In my limited experience, HS practice can be really useful when you want to shake up the practice of the piece. Like when muscle memory has completely taken over and you're losing brain focus. It can be helpful to step back and do hands separate (along with other kinds of change-ups) to break out of what could become a cycle of laziness and disconnectedness. It forces you to reconnect and think about what you are really doing without relying on autopilot
That can work. Generally, though, I prefer changing the play with both hands - syncopating the rhythm (fast-slow note practice for example), changing the voicing or changing the legato.
I agree. For me and my learning style, at least, hands-apart practice has limited and specific uses, pretty much as you described. Like with most practice techniques, it’s like a seasoning.
I liked how you explained if you learn the right hand by itself and then the left hand by itself, you still have to learn the hands together. So thats like learning 3 pieces instead of just one, perhaps! That would be inefficient use of time.
So, 6.5 years ago I started teaching myself piano by trying to learn 7 Christmas Carols in a Whitman Publishing Christmas Carols book from 1964. (Selected and arranged by Karl Schulte, Cover price was 29 cents). I couldn't sight read, but I could figure out the notes (key of C, F, and G) and usually the hands were only playing two notes each and the rhythm was the same for both hands. I would learn the G clef part first and get it about 80% then I would learn the F clef part about 80%. Then I would put both hands together and try to get the two parts coordinated. I would not move on to another section of the song until I had that one section down pretty well. Each song was usually broken into 4 sections or phrases, but since many times the melody would be repeated, I could learn some parts faster than others. ( I wish I had kept a diary of my daily practices!) It probably took me a good month or two to get a song down. My first interesting observation was my muscle memory became linked like a chain. If I got lost part way through a song I would have to go back to the beginning and start over. The hands didn't know what to do if I started in the middle. I have since corrected that problem, but it took a lot of practice. The second observation was after practicing a song with both hands my left hand got tied to my right hand. I could kind of "sight read" with just my right hand but when I tried the same thing with just my left hand I could not easily play just the F clef part. When I put both hands together the left hand just knew where to go and what notes to play. It was like they were dance partners and the left hand needed the right hand to lead. Muscle memory is a STRANGE thing! I also had to relearn my fingering since I did not know my chords at the time. Once I learned chords and more importantly chord inversions I knew that my fingering needed to get more efficient by using the two fingers that would play the two notes of the chord in the particular inversion, not just thumb and middle all the time. (LOL) Yes, using a teacher would have been better, but eventually it was fun to have many revelations on my own. It really is all about the journey! 😊
My only regret in not having a teacher is not having anyone to talk music to. My wife and daughter try to be understanding, but they don't play music and I would just bore them to tears. I'm like the little boy who wants to run home and say, "Mommy, Mommy, guess what I learned today!" (LOL) 😂😆😂
I noticed the "not able to pick up where you left off. What I've noticed and my theory is, working backwards really helps this. Learn a new measure, then play part of the one before it(she's covered this in another video), then play both, then work your way backwards some more. Also, picking random points in the measure during short practice sessions is good. It seems to give your brain "checkpoints " to pick up at when it stumbles. Muscle memory is good but it can be very fickle especially under stress and it's easy for your brain to connect functions as loops... And I think this is often detrimental because it means it has no way to think beyond that, and as soon as the loop breaks, all of it is absent from the mind. All about giving our minds curve balls. Playing with different rhythms like staccato, too. Practicing or playing while recording or another good way to crank up the challenge meter, and challenge and frustration is good (frustration is when the brain is just about to dispense learning chemicals, "flow"), which is incredibly important to the effectiveness of the process. Hope this helps
I usually practice hands separately if the passages are difficult. I agree that practicing hands together as soon as possible is the way to go. Slow, hands together practice is more effificent unless one hand is much more complex.
I am a new player at 65. I have some knowledge of music through previous guitar skills. You make one very good point that I can relate to but not from music. It's from shooting a bow and arrow. I learned that stopping my practice when I was shooting well and had good form was more beneficial than just continuing to keep shooting until I fell apart. When I stopped at a positive point I didn't beat myself up analyzing what I was doing wrong. It's truly beneficial to stop at a positive point! Thanks for sharing all of your ideas !
Is anybody else experiencing this phenomenon? When I practice hands separately I get to the point where I can play each hand on its own from memory. Then some time after practicing and having memorized hands together both hands kind of melt together and become an inseparable unit. So that it is (at least for me) getting harder and harder to remember how to play each hand separately. After having internalized hands together i wouldn't be able to play the hands separately even if my life depended on it...🤔😯
As someone self-taught who has experimented a great deal with different practice methods (and rather wastefully reinvented the wheel an inordinate number of times) I agree with almost everything. My only caveat is that when I find mistakes in one hand appear/reappear, then switching to one hand practice for a short period of time (a few minutes at most) before using both hands SOMETIMES helps me quite a bit.
Interesting, this is the first I've heard of that. Have you found this is true for you? It probably happens instinctively, but it's always good to practice in as many ways as possible. So, after I focused on the right-hand training the left, I'd purposely try to switch it and think of my left-hand rhythm training my right.
Hi Susan I started with you on Lesson 1 I'm up to 9 almost ten but I'm wondering if I'm going in the right order .is there lesson 1 plus other lessons before going on to 2 I'm noticing some parts of lessons that I have no idea what is happening like inverse triad ?
Hi Susan! In my city, there is no piano teacher. How can I learn piano? I do not want to be a concert pianist but I want to compose songs or create melodies? I will appreciate if you could give some advice. Thanks
Hello! I recommend finding a teacher who teaches one-on-one online lessons. Even taking a handful of lessons will get you going on the right path. Good luck!
I definitely have to learn hands together or I get confused? I'm digging it I want to keep my brain learning I've had brain issues and have want to keep my brain learning lol I love Susan n I don't even know her
Hi Susan. I was wondering what you think about one hand and pedals with the organ. My church organist recommended that to me to learn new pieces and it seems to help get the pedaling down. I imagine it is only useful when I'm doing the grind work of getting it under my fingers and toes (and heels). Thoughts?
Hi Justin! With organ, I practice one hand and pedals often, especially with baroque music, where each part is so independent. The learning process takes longer, but then it's the same concept: once you have the fingering/pedaling planned out, put all limbs together and practice as slowly as needed. I also find I need more re-learning and checking up, so I'll revisit one hand and pedal quite often. BTW, that's awesome that you're taking organ lessons! How long have you been taking? And good luck!
@@PianoRoadmap I'm actually taking piano lessons again. I took ~10 years of piano lessons about 30 years ago and maybe a year or 2 of organ lessons then too. I've also taken horn and trumpet lessons, did choir and band in HS and college, and now sing in the church choir and attempt to play organ. I never made music a career, but it is still very much a passion and I'm thrilled I finally am able to take up piano and organ again. My biggest problem now is dealing with performance anxiety. I played trumpet in church a few weeks back and it was no problem, but when I sit at the organ console, the butterflies take over and I can barely see the notes on the page in front of me. I don't suppose you have a video on that topic yet, do you?
I agreed. It is a waste of time. I may even go as far as say it is a waste of time even in The learning phase. I don’t like to learn one hand and then another and not even feel the coordination
In my limited experience, HS practice can be really useful when you want to shake up the practice of the piece. Like when muscle memory has completely taken over and you're losing brain focus. It can be helpful to step back and do hands separate (along with other kinds of change-ups) to break out of what could become a cycle of laziness and disconnectedness. It forces you to reconnect and think about what you are really doing without relying on autopilot
This is a good point, kinda like how you force yourself to pick it up at a random place, that's good for connecting those measures too
That can work. Generally, though, I prefer changing the play with both hands - syncopating the rhythm (fast-slow note practice for example), changing the voicing or changing the legato.
I agree. For me and my learning style, at least, hands-apart practice has limited and specific uses, pretty much as you described. Like with most practice techniques, it’s like a seasoning.
Yep. And "tricks", especially if used mindlessly, don't really help.
You are so clear in your delivery! And in getting your “roadmap” points across. Thank you for your excellent videos, and thoughtful analyses.
I liked how you explained if you learn the right hand by itself and then the left hand by itself, you still have to learn the hands together. So thats like learning 3 pieces instead of just one, perhaps! That would be inefficient use of time.
What an information packed video. A five minute masterclass.
Great teacher giving very useful information! Love your videos Susan thanks for sharing your talent with us.
Thank you!
So, 6.5 years ago I started teaching myself piano by trying to learn 7 Christmas Carols in a Whitman Publishing Christmas Carols book from 1964. (Selected and arranged by Karl Schulte, Cover price was 29 cents). I couldn't sight read, but I could figure out the notes (key of C, F, and G) and usually the hands were only playing two notes each and the rhythm was the same for both hands. I would learn the G clef part first and get it about 80% then I would learn the F clef part about 80%. Then I would put both hands together and try to get the two parts coordinated. I would not move on to another section of the song until I had that one section down pretty well. Each song was usually broken into 4 sections or phrases, but since many times the melody would be repeated, I could learn some parts faster than others. ( I wish I had kept a diary of my daily practices!) It probably took me a good month or two to get a song down. My first interesting observation was my muscle memory became linked like a chain. If I got lost part way through a song I would have to go back to the beginning and start over. The hands didn't know what to do if I started in the middle. I have since corrected that problem, but it took a lot of practice. The second observation was after practicing a song with both hands my left hand got tied to my right hand. I could kind of "sight read" with just my right hand but when I tried the same thing with just my left hand I could not easily play just the F clef part. When I put both hands together the left hand just knew where to go and what notes to play. It was like they were dance partners and the left hand needed the right hand to lead. Muscle memory is a STRANGE thing! I also had to relearn my fingering since I did not know my chords at the time. Once I learned chords and more importantly chord inversions I knew that my fingering needed to get more efficient by using the two fingers that would play the two notes of the chord in the particular inversion, not just thumb and middle all the time. (LOL) Yes, using a teacher would have been better, but eventually it was fun to have many revelations on my own. It really is all about the journey! 😊
My only regret in not having a teacher is not having anyone to talk music to. My wife and daughter try to be understanding, but they don't play music and I would just bore them to tears. I'm like the little boy who wants to run home and say, "Mommy, Mommy, guess what I learned today!" (LOL) 😂😆😂
I noticed the "not able to pick up where you left off. What I've noticed and my theory is, working backwards really helps this. Learn a new measure, then play part of the one before it(she's covered this in another video), then play both, then work your way backwards some more. Also, picking random points in the measure during short practice sessions is good. It seems to give your brain "checkpoints " to pick up at when it stumbles. Muscle memory is good but it can be very fickle especially under stress and it's easy for your brain to connect functions as loops... And I think this is often detrimental because it means it has no way to think beyond that, and as soon as the loop breaks, all of it is absent from the mind. All about giving our minds curve balls. Playing with different rhythms like staccato, too. Practicing or playing while recording or another good way to crank up the challenge meter, and challenge and frustration is good (frustration is when the brain is just about to dispense learning chemicals, "flow"), which is incredibly important to the effectiveness of the process. Hope this helps
Bravo!!! This video deserves to be watched, and learned over and over. Thank you for posting🙏🏼‼
I usually practice hands separately if the passages are difficult. I agree that practicing hands together as soon as possible is the way to go. Slow, hands together practice is more effificent unless one hand is much more complex.
Great videos !!! Thanks and keep posting more tips !!
Interesting advice, a new perspective. I'm looking forward to trying it. It seems to make a lot of sense.
I use HS practice when trying to overcome my natural tendency to tense up in places& at faster tempii.
Great lesson. Thanks Susan 😊
I am a new player at 65. I have some knowledge of music through previous guitar skills. You make one very good point that I can relate to but not from music. It's from shooting a bow and arrow. I learned that stopping my practice when I was shooting well and had good form was more beneficial than just continuing to keep shooting until I fell apart. When I stopped at a positive point I didn't beat myself up analyzing what I was doing wrong. It's truly beneficial to stop at a positive point! Thanks for sharing all of your ideas !
How interesting! Love how good learning techniques apply to so many areas.
I literally can't practice like this, but definitely should be effective for more complex pieces than i am currently at my level
Excellent explanation.
This is so helpful! This clarifies the confusion😂
Is anybody else experiencing this phenomenon?
When I practice hands separately I get to the point where I can play each hand on its own from memory.
Then some time after practicing and having memorized hands together both hands kind of melt together and become an inseparable unit.
So that it is (at least for me) getting harder and harder to remember how to play each hand separately.
After having internalized hands together i wouldn't be able to play the hands separately even if my life depended on it...🤔😯
I agree.❤
As someone self-taught who has experimented a great deal with different practice methods (and rather wastefully reinvented the wheel an inordinate number of times) I agree with almost everything. My only caveat is that when I find mistakes in one hand appear/reappear, then switching to one hand practice for a short period of time (a few minutes at most) before using both hands SOMETIMES helps me quite a bit.
Very good! Thank you!
You're welcome!
Great advice, thanks for sharing!
Nice room to play in.
I read somewhere that the rhythm of the right hand trains the left hand…what do you think of that? Great lesson by the way
Interesting, this is the first I've heard of that. Have you found this is true for you? It probably happens instinctively, but it's always good to practice in as many ways as possible. So, after I focused on the right-hand training the left, I'd purposely try to switch it and think of my left-hand rhythm training my right.
I don't know if you covered fingerings already. But could you give an example. I am having difficulty figuring out fingerings. Help.
Help is on the way. I'm putting this on the list and will hope to do a whole video or 2 in August or September.
@PianoRoadmap posted this one on "Essential Piano Fingering Strategies: 7 of My Favorite Tips"
100% agree. I learn hands separately, but practice hands together. It doesn’t even make sense to practice hands separately, who does that ?
Hi Susan I started with you on Lesson 1 I'm up to 9 almost ten but I'm wondering if I'm going in the right order .is there lesson 1 plus other lessons before going on to 2 I'm noticing some parts of lessons that I have no idea what is happening like inverse triad ?
Hi Susan!
In my city, there is no piano teacher. How can I learn piano? I do not want to be a concert pianist but I want to compose songs or create melodies? I will appreciate if you could give some advice.
Thanks
Hello! I recommend finding a teacher who teaches one-on-one online lessons. Even taking a handful of lessons will get you going on the right path. Good luck!
I definitely have to learn hands together or I get confused? I'm digging it I want to keep my brain learning I've had brain issues and have want to keep my brain learning lol I love Susan n I don't even know her
Hi Susan. I was wondering what you think about one hand and pedals with the organ. My church organist recommended that to me to learn new pieces and it seems to help get the pedaling down. I imagine it is only useful when I'm doing the grind work of getting it under my fingers and toes (and heels). Thoughts?
Hi Justin! With organ, I practice one hand and pedals often, especially with baroque music, where each part is so independent. The learning process takes longer, but then it's the same concept: once you have the fingering/pedaling planned out, put all limbs together and practice as slowly as needed. I also find I need more re-learning and checking up, so I'll revisit one hand and pedal quite often. BTW, that's awesome that you're taking organ lessons! How long have you been taking? And good luck!
@@PianoRoadmap I'm actually taking piano lessons again. I took ~10 years of piano lessons about 30 years ago and maybe a year or 2 of organ lessons then too. I've also taken horn and trumpet lessons, did choir and band in HS and college, and now sing in the church choir and attempt to play organ. I never made music a career, but it is still very much a passion and I'm thrilled I finally am able to take up piano and organ again. My biggest problem now is dealing with performance anxiety. I played trumpet in church a few weeks back and it was no problem, but when I sit at the organ console, the butterflies take over and I can barely see the notes on the page in front of me. I don't suppose you have a video on that topic yet, do you?
Does this negate having to sight reading a piece
Hey Marco! Not sure what you mean exactly.
I agreed. It is a waste of time. I may even go as far as say it is a waste of time even in The learning phase. I don’t like to learn one hand and then another and not even feel the coordination