A beginner / intermediate here, and I never have thought about nor did my childhood piano teacher talk about technique, arm and hand movement, etc., to allow for easier access which ultimately allows for smoother transitions. Thanks!!
I have been in love with the piano for as long as I can remember, and, though my parents repeatedly promised me lessons, they never came through and I had to teach myself. I devoured every bit of musical knowledge that came my way. Two years ago for my birthday, thanks to my marvelous husband, I finally got the piano I had waited for all my life. It is just as much a part of me as my arms and legs. I am now 70 years old, and I think this is the best video I have ever seen. Thank you.
I had a similar experience, Stephanie. We are of a similar age. My family could not afford a piano, so I began on a spinet in a kind neighbor’s house. I was passionate from the beginning. We finally got a cheap upright and I paid for a few lessons by babysitting. I even tried to major in piano at my local university, but it was hopeless with such a background. My teacher focused on more advanced students. Fast forward to the present. I decided to try again during the pandemic and finally could afford a very nice piano. I joined tonebase and am learning a lot. However, this video is by far better than anything I have ever seen. I am overjoyed. I can do each motion and they make playing so much easier and fun! Watch out Chopin Ballades, here I come!
Stephanie, congratulations that you were able to fulfill your lifelong dream to own your own piano. I am 73 and just purchased a piano as well. I am excited to start studies again and have so many music compositions that I want to learn. I am sure you feel the same, I am so happy for you. Just curious, what kind of piano did you get? Mine is an Ebony 1982 YAMAHA (YUX) upright.
Good for you. I always say you are never too old to learn an instrument. I teach piano virtually as well as in person perand I have several adults. I personally started violin lessons when I was in my sixties. I am proud of you.
@@davidwhittaker9511 My piano is a Boston GP-156 PE. Unfortunately, I can't play it right now; three weeks ago I had thumb joint reconstruction surgery. It is going to be wonderful to be able to play octaves without pain!
I am 54 and and I always played guitar and dreamed of playing piano. Now I am learning. I'd like to watch a video of you playing. Congratulations for you and your husband from Brazil.
very good explained and sure with a good lessons. I´m proud to see and take this. I think the most important is realy EMOTION and then Expressivity. Thanks very much for this GREAT MASTERCLASS
very right! it is the muscle chains that work interdependently. The strength/force comes from core/diaphragm area. I realised this whilst working on a potter's wheel. The grounding lies in the lower limbs especially the heel kontakt: (Bartenieff-Fundamentals)
Illegal to watch for free but a necessary antidote to catalyze pianists who otherwise are self-taught or learning off youtube. I’m all for bettering many great pianists.. paid or not. I feel Marian did a great service to the many pianists learning on their own who don’t realize the importance of these esoteric points.
Dr. Lee, I have just subscribed your channel after watching your tutorial. I have learned these motions during my seven years of study with my teacher. But you broke them down in such clear categories along with their applications, which is particularly helpful. I hope you can share the applications more with a more extensive score example when possible. Thank you for your generosity. By the way, it's exciting to know you were maestro Sandor's pupil. I was exposed to his artistry a long time ago when I acquired his recordings of the complete Bartok piano music, which is a special part of my prized collection. Thank you for passing his wisdom down to us.
Dear Marian. You cannot imagine how important and useful is being to watch your super class on piano basic motions. Must confess, I never saw this subject being exposed so clearly! THANK YOU, SO MUCH! God bless you. Greetings, from Brasil. Prof. Roberto Sion.
This video is educational, informative, and interesting to watch! Thank-you for the efforts of your team, and your passion to put this together in memory of your teacher. Teachers and students alike can benefit. Thank-you!
I've recently had to take a break from piano practice as I caused a bit of a wrist injury (self taught so I was unaware of the basics of form & technique) and this is such a valuable resource. I'm resting my wrist so that it can heal up but when I'm back this will help immensely to set my form and technique on the right path. Thank you kindly! I look forward to future videos :)
hope you have recovered well :) would you mind telling what were you doing wrong that caused injury and what signs to look for. I am also self teaching and this would really help many others like us. TIA
Fascinating! These concepts were never taught to me. I have been playing now for over 40 years and while I haven't yet experienced hand pain or tendon issues (thankfully!), this makes me want to really analyze how I'm playing to make sure I'm not wasting motion and/or not using enough motion, rotation, etc., to ensure that I DON'T get fatigued or get tendon issues. Thanks so much for your time!
This is a well-produced and thought out demonstration of the basics of solid piano technique. The clear explanations, musical examples and variety of camera angles kept the lesson interesting all the way through!
It is most definitely one of the more fundamental cores that’s just not emphasized enough. Should be like the first thing any program should do before busting the piano. This knowledge was natural for me to get but only bc of my concurrent passion for physiology and anatomy and from Martial arts. My hands and fingers are still healthy and not suffering from arthritis. I’m not a professional but I can easily see how, without mindfulness on this aspect, many pianist can direct themselves towards a career death sentence if you grind it through. The essence of proper warm up, range motion.. or general proprioception.. that should be like the first thing to instill in any students joe or pro. I’m very glad to watch a video on this and I wish there were more of this on RUclips bc we have many potentially great pianists who otherwise could harm themselves without the understanding. Subscribed.
When I was a first year student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor I had the opportunity of playing for Professor Sandor the Chopin G Minor Ballad in a Masterclass. Although feeling somewhat intimidated by him he gave me several wonderful ideas. His Bartok is legendary!
I can't thank you enough for not only sharing this info with us but presenting and demonstrating it the way you did. I was able to follow you so easily and wow what a difference. I've been playing for years but this is the first time I've heard this. You're a really good teacher. Many thanks💛
I just lucked onto this in my feed and it has already changed my life! I cannot thank you enough. Identifying these core motions and explaining them in a concise and simple way takes deep insight. You have solved a million problems I was having that would never have been resolved by repetition and experiment. WOW!
Thank you Marian, it’s really useful being able to categorise certain passages of a piece when learning or even listening to it. This is a superb reference that I’ll keep for myself and share to anyone looking! Thankyou!!!
Your teaching is so clear when you are demonstrating a certain technique that I can actually take it in and remember it not just watch only to be left wondering, "Now what did that teacher tell me to do?" Also, you are so sweet and soft-spoken that your personality does not get in the way of what you are teaching. Thank you so much for sharing this.
What a precious knowledge and and experience you give there. Thanks for your passion and generosity. Extremely clear explanation. You are a master Madame ! 👍❤️☮️
I have played for years. I became a mom...no time to practice...then kids grew up and I had to find myself ....so I picked up piano again. Thank you. I have never had the opportunity to learn these essential mechanics. I just had a lesson by an incredible teacher. Thank you!!!
This is the type of explanation I was looking for, explanations that I don't get by paying for private lessons. I'm canceling my classes that have been frustrating me for some time and I'm going with you and other pretty serious piano teacher on youtube.
Its too bad that I hear this often from students who I end up having to help "fix" their technique... explaining these 5 aspects help perfect any piece you may learn. hope you found a good way to progress in your studies
I'm so grateful I stumbled upon your content! Your piano lessons are truly exceptional, among the finest I've ever come across. I'm eagerly looking forward to more of your informative videos that can aid individuals in honing their piano skills and mastering advanced techniques.
use your whole body, diaphragm at the centre, control ur breathing 1. flexible wrist and body movements - bend your body left or right, dont shift ur ass 2. free fall of hand 3. horizontal movement - align hand with fingers 4. vertical movement - raise hand with pinky, set with thumb 5. exception to 4: always be lowest at beginning of a phrase and highest at the end 6. Rotation - build momentum back and forth 7. Staccato - thrown fingers with force 8. Thrust - force with just fingers
Great video! I took five years of piano lessons in my teens, learning pieces like moonlight and pathetique and have played on and off my whole life (mostly ON for the last three years, without nearly the progression I would like). Recently retired and trying to get reasonably more disciplined. All that to say, this was great information, none of which was ever presented or taught to me so clearly as you did. The free fall, staccato, rotation and thrust seem straightforward to incorporate into my playing, partially because you explained it so well and so intuitively and how it fits in. However, the concepts of motion for the scales and arpeggios seem less intuitive (while you explained each of them exceptionally well for the time alotted), those motions probably have much more nuance depending on hand size, strength, etc., that would probably require some more depth evaluation and time to explain. I appreciate the suggestion of Gyorgy Sandor, I will definitely get that, but are there other videos in more detail by other folks that you find helpful for your students that you could suggest to get that more depth on the scale/arpeggios motions? I will be watching this video a few more times in front of the piano in my practicing. Thank you again!
Hello Marian, I want to thank you very much for offering this video, which is so instructive and valuable - by far the best video I have seen on piano technique. I started playing piano at age 70, teaching myself from the Faber series. I am now 75 and still practising almost every day, still excited about learning to play this beautiful instrument. Your generosity in sharing this information with me and all aspiring pianists is deeply appreciated.
Great lessons. I find the way you repeatedly mention Sandor's name heart warming. Hope this is the start of a great channel with a wealth of good information!
You are an excellent teacher. Very easy to understand and comprehend your concepts and techniques! Wish you would create more helpful videos for those wishing to learn and develop sound piano skills and techniques. Thank you in advance!
Hello Marian, thank you só much for sharing your knowlege with us. You are such a kind person and i love to learn from you. I started playing on my simple Yamaha keyboard. I started with clássical pieces during The pandemic. First time that i had contact with the piano i was 6 years old. My mum brought me to a teacher and i had only 2 lessons. We moved tô another town and then i never saw a piano again. But i always knew that i wanted tô learn playing. Now i am 39 and i already read notes and i am playing simple pieces from bach e Beethoven. My dream is tô buy one day an acústic piano. Thank you, and i am sure that you will be succesfull with your vídeos
Thank you so much Marian, I have learned so much from you! Love how you explain everything so clearly and easy to understand. Would love to see more videos like this from you in the future
Such a great video Marian. I’m new to piano playing but i know enough to realize about the value and many layers of this video. It goes right away to my list of reference videos. Thanks a lot!! 🙏
Amazing! I’ve studied the Sandor’s technique in Italy with teacher Christine Meyr and continue to dig it till now, I was looking for a long time to some video about this technique but couldn’t find much material. I’m happy that finally I’ve found someone who is explaining this great why to use our body to play the piano
Well as a person suddenly intrigued by the piano - and having covered many Guitar styles I have recognized the importance of techniques supporting phrasing and execution - much of the nuances is driven by physiologically naturally supporting movement. - applied a few ideas surrounding some absurdly non-beginning pieces - revisited Daniel Barenboim's Clair de Lune and fortunately now there is more fluency and expressiveness in the recorded results - thanks for the additional focus.
I have a lot of respect for her, but explaining how to play the piano is like teaching someone to dance and saying you have to step back 2 steps, then turn 60 degrees to the left and then lift your foot 2 cm... It's a description for an engineer... Music and playing the piano in particular, however, is emotion, the whole movement of the hand plays a subordinate role, rsp. it must be in the flow of the whole body. There are then very different characteristics, which correspond to the respective piece and the personality of the pianist... 🥌
If you think my video is technical, you should read his book! But at the core, the motions are as natural as turning a door knob or dribbling a ball and it's why I made the video. Just wanted to show how looking at a score, people are able to immediately get a physical sense of the basic motion you can use. You are right that in the end, music conveys emotion and character. That's why his book is ultimately titled: On Piano Playing: motion, sound and EXPRESSION. But for some, depending on the repertoire, it's helpful to understand how to maneuver through the notes. And for those that never have a problem, that's great! Keep doing you! No need to fix what's not broke!
Thanks you for passing on what you learnt♥️ Amazing lesson. I usually zone out in 10mins. But you made me sit and watch the whole 35mins. Looking forward to more videos from you. You are an amazing teacher. Special credits to the camera man too and editing. ❤️
Thank you so much, your clear explanations of the five motions and your insightful analysis of scores are most helpful. I appreciate all the effort that has been put into this video.
Thank you for this. In the rotation section, you looked for a word and arrived at a good explanation of bow an arrow, or a baseball pitcher both drawing back to gather momentum. In ballet we call this a preparatory movement, and these movements not only serve that same purpose, but they add grace and plasticity to the movement. 🙂⭐🙏🏼
Abby Whiteside in her book on playing the Chopin etudes in the 1950's also revealed this important foundational fact that all piano playing is connected to the bigger body arm ,torso and diaphragm .And great playing itself comes from the whole personality .Rhythm in particular was enlivened by this connection . Finally ! Information about movement necessary for thumb repositioning ! This basic was never made clear to me in my many decades .It has always been more difficult descending in Chopin first study :now this should help.Wrist is really key in no.4 and 5 . Whiteside talked about torso and stomach in no.7 . This video is really an excellent foundation for technique !
Thank you so much. I’m not a pianist and still learned enough to get me interested. You explained and demonstrated with so much mastery, elegance and generosity. May your tribe increase. Learning from a great teacher is a gift and a blessing. No other short cuts - need to put in the work. 🙂
Wow... I'm 48 and just starting my music "career". I say you're never too old. I'm up at 2:45am... learning. I'm on the isle of man on a farm owned by my piano instructor. Thank you for the time you put into this video. 💙🙏💙
Marian, this has helped me a lot! Thank you! Congratulations on a video with so many views and so many subscribers... your content is great and you deserve it.
06:31 Is that outward movement of the elbow necessary? I feel that it makes the shoulder work unnecessarily even though it works for rebounding without going up again
Less than five minutes into the video and I am so impressed that I hit the subscription button. Thank you for your generosity, sharing such invaluable lesson. I look forward to learning more.
I read his book part 1 and 2 and tested the 5 techniques on piano keys, and I applied it to some notes I struggled with. Set proper rotational axis, check alignment, raise fingers before playing, move slightly up and forth before playing a black key and prepare whatever needed.. Bam my finger just flies on a keyboard. With the thrust motion I made a huge sonority without an effort and a strain. My 10+ years piano playing now makes sense. Spent many many time to play fast and with a few second got tired and though "my practice is not sufficient, I should repeat it more and more". But now I know I was wrong. that was futile. This video have to reach at least 10m+ views, I think it's unfair some ppl know it and others don't. How critical the information is. I am thankful I could learn English and you made the video. 10+ years piano technical problems are just resolved under 7 days of learning these new basic techniques. I am very shocked and feel strange...
I've been self-teaching piano and when you talked about alignment in the 5-finger scale, that removed so much tension from my playing that I couldn't identify before. Thank you so much for making this! It has been a life saver!
Thanks for the generous explanation! Such a straightforward way to think of it with 5 distinct techniques. Really consolidates things I’ve been trying to figure out. And men, please don’t compliment a woman for being both smart and attractive. It’s like saying “wow you are pretty and also smart, how rare!”
❤thank you, Marian for sharing your talents! You are a great teacher. I am hoping I can play the piano one day. I would love to be able to. God bless you. 😄❤️🙏💐
Whilst this is a very good lesson, I have yet again come to realize that all the teachers who claim to use gravity do not really explain what they are doing because what they are saying is different from what they are doing. When she begins to demonstrate the free fall, she claims that it is the falling of the hand, however, if you look closely, the sound is not coming because she is free falling into the keyboard. It is coming because she is “taking off” from the surface of the keyboard AFTER falling into it. Basically, what I’m saying is that “free fall” is only half of what she is actually doing because after falling, you have to activate the muscles that help you take off before the whole action is complete. A really major detail in understanding and learning how to play like she did with the Chopin examples.
Yes, you are right. Letting the arm fall is only half of free fall. The natural rebound that occurs taking you back to where you started is equally important and even though I demonstrated it with the ball and my motion, I forgot to actually say it with my words, hence the text I put in after. I don't know if it was lack of sleep or post covid brain fog or early Alzheimers, but I forgot to literally say it after I demonstrated it, so good on you for catching that. But make no mistake, the sound is made from the free fall, not after! Once a key is depressed, it doesn't matter what you do after...the sound is made.
Very sweet of you to share your knowledge and enthusiasm for playing music on the piano. Older, yet aspiring players like me take away much inspiration for our love for music in all its forms, divine expression of the human Spirit! ❤️
Thank you for the tips Marian. FWIW, my biggest struggle is coordinating my left hand with my right. I can get half way through DeBussy's Claire de Lune fairly well. But, playing Linus & Lucy, solo left hand and solo right hand is okay, both together - ouch. I sound like a 6 year old, but I'm 66 years old - trying to learn new tricks.
It's hard to advise from afar. My students who have trouble like yours, tend to favor reading one hand over the other. The dominant hand tends to go ahead and the other hand is left in the dust! If this is you, don't let yourself get away with it - make sure your hands are lining up vertically on every single beat.
Hello, I am 22 and been playing piano for a year now. These days Im mostly focused on making a (at least) proper piano technique and yesterday my teacher actually reminded me about the active fingers, but also corrected my wrist and I was like okay wow, but you also have the rest of the arm and I just didn't understand why and whats the theory behind it. Just came back from job, turned on some youtube for a little chill before I practice and BOOM the first thing I see is this lesson just fell from the heavens haha. Can't thank you enough Dr. Lee, amazing examples, the most important thing I try to avoid now are bad habits and I can't think of how many I could potentially make if I hadn't watched this video. I think it's gonna be such an improvement now combining it with for example Hilary Hahn practice strategies. Much love and Thank You again!
Thank you for your comment! Your teacher though is also right - active fingers are SO important. The combination is really key to sound and control. I'm hoping to talk about it in my next video.
Thank you so much, for this. I am a piano teacher, having taught for many years. I do and teach what you went through here except I did not know how to explain it so well as you did. Thank you from the depths of my heart for this.
@06:55 Free fall. Now that is cool, however the physicist in me can't help note that far from being "effortless" you actually are using more energy having to lift your (entire lower) arm up, before letting it fall back, just to strike the keys. The bigger one's arms are, or the higher you lift them, the more the energy. Moreover I think it's not just gravity doing the work , seems you strike the keys hard coming down and thus you are actually expending even more energy. Maybe better only if used sparingly?
I’m just a guitar player. I wish there were videos like yours for us… Very systematic tutorial, that helps to understand the multi-dimensional interplay of muscles, senses and the brain to produce what we call music, far beyond the two-dimensionality of sheet music. Bravo!
Thank you. I have just completed grade 6 - classical Australian Music Exam Board, I’ve returned to lessons in my 50’s. I am so thankful because you have explained this so well and beginning grade 7 I can consciously analyse the new pieces in this way, something I have never done before. My teacher was describing a rotation movement and said to think of turning a door handle - the analogies are very helpful. Thank you for your clear teaching and care ❤
Hi! It's good to see another teacher use free fall. I, as a piano teacher use the technique but mine is more like free fall in parachute because shoulders and upper arms have control to some extent. I don't drop my fingers from that high and I use it in playing super fast music too. That's actually my main technique for my entire piano performance. If I use it right I can enjoy effortless playing in full relaxation.
Oh wow!! Thanks so much. Definitely gonna go through this in detail. I especially loved the advice, to look for patterns in the sheet music, that correlate with certain motions. Also love the smile of this gorgeous piano teacher. Piano playing is hard and it's fun and most of all it is so rewarding. I like to go to RUclips, during a break, to get motivation and education. This video gave me both. Back to work!
Thank you so much for generously sharing this knowledge. I am a beginner and this information is so important when starting out and setting habits. I think these techniques will save me from much muscle cramp. ❤
Thanks. Very helpful. Especially how you tied these techniques into advanced repertoire. Also interesting how you use your thumb on ascending RH scales and arpeggios (lateral movement rather than thumb under).
I really enjoyed this! I knew a little bit about rotation but I didn’t know that I should apply it to arpeggios. I appreciate the other motions as well, and alignment makes so much sense. Thank you for sharing how everything is connected, and thank you for kindly sharing all this wisdom!!
A beginner / intermediate here, and I never have thought about nor did my childhood piano teacher talk about technique, arm and hand movement, etc., to allow for easier access which ultimately allows for smoother transitions. Thanks!!
I have been in love with the piano for as long as I can remember, and, though my parents repeatedly promised me lessons, they never came through and I had to teach myself. I devoured every bit of musical knowledge that came my way. Two years ago for my birthday, thanks to my marvelous husband, I finally got the piano I had waited for all my life. It is just as much a part of me as my arms and legs. I am now 70 years old, and I think this is the best video I have ever seen. Thank you.
I had a similar experience, Stephanie. We are of a similar age. My family could not afford a piano, so I began on a spinet in a kind neighbor’s house. I was passionate from the beginning. We finally got a cheap upright and I paid for a few lessons by babysitting. I even tried to major in piano at my local university, but it was hopeless with such a background. My teacher focused on more advanced students. Fast forward to the present. I decided to try again during the pandemic and finally could afford a very nice piano. I joined tonebase and am learning a lot. However, this video is by far better than anything I have ever seen. I am overjoyed. I can do each motion and they make playing so much easier and fun! Watch out Chopin Ballades, here I come!
Stephanie, congratulations that you were able to fulfill your lifelong dream to own your own piano. I am 73 and just purchased a piano as well. I am excited to start studies again and have so many music compositions that I want to learn. I am sure you feel the same, I am so happy for you. Just curious, what kind of piano did you get? Mine is an Ebony 1982 YAMAHA (YUX) upright.
Good for you. I always say you are never too old to learn an instrument. I teach piano virtually as well as in person perand I have several adults. I personally started violin lessons when I was in my sixties. I am proud of you.
@@davidwhittaker9511 My piano is a Boston GP-156 PE. Unfortunately, I can't play it right now; three weeks ago I had thumb joint reconstruction surgery. It is going to be wonderful to be able to play octaves without pain!
I am 54 and and I always played guitar and dreamed of playing piano. Now I am learning. I'd like to watch a video of you playing. Congratulations for you and your husband from Brazil.
How kind and generous of you to have explained all this to us, many thanks!
Marian l have started studying piano recently and just discovered your video and channel. You are going change my life! Brilliant and revelatory!
very good explained and sure with a good lessons. I´m proud to see and take this. I think the most important is realy EMOTION and then Expressivity. Thanks very much for this GREAT MASTERCLASS
So helpful and wonderfully presented. Thank you!
very right! it is the muscle chains that work interdependently. The strength/force comes from core/diaphragm area. I realised this whilst working on a potter's wheel. The grounding lies in the lower limbs especially the heel kontakt: (Bartenieff-Fundamentals)
Mr. Sandor and I celebrate the same birthday!!
This is wonderful…..thank you for sharing…. I appreciate it 🙏🏾❤
Tremendous information. Thank you madam. 🙏🙏
Thanks!
Thank you so much!!!
thank you
You revealed my all secrets of piano playing that everyone asks me. Congrats
Feels illegal to watch free
Love this comment:-)
Hey we not watching foe free we are paying for data
Can always donate an amount to say "thanks!" Very thankful to be watching this!
So don't watch it
Illegal to watch for free but a necessary antidote to catalyze pianists who otherwise are self-taught or learning off youtube. I’m all for bettering many great pianists.. paid or not. I feel Marian did a great service to the many pianists learning on their own who don’t realize the importance of these esoteric points.
I see that this is your only video on your channel. I hope there are more awesome master classes in the near future
That's the plan! Probably shorter ones on specific topics:-)
Seriously, one of the best piano lessons I've seen on RUclips. Thank you so much.
Dr. Lee, I have just subscribed your channel after watching your tutorial. I have learned these motions during my seven years of study with my teacher. But you broke them down in such clear categories along with their applications, which is particularly helpful. I hope you can share the applications more with a more extensive score example when possible. Thank you for your generosity. By the way, it's exciting to know you were maestro Sandor's pupil. I was exposed to his artistry a long time ago when I acquired his recordings of the complete Bartok piano music, which is a special part of my prized collection. Thank you for passing his wisdom down to us.
Dear Marian. You cannot imagine how important and useful is being to watch your super class on piano basic motions. Must confess, I never saw this subject being exposed so clearly! THANK YOU, SO MUCH! God bless you. Greetings, from Brasil. Prof. Roberto Sion.
Studied piano for 18 years. Nobody told me this. Very informative. Thanks a lot
14 years of study here, most of these are new to me as well. The forearm technique I learned. Thank God!
This video is educational, informative, and interesting to watch! Thank-you for the efforts of your team, and your passion to put this together in memory of your teacher. Teachers and students alike can benefit. Thank-you!
Thank you Dorene! I'm so glad you found it beneficial! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
I've recently had to take a break from piano practice as I caused a bit of a wrist injury (self taught so I was unaware of the basics of form & technique) and this is such a valuable resource. I'm resting my wrist so that it can heal up but when I'm back this will help immensely to set my form and technique on the right path. Thank you kindly! I look forward to future videos :)
hope you have recovered well :) would you mind telling what were you doing wrong that caused injury and what signs to look for. I am also self teaching and this would really help many others like us. TIA
Fascinating! These concepts were never taught to me. I have been playing now for over 40 years and while I haven't yet experienced hand pain or tendon issues (thankfully!), this makes me want to really analyze how I'm playing to make sure I'm not wasting motion and/or not using enough motion, rotation, etc., to ensure that I DON'T get fatigued or get tendon issues.
Thanks so much for your time!
This is a well-produced and thought out demonstration of the basics of solid piano technique. The clear explanations, musical examples and variety of camera angles kept the lesson interesting all the way through!
Thank you for your thoughtful comments!
It is most definitely one of the more fundamental cores that’s just not emphasized enough. Should be like the first thing any program should do before busting the piano. This knowledge was natural for me to get but only bc of my concurrent passion for physiology and anatomy and from Martial arts. My hands and fingers are still healthy and not suffering from arthritis. I’m not a professional but I can easily see how, without mindfulness on this aspect, many pianist can direct themselves towards a career death sentence if you grind it through. The essence of proper warm up, range motion.. or general proprioception.. that should be like the first thing to instill in any students joe or pro. I’m very glad to watch a video on this and I wish there were more of this on RUclips bc we have many potentially great pianists who otherwise could harm themselves without the understanding. Subscribed.
When I was a first year student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor I had the opportunity of playing for Professor Sandor the Chopin G Minor Ballad in a Masterclass. Although feeling somewhat intimidated by him he gave me several wonderful ideas. His Bartok is legendary!
I can't thank you enough for not only sharing this info with us but presenting and demonstrating it the way you did. I was able to follow you so easily and wow what a difference. I've been playing for years but this is the first time I've heard this. You're a really good teacher. Many thanks💛
I just lucked onto this in my feed and it has already changed my life! I cannot thank you enough. Identifying these core motions and explaining them in a concise and simple way takes deep insight. You have solved a million problems I was having that would never have been resolved by repetition and experiment. WOW!
Thank you Marian, it’s really useful being able to categorise certain passages of a piece when learning or even listening to it. This is a superb reference that I’ll keep for myself and share to anyone looking! Thankyou!!!
Wonderful! I'm so glad you find it useful and thank you for sharing it with anyone you think would be interested.
Your teaching is so clear when you are demonstrating a certain technique that I can actually take it in and remember it not just watch only to be left wondering, "Now what did that teacher tell me to do?" Also, you are so sweet and soft-spoken that your personality does not get in the way of what you are teaching. Thank you so much for sharing this.
What a precious knowledge and and experience you give there. Thanks for your passion and generosity. Extremely clear explanation. You are a master Madame ! 👍❤️☮️
I have played for years. I became a mom...no time to practice...then kids grew up and I had to find myself ....so I picked up piano again. Thank you. I have never had the opportunity to learn these essential mechanics. I just had a lesson by an incredible teacher. Thank you!!!
This is the type of explanation I was looking for, explanations that I don't get by paying for private lessons. I'm canceling my classes that have been frustrating me for some time and I'm going with you and other pretty serious piano teacher on youtube.
Its too bad that I hear this often from students who I end up having to help "fix" their technique... explaining these 5 aspects help perfect any piece you may learn. hope you found a good way to progress in your studies
1. Free fall 5:10
2. Five fingers, scales & arpeggios 8:40
3. Rotation 18:05
4. Staccato 23:23
5. Thrust 27:19
Thank you.
@@joycefry4664 thank you!
Thanks. All her inarticulate talking is painful. Just get to the techniques.
@@CS-uc2oh I find her narration helpful, I just made the index to review.
This is outstanding! Thank you. I would like to give you a million likes! I hope we will see more videos from you.
Wow, thank you! I will work on it!
I'm so grateful I stumbled upon your content! Your piano lessons are truly exceptional, among the finest I've ever come across. I'm eagerly looking forward to more of your informative videos that can aid individuals in honing their piano skills and mastering advanced techniques.
use your whole body, diaphragm at the centre, control ur breathing
1. flexible wrist and body movements - bend your body left or right, dont shift ur ass
2. free fall of hand
3. horizontal movement - align hand with fingers
4. vertical movement - raise hand with pinky, set with thumb
5. exception to 4: always be lowest at beginning of a phrase and highest at the end
6. Rotation - build momentum back and forth
7. Staccato - thrown fingers with force
8. Thrust - force with just fingers
Great video! I took five years of piano lessons in my teens, learning pieces like moonlight and pathetique and have played on and off my whole life (mostly ON for the last three years, without nearly the progression I would like). Recently retired and trying to get reasonably more disciplined. All that to say, this was great information, none of which was ever presented or taught to me so clearly as you did. The free fall, staccato, rotation and thrust seem straightforward to incorporate into my playing, partially because you explained it so well and so intuitively and how it fits in. However, the concepts of motion for the scales and arpeggios seem less intuitive (while you explained each of them exceptionally well for the time alotted), those motions probably have much more nuance depending on hand size, strength, etc., that would probably require some more depth evaluation and time to explain. I appreciate the suggestion of Gyorgy Sandor, I will definitely get that, but are there other videos in more detail by other folks that you find helpful for your students that you could suggest to get that more depth on the scale/arpeggios motions? I will be watching this video a few more times in front of the piano in my practicing. Thank you again!
Hello Marian, I want to thank you very much for offering this video, which is so instructive and valuable - by far the best video I have seen on piano technique. I started playing piano at age 70, teaching myself from the Faber series. I am now 75 and still practising almost every day, still excited about learning to play this beautiful instrument. Your generosity in sharing this information with me and all aspiring pianists is deeply appreciated.
Great lessons. I find the way you repeatedly mention Sandor's name heart warming. Hope this is the start of a great channel with a wealth of good information!
"Vladimir Bakk: HandMade" - This is the best tutorial in the world on how technique and super-virtuosity are done.
You are an excellent teacher. Very easy to understand and comprehend your concepts and techniques! Wish you would create more helpful videos for those wishing to learn and develop sound piano skills and techniques. Thank you in advance!
Hello Marian, thank you só much for sharing your knowlege with us. You are such a kind person and i love to learn from you. I started playing on my simple Yamaha keyboard. I started with clássical pieces during The pandemic. First time that i had contact with the piano i was 6 years old. My mum brought me to a teacher and i had only 2 lessons. We moved tô another town and then i never saw a piano again. But i always knew that i wanted tô learn playing. Now i am 39 and i already read notes and i am playing simple pieces from bach e Beethoven. My dream is tô buy one day an acústic piano. Thank you, and i am sure that you will be succesfull with your vídeos
Thank you so much Marian, I have learned so much from you! Love how you explain everything so clearly and easy to understand. Would love to see more videos like this from you in the future
What a valuable, valuable lesson! Thank you so much for it. Look forward to more videos like this. You are a wonderful teacher!
Such a great video Marian. I’m new to piano playing but i know enough to realize about the value and many layers of this video. It goes right away to my list of reference videos. Thanks a lot!! 🙏
Amazing! I’ve studied the Sandor’s technique in Italy with teacher Christine Meyr and continue to dig it till now, I was looking for a long time to some video about this technique but couldn’t find much material. I’m happy that finally I’ve found someone who is explaining this great why to use our body to play the piano
Well as a person suddenly intrigued by the piano - and having covered many Guitar styles I have recognized the importance of techniques supporting phrasing and execution - much of the nuances is driven by physiologically naturally supporting movement. - applied a few ideas surrounding some absurdly non-beginning pieces - revisited Daniel Barenboim's Clair de Lune and fortunately now there is more fluency and expressiveness in the recorded results - thanks for the additional focus.
I have a lot of respect for her, but explaining how to play the piano is like teaching someone to dance and saying you have to step back 2 steps, then turn 60 degrees to the left and then lift your foot 2 cm... It's a description for an engineer... Music and playing the piano in particular, however, is emotion, the whole movement of the hand plays a subordinate role, rsp. it must be in the flow of the whole body. There are then very different characteristics, which correspond to the respective piece and the personality of the pianist... 🥌
If you think my video is technical, you should read his book! But at the core, the motions are as natural as turning a door knob or dribbling a ball and it's why I made the video. Just wanted to show how looking at a score, people are able to immediately get a physical sense of the basic motion you can use. You are right that in the end, music conveys emotion and character. That's why his book is ultimately titled: On Piano Playing: motion, sound and EXPRESSION. But for some, depending on the repertoire, it's helpful to understand how to maneuver through the notes. And for those that never have a problem, that's great! Keep doing you! No need to fix what's not broke!
Ty fascinating
Yes, agree with this comment.
Thank you for this teaching.
It is very important to know.
Greeting from Netherland 🥰✍👌
Thanks you for passing on what you learnt♥️
Amazing lesson. I usually zone out in 10mins. But you made me sit and watch the whole 35mins.
Looking forward to more videos from you.
You are an amazing teacher.
Special credits to the camera man too and editing. ❤️
Thank you so much, your clear explanations of the five motions and your insightful analysis of scores are most helpful. I appreciate all the effort that has been put into this video.
Thank you for this. In the rotation section, you looked for a word and arrived at a good explanation of bow an arrow, or a baseball pitcher both drawing back to gather momentum. In ballet we call this a preparatory movement, and these movements not only serve that same purpose, but they add grace and plasticity to the movement. 🙂⭐🙏🏼
Thank you for this. As a 40+ year violist recently starting on piano, it’s invaluable. ❤. Posture is everything.
Agreed! Good luck on your piano journey!
I’m so glad you found it informative!
Abby Whiteside in her book on playing the Chopin etudes in the 1950's also revealed this important foundational fact that all piano playing is connected to the bigger body arm ,torso and diaphragm .And great playing itself comes from the whole personality .Rhythm in particular was enlivened by this connection . Finally ! Information about movement necessary for thumb repositioning ! This basic was never made clear to me in my many decades .It has always been more difficult descending in Chopin first study :now this should help.Wrist is really key in no.4 and 5 . Whiteside talked about torso and stomach in no.7 . This video is really an excellent foundation for technique !
Thank you so much.
I’m not a pianist and still learned enough to get me interested.
You explained and demonstrated with so much mastery, elegance and generosity.
May your tribe increase.
Learning from a great teacher is a gift and a blessing.
No other short cuts - need to put in the work.
🙂
This was an excellent demonstration; I eagerly forward your future content.
Wow... I'm 48 and just starting my music "career". I say you're never too old. I'm up at 2:45am... learning. I'm on the isle of man on a farm owned by my piano instructor. Thank you for the time you put into this video. 💙🙏💙
Marian, this has helped me a lot! Thank you! Congratulations on a video with so many views and so many subscribers... your content is great and you deserve it.
06:31 Is that outward movement of the elbow necessary? I feel that it makes the shoulder work unnecessarily even though it works for rebounding without going up again
Less than five minutes into the video and I am so impressed that I hit the subscription button. Thank you for your generosity, sharing such invaluable lesson. I look forward to learning more.
Thank you for your kind comment! I plan to come up with more. So glad you are enjoying it!
I love this video, and will certainly be returning to re-watch to help with my own practice. Looking forward to hearing more from you!
I read his book part 1 and 2 and tested the 5 techniques on piano keys, and I applied it to some notes I struggled with. Set proper rotational axis, check alignment, raise fingers before playing, move slightly up and forth before playing a black key and prepare whatever needed.. Bam my finger just flies on a keyboard. With the thrust motion I made a huge sonority without an effort and a strain. My 10+ years piano playing now makes sense. Spent many many time to play fast and with a few second got tired and though "my practice is not sufficient, I should repeat it more and more". But now I know I was wrong. that was futile. This video have to reach at least 10m+ views, I think it's unfair some ppl know it and others don't. How critical the information is. I am thankful I could learn English and you made the video. 10+ years piano technical problems are just resolved under 7 days of learning these new basic techniques. I am very shocked and feel strange...
That's amazing and wonderful to hear!
I've been self-teaching piano and when you talked about alignment in the 5-finger scale, that removed so much tension from my playing that I couldn't identify before. Thank you so much for making this! It has been a life saver!
This is such an incredible video! Thanks so much for sharing these precious information with us for free. I am so grateful for your help! ❤️
Love the teaching do you have any advice for ear playing?
“Start with the breath”. This is literally piano yoga.
Thank you. This is genius.
Please keep educating us. Amazing knowlege and such a calming voice.
Thanks for the generous explanation! Such a straightforward way to think of it with 5 distinct techniques. Really consolidates things I’ve been trying to figure out.
And men, please don’t compliment a woman for being both smart and attractive. It’s like saying “wow you are pretty and also smart, how rare!”
❤thank you, Marian for sharing your talents! You are a great teacher. I am hoping I can play the piano one day. I would love to be able to. God bless you. 😄❤️🙏💐
Whilst this is a very good lesson, I have yet again come to realize that all the teachers who claim to use gravity do not really explain what they are doing because what they are saying is different from what they are doing.
When she begins to demonstrate the free fall, she claims that it is the falling of the hand, however, if you look closely, the sound is not coming because she is free falling into the keyboard. It is coming because she is “taking off” from the surface of the keyboard AFTER falling into it.
Basically, what I’m saying is that “free fall” is only half of what she is actually doing because after falling, you have to activate the muscles that help you take off before the whole action is complete. A really major detail in understanding and learning how to play like she did with the Chopin examples.
Yes, you are right. Letting the arm fall is only half of free fall. The natural rebound that occurs taking you back to where you started is equally important and even though I demonstrated it with the ball and my motion, I forgot to actually say it with my words, hence the text I put in after. I don't know if it was lack of sleep or post covid brain fog or early Alzheimers, but I forgot to literally say it after I demonstrated it, so good on you for catching that. But make no mistake, the sound is made from the free fall, not after! Once a key is depressed, it doesn't matter what you do after...the sound is made.
This is a great resource for the inquisitive student who wants an overview of something that is so difficult to summarize.
Thank you!
Very informative and very helpful! Thank you for sharing this information!
1 time I see this video very professional, + she Beautiful Lady.100%
What a great video. I hope some day you’ll be able to demonstrate all scales. Thank you for this wonderful video.
Thank you! What a great suggestion for a future video!
Very sweet of you to share your knowledge and enthusiasm for playing music on the piano. Older, yet aspiring players like me take away much inspiration for our love for music in all its forms, divine expression of the human Spirit! ❤️
Thank you for the tips Marian. FWIW, my biggest struggle is coordinating my left hand with my right. I can get half way through DeBussy's Claire de Lune fairly well. But, playing Linus & Lucy, solo left hand and solo right hand is okay, both together - ouch. I sound like a 6 year old, but I'm 66 years old - trying to learn new tricks.
It's hard to advise from afar. My students who have trouble like yours, tend to favor reading one hand over the other. The dominant hand tends to go ahead and the other hand is left in the dust! If this is you, don't let yourself get away with it - make sure your hands are lining up vertically on every single beat.
would be nice to see the excercises twice. Once is never enough
Just watched this and you are an amazing teacher. I’m new to piano and will be saving this for future reference. Thank you very much.
Amazing tutorial! I can't believe this is free! Thank you so much!!
Hello, I am 22 and been playing piano for a year now. These days Im mostly focused on making a (at least) proper piano technique and yesterday my teacher actually reminded me about the active fingers, but also corrected my wrist and I was like okay wow, but you also have the rest of the arm and I just didn't understand why and whats the theory behind it. Just came back from job, turned on some youtube for a little chill before I practice and BOOM the first thing I see is this lesson just fell from the heavens haha. Can't thank you enough Dr. Lee, amazing examples, the most important thing I try to avoid now are bad habits and I can't think of how many I could potentially make if I hadn't watched this video. I think it's gonna be such an improvement now combining it with for example Hilary Hahn practice strategies. Much love and Thank You again!
Thank you for your comment! Your teacher though is also right - active fingers are SO important. The combination is really key to sound and control. I'm hoping to talk about it in my next video.
Can't wait to see more!
Thank you so much, for this. I am a piano teacher, having taught for many years. I do and teach what you went through here except I did not know how to explain it so well as you did. Thank you from the depths of my heart for this.
Thank you so much Marian, excellent helpful teaching. I really appreciate your time and sharing.😊
@06:55 Free fall. Now that is cool, however the physicist in me can't help note that far from being "effortless" you actually are using more energy having to lift your (entire lower) arm up, before letting it fall back, just to strike the keys. The bigger one's arms are, or the higher you lift them, the more the energy. Moreover I think it's not just gravity doing the work , seems you strike the keys hard coming down and thus you are actually expending even more energy. Maybe better only if used sparingly?
The feeling is relatively effortless, since the muscles used to raise the arm are mostly large core muscles.
I’m just a guitar player. I wish there were videos like yours for us… Very systematic tutorial, that helps to understand the multi-dimensional interplay of muscles, senses and the brain to produce what we call music, far beyond the two-dimensionality of sheet music. Bravo!
What a lovely person and fabulous teacher. Where were you when I was growing up? I'm going to look at the Ballades with fresh eyes now. Thankyou!
Thank you. I have just completed grade 6 - classical Australian Music Exam Board, I’ve returned to lessons in my 50’s. I am so thankful because you have explained this so well and beginning grade 7 I can consciously analyse the new pieces in this way, something I have never done before. My teacher was describing a rotation movement and said to think of turning a door handle - the analogies are very helpful. Thank you for your clear teaching and care ❤
Hi! It's good to see another teacher use free fall. I, as a piano teacher use the technique but mine is more like free fall in parachute because shoulders and upper arms have control to some extent. I don't drop my fingers from that high and I use it in playing super fast music too.
That's actually my main technique for my entire piano performance. If I use it right I can enjoy effortless playing in full relaxation.
Really helpful video, thank you so much Dr. Lee for sharing such wisdom.
Thank you mam ,for your helpful lessons to my skills.God bless
Oh wow!! Thanks so much. Definitely gonna go through this in detail. I especially loved the advice, to look for patterns in the sheet music, that correlate with certain motions.
Also love the smile of this gorgeous piano teacher. Piano playing is hard and it's fun and most of all it is so rewarding. I like to go to RUclips, during a break, to get motivation and education. This video gave me both. Back to work!
Thank you! Love your comment! I, too, will come to RUclips for inspiration so it's nice to be there for others as well!
Learnt more in 3 mins 46 secs than 54 years of piano playing, playing being the operative word. Thanks a lot.
Thank you so much for generously sharing this knowledge. I am a beginner and this information is so important when starting out and setting habits. I think these techniques will save me from much muscle cramp. ❤
Good luck to you, Alan. :)
he was a good teacher...i studied with him at his home privately while he was at julliard...i miss him...thanks for posting this
This is lifesaver ❤❤❤Thank You,Marian!!!
Thank you ! Very interesting lesson. Sandor 5 motions technique explained in a way that even a beginner like me can understand.
These techniques are amazing and super well taught! Thank you so much.
Thanks. Very helpful. Especially how you tied these techniques into advanced repertoire. Also interesting how you use your thumb on ascending RH scales and arpeggios (lateral movement rather than thumb under).
Thank you so much! This is priceless ❤
Thank you for letting me know!
Very helpful! I went all the way through Music University and no one ever taught me this!! Better late than never. Thank you!!
I really enjoyed this! I knew a little bit about rotation but I didn’t know that I should apply it to arpeggios. I appreciate the other motions as well, and alignment makes so much sense. Thank you for sharing how everything is connected, and thank you for kindly sharing all this wisdom!!