Hi, Peter Murphy. Nice work. As a pianist, I feel the need to tell you something very important. I've been seeing some of you videos and I noticed a few problems that you MUST correct them as soon as possible, otherwise you'll have serious problems with your fingers, arms, shoulders and you back. I'll try to explain everything, but since English isn't my mother language, I might not be able to express clearly all my points. 1) The most important thing: RELAX! I can easily see that you are tense while you play. The camera doesn't show, but I'm certain that your shoulders are tense as well. I don't know if you take piano classes, but if you don't, you should. If you watch your video carefully, you'll see your fingers trembleing, especially your index finger (1:48). They are saying "please, stop!". Maybe you don't feel it because you are yong, but these pains will come very soon. A good example of this is at 2:55. Pay attention to your 2nd and 3rd finger. Look how raised they are. To keep them raised, you need to put some effort in your muscles wich you don't neet at all. This effort will cause you pain in your forearm. How to solve it: The positioning of your hand is wrong. Imagine a "C" between your thumb and your index finger. This is the correct position of your hand, but pay attention to your wrist. It should NEVER be raised. The closer you can keep your wrist to the keyboard, the better. Be afraid of Spider hand's (fingers raised, wrist tense..get it? haha). 2) If you solve the problem number 1, you automatically solve this problem number 2: Your fingers. Sometimes, you play the notes with your fringerprint. Your finger will make curves. You can easily break a finger by doing it. Never make curves with your finger. NEVER! (1:57 , your middle finger, 2:00 your 3rd and 4th finger...etc) How to solve it: Play the notes scratching them. Exactly: Sctratching! To play the note scratching, you need to play it with that part of your finger between your nail and your fringerprint. That's why it's good to have your nails cut. 3) Fast notes requires minimum moviment possible. An example of this is at 2:55 as well. When you try to play fasters notes, you put some extra strength (wich should be the opposite) and also rise your fingers. If you raise your fingers in fast notes, you are very likelly to play some of them wrong. How to solve it: If you be able to master the problem number 2, you'll also solve this problem number 3. ALWAYS keep your fingers on your notes. Keep them as close as possible. This way, you will certainly make the minimum moviment possible to play the notes. 4) About strength: NEVER USE YOUR THE STRENGTH OF YOUR HAND/ARM TO EXECUTE A STRONG NOTE! ALSO, NEVER DROP YOUR HAND 1 METER FROM THE AIR TO PLAY A NOTE, NOT EVEN 5 CENTIMETERS. Maybe you don't notice it because you are playing in an eletronic piano, but the harmonic notes will never be the same as an normal piano. How to solve it: If you want to play more aggresive notes, use your body strenght, NEVER your arm/hand strenght. That's why professionals pianist make those perfomances like standing up and making quick jumps. These are not performances. These are techniques to use the strenght of you body to create even more stronger notes. It's funny that some pianos can't handle such power that some cords break inside of it haha. If you want to play calm notes, play only with the strength of your fingers. Thei are enought to play weaker notes. Maybe you don't notice this difference in an eletronic piano, but in a real one you'll notice how BIG the difference is. Well, I think for now is enough. Please, pay attention to what I just said. Your healthy thanks me a lot. Your fingers will no longer tremble. You'll no longer feel pain in any part of you body.
Thanks so much for all the feedback, Rúlian. It's encouraging to know that someone with more expertise than I have would be willing to spend the time to craft such a thoughtful response for the sake of helping me improve. You might not be shocked to learn that I haven't taken any lessons. This is a bit of an awkward point to raise; the typical response is surprise at how far I've managed to develop on my own. I'm proud of what I've been able to accomplish, but I'm also increasingly aware of the vacancies in my knowledge that come from this lack of formal training. I don't know a thing about proper technique, as I'm sure is obvious to you and many other musicians. And, most embarrassingly, I can't even read sheet music. I'm interested in studying with a piano teacher to correct these gaps in my knowledge, but I don't think the timing is right for me at this point in my life. Right now, I am finishing up my undergraduate work, and I think graduate school is on the horizon. In the meantime, I'm happy to accept the sporadic insights I get on RUclips, which have proven quite helpful. This isn't the first time I've been admonished for my "spider hands" hahaha. You're right. My hands do tend to tense up, particularly when playing octaves. This is a habit I need to work on breaking. Although, I do feel the need to clarify that the shaking of my fingers comes from nervousness rather than fatigued muscles. I don't tremble when I'm practicing on my own, only when I turn the camera on. I have a bit of performance anxiety, which in and of itself is an issue I need to work to correct through more exposure to playing for an audience. I was hoping you could clarify what you meant by your second criticism. Under section (2), you advise me to "never make curves with your finger." You then cite some time-stamped examples. However, looking at my positioning in those examples, I see that the fingers you refer to are not curved. They are pointing straight outward. Under "how to solve it," you advise me to play the notes by scratching them. When I visualize this, I imagine that my fingers WOULD be curved. Given the examples you cited and the advise you gave me, I suspect you may have meant to say that my fingers should ALWAYS be curved, rather than NEVER curved. I might be misinterpreting your words. Again, thank you for the detailed explanation. I will try to incorporate your advise into my playing.
Thank you for reading my comment, Peter. I'm glad you shared part of your time to read my point. Indeed, if you are not playing piano for living, then there is no reason to put it on the horizon. The most important thing is to have your priorities. I'm not a professional pianist, but I play it for a good time to know when someone knows what he/she is doing at the piano. I'm focusing on graduating next year in Engineering, so piano has become far less important haha. I totally understand your fellings when you get nervous at the moment you turn the camera on. It happens exactly to me. It's funny that we play perfectly with the camera turned off, but when it's on...man!! We don't know what happens, but we tend to make a lot of mistakes that we usually don't do. You'll get used to it soon. To clarify your doubts, let me show you some pictures. About the curved fingers (the links are safe): There are 2 types of curved fingers as it shows below: postimg.org/image/n2c9yov3d/ The right way is what I meant when I said to play the notes scratching them. Playing this way, you'll certainly be sure to make the less movement possible to play a note. The wrong way is the real problem. I hope you understand a little bit of physics to make everything clear: postimg.org/image/hlkh6pw53/ The force F is the force that you aplly to your finger to execute a movement. When you curve the finger that way, this force tend to divide in 2 at the connection of your bones. Part of it does play the note. The other one is "lost". This part is absorved by your body as impact. However, this connection is not made to absorv damages. When you play the right way, you doesn't lose any of your force apllied because it goes trough your finger making 90º. If this angle is different from 90º, the force is gonna split and your finger will feel it. About octaves: Playing octaves is easier than it looks like. Since you said your muscles tend to tense up when playing octaves, here's a tip to help you out. postimg.org/image/rk1y4dmyl/ postimg.org/image/uhhgbu2ax/ These 2 ways are both right. However, you should know when to use each case. The first case shows my wrist totally relaxed and my 2nd,3rd and 4rh fingers laying on the notes. This position should be used ONLY if you are sure you are not going to play any notes with these fingers. So there is no reason to keep them curved. It is perfect to play octaves notes. The second case is when you know you need to play some notes with the aforementioned fingers. An example of this is when the sheet music requires you to play and hold the octaves, but also requires some notes between the octave to be played. In this situation, the second case is the best choice. As you probally noticed, my wrist is not like the first link I showed. This is because (as I said in my first post) I use my wrist to play octaves and also to let the piano hold my hands for me. I am totally relaxed in this position. However, you should not keep your wrist down this way when you are going to play fast arpeggio, trill and chromatic scales. Important tip: When making octaves in the black notes, always use your first (thumb) and 4rh (anelar finger), because if you need to play an white note next to the black note, your 5th (little finger) will be ready to play it.
Hey, I've read that you get to this skill without taking any classes, taht's amazing dude! By the way, do you have the sheet music? Or can you tell me where did you get it?
Thanks, Vlad! (Is it still cool to call you that even though you've rebranded? haha) Yup. I memorize everything. I kinda have to; I still haven't learned to read sheet music. I've been meaning to for a while, but don't really have the time. I'll learn eventually.
haahhaah sure thing Peter, the fact you remember my name is flattering. I can read but very slow hahah so I also have to memorize most of the song but like you said it's only matter of time :)
I love national park theme. I remember my childhood when I spent a lot of time with gameboy. I miss that times so much :)
Hi, Peter Murphy. Nice work.
As a pianist, I feel the need to tell you something very important. I've been seeing some of you videos and I noticed a few problems that you MUST correct them as soon as possible, otherwise you'll have serious problems with your fingers, arms, shoulders and you back.
I'll try to explain everything, but since English isn't my mother language, I might not be able to express clearly all my points.
1) The most important thing: RELAX! I can easily see that you are tense while you play. The camera doesn't show, but I'm certain that your shoulders are tense as well. I don't know if you take piano classes, but if you don't, you should. If you watch your video carefully, you'll see your fingers trembleing, especially your index finger (1:48). They are saying "please, stop!". Maybe you don't feel it because you are yong, but these pains will come very soon.
A good example of this is at 2:55. Pay attention to your 2nd and 3rd finger. Look how raised they are. To keep them raised, you need to put some effort in your muscles wich you don't neet at all. This effort will cause you pain in your forearm.
How to solve it:
The positioning of your hand is wrong. Imagine a "C" between your thumb and your index finger. This is the correct position of your hand, but pay attention to your wrist. It should NEVER be raised. The closer you can keep your wrist to the keyboard, the better.
Be afraid of Spider hand's (fingers raised, wrist tense..get it? haha).
2) If you solve the problem number 1, you automatically solve this problem number 2: Your fingers. Sometimes, you play the notes with your fringerprint. Your finger will make curves. You can easily break a finger by doing it. Never make curves with your finger. NEVER! (1:57 , your middle finger, 2:00 your 3rd and 4th finger...etc)
How to solve it:
Play the notes scratching them. Exactly: Sctratching! To play the note scratching, you need to play it with that part of your finger between your nail and your fringerprint. That's why it's good to have your nails cut.
3) Fast notes requires minimum moviment possible. An example of this is at 2:55 as well. When you try to play fasters notes, you put some extra strength (wich should be the opposite) and also rise your fingers. If you raise your fingers in fast notes, you are very likelly to play some of them wrong.
How to solve it: If you be able to master the problem number 2, you'll also solve this problem number 3. ALWAYS keep your fingers on your notes. Keep them as close as possible. This way, you will certainly make the minimum moviment possible to play the notes.
4) About strength: NEVER USE YOUR THE STRENGTH OF YOUR HAND/ARM TO EXECUTE A STRONG NOTE! ALSO, NEVER DROP YOUR HAND 1 METER FROM THE AIR TO PLAY A NOTE, NOT EVEN 5 CENTIMETERS.
Maybe you don't notice it because you are playing in an eletronic piano, but the harmonic notes will never be the same as an normal piano.
How to solve it:
If you want to play more aggresive notes, use your body strenght, NEVER your arm/hand strenght. That's why professionals pianist make those perfomances like standing up and making quick jumps. These are not performances. These are techniques to use the strenght of you body to create even more stronger notes. It's funny that some pianos can't handle such power that some cords break inside of it haha.
If you want to play calm notes, play only with the strength of your fingers. Thei are enought to play weaker notes.
Maybe you don't notice this difference in an eletronic piano, but in a real one you'll notice how BIG the difference is.
Well, I think for now is enough. Please, pay attention to what I just said. Your healthy thanks me a lot. Your fingers will no longer tremble. You'll no longer feel pain in any part of you body.
Thanks so much for all the feedback, Rúlian. It's encouraging to know that someone with more expertise than I have would be willing to spend the time to craft such a thoughtful response for the sake of helping me improve.
You might not be shocked to learn that I haven't taken any lessons. This is a bit of an awkward point to raise; the typical response is surprise at how far I've managed to develop on my own. I'm proud of what I've been able to accomplish, but I'm also increasingly aware of the vacancies in my knowledge that come from this lack of formal training. I don't know a thing about proper technique, as I'm sure is obvious to you and many other musicians. And, most embarrassingly, I can't even read sheet music. I'm interested in studying with a piano teacher to correct these gaps in my knowledge, but I don't think the timing is right for me at this point in my life. Right now, I am finishing up my undergraduate work, and I think graduate school is on the horizon.
In the meantime, I'm happy to accept the sporadic insights I get on RUclips, which have proven quite helpful.
This isn't the first time I've been admonished for my "spider hands" hahaha. You're right. My hands do tend to tense up, particularly when playing octaves. This is a habit I need to work on breaking. Although, I do feel the need to clarify that the shaking of my fingers comes from nervousness rather than fatigued muscles. I don't tremble when I'm practicing on my own, only when I turn the camera on. I have a bit of performance anxiety, which in and of itself is an issue I need to work to correct through more exposure to playing for an audience.
I was hoping you could clarify what you meant by your second criticism. Under section (2), you advise me to "never make curves with your finger." You then cite some time-stamped examples. However, looking at my positioning in those examples, I see that the fingers you refer to are not curved. They are pointing straight outward. Under "how to solve it," you advise me to play the notes by scratching them. When I visualize this, I imagine that my fingers WOULD be curved. Given the examples you cited and the advise you gave me, I suspect you may have meant to say that my fingers should ALWAYS be curved, rather than NEVER curved. I might be misinterpreting your words.
Again, thank you for the detailed explanation. I will try to incorporate your advise into my playing.
Thank you for reading my comment, Peter. I'm glad you shared part of your time to read my point.
Indeed, if you are not playing piano for living, then there is no reason to put it on the horizon. The most important thing is to have your priorities. I'm not a professional pianist, but I play it for a good time to know when someone knows what he/she is doing at the piano. I'm focusing on graduating next year in Engineering, so piano has become far less important haha.
I totally understand your fellings when you get nervous at the moment you turn the camera on. It happens exactly to me. It's funny that we play perfectly with the camera turned off, but when it's on...man!! We don't know what happens, but we tend to make a lot of mistakes that we usually don't do. You'll get used to it soon.
To clarify your doubts, let me show you some pictures.
About the curved fingers (the links are safe):
There are 2 types of curved fingers as it shows below:
postimg.org/image/n2c9yov3d/
The right way is what I meant when I said to play the notes scratching them. Playing this way, you'll certainly be sure to make the less movement possible to play a note.
The wrong way is the real problem. I hope you understand a little bit of physics to make everything clear:
postimg.org/image/hlkh6pw53/
The force F is the force that you aplly to your finger to execute a movement. When you curve the finger that way, this force tend to divide in 2 at the connection of your bones. Part of it does play the note. The other one is "lost". This part is absorved by your body as impact. However, this connection is not made to absorv damages. When you play the right way, you doesn't lose any of your force apllied because it goes trough your finger making 90º. If this angle is different from 90º, the force is gonna split and your finger will feel it.
About octaves:
Playing octaves is easier than it looks like. Since you said your muscles tend to tense up when playing octaves, here's a tip to help you out.
postimg.org/image/rk1y4dmyl/
postimg.org/image/uhhgbu2ax/
These 2 ways are both right. However, you should know when to use each case.
The first case shows my wrist totally relaxed and my 2nd,3rd and 4rh fingers laying on the notes. This position should be used ONLY if you are sure you are not going to play any notes with these fingers. So there is no reason to keep them curved. It is perfect to play octaves notes.
The second case is when you know you need to play some notes with the aforementioned fingers. An example of this is when the sheet music requires you to play and hold the octaves, but also requires some notes between the octave to be played. In this situation, the second case is the best choice.
As you probally noticed, my wrist is not like the first link I showed. This is because (as I said in my first post) I use my wrist to play octaves and also to let the piano hold my hands for me. I am totally relaxed in this position. However, you should not keep your wrist down this way when you are going to play fast arpeggio, trill and chromatic scales.
Important tip: When making octaves in the black notes, always use your first (thumb) and 4rh (anelar finger), because if you need to play an white note next to the black note, your 5th (little finger) will be ready to play it.
Holy shit, I'm also attempting yo self teach piano and you are leagues ahead of me already
Niiiiiiceeeee
This is great, thank you :)
Nice
Great work man! I like the accompaniment at 1:30.
Sounds great man.
COOL !!!!! 😍 NICE WORK :)
Hey, I've read that you get to this skill without taking any classes, taht's amazing dude!
By the way, do you have the sheet music? Or can you tell me where did you get it?
awesome work!
Do you actually memorize every song?
Thanks, Vlad! (Is it still cool to call you that even though you've rebranded? haha)
Yup. I memorize everything. I kinda have to; I still haven't learned to read sheet music. I've been meaning to for a while, but don't really have the time. I'll learn eventually.
haahhaah sure thing Peter, the fact you remember my name is flattering.
I can read but very slow hahah so I also have to memorize most of the song but like you said it's only matter of time :)
Was this recorded with direct audio or with the audio of a camera
great music, but it's in the wrong key (i think)