This is LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today’s subject is about the importance of rotation when playing arpeggios. What makes arpeggios so difficult? Even compared to scales, which have third and fourth finger crossings, as well as thumb crossings, arpeggios can be even more difficult. This is because your thumb and your third finger have to cross so far over, it makes it difficult. The way to practice this is to have the metronome set at a slow speed. Practice preparing your thumb as early as possible, which means right when the second finger plays, the thumb tucks under.
Instead of waiting until the thumb needs to play, prepare the thumb when your second finger plays.
Right after the thumb releases, it tucks under. Train your hand to prepare the thumb early. The left hand does exactly the same thing coming down. That is an essential technique. Practice without moving your arms up and down. Work with the metronome slowly, then increase the speed. Get it to two notes, and eventually four notes to the beat. You might have to work with progressively faster metronome speeds to get it that fast.
There are countless ways to practice arpeggios, but today I’m going to show you an essential technique, which is:
The rotation of the hand.
You don’t want to have an abrupt crossing of the thumb or your fingers at the point at which they cross over. Naturally, preparing the thumb early is a great way to avoid this. But there’s more to it. No matter how much you tuck your thumb under, it’s not all the way to where it needs to be. In a C major arpeggios, the right hand thumb crossing going up from a G to C is really far! So you should rotate your hand slightly to put your thumb over the next key. It’s important that it be a smooth motion, not a jerky one. This allows for playing fluid, faster arpeggios. Practice slowly, preparing the thumb in advance. Eventually you get to the point where you’re rotating the hand slightly, in a smooth manner. That is the rotation of the hands in arpeggios.
You’ll find in scales that this technique is not necessary, because you don’t have nearly as far a reach. But there are many places in music, with broken chords of different sorts, where this rotation of the hand is really important. It is also useful in being able to delegate the weight of the hand for balance, which is a subject for another video.
If there is a subject you would like for me to cover, let me know! I have a whole list of subjects from my students and other people who contact me on a daily basis. I appreciate the support! Thanks again for joining me, Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.
For premium videos and exclusive content, you can join my Living Pianos Patreon channel! www.Patreon.com/RobertEstrin
Contact me if you are interested in private lessons. I have many resources for you! Robert@LivingPianos.com
This is LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today’s subject is about the importance of rotation when playing arpeggios. What makes arpeggios so difficult? Even compared to scales, which have third and fourth finger crossings, as well as
Hi, I’m Robert Estrin, and this is LivingPianos.com! Today’s subject is about how to achieve smoothly connected chords on the piano. This can be extremely difficult, particularly when you’re playing repeated chords. The whole mechanical nature of the piano is such that for a note to replay, the damper comes in contact with the strings. So it’s virtually impossible to completely connect a repeated note on the piano. You can use the pedal, but even then, because of the percussive nature of the piano’s tone, it never really sounds connected.
The more connected you can play with your hands, the smoother the sound will come out of the instrument.
This is true regardless of whether you’re using the pedal or not. Practicing without the pedal while trying to get repeated chords connected is essential. I’ll explain why in a minute. But first, how do you achieve such a thing? The secret is to keep your fingers in contact with the keys the entire time. Keep your fingers right on the keys. And be sure the keys come all the way up before they go back down again. If the key is down even a fraction of an inch before you play it, it may or may not play. A piano is not meant to have keys play when they don’t return all the way to the top. It’s not a technique you can always rely upon. So keep your fingers right on the surface of the keys, but be sure to let the keys fully return.
The first chord of each group has to be captured on the pedal, but you don’t want to capture the previous harmonies.
If you pedal too early, you’ll capture extra notes. You have a very brief amount of time to capture the chord on the pedal. It has to be after it is played, but also after the previous notes are gone. So by playing chords as long as possible, it gives you the maximum amount of time to grab the chord on the pedal. You want to work to have all the chords played while staying very close to the keys.
In places where you have repeated notes, you can change fingers.
When you change fingers on repeated notes, it’s much easier to make them sound smoothly connected. As one finger is going down, another finger is coming up. Whereas if you use the same finger, it doesn’t sound as smooth. It’s really hard to play with one finger and make the notes sound connected. When you change fingers on repeated notes, you get a smooth sound. You don’t have that luxury when you’re playing chords. You only have so many fingers on your hand! If you’re playing three notes, you have to use the same fingers.
So remember the secret to playing repeated chords is to keep your fingers in contact with the keys. But be sure to come up completely before depressing the chords down again. That should help you achieve smoothness in your repeated chords in any music you’re playing! Thanks again for joining me. I’m Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.
For premium videos and exclusive content, you can join my Living Pianos Patreon channel! www.Patreon.com/RobertEstrin
Contact me if you are interested in private lessons. I have many resources for you! Robert@LivingPianos.com
Hi, I’m Robert Estrin, and this is LivingPianos.com! Today’s subject is about how to achieve smoothly connected chords on the piano. This can be extremely difficult, particularly when you’re playing repeated chords. The whole mechan
Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. The subject today is about how to get better at playing the piano. There are so many things you can do! Of course, everyone would say, “Practice!” That’s obvious. How to practice is a whole other subject for another video. I know people who practice incessantly and don’t get anywhere, because how you practice is key. But as I said, that’s a whole other discussion. Today we’re going to talk about other things aside from practicing, which is the obvious thing.
Immerse yourself in music!
Listen to music on recordings and go to concerts. If you have friends who love music, or better yet, friends who are musicians, talk with them! Read books about music, watch films about musicians and music. Watch videos of various concerts or musicals. Total immersion makes all the difference in the world!
Play piano every day.
You should play the piano every day, unless you absolutely can’t because you’re on vacation or you’re really sick in bed. Practicing every day, of course, is great, but simply playing every day makes such a huge difference in how you progress on the instrument. Naturally, if you also practice every day, and you practice effectively, that’s awesome!
Play on high level instruments.
Another thing you can do to help you become a better pianist is to play on fine pianos whenever there’s an opportunity. I remember when I was at music conservatory, I would always sneak in anywhere I could where there was a concert grand. I shamefully admit, I used my ID late at night to break into some of the teaching studios to play on really well prepped Steinways. I used to go down to the pit of the musical arts center. There was a concert grand there. I used to climb down there. I probably shouldn’t have been doing that because it wasn’t meant to go down there, but I did. Of course I’d get kicked out. But if I could get even 10 minutes on an instrument like that, it was worth it. So anytime you can play on a fine piano, it makes a world of difference in what you’ll learn. Play on any fine piano and you’ll have a clear idea of what you’re after and what’s possible in your music.
Find a great teacher.
Of course, having a great teacher can be a godsend in getting better at playing the piano. A teacher can not only improve your playing by showing you how to approach different sections of music and assigning appropriate material, but a teacher also can guide your practice and show you exactly what you should be doing day after day in your daily work to maximize the effectiveness and the productivity of your placticing. So if you’re not getting it from your teacher currently, seek out a teacher who shows you what to do. If you get home after a lesson thinking, “Oh, that was great. Now, what do I do?” Then that’s not the right teacher. You should be filled with more than a week’s worth of work and know exactly step by step how to approach it if you have the right teacher.
Play for as many people as you can.
Another thing that’s really great is simply playing for people. You can practice and practice and practice, but as soon as you play for somebody, it feels different, doesn’t it? I’m sure you all relate to that, because practicing and performing are not the same thing. When you play for people, that is the moment of creation. When you’re practicing, you’re just preparing for that moment, but you’re not really experiencing the performance. Even if you’re just playing for friends or family members, it is a different experience. You will grow tremendously from playing for people on a regular basis. Start off with people who are supportive and loving, who don’t mind if you mess up. But make it a performance. Don’t stop. Play all the way through for better or worse so you get used to recovering. So when you’re in an actual performance, you’ll know how to deal with situations of stress because you’ve practiced in a low stress situation with people who will forgive you.
Play music with other people.
If you have any musician friends, play with them! Playing with musicians, particularly musicians who are more advanced than you, is an amazing experience for growth. You will learn so much playing with fine musicians. The sense of balance, rhythm, the nuance of rubato in romantic period music. You’ll learn tremendous amounts playing with other musicians. Any opportunity you have to play with people, even if they aren’t better than you, you will learn something from it – especially as a pianist! We play alone so much of the time that if you have any opportunity to play with other people, whether it’s accompanying them or even jamming in an informal gathering, you will learn something. I promise you.
Sing!
On the piano, you can play a note without hearing it first. When you are singing, that’s impossible. On many instruments, just to be able to get the notes to come out, you have to hear them in your head first. For example, I also play the French horn. French horn has so many different notes you can get on the open horn that you have to hear the notes first to successfully produce them. By singing, you’ll learn your music better and you’ll gain a connection between the keys you’re pushing with your fingers and the sounds they create. You’ll develop your ears. You’ll be better at improvising and playing different styles of music. It will also help you to recover from the inevitable finger slip or memory issues in performance from singing your music and developing your ear.
So those are all different things you can do. And guess what? They’re all fun and enriching! As long as you love the piano, you’ll want to do these things anyway. Try them out for yourself! Thanks so much for joining me. I’m Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.
For premium videos and exclusive content, you can join my Living Pianos Patreon channel! www.Patreon.com/RobertEstrin
Contact me if you are interested in private lessons. I have many resources for you! Robert@LivingPianos.com
Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. The subject today is about how to get better at playing the piano. There are so many things you can do! Of course, everyone would say, “Practice!” That’s obvious. How to practice
I have two questions for you today: How fast is allegro, and how loud is forte? Have you ever seen a metronome with a tempo guide? It gives you all the speeds for andante, adagio, allegro, presto and more. But when you look at the guide, allegro is f
Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today’s subject is about how you can make fast playing feel slow. There’s nothing worse than feeling rushed, whether it’s in your music or even in life! When you’re going through your day and you can’t quite get caught up with things, it can drive you nuts! You’re supposed to be able to relax with your music. So many people say classical music is relaxing. Music is more than just relaxing, there’s a whole range of emotions. But when you sit down to play the piano, you want to feel that you’re in the zone. You don’t want to feel like you’re constantly rushing.
When you play in a hurried manner, it’s just not good piano playing.
The problem with playing in a hurried manner is that the notes are compressed. Even playing at the same tempo, but playing all the notes as long as possible within the beat, it provides a more relaxed feeling for the listener and for the player. How do you achieve such a thing? You want to work at a very slow tempo, filling up all the notes for their full value. I recommend working with the metronome doing this. You’ll find that if you’re not really in the zone, even at the slowest tempo, you’ll be rushing no matter what tempo you play.
It’s a matter of filling up all the notes for their fullest possible value.
Wind players understand this in an intrinsic way. I’ve played the French horn almost as long as I’ve played the piano. I haven’t done much with it in the last few years because I’m so immersed in Living Pianos. But the point is, a wind player knows that you must fill up each note with air in order to produce a good tone. This allows for the playing to be fluid, and to create a musical line. Well, the piano is no different! It’s not air that is producing the sound on the piano. The analog of the air is the continuous weight of the arm transferring from finger to finger in slower playing. And in faster playing, filling up all the notes for their full value.
So, practice slowly at first. If you find that you’re not quite with the metronome, find a tempo at which you can play precisely with the metronome and work from there progressively speeding up. This way you can achieve comfort in your playing where you don’t feel hurried, and the audience will be rewarded with a performance that feels more relaxed.
I’m Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.
For premium videos and exclusive content, you can join my Living Pianos Patreon channel! www.Patreon.com/RobertEstrin
Contact me if you are interested in private lessons. I have many resources for you! Robert@LivingPianos.com
Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today’s subject is about how you can make fast playing feel slow. There’s nothing worse than feeling rushed, whether it’s in your music or even in life! When you’re going t
Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. The subject today is why looping sections of music doesn’t work in piano practice. It seems counterintuitive since you want to repeat things over and over to solidify them. Many times, I see students struggling, looping something over and over again, and not getting anywhere. Why doesn’t this work? Well, it comes down to the simple fact that practicing has some physiological component to it, but primarily:
Practicing is a thought process.
Take the time to stop and listen. Let’s say you’re working on a piece of music. Everything’s going fine, but then you get to a section that you can’t play up to speed, or it’s sloppy, or uneven. So you start practicing it. You just keep looping that section hoping to make it better. The problem with this is you’ve turned yourself into a robot! You’re just a machine playing it over and over again, without giving yourself the time to listen to what you’re doing. You’re not stopping long enough to make a judgment. Listen closely, then stop and ask yourself if that’s the way you want to play it. If the answer is yes, great! See if you can do it that way again. If the answer is no, decide specifically what you want to do differently next time.
Looping a phrase doesn’t give you time to listen.
When you loop a phrase, your mind can be anywhere. It’s not a thought process anymore. It’s just a mechanical motion. You might get a little exercise for your hands, but are you going to get any real value? Are you going to clean up your playing? Are you going to make it more even? No, you’re just repeating the same thing again and again. So if it happens to be exactly the way you want to play it, great! But if it isn’t, you’re cementing a poor performance. Your hands now know how to play it the way you don’t want because you never stopped to listen. You have to listen each and every time you repeat the phrase so you can determine whether it is what you want. And if it’s not what you want, you need to know exactly what to listen for the next time and find a solution.
Give yourself the time to listen to each repetition of a phrase rather than mindlessly looping it over and over again, because that accomplishes very little.
You’re not really refining your music when you’re just repeating things over and over in a loop fashion. So avoid those loop situations, unless it’s so perfect that you want to loop it again and again, perfectly. At that stage, there’s nothing wrong with looping. But make sure it’s the sound you’re after, because you’re going to cement it into your hands and your ears. If it isn’t exactly what you want, it’s going to be 10 times harder to undo what you have learned. Motor memory is very strong! It takes great intentional work to undo motor memory that’s ingrained in your hand. So looping can be dangerous! Be sure you are mindful taking time between repetitions when you’re practicing sections of music. That’s the lesson for today! I’m Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.
For premium videos and exclusive content, you can join my Living Pianos Patreon channel! www.Patreon.com/RobertEstrin
Contact me if you are interested in private lessons. I have many resources for you! Robert@LivingPianos.com
Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. The subject today is why looping sections of music doesn’t work in piano practice. It seems counterintuitive since you want to repeat things over and over to solidify them. Many times, I see
