. Whenever I'm stuck, I try to get a lesson for guidance. Thanks for the lesson on arranging 🤝🏼 It's all been a big experiment, but I think my main goal is to compose more original music, piano arranangements and to be able to play anything by ear. If anyone is still reading, I will upload a 4 Year Progress Video update in August / September, so stay tuned ;)
I’m glad you enjoyed it Luís, it was fun to watch having already had a vague idea of the type of music you play now. It’s important to lean into the parts of music that interest you the most and you’ve done a great job at building up your technique to be able to play those more complex pieces! So I thank you for your original video, I enjoyed it! 😊
Really lovely videos you have on your channel. I wanted to ask if possible what pieces of music do you suggest to start learning in order to get better at sight reading? I am learning sight reading with Pianote. Thanks@@matticawood
If I may chime in on your attempt at playing a Beethoven sonata, you might want to consider his opus 28 instead. It's basically a symphony for piano, and while its hardest passages (the trio section of the scherzo, the development of mvt. 1, the coda of mvt. 4) are just as difficult as anything in the 3rd mvt. of opus 27 no.2, there's far more time to relax in between, but these technically easier parts provide for some of the most melodically and harmonically expressive things Beethoven ever wrote. Do note that the musical complexity and length (25 minutes give or take) of the opus 28 is well beyond that of its predecessor. And a tip from someone who has performed it in the past: the trio section LH should be practiced in octaves (and in 2-note intervals later on when the bassline becomes harmonic) until you can play it at break-neck pace. Then just arpeggiate the intervals in the bassline. All the other difficult parts lie comfortably under the fingers and just need a lot of repetition.
Im self taught. Been playing 2 to 5 hours a day for 3 years. Ive written 72 songs. Now my bucketlist goal (at age 62) is to write a Musical and play and arrange all the songs myself. So fun.
@@matticawoodYes true, but it can also be dangerous to play harder pieces very early on without proper technique... I know it from my own experience, from this same Moonlight Sonata 3rd (the main reason I started to play) I suffered a permanent injury on my pinky finger, and can't play certain pieces without pain eversince.
Agree, but I also have midi devices recording my "actual play time" and 2.5 hours of "practice" gets me one REAL hour of playing, if I'm lucky? Got to take all the yelling at the sky in frustration looking at youtube videos, or staring at sheet music trying to figure out fingering etc and just flat out distractions. I still get in 2 to 3 hours on my weekends, but it has to be at least 1 good hour a day IMHO.
Matt your level headed and optimistic approach to piano learning is an absolute joy to watch, one of the big reasons I've just started learning. Keep it up man
Half an hour of Matt explaining music. What a treat. I find it interesting he went from Tiersen and Einaudi in the learning to play stages to Satie and Chopin, but then went back to Tiersen and Einaudi to help inspire him on his own compositions.
I'm so glad you did this reaction, Luis Graca was the person who originally inspired me to start playing piano. I love his progress and his dedication, he's so impressive.
I have started practicing the piano on my own in the evening a few days ago and found his video, then your channel - I was really curious to see how your comment would go. I'm really pleased to see so much useful advice (the vertical reading one is something I have to try this evening). It seems so hard to come by useful content like this online, where there is an incentive to be inflammatory to get engagement. I'm going to keep going and I'm really grateful to you and others who spend their time spreading knowledge that helps those of us who can't yet afford lessons or who simply need to go through a different path for whatever reason. On reading sheet music first: that's the path I'm going through now because I'm not that good at memorising from a RUclips tutorial and for now my progress is nowhere near what is shown in his video. On the other hand I'm playing even while ill because it makes my day a bit better, so we'll see how this goes. I weirdly enjoy scales and beoken chords too. :) Juggling work, a house and a small (demanding!) child is hard.
That ciz he a cheat , dnt be disheartened and think of this a life time journey, after scales , chords etc, hand independence , sight reading , rythymns , it will all click , do the simple well and the pounds will look after themselves , the despair comes and goes at each stage
It's a very inspirational video. I've just started learning piano in my late 50s. I'm struggling a bit, as i have limited mobility in my right hand and little to no independent movement of my 3rd and 4th fingers. Nevertheless, i am sticking with it and trying to learn the basics while doing finger mobility exercises. While I doubt that I'll ever come close to matching what this gentleman accomplished in his first couple of months alone, the only person I have to be better than is myself!
I like that you mention that moonlight sonata is written in cut time, however counting it 1, 2, 3, 4 is maybe not the best advise, and actually contradicts what you explained before, that this time signature has 2 beats. I would suggest counting 1 and 2 and instead. Or in this particular case, 1 - trip - let - and - trip - let - 2 - trip - let - and - trip - let. Aside from this, great video by you and obviously a stunning dedication to learning this instrument by Luis!
A fair point and I think that’s valid and I would count 2 in a bar if I were to count a piece in cut time. However, there are still 4 beats in the bar in cut time, so I think that it is equally valid to break it down further and count the number of beats in the bar rather than the number of minims (half notes) in the bar, as long as the music is felt as 2 stresses in the bar. In the same way in 4/4 you might count “1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and”…counting this way means you are breaking it down to count quavers (eighth notes), and you could make the same argument about this situation. This is an incorrect way of counting it because the time signature says there are 4 beats (crotchets) in the bar rather than 8 half beats (quavers) 😊
@@matticawood I rewatched the part in your video to try to deeper understand your point. You say there are 2 sets of 2 beats per measure, i must have missed this one when I watched the video the first time. I tend to disagree here. Or maybe I was just taught differently. I learned that the time signature 2/2 has 2 beats per measure, each beat a half note long. Everything else you say regarding 4/4 I of course agree.
That is interesting! Maybe the topic of someone’s future thesis! I think this could be a case of being taught differently. In American English the notes are called “half notes”, “whole notes” etc…which inherently has a length division built in (half notes are half of a whole note, quarter note are quarter of a whole note), so considering the note value to be a half note and this becoming your beat in cut time is a sensible way to teach it, because you can detach the concept of number of beats (2) with the note value (half notes). However, in European English we call half notes “minims” and whole notes “semibreves” which don’t inherently have comparative note values built in. So when learning we tend to compare all note lengths to quarter notes (crotchets) and learn them in reference to crotchets…and thus would always consider a minim to be the value of two crotchets rather than half of a whole note. So it is more natural when subdividing the counting to revert to its comparative value in quarter notes and count the quarter notes with the correct groupings (stresses), because we only have the one way of valuing the comparative note lengths (minim = 2 beats) apposed to considering the minim to be 1 beat and therefore the quarter notes to be the “and”. In either case, I think we get to the same result when playing it..and it’s really just a matter of what words are being said to count it and how are you viewing the pulse of the bar. 😊
@@matticawood that is interesting indeed, now I get your whole point and yes you are right what matters is that the feeling is the right one, not how you count it. Learned something new today about how music and especially notes are taught around the world. Thank you for this nice explanation!
Seriously incredible progress, and i enjoyed the commentary. I started watching this kind of content, after uploading a similar video of my own yesterday, and now I wish I hadn't haha, other people are just too impressive. Though to be fair to myself I've only been doing around an hour each day, I definitely do not have 3-4 hours a day to put into it.
I wasn't sure i wanted to watch this video, but had some time. I'm glad I did. I've just started playing and am in my 4th month. I had a crappy 66 key stuffed in the closet that I didn't pull out until the end of month #2, because I had questions about music and just wanted to talk and in reality, make some room for it and to rework my schedule so that I could integrate practice time with life. After setting up the 66 key and actually starting to practice, I ran out and got an 88 key... since then (about 4 weeks) I've been practicing about an hr a day. Now, for the reason I'm glad I watched this vid... It is very inspiring to see what can be done with practice and dedication and the progress he made !!! Well Done Sir !!! I set a goal to be able to play Moonlight in 10 years and I thought that was pushing it... maybe I can do it in 5... Thanks for the vid (Inspiration)
I've noticed another thing. It's one thing to play on a digital piano and playing on an acoustic piano. I just made the shift from a Kawai Digital to a Yamaha B3. The feel is quite different, or so I think. I remember Josh Wright saying if we only have a digital piano to find an acoustic piano every once in a while and practice on it.
Hahahah same for me. Always loved the piano, but I have zero musical knowledge. Now, at almost 40, because of Frank and Mathew I decided to try and learn it. :)
Your comment about looking at the vertical notes for hands (RH,LH,HT) is revolutionary! I’m an adult learner, just passed Grade 1 after 9 month, hoping to pass Grade 2 in November and the step up from sight reading hands separately to hands together has been almost impossible for me. Going to try to utilise the tip vertical reading, or at least use the 30 seconds to analyse the bar notes vertically. Cheers Matt!
I have one piece of advice some folks in the comments. You don't need to practice 2 hrs per day. I came back to piano after a 12 year hiatus aaaaaand .... got carpal tunnel. I'm recovered and playing, but learned you don't need to be in a rush to get good. There's a lot you can do within 15 minutes. Rest days are important too. Your brain continues to absorb information even when you stop playing. It's pretty amazing actually how well our bodies can learn after pausing, sleeping, and not playing. DON'T GO BEYOND YOUR LIMITS. If you're tense stop and reassess why.
I learned that there's a difference between learning to play the piano and learning to play piano pieces. It's easy to jump to the pieces and miss out building up enough technique so that you can play a lot more piano pieces and with less time.
This video is both inspiring and frustrating. Inspiring because you see that some people can learn quite a lot of piano playing in such a short period. And frustrating because I am more than six years on this and can't remotely reach tthat level. So, well, I will keep trying!- Perhaps one of my "faults" is that I am playing keys on a band and so that takes also lots of my playing / learning time. You can't have it all!
And here I am after 3 years of classes, where I still cant practice for more than 45min-1hr straight per day. Hands start tensing up, and I just stop understanding the sheet in front of me. Very impressive progress, and nice commentary as always.
You need a better teacher. Have you told your teacher about all this tensing up during your practice sessions? Plus you are probably putting too much pressure on yourself... learn to relax, breathe deeply and find exercises that help you relieve some of that tension in your hands. If I can give you some advice, start a snail pace when learning a passage and gradually increase the speed. Basically, your mind needs to grasp your movement before your fingers can do it. You shouldn't have to force it. Speed should come naturally.
i feel the same way to learn pieces like Hungarian Rhapsody no 2 but i know i have to be patience and right now im focused on sightreading and basic music theory like chords and scales. thoughts....
The whole video looked like the guy is doing everything possible to continue struggling with overcomplicated pieces instead of learning things properly, but I have to admit the end result sounds pretty decent!.. But I still think that a "normal" route, with more boring but gradually increasing exercises and pieces throughout these 2.5 years would've likely given him a much better foundation for expanding his repertoire.
It sounds really flat and lifeless to me. Like a robot was trained to hit the correct keys at the correct time. That's such a small part of playing the piano.
over 2hrs practice every day man dedication does he work from home lol ? i try and do 30-60 mins most days and would love to be able to play half as well. I'm always surprised by the number of people who can play so well but haven't learnt scales and arpeggios .
It's "normal" for people who want others (who often don't really know what they're listening to) to be impressed by them because their hands are moving very quickly on the keys. As for how someone can memorise so many things, that's just how brains work when you do the same thing over and over again.
A lot of progress in 2 years for sure. Not everybody is comfortable or wants to learn from sheet music from day 1. Some people would start playing by using synthesia or imitate hand positions. People who start learning from sheet music would probably play beginner pieces like "Twinkle" or "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and wouldn't attempt difficult ones until much later. Those who learn without sheet music often dive into more challenging pieces sooner. There is learning by rote where you're forcing yourself to master pieces before you understand all the nuances. Giving yourself more time to learn pieces means you repeat it many times to get the notes right. Spending more time on a piece can also mean drilling in bad habits or techniques unless you're consciously fine-tuning your playing.
Hmm.. @mathew cathwood, the slant of the comments is good but "too bad you aren't learning properly" without regard to motivation. Perhaps the alluded drills or music reading could have been engaging rather than numbing however, he managed to practice 3hrs a day. He scored an A++ in choosing things that motivated himself and that is the highest success. Ofc this isn't all that was discussed but idk felt critical rather than "if you are considering doing this, practicing x is useful here and here's a _fun way_ to do the practice because you don't want to develop aversion to sitting down and playing". Feedback aside, thank you for creating this video. Watching it has me feeling inspired to buy a keyboard and begin my journey.
I did say on my occasions that it is a balance between choosing things that motivate you and choosing things that are optimal for progression. For most people, the process of learning is the fun part - and that’s great, anyone can learn and do what they want to do, I definitely encourage that. However, for those that don’t want to miss potentially important information (if that is your goal) then that’s why I point that out in these videos. 😊
I found the original video entertaining but i found this one EXTREMELY useful as a self taught person trying to avoid pitfalls. Unfair comment imo ('m sure no feelings were hurt in the making of this video)
One important thing to remember is that as he says, he makes tens of recordings before managing a perfect one. That being said, his progress is still insane. I quite proud of my 1 year 8 months with 1h a day, I'm comparable to top piano progress videos. But this guy is truly the most incredible I've ever seen.
I feel like this really needs to be pointed out to everyone who sees his content and thinks "wow he's so good" and/or "I will never be that good." He's not playing the piano. I mean, yes, physically, he is obviously technically playing a piano. But what he's really doing is trying to remember specific hand movements and then making those movements over and over and over and over and over hoping that he gets it right at some point. Typically you would learn to play a piece by sight slowly, until you can get everything right as you read it, and then you'd speed it up until you can play it perfectly. I feel like learning that way produces a more skilled and impressive pianist. A lot of his stuff sounds really flat, like there's no life in it, because he doesn't really understand what he's doing, he's just making his hands do things until it sounds good enough to him.
People sometimes offload digital pianos second hand lightly used on eBay. If you get used to watching the listings and do your research on what you need as a base line to get started it can be possible to get something for low cost, and better than in a shop. But you might need to collect it so add in the fuel if you have a car, or paying a friend with a car. Having said that, shops also sell digital second hand too if you are patient. And some shops sell through eBay. Often these include courier service. It’s not free or perfect, but it’s a lower cost way to start if you do want to.
@@dees3179 That's really good advice. Thank you I'll keep looking. I've been wanting to start playing for years now. A little over two years ago I bought myself a Yamaha p - 145. But unfortunately I had to sell it and leave my country because of the fighting. Years have passed and the desire to play the piano has not disappeared.
Playing 2 hours a day for 2.5 years is crazy! Props to him!! I am still in high school and started about 3.5 years ago so I don't have that much time to practice.
I struggled with sheet music because early on I found myself getting more connected to the feel of the keys and the interaction. I eventually dropped sheet music and began focusing on the sound and music theory... I created a lot of my own mini-pieces then. The sound eventually led me back to patterns, which I now read much easier on sheet music because I "hear" the patterns I see. I transcribed my mini-pieces into sheet music and expanded to make proper compositions. I was surprised because I am very much a visual learner otherwise.. it helps me memorize. With music the sounds formed first, then translated into the written musical language.
IM NOT EVEN JOKING THIS IS LOTERALLY ME. I played literally the exact same pieces, but when I got to moonlight sonate movement 3, I got a proper teacher then Reyes fantasie impromptu. After a few months of that I can now basically perform it
Good commentary, but again, I don't believe this pianist's progress, especially in the early months. Seriously, he is playing that well and with that technique in 3 months? Sorry, I just don't believe it! Grade 8+ in 1.5 years? Sorry, I call BS.
Matthew was being very charitable. Yes he is playing the notes, but his rhythm is way off which makes some of the songs very difficult to listen to. He really needs to master technique at a much slower pace before playing these challenging pieces. Still great progress, but not as much as it seems.
I think I did like 20 hours in 6 years so 🤷♂️ I think I am exaggerating but it really feels that way I have been playing more had teachers at the start not anymore though. Seems like I have such little hours in all the stuff I do AHHHHHH.
Nice, man! It was fun rewatching this with your comments. I laughed with you at both Moonlight Sonata 3rd Mvt attempts 😂
To answer some of your questions, indeed I learned almost all of these pieces using RUclips tutorials, including Arabesque and Fantaisie Impromptu (Rousseau's videos). Looking back, dynamics and technique were lacking, but learning the maximum amount of pieces in the least possible time was what kept me going at the time.
After uploading this video, I realised that I wanted to get more out of the piano and to do so I needed to work more on dynamics, musicality, technique, reading music and to learn some theory, so I decided to have a few private lessons for guidance. I started practicing scales and arpeggios at the beginning of each session (5-10min) and to use sheet music to learn pieces, instead of tutorials. I learned some Einaudi, Händel's Minuet in G Minor and Pathétique Sonata 2nd Mvt - I uploaded both in my channel. Once again, I only picked songs that I really enjoyed listening to, even though they were a little more advanced. I can learn pieces through sheets, but I can't sight read. It's not my main goal to be able to sight read.
A little after that I decided I wanted to create my own piano arrangements / play by ear, and so far that's what I enjoyed the most. Whenever I'm stuck, I try to get a lesson for guidance. Thanks for the lesson on arranging 🤝🏼
It's all been a big experiment, but I think my main goal is to compose more original music, piano arranangements and to be able to play anything by ear.
If anyone is still reading, I will upload a 4 Year Progress Video update in August / September, so stay tuned ;)
I look forward to your next progress video, you're a huge inspiration to me! I adore your original compositions.
@@kaitlync5922thanks for the support, Kaitlyn 🙏🏼
I’m glad you enjoyed it Luís, it was fun to watch having already had a vague idea of the type of music you play now.
It’s important to lean into the parts of music that interest you the most and you’ve done a great job at building up your technique to be able to play those more complex pieces! So I thank you for your original video, I enjoyed it! 😊
Really lovely videos you have on your channel. I wanted to ask if possible what pieces of music do you suggest to start learning in order to get better at sight reading?
I am learning sight reading with Pianote.
Thanks@@matticawood
If I may chime in on your attempt at playing a Beethoven sonata, you might want to consider his opus 28 instead. It's basically a symphony for piano, and while its hardest passages (the trio section of the scherzo, the development of mvt. 1, the coda of mvt. 4) are just as difficult as anything in the 3rd mvt. of opus 27 no.2, there's far more time to relax in between, but these technically easier parts provide for some of the most melodically and harmonically expressive things Beethoven ever wrote. Do note that the musical complexity and length (25 minutes give or take) of the opus 28 is well beyond that of its predecessor.
And a tip from someone who has performed it in the past: the trio section LH should be practiced in octaves (and in 2-note intervals later on when the bassline becomes harmonic) until you can play it at break-neck pace. Then just arpeggiate the intervals in the bassline. All the other difficult parts lie comfortably under the fingers and just need a lot of repetition.
Im self taught. Been playing 2 to 5 hours a day for 3 years. Ive written 72 songs. Now my bucketlist goal (at age 62) is to write a Musical and play and arrange all the songs myself.
So fun.
2000 hours in just 2.5 years is crazy .. Props to him for such consistency and determination
I started piano while it was Corona, I was home all day, did 2000 hours in like 7-8 months...
You can tell he definitely has the ability to power through and put in the time (particularly on those harder pieces) where others would quit! 😊
@@matticawoodYes true, but it can also be dangerous to play harder pieces very early on without proper technique... I know it from my own experience, from this same Moonlight Sonata 3rd (the main reason I started to play) I suffered a permanent injury on my pinky finger, and can't play certain pieces without pain eversince.
Agree, but I also have midi devices recording my "actual play time" and 2.5 hours of "practice" gets me one REAL hour of playing, if I'm lucky? Got to take all the yelling at the sky in frustration looking at youtube videos, or staring at sheet music trying to figure out fingering etc and just flat out distractions. I still get in 2 to 3 hours on my weekends, but it has to be at least 1 good hour a day IMHO.
@@tomt3956 are you sure about that? 2000 hours in 7 months is about 9.5 hours per day
Matt your level headed and optimistic approach to piano learning is an absolute joy to watch, one of the big reasons I've just started learning. Keep it up man
Thank you, I appreciate that and I’m glad you’ve decided to get started! 😊
Half an hour of Matt explaining music. What a treat.
I find it interesting he went from Tiersen and Einaudi in the learning to play stages to Satie and Chopin, but then went back to Tiersen and Einaudi to help inspire him on his own compositions.
30 minutes of my music waffle 😂
I'm so glad you did this reaction, Luis Graca was the person who originally inspired me to start playing piano. I love his progress and his dedication, he's so impressive.
He’s definitely dedicated! It’s really great that he inspired you to start 😊
I have seen his video before and was particularly impressed with how he was analysing his experience and playing as he went along. Well done Luis!
Thanks!
I have started practicing the piano on my own in the evening a few days ago and found his video, then your channel - I was really curious to see how your comment would go.
I'm really pleased to see so much useful advice (the vertical reading one is something I have to try this evening). It seems so hard to come by useful content like this online, where there is an incentive to be inflammatory to get engagement.
I'm going to keep going and I'm really grateful to you and others who spend their time spreading knowledge that helps those of us who can't yet afford lessons or who simply need to go through a different path for whatever reason.
On reading sheet music first: that's the path I'm going through now because I'm not that good at memorising from a RUclips tutorial and for now my progress is nowhere near what is shown in his video. On the other hand I'm playing even while ill because it makes my day a bit better, so we'll see how this goes. I weirdly enjoy scales and beoken chords too. :) Juggling work, a house and a small (demanding!) child is hard.
20:49 was the ultimate proud dad smile we all so desperately crave
With 2.5 years such fluency is commendable
I’m also self taught and 2.5 yrs in…. This guy is light years ahead of me
That ciz he a cheat , dnt be disheartened and think of this a life time journey, after scales , chords etc, hand independence , sight reading , rythymns , it will all click , do the simple well and the pounds will look after themselves , the despair comes and goes at each stage
It's a very inspirational video. I've just started learning piano in my late 50s. I'm struggling a bit, as i have limited mobility in my right hand and little to no independent movement of my 3rd and 4th fingers. Nevertheless, i am sticking with it and trying to learn the basics while doing finger mobility exercises. While I doubt that I'll ever come close to matching what this gentleman accomplished in his first couple of months alone, the only person I have to be better than is myself!
I like that you mention that moonlight sonata is written in cut time, however counting it 1, 2, 3, 4 is maybe not the best advise, and actually contradicts what you explained before, that this time signature has 2 beats. I would suggest counting 1 and 2 and instead. Or in this particular case, 1 - trip - let - and - trip - let - 2 - trip - let - and - trip - let.
Aside from this, great video by you and obviously a stunning dedication to learning this instrument by Luis!
A fair point and I think that’s valid and I would count 2 in a bar if I were to count a piece in cut time.
However, there are still 4 beats in the bar in cut time, so I think that it is equally valid to break it down further and count the number of beats in the bar rather than the number of minims (half notes) in the bar, as long as the music is felt as 2 stresses in the bar.
In the same way in 4/4 you might count “1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and”…counting this way means you are breaking it down to count quavers (eighth notes), and you could make the same argument about this situation. This is an incorrect way of counting it because the time signature says there are 4 beats (crotchets) in the bar rather than 8 half beats (quavers) 😊
@@matticawood I rewatched the part in your video to try to deeper understand your point. You say there are 2 sets of 2 beats per measure, i must have missed this one when I watched the video the first time. I tend to disagree here. Or maybe I was just taught differently.
I learned that the time signature 2/2 has 2 beats per measure, each beat a half note long.
Everything else you say regarding 4/4 I of course agree.
That is interesting! Maybe the topic of someone’s future thesis!
I think this could be a case of being taught differently.
In American English the notes are called “half notes”, “whole notes” etc…which inherently has a length division built in (half notes are half of a whole note, quarter note are quarter of a whole note), so considering the note value to be a half note and this becoming your beat in cut time is a sensible way to teach it, because you can detach the concept of number of beats (2) with the note value (half notes).
However, in European English we call half notes “minims” and whole notes “semibreves” which don’t inherently have comparative note values built in. So when learning we tend to compare all note lengths to quarter notes (crotchets) and learn them in reference to crotchets…and thus would always consider a minim to be the value of two crotchets rather than half of a whole note.
So it is more natural when subdividing the counting to revert to its comparative value in quarter notes and count the quarter notes with the correct groupings (stresses), because we only have the one way of valuing the comparative note lengths (minim = 2 beats) apposed to considering the minim to be 1 beat and therefore the quarter notes to be the “and”.
In either case, I think we get to the same result when playing it..and it’s really just a matter of what words are being said to count it and how are you viewing the pulse of the bar. 😊
@@matticawood that is interesting indeed, now I get your whole point and yes you are right what matters is that the feeling is the right one, not how you count it. Learned something new today about how music and especially notes are taught around the world. Thank you for this nice explanation!
Seriously incredible progress, and i enjoyed the commentary. I started watching this kind of content, after uploading a similar video of my own yesterday, and now I wish I hadn't haha, other people are just too impressive. Though to be fair to myself I've only been doing around an hour each day, I definitely do not have 3-4 hours a day to put into it.
Underrated Pianist Matthew Cawood, nice Video 👏.Best regards:)😊
Thank you, I appreciate you! 😊
I wasn't sure i wanted to watch this video, but had some time. I'm glad I did. I've just started playing and am in my 4th month. I had a crappy 66 key stuffed in the closet that I didn't pull out until the end of month #2, because I had questions about music and just wanted to talk and in reality, make some room for it and to rework my schedule so that I could integrate practice time with life. After setting up the 66 key and actually starting to practice, I ran out and got an 88 key... since then (about 4 weeks) I've been practicing about an hr a day.
Now, for the reason I'm glad I watched this vid...
It is very inspiring to see what can be done with practice and dedication and the progress he made !!! Well Done Sir !!!
I set a goal to be able to play Moonlight in 10 years and I thought that was pushing it... maybe I can do it in 5...
Thanks for the vid (Inspiration)
Wow fantastic. I am loving my music and my piano journey
I've noticed another thing. It's one thing to play on a digital piano and playing on an acoustic piano. I just made the shift from a Kawai Digital to a Yamaha B3. The feel is quite different, or so I think. I remember Josh Wright saying if we only have a digital piano to find an acoustic piano every once in a while and practice on it.
SOOOO TRUE.
Really, I never thought I would so different. maybe in sound it's difference, but not in practice 🤯
How are these guys so good after like 2 months where I still get notes wrong on Grade 1 pieces after a year?
They practise more than you?
Hey just wanna say I love your videos, you and frank tedesco inspired me to learn piano after 2.5 years.
Thank you! I appreciate you and I’m glad I could have an impact 😊
Hahahah same for me. Always loved the piano, but I have zero musical knowledge. Now, at almost 40, because of Frank and Mathew I decided to try and learn it. :)
Your comment about looking at the vertical notes for hands (RH,LH,HT) is revolutionary!
I’m an adult learner, just passed Grade 1 after 9 month, hoping to pass Grade 2 in November and the step up from sight reading hands separately to hands together has been almost impossible for me.
Going to try to utilise the tip vertical reading, or at least use the 30 seconds to analyse the bar notes vertically.
Cheers Matt!
I have one piece of advice some folks in the comments. You don't need to practice 2 hrs per day. I came back to piano after a 12 year hiatus aaaaaand .... got carpal tunnel. I'm recovered and playing, but learned you don't need to be in a rush to get good. There's a lot you can do within 15 minutes. Rest days are important too. Your brain continues to absorb information even when you stop playing. It's pretty amazing actually how well our bodies can learn after pausing, sleeping, and not playing. DON'T GO BEYOND YOUR LIMITS. If you're tense stop and reassess why.
Yes! I have erve pain issues. I must take lots of breaks!😂
I learned that there's a difference between learning to play the piano and learning to play piano pieces. It's easy to jump to the pieces and miss out building up enough technique so that you can play a lot more piano pieces and with less time.
Exactly! Anyone can learn to put there fingers in the right place and press down…but not many can feel and convey music 😊
This video is both inspiring and frustrating. Inspiring because you see that some people can learn quite a lot of piano playing in such a short period. And frustrating because I am more than six years on this and can't remotely reach tthat level. So, well, I will keep trying!- Perhaps one of my "faults" is that I am playing keys on a band and so that takes also lots of my playing / learning time. You can't have it all!
And here I am after 3 years of classes, where I still cant practice for more than 45min-1hr straight per day. Hands start tensing up, and I just stop understanding the sheet in front of me.
Very impressive progress, and nice commentary as always.
You need a better teacher. Have you told your teacher about all this tensing up during your practice sessions? Plus you are probably putting too much pressure on yourself... learn to relax, breathe deeply and find exercises that help you relieve some of that tension in your hands. If I can give you some advice, start a snail pace when learning a passage and gradually increase the speed. Basically, your mind needs to grasp your movement before your fingers can do it. You shouldn't have to force it. Speed should come naturally.
W
Always nice learning from you m8
i feel the same way to learn pieces like Hungarian Rhapsody no 2 but i know i have to be patience and right now im focused on sightreading and basic music theory like chords and scales. thoughts....
Which pieces would you recommend for a beginner to learn ?
Really enjoy these videos. They remind me to practice! lol
Hey ! I fell like there is some Beethoven sonata inspiration here ! 27:52 Am i the only one ??? 😮😊 (Beethoven Sonata 3 op2, Adagio)
What is the name of the first song you showed him playing? Thanks!
Nuvole Bianche by Einaudi
@@StiIIGaming Thank you!
The whole video looked like the guy is doing everything possible to continue struggling with overcomplicated pieces instead of learning things properly, but I have to admit the end result sounds pretty decent!.. But I still think that a "normal" route, with more boring but gradually increasing exercises and pieces throughout these 2.5 years would've likely given him a much better foundation for expanding his repertoire.
It sounds really flat and lifeless to me. Like a robot was trained to hit the correct keys at the correct time. That's such a small part of playing the piano.
over 2hrs practice every day man dedication does he work from home lol ? i try and do 30-60 mins most days and would love to be able to play half as well. I'm always surprised by the number of people who can play so well but haven't learnt scales and arpeggios .
So, is it normal to learn big songs in the 1-3 month? As well, this guy learns 10 different songs in this time. How do they manage this?
It's "normal" for people who want others (who often don't really know what they're listening to) to be impressed by them because their hands are moving very quickly on the keys. As for how someone can memorise so many things, that's just how brains work when you do the same thing over and over again.
Im playing the piano for 2 years and im learning pelude in C# minor from Rachmaninow is this good or slow?
A lot of progress in 2 years for sure. Not everybody is comfortable or wants to learn from sheet music from day 1. Some people would start playing by using synthesia or imitate hand positions. People who start learning from sheet music would probably play beginner pieces like "Twinkle" or "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and wouldn't attempt difficult ones until much later. Those who learn without sheet music often dive into more challenging pieces sooner.
There is learning by rote where you're forcing yourself to master pieces before you understand all the nuances. Giving yourself more time to learn pieces means you repeat it many times to get the notes right. Spending more time on a piece can also mean drilling in bad habits or techniques unless you're consciously fine-tuning your playing.
How do I send a video for your reaction videos?
Hmm.. @mathew cathwood, the slant of the comments is good but "too bad you aren't learning properly" without regard to motivation.
Perhaps the alluded drills or music reading could have been engaging rather than numbing however, he managed to practice 3hrs a day. He scored an A++ in choosing things that motivated himself and that is the highest success.
Ofc this isn't all that was discussed but idk felt critical rather than "if you are considering doing this, practicing x is useful here and here's a _fun way_ to do the practice because you don't want to develop aversion to sitting down and playing".
Feedback aside, thank you for creating this video. Watching it has me feeling inspired to buy a keyboard and begin my journey.
I did say on my occasions that it is a balance between choosing things that motivate you and choosing things that are optimal for progression.
For most people, the process of learning is the fun part - and that’s great, anyone can learn and do what they want to do, I definitely encourage that. However, for those that don’t want to miss potentially important information (if that is your goal) then that’s why I point that out in these videos. 😊
I found the original video entertaining but i found this one EXTREMELY useful as a self taught person trying to avoid pitfalls. Unfair comment imo ('m sure no feelings were hurt in the making of this video)
9:53
One important thing to remember is that as he says, he makes tens of recordings before managing a perfect one.
That being said, his progress is still insane. I quite proud of my 1 year 8 months with 1h a day, I'm comparable to top piano progress videos.
But this guy is truly the most incredible I've ever seen.
I feel like this really needs to be pointed out to everyone who sees his content and thinks "wow he's so good" and/or "I will never be that good." He's not playing the piano. I mean, yes, physically, he is obviously technically playing a piano. But what he's really doing is trying to remember specific hand movements and then making those movements over and over and over and over and over hoping that he gets it right at some point. Typically you would learn to play a piece by sight slowly, until you can get everything right as you read it, and then you'd speed it up until you can play it perfectly. I feel like learning that way produces a more skilled and impressive pianist. A lot of his stuff sounds really flat, like there's no life in it, because he doesn't really understand what he's doing, he's just making his hands do things until it sounds good enough to him.
you should react to Tokio Myers, very interesting pianist
I love ludovico einaudi!
Interesting how his hands changed.
moonlight sonata in 3 months is crazy tho
In 3 months i a can play interstellar x experience (Tony Ann) is good ?
Aaaah
You're the reason I keep getting pianists in my recommendations.
I don't have money for a piano.
I have to play virtual piano in roblox.
:D
I’m so sorry 😔 👀
You could try find a piano in your area or rent a practice room
@@zencrystal1383 I know friend, but I work at my computer 14 hours a day almost non-stop, I don't have time to go out :(
People sometimes offload digital pianos second hand lightly used on eBay. If you get used to watching the listings and do your research on what you need as a base line to get started it can be possible to get something for low cost, and better than in a shop. But you might need to collect it so add in the fuel if you have a car, or paying a friend with a car. Having said that, shops also sell digital second hand too if you are patient. And some shops sell through eBay. Often these include courier service. It’s not free or perfect, but it’s a lower cost way to start if you do want to.
@@dees3179 That's really good advice.
Thank you
I'll keep looking. I've been wanting to start playing for years now.
A little over two years ago I bought myself a Yamaha p - 145. But unfortunately I had to sell it and leave my country because of the fighting.
Years have passed and the desire to play the piano has not disappeared.
Playing 2 hours a day for 2.5 years is crazy! Props to him!! I am still in high school and started about 3.5 years ago so I don't have that much time to practice.
It is a lot of practice! It’s more about what you do with that time that’s more important though 😊
I am 39 and have two kids and work 40-50 hours a week, it doesn't get better kiddo
You need to react hide n seek of ethan bortnick! The drop is crazy we need it
Does anyone else live in California (near corona area)? Just ordered my first piano and looking for a teacher 🙏🏼
Alla breve also makes music 2 Times Faster!
Sorry but im sure he is cheating. After 1-3 month he can play a intermediate piece with accent
He plays 3 hours a day
I struggled with sheet music because early on I found myself getting more connected to the feel of the keys and the interaction. I eventually dropped sheet music and began focusing on the sound and music theory... I created a lot of my own mini-pieces then. The sound eventually led me back to patterns, which I now read much easier on sheet music because I "hear" the patterns I see. I transcribed my mini-pieces into sheet music and expanded to make proper compositions.
I was surprised because I am very much a visual learner otherwise.. it helps me memorize. With music the sounds formed first, then translated into the written musical language.
2.5 years piano.... very funny. At least 5x more!!
Hello ! Try to « inspect » Eric C piano man, to see what you think of his technique and his talent 😁
IM NOT EVEN JOKING THIS IS LOTERALLY ME. I played literally the exact same pieces, but when I got to moonlight sonate movement 3, I got a proper teacher then Reyes fantasie impromptu. After a few months of that I can now basically perform it
Good commentary, but again, I don't believe this pianist's progress, especially in the early months. Seriously, he is playing that well and with that technique in 3 months? Sorry, I just don't believe it! Grade 8+ in 1.5 years? Sorry, I call BS.
I think it's pretty reasonable if you have good teacher and you're grinding hours every day. And honestly his playing isn't that clean.
Matthew was being very charitable. Yes he is playing the notes, but his rhythm is way off which makes some of the songs very difficult to listen to. He really needs to master technique at a much slower pace before playing these challenging pieces. Still great progress, but not as much as it seems.
Please more Animenz reactions! Especially his 10th anniversary My Dearest, its one of the best piano arrangements made for anime music.
I noticed in these public performance videos that crowds seem to build much more to pop music than classical. Just sayin.
I think I did like 20 hours in 6 years so 🤷♂️
I think I am exaggerating but it really feels that way I have been playing more had teachers at the start not anymore though.
Seems like I have such little hours in all the stuff I do AHHHHHH.
Wtf. People play Bach if you want to improve your playing