There's an overwhelming feeling of "wasted time" when it comes to me and the piano. I've been playing since I was 4 (now I'm 18), but from listening to me play you wouldn't think I've been playing for longer than 3 or 4 years. I blame my teacher's over-emphasis on Piano exams-- after such a long time playing, my repertoire is laughably small. But time wasted is also time passed. I'm not going to be a professional pianist, but I still have a long life ahead of me to play piano and keep improving and climb to the level where I want to be. Seeing people my age be light years ahead after playing for the same amount of time is very discouraging, but I am just going to keep working every day and strive to get better with every practice session. the past is fixed, but the future is whatever I choose to make of it, right?
This is almost exactly my story! I'm 18 and I started when I was 5 but I really haven't been improving as much as I should be over the past few years. For me, it was my fault for focusing too much on my studies and neglecting the piano. But as you say, the future is whatever we choose to make it!
I'm on the other end....I've been playing for 50 years, & I still feel the same way, lol. I had to go back a couple years ago to learn the basics better. But now that you have the basics, you can continue to build rep for the rest of your life. Be grateful for your foundation & just go for it, one or two pieces at a time!
You’ve pretty much described my story too! I’ve been playing for 20 years and still lack some of the basics as I too was talked into doing exams and now looking back realise that for me, they were a waste of time. Now as an adult, I get told “you don’t need to learn technical exercises like scales etc!!!” Honestly I can’t believe this attitude! Anyway, as you say, you are only 18 and sound quite wise. So keep playing what you enjoy:)
I’m an amateur classical guitarist and we of course go through the same struggles. Once I told my luthier, who is a very accomplished guitarist, that I am almost never fully satisfied with any piece I play. He said it was the same for him and he added something really interesting. He told me one of his teachers said to him once “we are all sucking at different levels.” In a weird way, I found this very comforting.
Nice. I play the same instrument. Thanks for the sentiment. I've often thought something similar which is that I've gotta continue to suck for a long time lol
What perfect timing. I was just sitting here at my piano trying to push on though my tears when I heard the bell and decided to take a break and it was this! I'm feeling so down right now because I just can't do thirds, and my pinky won't stay down, and I can't play fast... And my piano teacher says it looks and sounds fine but that makes me even more frustrated because I know it doesn't and so I feel like I'm not being taken seriously because of my age (older). In her defence, she probably means it's okay for a 3rd year student. Sometimes I just get so discouraged even when logically I know that I can and will improve with time and work. While I'm sorry other's feel the same way, it's quite encouraging to know even pros struggle with being totally bummed.
I'm an older student too, having lacked the mental discipline to work hard as a child, now at 50+ having almost boundless motivation and self discipline, the body and hands say otherwise (resulting in frustrating hand/finger injuries from over-practicing in dogged attempts to gain fluency). So same with me, my scales/passage work tops out at about MM=80 in semiquavers before things get messy. But there is so much extraordinarily beautiful slower repertoire - even at the lower grades - that the piano can still bring a lot of satisfaction.
About the pinky sticking up. How are the ligaments in your fingers connected? Some people have much better control of their pinkies than others due to how the ligaments of finger 4 and 5 connect. Tightly Grip finger 4 of your RH with your LH hand, hold it tight so it cannot bend, then try to bend finger 5 of your RH. If you cannot bend your pinky it means that the ligaments connect together and little can be done about a pinky sticking up.
@@pierrecohenmusic omgosh!! I can't really bend it! While that's a bit depressing in a way it's also a little relieving to know maybe it's not just lack of intellectual ability to learn but more a lack of physical ability. I felt like such a dunce. Maybe it shouldn’t, but this actually makes me feel better! Thank you so much!
@@thearm95 I'm just like you with the discipline. I have wanted to learn since I was a kid but I'm actually thankful I never had the opportunity. I didn't value the hard work required and would have quickly ditched it as I have no natural talent. Everything I achieve I earn through a couple of hours of daily practice. More if I could. I love it now but wouldn't have appreciated it as a youth. Have fun with your practice!!
@@thearm95 nicely stated - thank you! I, too, am an older (70+) pianist and organist who finds ample and adequate joy in playing many of the lovely, less-demanding pieces available in the repertoire. Much as I enjoy hearing them well-played, I shed absolutely no alligator tears that I never learned Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy, Beethoven's Hammerklavier, or Chopin's Polonaise in A flat. I no longer have hundreds - much less thousands - of hours available to learn some some piece which I will barely - if at all - be able to give its due artistry, and there's very little satisfaction to be had from just barely managing to grind out the correct notes. ''Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free, 'Tis the gift to come down where I ought to be ... - playing pieces I can manage artistically - sans hours of torturous practice and drudgery - ;-) Don't overlook the silver lining of what you (and others) can enjoy of what you CAN play well - by begrudging what you can't (and others probably could care less ...).
Learning all musical instruments is about the journey and not the destination. In fact, there is no real destination. No matter how good you get, you will want to get better :) Occasionally I get discouraged from lack of progress, but the key is to step back and take a look at what you can already do - you might be pleasantly surprised! It's way too easy to overlook the skills we have already developed and subsequently take for granted whilst pursuing new ones - so take a little time out to review the skills you have already acquired :)
Completely agree. I used to have the same issue where I just get frustrated with my perceived lack of progress on a specific piece I'm working on. Just like you said, though, taking a step back and looking at all the progress you made throughout the years does wonders for your motivation and satisfaction with your progress. Personally when I get frustrated or down because things aren't going as fast or as well as I'd like it helps a lot to just pick up a new, easier piece, even better if it is a piece I gave up on years ago because it seemed too difficult. Most of the time those pieces which seemed too hard in the past now suddenly seem very doable, or easy even. The realisation that pieces that you struggled with or would have struggled with greatly in the past, now suddenly almost seem easy in comparison, really helps put everything in perspective. Helping you realise that with enough practice and dedication the current piece your struggling with can also be mastered and might even seem easy again in the future.
Hi Josh, I'm a guitar tutor and I'm just getting into piano now. To hear you speak so humbly about your shortcomings is inspiring. It's very noble of your to be open with us all and try to keep us inspired in the face of our fears. Never stop doing what you do. My thanks :)
Hello Josh, I’m going through a severe depression concerning my piano career and it’s been the most important video for me since the last two years! I can’t express how thankful I am 😣😢❤
Pretty good advice here: "Never let yourself discouraged by a single piece". We are all different and it makes sense that particular techniques or pieces just don't work well for us. Thanks Josh for your wise words :)
This really is an amazing video. Recently I was watching Andras Schiff who commented(recently) that Rachmaninoff doesn't fit his hands and don't ask him to play him. But I think it is very helpful that maybe every concert pianist has some parts of their technique they continue to need to work at. I wonder how much of this is psychological. But yes, this is really a wonderfully helpful and encouraging video.
What a coincidence... I was just think about it today, I'm a beginner trying to learn on my own at my 30s. Today I was struggling with a lesson and felt like I just can't do it Thank you so much for this video
I get so discouraged but when it comes down to it, piano is the only thing keeping me alive. I want to live to play my favorite pieces one day. Every time I think about dying I remind myself that if I die I'll never be able to play those pieces.
I actually put off practicing for a week thanks to being overwhelmed by Prelude in G Minor by Rachmaninoff. Decided to go back to the piano again after watching this. Thanks Josh! =)
I enjoyed your discussion. I don’t know anyone who has never been discouraged. It happens in every profession. Musicians have a great advantage over many others in that if you enjoy making music, you are in a great place.
Unless you are a paid professional never let yourself be defined by piano and piano technique, period. The piano is just a thing you do for enjoyment or personal growth. If you think piano will reveal your self worth you are lost. It's just about the most difficult instrument to learn and it takes decades to master. Most will quit before they become expert. But if you're in it for the long haul try to have something or someone else in your life. There will be piano plateaus that you need to wait out. And that's when you turn to friends and activities that have nothing to do with piano.
What happens if you are a piano teacher and you still has to be good to get students? Where I'm at is very competitive...unless I'm professional pianist standard, I can't even get decent amount of private students. As a piano teacher, I have to constantly practice and perform to prove myself and attract students. It's directly linked to my self worth.
I’m feeling a little discouraged that I’ve lost my motivation to practice. I still very much want to continue but I feel that I’ve lost my momentum. This video gave me the extra ‘ummph’ to book a lesson with my teacher this week.
I'm glad to hear that professionals also struggle with a few things. This video was released at the perfect time because I'm having a hard time with a few fast passages in the Mendelssohn Piano Concerto no. 1.
Josh , I a, 61 and started playing since I was 4. Firstly just to say how much I like your channel and how much this particular topic I can sympathise with.
Josh, great tutorial. I’ve been around musicians all my life as an amateur pianist and we all have our “Achilles’ heels”. So encouraging to hear a gifted artist like you talk about and confront the same technical/musical obstacles that most of us deal with. So much of piano pedagogy deals with one-size-fits-all solutions. Creative approaches are numerous and quite individual to every pianist’s needs. You demonstrated this with fingering for double thirds. Sometimes I will need to re-distribute entire chordal passages (Rach comes to mind) to conquer a piece. And, yes, a minor fake or two in his Second Concerto. The score is our Bible but it’s not sacred. No composer would want their music overlooked because of a few minor technical roadblocks. You have to be almost as creative as the composer to find YOUR way to conquer a passage that just doesn’t immediately fit your particular hand. Thanks again.
First of all, I love your channel and your playing. Thank you. This is all very helpful insight for me even as a jazz guitarist. I've struggled with clinical depression since middle school, and recently for a few years have had some nerve issues in my hands and arms that have largely prevented me from practicing or playing. So much of my joy and identity is tied up in my playing ability. I have no significant other or children. I have my music and my ambition. I find it so interesting the way someone like you, a classical concert pianist, thinks about things. There seems to be a sense of working things up and "seasons" of playing and skills centered around pieces. Perhaps the perfectionist in me has prevailed and led me astray, but it seems in jazz one has to be sort of ready for a lot of surprise situations. The greats all knew many tunes, and if a singer came on stage during a gig and said "Hey, let's do _______ in the key of ______" you simply had to know the functions and harmony well enough to accompany them on the fly. Or in the story of one of my favorite jazz musicians, upon getting a request by an egotistical singer who tried to take over the gig, played the song up a half step to make the high notes more difficult to sing. In any case, I think I should cut myself some slack. Maybe I'm not doing as well with comping singers lately because I haven't worked on that kind of gig in a while. Maybe I'm not doing so great with my solo guitar arrangements because I haven't had the time or the physical ability. Maybe I can't hang with Oleo at 220 bpm. We are all working on different things and doing the best we can. Some folks are better at certain things. It's just the way it is. Keep working at it but don't beat yourself up, I suppose...
I know which young pianist you were talking about, I also heard that from him somewhere and I was amazed as well, it's so true that some things just don't come along easily, I played the double thirds etude (although quite mediocre) and it went much smoother than I expected, however I couldn't for the life of me get op. 10 no. 1 down no matter how hard I tried, and obviously maybe more (a LOT more) time and practice will do but it just goes to show that some things might just never be, and this applies to life in general as well, I have seen people (including myself at some point) be way too harsh on themselves when they don't deserve it, it's so easy to get caught up in all the things we lack that we take all the things we don't lack and do well for granted, and it's really detrimental when one goes too deep into that rabbit hole, sometimes we need to take a step back, appreciate what we have, work hard for what we want but also while realizing than happiness and fulfillment can come from a million directions and getting too caught up in one thing might do more harm than good even if we think we want it so bad.
One very important thing that was left out, in my opinion, is the learning curve. The more you improve in a specific skill, the harder it is to achieve smaller improvements on the same. Beginners tend to learn the basics really fast and then quickly reach that point that only grinding can push them onwards. Failing to believe that this is natural and only hardwork works from that point on will mostly lead to beliefs of lack of skill, desire, motivation, and so on. There is also the mis-advice phrase that somewhat goes as "your highest level is the same level of your worst skill", which can be actually wrong as it makes you think that your strengths are worthless when compared to your weaknesses. You need to improve your worst skills, yes, but you need to shine at your best skills - which people also tend to forget and compare their worst to other people best. Maybe self-encouragement is a skill on it's own...
Thank you for talking about humanness at the piano and within music. I appreciate every word of this video, and I appreciate your humility in telling us the truth about what isn't easy for you and where you have been shaken. I so easily think that if someone is better than I am, they are worth more. If they are one inch better or a million miles better, my mind runs the same scam. They are better than you, so you have no value and no place. Aiy yai yai ❤️
- I'm not sure when or what caused you to listen to that 'lie' and believe it. It's time to send that lie packing and get it out of your way - stop focusing on external things that are "better than you" - and focus on what *you* CAN do. Even giving a cup of cold water to someone who is thirsty has its reward - :-)
Excellent video Josh! I play piano as a second instrument, I'm more of a guitar player and the things you said about not letting your abilities on the instrument define who you are as a person is a great advice, can't tell how many times I've felt discouraged and worthless because I couldn't play the way I wanted and that feeling kept interfering with my everyday life... thanks for this comforting video!
I get often discouraged when i see my limits in my playing, but i Always say to myself that the most important thing in the world is to overpass not other people but oneself. 👍
"It's hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head." -Sally Kempton. I think we inadvertently create these negative constructs out of the things we find hard and scary. I think Josh has already said in a previous video that learning the chopin etudes for him was different(?) because he never knew how difficult they were before hand. I could remember this entirely wrong. The teacher gives you the material and says "you are ready" and you accept it and start working on the material with a very neutral mindset. That mindset matters beforehand and it matters while you practice and it's sort of weird combination of luck and psychology that you associate the negative with certain passages. If you are aware of the difficulty before you even begin it might very well artificially create obstacles for you. Our mind works in tandem with stimuli to create the experience of reality. The more you know it, feel it and think it the more it becomes real. I'm constantly struggling with this. Sometimes I feel like I'm past the intermediate stage and sometimes I feel like I'm not even there. Sometimes I can read and play prima vista adequately and actually experience the music and other times I wonder how on earth could any pianist have learned to be able to control two hands independently. Which probably makes sense, given that I'm self-taught for the most part and not a very diligent student. Bach's WTC Book I has been a journey of joy and frustration. I'm not even close to the halfway point of learning all the fugues and preludes but it is something I am aiming for accomplishing some day.
I think we also set ourselves up for some negative walls to hit by setting up some arbitrary goal and then considering ourselves to have failed if we don't reach it. Why would you want to learn all of the WTC? They're not all that interesting - have you considered the 6 Partitas ("German Suites") or the French suites ? There are some lovely Bach "kaleidoscopes" in there ... What other composers, pieces would you like to learn?
@@aBachwardsfellow It's just something I've been dreaming of doing for many years. Andras Schiff and Paul Barton have inspired me a lot, among others. I also really, really love the way WTC covers the chromatic spectrum with the split of major and minor keys, preludes and fugues. WTC also seems to be, for the most part, right on target for being both challenging and comfortable for my skill level. I'm slowly working on my scale and arpeggio work, on top of some good old finger exercises but I've always been quite lazy with technical exercises. What Schiff has said about never really being that into technical warm up and substituting it with playing WTC every morning is a romantic goal and not really applicable to me to the extent that he does it. But I do prefer playing actual pieces for warm up rather than say, scales. It's just more musical to me and I can immediately get that feedback and mood that I want. So I find WTC to be reasonably good for warm up. WTC was composed for piano students in mind. It may be less flashy than etudes but it is designed for learning, just like etudes, though with a broader mission of teaching in mind. Chopin's etudes are all about specifics and exposing students to the seemingly impractical and making it work like it's part of the norm. Which might allude to how he might have felt about piano playing and teaching it. Rules are meant to be broken and while you need solid technique, the first and foremost must always be the quality of sound coupled with as neutral and relaxed physical input as possible; it doesn't matter if the thumb is on the blacks, if it's under or over, or if you use weird fingering for trills - if you feel comfortable and you are playing music instead of sounds, it works. Chopin also taught with WTC. He was very particular about his teaching material. WTC is also apparently only music he brought with him to practice on when he visited Majorca. I'm just rambling here at this point. WTC isn't particularly unique in that it's teaching material for students. It's not even unique within Bach's own works. But I do love it dearly.
@@Zhinarkos well then, with all that heart for it, by all means pursue the WTC - it is a marvelously comprehensive work at its level. I'm quite fond of the 6 partitas for much the same reason, and others find the Goldberg variations similarly satisfying. You're correct about mindset being a factor. I don't find that acknowledging a passage to be difficult creates an obstacle as long as I don't dwell on it or practice with it in mind; the art of overcoming difficult passages is to approach them in a manner that makes them easy - I find that practicing difficult passages with a relaxed piano-pianissimo legato is beneficial, therapeutic - my goal is to never play the passage in a way that registers as difficult. And then - like the frog sitting in the pan of water - gently raise the temperature (tempo, volume) but always relaxed. (I know - horrible analogy !!) . I take it you are familiar with Theodore Leschetizky's close touch? Speaking of thumbs on the black keys, one of my favorite warm-ups is major 7th and diminished 7th arpeggios up and down four octaves chromatically through every key - in octaves, then in staggered 10ths and 6ths; not only will your thumbs play on black notes, but other fingers will be crossing over them onto black and white notes alike - a marvelous warm-up for fingers and wrists - as follows (2 octaves in C - but extend to 4 octaves when playing): C-E-G-B-C-E-G-B- |C| -Bb-G-E-C-Bb-G-E-C C-Eb-Gb-A-C-Eb-Gb-A- |C| A-Gb-Eb-C-A-Gb-Eb-C Repeat starting on C#, then D - continue through all keys; then repeat with hands displaced by 10ths, then 6ths. I understand Schiff's remark about not being into the technical warm-up and playing pieces instead. That is all well and good for someone who has an established technic - which was likely established via scales and arpeggios. However scales, arpeggios and finger exercises have their place as part of the learning continuum. You may find - as I have found - that technical practice becomes more interesting when you play games with it. For example, if you're using Hanon, try playing them in 10ths and 6ths, using mixed touches (legato, staccato), rhythms (dotted notes, triplets); try Hanon in all major and harmonic minor keys - in 10ths and 6ths - using various touches, rhythms, accents - ! For scales also play in 10ths, 6ths, and 3rds using various touches, rhythms, accents. Start your arpeggios with one hand on the second note instead of the octave - i.e. for C major start with the LH 5th finger on C and the RH 2nd finger on E as though the RH had started one note ahead; at the top the RH will reach C first and turn around while the LH is still coming up to the C, then turns around. So you start of in nominal 10ths ascending, and return in nominal 6ths descending. Finally - vary your technical practice from day to day. For example, one day I may spend a good hour or *two* purely on technical practice - scales, arpeggios, octaves, double 3rds, 6ths, Hanon in multiple keys, etc. Then the next several days I may barely play a scale or arpeggio at all. On some days I'll do a thorough technical workout in one key - often the key of one of the pieces I'm learning before starting to practice the piece. I'd definitely say vary your technical studies so they're not the same ol' grind every day. But at the same time have a goal - i.e. all scales in 16th notes under complete relaxed control - legato, staccato, pianissimo to forte - at MM=100 for quarter notes; then MM = 110, 120, 132, etc. For being mostly self-taught you're doing extraordinarily well to be doing the WTC. By all means continue to listen to Schiff - he's a marvelous interpreter of Bach and you will do well to imitate his interpretation. But - to Josh's point - do not allow your momentary lags to "define" you - just enjoy the journey ! :-)
@@aBachwardsfellow I find all of what you've said both agreeable and encouraging. It is like any athlete or other professional would say about progress, whether immediate or long-term. You reduce the stress and the pressure by thinking in pieces. That idea of making difficult passages simple is what I also personally try to aim for. Logic be damned but a measure of music with a trouble spot doesn't equal anywhere near to all the effort and time one has put into playing before. Seeking that ease of first touching the piano and playing two notes with it should continue to the challenging and uncomfortable. I enjoy experimenting so I'll definitely try your tips for scales and arpeggios. And, out of curiosity, if I were to try learning one of the partitas in the future, do you have any recommendations where to start?
Thank you a lot for this video! Sometimes the frustration is overwhelming...is good to hear that you are not alone in this. Just discovered your channel. Amazing job!
Thank you so much for this words Josh. I've been working for over a year now (admittidly with some pauses) on a piece that is full of trills and mordents that just make me crazy! Theoretically the piece is just about my level but one day it works and the other day it is like I had never practiced a trill before. I'm so discouraged and feel like I hit my limit and will never get better at piano. You have raised my spirits a bit :)
So grateful to you for posting this video. It was so important, especially at this particular time where everything is getting depressing again due to another global surge. Thank you for assuring us to hold on and to never give up in our piano studies or life in general.🙂
I found this vid enlightening and inspiring, and I'm not even a pianist. Guitar's my instrument - strictly rock - but everything you cover here is completely relevant to my own struggles (many) and victories (sporadic). It probably helps that most of the examples you cite involve Chopin's Etudes, as I've been captivated by the Opus 25 set since childhood, but even if you'd gone with music that was less familiar to me I'm sure I'd have gotten a great deal out of it. THIS is the mark of a great teacher indeed. Kudos.
Josh, thank you so much for this much-needed perspective and balance - sometimes we just need to "give ourselves permission" to not be "perfect" at everything - :-)
It is true the main thing is not to give up especially if you love the piece. I've struggled for already 2 years on Chopin's Ballade 1, there are some passages which I am not able to conquer..but I don't give up, sooner or later I will master them...go ahead is my moto...!Thank you Josh!
What a gem of a topic! I really enjoyed listening to this discussion. I’ve often wondered if my favorite pianists or musicians still struggle with certain pieces or techniques even though they make it look effortless. It’s encouraging to know they are human, too! :)
I do not consider myself either pianist or musician in any usually accepted sense of those words but I do record huge amounts of improvisation because I have an ineluctable desire to create. I found your comments on double notes interesting. There are only five possible double note trill combinations in each hand and for each of those there are three ways of striking - alternating, up/down and inside/outside. What I do is select any note group within reach and work all fifteen ways on my silent Virgil Practice Clavier, first one hand and then the other reflected about D or Ab. I have done that for years and it seems to have done a lot of good but I haven't the slightest idea why. The trouble with technique is that it is very simple to find a new movement I have difficulty with. Then if I work on that until it is easy I can quickly find another I cannot do. Thus it is possible for piano playing to become an infinite series of physical puzzles which may or may not have any relevance to musical quality in improvisation. I do not think concentrating on the hundreds of things I cannot do is the slightest help in musical creation. That is why I limit my technical work to ten minutes morning and night on the Virgil Clavier. I know this device goes against all fashionable pedagogy but it works for me.
So true. For me one of the easiest parts in Rach 3 is the ossia cadenza, but some of the short passages in the piu vivo section in the beginning of the first movement... oh god how much I had to practise that! Also getting the first part of double stops in Feux Follets took alot of practice with the upper fingers alone in super slow tempo before my fingers could do it all together in tempo without loosing notes. The wierd thing was that I allready had no problem with op.25 no.6 for years... they are quite different though. For me the biggest passage of obsession in any piece is still the middle part in e major of Chasse Neige. My left hand does not follow the the drive my head wants and the right hand is able to do. Most people make compromises in that part, but seeing what my right hand is able to express I have allways felt like it's just around the corner. Maybe tomorrow...
This video actually helped me get over my feeling of not being good enough... I just gotta keep going. But gonna get some lessons again since I never have before...
Thank you very much Josh for your sincerity, your straightforward honesty and reinvigorating passion for piano playing!! I love and embrace your words totally! 😀
Amazing video!! I would love to hear more about your thoughts on 1) how to be a good teacher 2) youor favorite pieces you teach to late beginners (kids) and anything else about teaching. Have been following you for years and love all your videos!!
Im a bit afraid to work so hard because of injuries… i never had one and i want to keep it that way. Wondering how some people are dealing with it on such a high level ?
Most of the difficulties you are talking about have to do with hand sizes. Larg hands get it easy with arpeggios, chords, octaves and jumps but struggle with thirds and scales. Even thirds are my nemesis 😂
Very cool video. Im struggling a little right now and I think it might be, because i do too much. I try to do hungarian rhapsody no. 6 AND Alkans festin d`esope. Both are (in my humble opinion) pretty hard. Alkan is most likely alot harder than liszt because of the sheer length and the mixture of techniques, while u mainly need good octaves and big hands (which I dont have) for the HR6. But your video really helped. I love to practice on my weaknesses and I will continue to do so. Also (since I dont have a teacher anymore like back in the day) im just trying to get better in self awareness of my weaknesses.
Josh, it’s not that you can not do it yet. You just haven’t accomplished it yet. If one says ‘I can not’, they never will, no matter how hard and for long they practice “it”.
I started out as a music major in college. I really liked it but I knew I wasn't going to be able to make a living at it. Heck even my master teacher told me it's not always what you know, it's WHO you know. She said she struggled for 5 years to get a solid base of students to teach, and paying the bills was always difficult. And I was meeting other students who were so much better than I was at the piano, and I knew they were going to have a difficult time making a living. Playing at a wedding, playing at a Christmas party, sporadic checks here and there, and always stressed about making a living. That's no way to live. Music is a wonderful thing, but it feeds the soul, not your body. Music can inspire and give you joy. However, unless you live in a dream world, don't follow your dreams, because eventually you'll have to wake up.
Bro just said “don’t follow your dreams” lmfaoo. No. When one follows their dreams they could become a reality. You just said “if you chase a big goal and work really hard, one day you’ll fail” which is a humongous lie, and super discouraging. Just make sure your dreams are realistic for your current situation, and do everything you can to follow them.
I'm not sure if this video was a response to my comment but thank you so much for making this! I've been having trouble with negativity on the piano so this helps a bunch thank you!
Great topic , and an insightful discussion.t Piano problems come in all sizes, small hands and problems with large chords is my bête noir. I’m a very critical concert goer and I’d rather hear less velocity and more beauty in tone production and phrasing , where did that all go?
Wonderful video. Thank you so much for posting this. The left-hand tremelos in the Pathetique and Waldstein have always been an insurmountable challenge for me. For decades. I would gladly procure your instruction via Zoom if that would be possible. Thanks again for this video.
Sometimes we also have to tell ourselves that written music is just dots on a page! How we give them life and execute the dots is the work process we put into it. Learning a piece has many steps. I circle a lot in the music to reinforce the memorization. We also have to really allow time to internalize it! Some pieces may take months or years to learn and master.
Please, please do a video on how to work through the Ravel Jeux d’eau! I’m learning that piece for a college audition in the fall and I would appreciate some advice on how to learn this piece in an effective and efficient way.
The most important thing in piano playing is knowing what to listen for . I was in my 2nd year of college before A simple Hadyn sonata was used to teach me key depth and key rebound and really feeling and listening . If you don't get it before age of 10 it will always be I thought he was going to talk about the Berg Sonata . He is so good looking for ana challenge and something to get right .He is really a goodlooking Anglo-Saxon . So even at a professional level scale planists find even dynamic scales difficult . The fact I don't find op.10 no.2 difficult means I don't know what to listen for .. The etude in double thirds is difficult . I thought I was good at hearing sloppiness vs. neat , clear, clean finger armwork . I'm not . His op.25 no.12 1st time I listened to 4 times cannot detect "it "
hi josh, can i ask for a suggestion? im a young musician at my 4th year of piano and my first year at conservatory. Due to the big amount of pieces to work on, and my natural slow sight reading, i spend all my time everyday practicing, and that's fine. The problem is that i feel like i still have not enough time to read pieces and perfect others, and i always play superficially, and i wish i had even more time to practice. do you have any tips to help me/do you relate? thanks for the help! (also, i play on a digital, do you think that it effects my joy in playing due to the small range of sound i can create?)
one things that’s hard to understand until it happens is not being able physically move your fingers that fast or nimble. with practice you actually do become faster and your hands become more able. i spent a lot of time feelin really bad. now i still do but now i know that even a really hard thing can actually be conquered. no human being is more capable than another.
i struggle with about everything i play. Nothing comes easy for me. Some of the difficult and intricate maneuvers, i found, must be trained in the mind first of all, and then the fingers follow better
Yes! What a great comment, I totally agree. If you’ve discovered this you must be doing pretty amazing - so perceptive. This is why practicing away from the piano is so helpful. Also, the struggle is where the gold lies ❤
There's an overwhelming feeling of "wasted time" when it comes to me and the piano. I've been playing since I was 4 (now I'm 18), but from listening to me play you wouldn't think I've been playing for longer than 3 or 4 years. I blame my teacher's over-emphasis on Piano exams-- after such a long time playing, my repertoire is laughably small.
But time wasted is also time passed. I'm not going to be a professional pianist, but I still have a long life ahead of me to play piano and keep improving and climb to the level where I want to be. Seeing people my age be light years ahead after playing for the same amount of time is very discouraging, but I am just going to keep working every day and strive to get better with every practice session. the past is fixed, but the future is whatever I choose to make of it, right?
This is almost exactly my story! I'm 18 and I started when I was 5 but I really haven't been improving as much as I should be over the past few years. For me, it was my fault for focusing too much on my studies and neglecting the piano. But as you say, the future is whatever we choose to make it!
I'm on the other end....I've been playing for 50 years, & I still feel the same way, lol. I had to go back a couple years ago to learn the basics better.
But now that you have the basics, you can continue to build rep for the rest of your life. Be grateful for your foundation & just go for it, one or two pieces at a time!
@@AZmom60 That's something I need to work on-- I really do have my entire life ahead of me. Don't know who or what i feel like I'm racing against.
@@manishs6479. The key is to not compare yourself to anyone else, but to play for your enjoyment. You can do it!
You’ve pretty much described my story too! I’ve been playing for 20 years and still lack some of the basics as I too was talked into doing exams and now looking back realise that for me, they were a waste of time. Now as an adult, I get told “you don’t need to learn technical exercises like scales etc!!!” Honestly I can’t believe this attitude! Anyway, as you say, you are only 18 and sound quite wise. So keep playing what you enjoy:)
I’m an amateur classical guitarist and we of course go through the same struggles. Once I told my luthier, who is a very accomplished guitarist, that I am almost never fully satisfied with any piece I play. He said it was the same for him and he added something really interesting. He told me one of his teachers said to him once “we are all sucking at different levels.” In a weird way, I found this very comforting.
Nice. I play the same instrument. Thanks for the sentiment. I've often thought something similar which is that I've gotta continue to suck for a long time lol
What perfect timing. I was just sitting here at my piano trying to push on though my tears when I heard the bell and decided to take a break and it was this!
I'm feeling so down right now because I just can't do thirds, and my pinky won't stay down, and I can't play fast...
And my piano teacher says it looks and sounds fine but that makes me even more frustrated because I know it doesn't and so I feel like I'm not being taken seriously because of my age (older). In her defence, she probably means it's okay for a 3rd year student.
Sometimes I just get so discouraged even when logically I know that I can and will improve with time and work.
While I'm sorry other's feel the same way, it's quite encouraging to know even pros struggle with being totally bummed.
I'm an older student too, having lacked the mental discipline to work hard as a child, now at 50+ having almost boundless motivation and self discipline, the body and hands say otherwise (resulting in frustrating hand/finger injuries from over-practicing in dogged attempts to gain fluency). So same with me, my scales/passage work tops out at about MM=80 in semiquavers before things get messy. But there is so much extraordinarily beautiful slower repertoire - even at the lower grades - that the piano can still bring a lot of satisfaction.
About the pinky sticking up. How are the ligaments in your fingers connected? Some people have much better control of their pinkies than others due to how the ligaments of finger 4 and 5 connect. Tightly Grip finger 4 of your RH with your LH hand, hold it tight so it cannot bend, then try to bend finger 5 of your RH. If you cannot bend your pinky it means that the ligaments connect together and little can be done about a pinky sticking up.
@@pierrecohenmusic omgosh!! I can't really bend it! While that's a bit depressing in a way it's also a little relieving to know maybe it's not just lack of intellectual ability to learn but more a lack of physical ability. I felt like such a dunce. Maybe it shouldn’t, but this actually makes me feel better! Thank you so much!
@@thearm95 I'm just like you with the discipline. I have wanted to learn since I was a kid but I'm actually thankful I never had the opportunity. I didn't value the hard work required and would have quickly ditched it as I have no natural talent. Everything I achieve I earn through a couple of hours of daily practice. More if I could. I love it now but wouldn't have appreciated it as a youth.
Have fun with your practice!!
@@thearm95 nicely stated - thank you! I, too, am an older (70+) pianist and organist who finds ample and adequate joy in playing many of the lovely, less-demanding pieces available in the repertoire. Much as I enjoy hearing them well-played, I shed absolutely no alligator tears that I never learned Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy, Beethoven's Hammerklavier, or Chopin's Polonaise in A flat. I no longer have hundreds - much less thousands - of hours available to learn some some piece which I will barely - if at all - be able to give its due artistry, and there's very little satisfaction to be had from just barely managing to grind out the correct notes.
''Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where I ought to be ...
- playing pieces I can manage artistically
- sans hours of torturous practice and drudgery - ;-)
Don't overlook the silver lining of what you (and others) can enjoy of what you CAN play well - by begrudging what you can't (and others probably could care less ...).
Music is a very large world. Make sure you travel it as much and as far and wide as possible.
Learning all musical instruments is about the journey and not the destination. In fact, there is no real destination. No matter how good you get, you will want to get better :) Occasionally I get discouraged from lack of progress, but the key is to step back and take a look at what you can already do - you might be pleasantly surprised! It's way too easy to overlook the skills we have already developed and subsequently take for granted whilst pursuing new ones - so take a little time out to review the skills you have already acquired :)
Completely agree.
I used to have the same issue where I just get frustrated with my perceived lack of progress on a specific piece I'm working on. Just like you said, though, taking a step back and looking at all the progress you made throughout the years does wonders for your motivation and satisfaction with your progress.
Personally when I get frustrated or down because things aren't going as fast or as well as I'd like it helps a lot to just pick up a new, easier piece, even better if it is a piece I gave up on years ago because it seemed too difficult. Most of the time those pieces which seemed too hard in the past now suddenly seem very doable, or easy even. The realisation that pieces that you struggled with or would have struggled with greatly in the past, now suddenly almost seem easy in comparison, really helps put everything in perspective. Helping you realise that with enough practice and dedication the current piece your struggling with can also be mastered and might even seem easy again in the future.
Hi Josh, I'm a guitar tutor and I'm just getting into piano now. To hear you speak so humbly about your shortcomings is inspiring. It's very noble of your to be open with us all and try to keep us inspired in the face of our fears.
Never stop doing what you do. My thanks :)
Hello Josh, I’m going through a severe depression concerning my piano career and it’s been the most important video for me since the last two years! I can’t express how thankful I am 😣😢❤
One thing I've struggled with and have been trying to stop doing is apologizing when I make mistakes. This has helped me.
Pretty good advice here: "Never let yourself discouraged by a single piece".
We are all different and it makes sense that particular techniques or pieces just don't work well for us.
Thanks Josh for your wise words :)
This really is an amazing video. Recently I was watching Andras Schiff who commented(recently) that Rachmaninoff doesn't fit his hands and don't ask him to play him. But I think it is very helpful that maybe every concert pianist has some parts of their technique they continue to need to work at. I wonder how much of this is psychological. But yes, this is really a wonderfully helpful and encouraging video.
What a coincidence... I was just think about it today, I'm a beginner trying to learn on my own at my 30s. Today I was struggling with a lesson and felt like I just can't do it
Thank you so much for this video
I get so discouraged but when it comes down to it, piano is the only thing keeping me alive. I want to live to play my favorite pieces one day. Every time I think about dying I remind myself that if I die I'll never be able to play those pieces.
I actually put off practicing for a week thanks to being overwhelmed by Prelude in G Minor by Rachmaninoff. Decided to go back to the piano again after watching this. Thanks Josh! =)
I enjoyed your discussion. I don’t know anyone who has never been discouraged. It happens in every profession. Musicians have a great advantage over many others in that if you enjoy making music, you are in a great place.
Unless you are a paid professional never let yourself be defined by piano and piano technique, period. The piano is just a thing you do for enjoyment or personal growth. If you think piano will reveal your self worth you are lost. It's just about the most difficult instrument to learn and it takes decades to master. Most will quit before they become expert. But if you're in it for the long haul try to have something or someone else in your life. There will be piano plateaus that you need to wait out. And that's when you turn to friends and activities that have nothing to do with piano.
What happens if you are a piano teacher and you still has to be good to get students? Where I'm at is very competitive...unless I'm professional pianist standard, I can't even get decent amount of private students. As a piano teacher, I have to constantly practice and perform to prove myself and attract students. It's directly linked to my self worth.
I’m feeling a little discouraged that I’ve lost my motivation to practice. I still very much want to continue but I feel that I’ve lost my momentum. This video gave me the extra ‘ummph’ to book a lesson with my teacher this week.
I'm glad to hear that professionals also struggle with a few things. This video was released at the perfect time because I'm having a hard time with a few fast passages in the Mendelssohn Piano Concerto no. 1.
Josh , I a, 61 and started playing since I was 4. Firstly just to say how much I like your channel and how much this particular topic I can sympathise with.
Josh, great tutorial. I’ve been around musicians all my life as an amateur pianist and we all have our “Achilles’ heels”. So encouraging to hear a gifted artist like you talk about and confront the same technical/musical obstacles that most of us deal with. So much of piano pedagogy deals with one-size-fits-all solutions. Creative approaches are numerous and quite individual to every pianist’s needs. You demonstrated this with fingering for double thirds. Sometimes I will need to re-distribute entire chordal passages (Rach comes to mind) to conquer a piece. And, yes, a minor fake or two in his Second Concerto. The score is our Bible but it’s not sacred. No composer would want their music overlooked because of a few minor technical roadblocks. You have to be almost as creative as the composer to find YOUR way to conquer a passage that just doesn’t immediately fit your particular hand. Thanks again.
First of all, I love your channel and your playing. Thank you.
This is all very helpful insight for me even as a jazz guitarist. I've struggled with clinical depression since middle school, and recently for a few years have had some nerve issues in my hands and arms that have largely prevented me from practicing or playing. So much of my joy and identity is tied up in my playing ability. I have no significant other or children. I have my music and my ambition.
I find it so interesting the way someone like you, a classical concert pianist, thinks about things. There seems to be a sense of working things up and "seasons" of playing and skills centered around pieces. Perhaps the perfectionist in me has prevailed and led me astray, but it seems in jazz one has to be sort of ready for a lot of surprise situations.
The greats all knew many tunes, and if a singer came on stage during a gig and said "Hey, let's do _______ in the key of ______" you simply had to know the functions and harmony well enough to accompany them on the fly. Or in the story of one of my favorite jazz musicians, upon getting a request by an egotistical singer who tried to take over the gig, played the song up a half step to make the high notes more difficult to sing.
In any case, I think I should cut myself some slack. Maybe I'm not doing as well with comping singers lately because I haven't worked on that kind of gig in a while. Maybe I'm not doing so great with my solo guitar arrangements because I haven't had the time or the physical ability. Maybe I can't hang with Oleo at 220 bpm. We are all working on different things and doing the best we can. Some folks are better at certain things. It's just the way it is. Keep working at it but don't beat yourself up, I suppose...
You're a sweetie, Josh - thank you for your honesty and wise words!
I know which young pianist you were talking about, I also heard that from him somewhere and I was amazed as well, it's so true that some things just don't come along easily, I played the double thirds etude (although quite mediocre) and it went much smoother than I expected, however I couldn't for the life of me get op. 10 no. 1 down no matter how hard I tried, and obviously maybe more (a LOT more) time and practice will do but it just goes to show that some things might just never be, and this applies to life in general as well, I have seen people (including myself at some point) be way too harsh on themselves when they don't deserve it, it's so easy to get caught up in all the things we lack that we take all the things we don't lack and do well for granted, and it's really detrimental when one goes too deep into that rabbit hole, sometimes we need to take a step back, appreciate what we have, work hard for what we want but also while realizing than happiness and fulfillment can come from a million directions and getting too caught up in one thing might do more harm than good even if we think we want it so bad.
One very important thing that was left out, in my opinion, is the learning curve. The more you improve in a specific skill, the harder it is to achieve smaller improvements on the same. Beginners tend to learn the basics really fast and then quickly reach that point that only grinding can push them onwards. Failing to believe that this is natural and only hardwork works from that point on will mostly lead to beliefs of lack of skill, desire, motivation, and so on.
There is also the mis-advice phrase that somewhat goes as "your highest level is the same level of your worst skill", which can be actually wrong as it makes you think that your strengths are worthless when compared to your weaknesses. You need to improve your worst skills, yes, but you need to shine at your best skills - which people also tend to forget and compare their worst to other people best.
Maybe self-encouragement is a skill on it's own...
Thank you, Josh - I play baritone horn, but ALL the points you made in this video are directly applicable to myself and my playing!
Great video Josh always giving great life advice as well as teaching music. This stuff means alot to people thankyou
Thank you for talking about humanness at the piano and within music. I appreciate every word of this video, and I appreciate your humility in telling us the truth about what isn't easy for you and where you have been shaken.
I so easily think that if someone is better than I am, they are worth more. If they are one inch better or a million miles better, my mind runs the same scam. They are better than you, so you have no value and no place. Aiy yai yai ❤️
- I'm not sure when or what caused you to listen to that 'lie' and believe it. It's time to send that lie packing and get it out of your way - stop focusing on external things that are "better than you" - and focus on what *you* CAN do. Even giving a cup of cold water to someone who is thirsty has its reward - :-)
I wonder if Josh is talking about Alexander Malofeev 8:33? That young man can seriously play the piano.
Excellent video Josh! I play piano as a second instrument, I'm more of a guitar player and the things you said about not letting your abilities on the instrument define who you are as a person is a great advice, can't tell how many times I've felt discouraged and worthless because I couldn't play the way I wanted and that feeling kept interfering with my everyday life... thanks for this comforting video!
I get often discouraged when i see my limits in my playing, but i Always say to myself that the most important thing in the world is to overpass not other people but oneself. 👍
"It's hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head." -Sally Kempton.
I think we inadvertently create these negative constructs out of the things we find hard and scary. I think Josh has already said in a previous video that learning the chopin etudes for him was different(?) because he never knew how difficult they were before hand. I could remember this entirely wrong. The teacher gives you the material and says "you are ready" and you accept it and start working on the material with a very neutral mindset. That mindset matters beforehand and it matters while you practice and it's sort of weird combination of luck and psychology that you associate the negative with certain passages. If you are aware of the difficulty before you even begin it might very well artificially create obstacles for you. Our mind works in tandem with stimuli to create the experience of reality. The more you know it, feel it and think it the more it becomes real.
I'm constantly struggling with this. Sometimes I feel like I'm past the intermediate stage and sometimes I feel like I'm not even there. Sometimes I can read and play prima vista adequately and actually experience the music and other times I wonder how on earth could any pianist have learned to be able to control two hands independently. Which probably makes sense, given that I'm self-taught for the most part and not a very diligent student. Bach's WTC Book I has been a journey of joy and frustration. I'm not even close to the halfway point of learning all the fugues and preludes but it is something I am aiming for accomplishing some day.
I think we also set ourselves up for some negative walls to hit by setting up some arbitrary goal and then considering ourselves to have failed if we don't reach it.
Why would you want to learn all of the WTC? They're not all that interesting - have you considered the 6 Partitas ("German Suites") or the French suites ? There are some lovely Bach "kaleidoscopes" in there ...
What other composers, pieces would you like to learn?
@@aBachwardsfellow It's just something I've been dreaming of doing for many years. Andras Schiff and Paul Barton have inspired me a lot, among others. I also really, really love the way WTC covers the chromatic spectrum with the split of major and minor keys, preludes and fugues. WTC also seems to be, for the most part, right on target for being both challenging and comfortable for my skill level.
I'm slowly working on my scale and arpeggio work, on top of some good old finger exercises but I've always been quite lazy with technical exercises. What Schiff has said about never really being that into technical warm up and substituting it with playing WTC every morning is a romantic goal and not really applicable to me to the extent that he does it. But I do prefer playing actual pieces for warm up rather than say, scales. It's just more musical to me and I can immediately get that feedback and mood that I want. So I find WTC to be reasonably good for warm up.
WTC was composed for piano students in mind. It may be less flashy than etudes but it is designed for learning, just like etudes, though with a broader mission of teaching in mind. Chopin's etudes are all about specifics and exposing students to the seemingly impractical and making it work like it's part of the norm. Which might allude to how he might have felt about piano playing and teaching it. Rules are meant to be broken and while you need solid technique, the first and foremost must always be the quality of sound coupled with as neutral and relaxed physical input as possible; it doesn't matter if the thumb is on the blacks, if it's under or over, or if you use weird fingering for trills - if you feel comfortable and you are playing music instead of sounds, it works.
Chopin also taught with WTC. He was very particular about his teaching material. WTC is also apparently only music he brought with him to practice on when he visited Majorca.
I'm just rambling here at this point. WTC isn't particularly unique in that it's teaching material for students. It's not even unique within Bach's own works. But I do love it dearly.
Oh, and I do play and practice other material from other composers actively. Learning WTC is a very long-term goal for me.
@@Zhinarkos well then, with all that heart for it, by all means pursue the WTC - it is a marvelously comprehensive work at its level. I'm quite fond of the 6 partitas for much the same reason, and others find the Goldberg variations similarly satisfying.
You're correct about mindset being a factor. I don't find that acknowledging a passage to be difficult creates an obstacle as long as I don't dwell on it or practice with it in mind; the art of overcoming difficult passages is to approach them in a manner that makes them easy - I find that practicing difficult passages with a relaxed piano-pianissimo legato is beneficial, therapeutic - my goal is to never play the passage in a way that registers as difficult. And then - like the frog sitting in the pan of water - gently raise the temperature (tempo, volume) but always relaxed. (I know - horrible analogy !!) . I take it you are familiar with Theodore Leschetizky's close touch?
Speaking of thumbs on the black keys, one of my favorite warm-ups is major 7th and diminished 7th arpeggios up and down four octaves chromatically through every key - in octaves, then in staggered 10ths and 6ths; not only will your thumbs play on black notes, but other fingers will be crossing over them onto black and white notes alike - a marvelous warm-up for fingers and wrists - as follows (2 octaves in C - but extend to 4 octaves when playing):
C-E-G-B-C-E-G-B- |C| -Bb-G-E-C-Bb-G-E-C
C-Eb-Gb-A-C-Eb-Gb-A- |C| A-Gb-Eb-C-A-Gb-Eb-C
Repeat starting on C#, then D - continue through all keys; then repeat with hands displaced by 10ths, then 6ths.
I understand Schiff's remark about not being into the technical warm-up and playing pieces instead. That is all well and good for someone who has an established technic - which was likely established via scales and arpeggios. However scales, arpeggios and finger exercises have their place as part of the learning continuum. You may find - as I have found - that technical practice becomes more interesting when you play games with it. For example, if you're using Hanon, try playing them in 10ths and 6ths, using mixed touches (legato, staccato), rhythms (dotted notes, triplets); try Hanon in all major and harmonic minor keys - in 10ths and 6ths - using various touches, rhythms, accents - !
For scales also play in 10ths, 6ths, and 3rds using various touches, rhythms, accents. Start your arpeggios with one hand on the second note instead of the octave - i.e. for C major start with the LH 5th finger on C and the RH 2nd finger on E as though the RH had started one note ahead; at the top the RH will reach C first and turn around while the LH is still coming up to the C, then turns around. So you start of in nominal 10ths ascending, and return in nominal 6ths descending.
Finally - vary your technical practice from day to day. For example, one day I may spend a good hour or *two* purely on technical practice - scales, arpeggios, octaves, double 3rds, 6ths, Hanon in multiple keys, etc. Then the next several days I may barely play a scale or arpeggio at all. On some days I'll do a thorough technical workout in one key - often the key of one of the pieces I'm learning before starting to practice the piece. I'd definitely say vary your technical studies so they're not the same ol' grind every day. But at the same time have a goal - i.e. all scales in 16th notes under complete relaxed control - legato, staccato, pianissimo to forte - at MM=100 for quarter notes; then MM = 110, 120, 132, etc.
For being mostly self-taught you're doing extraordinarily well to be doing the WTC. By all means continue to listen to Schiff - he's a marvelous interpreter of Bach and you will do well to imitate his interpretation.
But - to Josh's point - do not allow your momentary lags to "define" you - just enjoy the journey ! :-)
@@aBachwardsfellow I find all of what you've said both agreeable and encouraging. It is like any athlete or other professional would say about progress, whether immediate or long-term. You reduce the stress and the pressure by thinking in pieces. That idea of making difficult passages simple is what I also personally try to aim for. Logic be damned but a measure of music with a trouble spot doesn't equal anywhere near to all the effort and time one has put into playing before. Seeking that ease of first touching the piano and playing two notes with it should continue to the challenging and uncomfortable.
I enjoy experimenting so I'll definitely try your tips for scales and arpeggios. And, out of curiosity, if I were to try learning one of the partitas in the future, do you have any recommendations where to start?
very helpful!
Thank you a lot for this video! Sometimes the frustration is overwhelming...is good to hear that you are not alone in this. Just discovered your channel. Amazing job!
Thank you Josh for this video. It is a huge motivation for pianists like me who keep working every day on our skills and try not to give up!
Soo encouraged. I watched some videos the other day and was feeling so discouraged and then I saw this one of yours. Love it thank you!
Thank you so much for this words Josh. I've been working for over a year now (admittidly with some pauses) on a piece that is full of trills and mordents that just make me crazy! Theoretically the piece is just about my level but one day it works and the other day it is like I had never practiced a trill before. I'm so discouraged and feel like I hit my limit and will never get better at piano. You have raised my spirits a bit :)
Not even a musician but mindblown by everything you're sharing
I always avoid Romantic period pieces...
I always make them sounds like chaotic construction sites XD
So grateful to you for posting this video. It was so important, especially at this particular time where everything is getting depressing again due to another global surge.
Thank you for assuring us to hold on and to never give up in our piano studies or life in general.🙂
Love you for saying this
.
I found this vid enlightening and inspiring, and I'm not even a pianist. Guitar's my instrument - strictly rock - but everything you cover here is completely relevant to my own struggles (many) and victories (sporadic). It probably helps that most of the examples you cite involve Chopin's Etudes, as I've been captivated by the Opus 25 set since childhood, but even if you'd gone with music that was less familiar to me I'm sure I'd have gotten a great deal out of it. THIS is the mark of a great teacher indeed. Kudos.
Extremely informative and encouraging. Thank you very much
Josh, thank you so much for this much-needed perspective and balance - sometimes we just need to "give ourselves permission" to not be "perfect" at everything - :-)
It is true the main thing is not to give up especially if you love the piece. I've struggled for already 2 years on Chopin's Ballade 1, there are some passages which I am not able to conquer..but I don't give up, sooner or later I will master them...go ahead is my moto...!Thank you Josh!
What a gem of a topic! I really enjoyed listening to this discussion. I’ve often wondered if my favorite pianists or musicians still struggle with certain pieces or techniques even though they make it look effortless. It’s encouraging to know they are human, too! :)
omg, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!! This helped me so much!
I do not consider myself either pianist or musician in any usually accepted sense of those words but I do record huge amounts of improvisation because I have an ineluctable desire to create. I found your comments on double notes interesting. There are only five possible double note trill combinations in each hand and for each of those there are three ways of striking - alternating, up/down and inside/outside. What I do is select any note group within reach and work all fifteen ways on my silent Virgil Practice Clavier, first one hand and then the other reflected about D or Ab. I have done that for years and it seems to have done a lot of good but I haven't the slightest idea why. The trouble with technique is that it is very simple to find a new movement I have difficulty with. Then if I work on that until it is easy I can quickly find another I cannot do. Thus it is possible for piano playing to become an infinite series of physical puzzles which may or may not have any relevance to musical quality in improvisation. I do not think concentrating on the hundreds of things I cannot do is the slightest help in musical creation. That is why I limit my technical work to ten minutes morning and night on the Virgil Clavier. I know this device goes against all fashionable pedagogy but it works for me.
Thank you Josh, because of you i am now playing one of my favourite pieces, Chopin Ballade 1 in G minor
So true. For me one of the easiest parts in Rach 3 is the ossia cadenza, but some of the short passages in the piu vivo section in the beginning of the first movement... oh god how much I had to practise that! Also getting the first part of double stops in Feux Follets took alot of practice with the upper fingers alone in super slow tempo before my fingers could do it all together in tempo without loosing notes. The wierd thing was that I allready had no problem with op.25 no.6 for years... they are quite different though. For me the biggest passage of obsession in any piece is still the middle part in e major of Chasse Neige. My left hand does not follow the the drive my head wants and the right hand is able to do. Most people make compromises in that part, but seeing what my right hand is able to express I have allways felt like it's just around the corner. Maybe tomorrow...
This video actually helped me get over my feeling of not being good enough... I just gotta keep going. But gonna get some lessons again since I never have before...
Thank you very much Josh for your sincerity, your straightforward honesty and reinvigorating passion for piano playing!! I love and embrace your words totally! 😀
Amazing video!! I would love to hear more about your thoughts on 1) how to be a good teacher 2) youor favorite pieces you teach to late beginners (kids) and anything else about teaching. Have been following you for years and love all your videos!!
Thank you for all you insights Josh, your thoughts and ideas on this topic were very inspiring and interesting! :)
Maybe work on the two chopin etudes with Bob Durso? (Since the taubman approach has an explanation for the people who can/can't play these pieces)
Super great video,
thank you so much bro Josh :)
I have great respect for you.
Sam 🎵✌🏻
Im a bit afraid to work so hard because of injuries… i never had one and i want to keep it that way. Wondering how some people are dealing with it on such a high level ?
Most of the difficulties you are talking about have to do with hand sizes. Larg hands get it easy with arpeggios, chords, octaves and jumps but struggle with thirds and scales. Even thirds are my nemesis 😂
Such wonderful advice, thank you Josh!
Thank👍 you so much! I was feeling quite down and that I’d never be any good- this came at just the right time for me
Thank you.
I like your persona, and how you present encouragement to keep working on our skills. Very practical.
Absolutely loved listening to you 💗💗. Very small hands, crooked pinkies.....don’t let anything stop you guys💗💗
Very cool video. Im struggling a little right now and I think it might be, because i do too much. I try to do hungarian rhapsody no. 6 AND Alkans festin d`esope. Both are (in my humble opinion) pretty hard. Alkan is most likely alot harder than liszt because of the sheer length and the mixture of techniques, while u mainly need good octaves and big hands (which I dont have) for the HR6. But your video really helped. I love to practice on my weaknesses and I will continue to do so. Also (since I dont have a teacher anymore like back in the day) im just trying to get better in self awareness of my weaknesses.
Josh, it’s not that you can not do it yet. You just haven’t accomplished it yet. If one says ‘I can not’, they never will, no matter how hard and for long they practice “it”.
I started out as a music major in college. I really liked it but I knew I wasn't going to be able to make a living at it. Heck even my master teacher told me it's not always what you know, it's WHO you know. She said she struggled for 5 years to get a solid base of students to teach, and paying the bills was always difficult. And I was meeting other students who were so much better than I was at the piano, and I knew they were going to have a difficult time making a living. Playing at a wedding, playing at a Christmas party, sporadic checks here and there, and always stressed about making a living. That's no way to live.
Music is a wonderful thing, but it feeds the soul, not your body.
Music can inspire and give you joy. However, unless you live in a dream world, don't follow your dreams, because eventually you'll have to wake up.
Bro just said “don’t follow your dreams” lmfaoo. No. When one follows their dreams they could become a reality. You just said “if you chase a big goal and work really hard, one day you’ll fail” which is a humongous lie, and super discouraging. Just make sure your dreams are realistic for your current situation, and do everything you can to follow them.
Brilliant encouragement. Thank you!
Trills in thirds?
I'm still still struggling at Mozart's simple trills XD
Me too. I told my teacher I would not touch Mozart pieces until my clarity gets better.
@@hkgweigwei But touching Mozart pieces is one of the best ways to help your clarity get better!
I'm not sure if this video was a response to my comment but thank you so much for making this! I've been having trouble with negativity on the piano so this helps a bunch thank you!
Great video, especially helpful whenever working on some of those technically nasty but beautiful Chopin etudes
You’re such a nice person.
This is a GREAT Video.... I love to listen to this honest talking!
Great topic , and an insightful discussion.t
Piano problems come in all sizes, small hands and problems with large chords is my bête noir.
I’m a very critical concert goer and I’d rather hear less velocity and more beauty in tone production and phrasing , where did that all go?
Wonderful video. Thank you so much for posting this. The left-hand tremelos in the Pathetique and Waldstein have always been an insurmountable challenge for me. For decades. I would gladly procure your instruction via Zoom if that would be possible. Thanks again for this video.
@Luka Meah thank you very much. I will try that!
Thank you Josh! ❤️❤️❤️
This content is very helpful. I've been very discouraged lately to play piano. Thank you!
Sometimes we also have to tell ourselves that written music is just dots on a page! How we give them life and execute the dots is the work process we put into it. Learning a piece has many steps. I circle a lot in the music to reinforce the memorization. We also have to really allow time to internalize it! Some pieces may take months or years to learn and master.
Thank you, Josh!
This is very reassuring, thanks.
Great Video! Thanks, it was really helpful!
OMG. 2 days???!
I worked on Sylvie Bodorova Carousel like months to get to the exact tempo as stated in the book!
Thank you Josh! You've been very helpful!
Excellent video as it was motivating and hope filled!
Thank you so much for your honesty and insight. Much appreciated!! 🙏
Thank you! This support will be at the top of my list to help me keep motivated!
I think as beginner musicians we're luckier than ever , we have infinite amount of resources, your videos are great examples for that
Please, please do a video on how to work through the Ravel Jeux d’eau! I’m learning that piece for a college audition in the fall and I would appreciate some advice on how to learn this piece in an effective and efficient way.
Glory to Jesus Christ! This video is just what the doctor ordered! Perfect timing! Thank you Josh Wright! 🌻🌻🌺
Thank you very much for all your support and all these insightful stories !
Right on time! Thankyou...
Thank you Josh, this was very helpful. I am still struggling with Bach's Fugue #1 in C major for TWC. But I will get it.
Wow well said, Josh!
Thank you Josh, this was exactly what I needed to hear. It helps me a lot
Thank you so much. I really needed this. Thank you
The most important thing in piano playing is knowing what to listen for . I was in my 2nd year of college before A simple Hadyn sonata was used to teach me key depth and key rebound and really feeling and listening . If you don't get it before age of 10 it will always be I thought he was going to talk about the Berg Sonata . He is so good looking for ana challenge and something to get right .He is really a goodlooking Anglo-Saxon . So even at a professional level scale planists find even dynamic scales difficult . The fact I don't find op.10 no.2 difficult means I don't know what to listen for .. The etude in double thirds is difficult . I thought I was good at hearing sloppiness vs. neat , clear, clean finger armwork . I'm not . His op.25 no.12 1st time I listened to 4 times cannot detect "it "
Very encouraging thank you from this older adult learner!
Love this! Thanks for sharing.
hi josh, can i ask for a suggestion? im a young musician at my 4th year of piano and my first year at conservatory. Due to the big amount of pieces to work on, and my natural slow sight reading, i spend all my time everyday practicing, and that's fine. The problem is that i feel like i still have not enough time to read pieces and perfect others, and i always play superficially, and i wish i had even more time to practice. do you have any tips to help me/do you relate? thanks for the help!
(also, i play on a digital, do you think that it effects my joy in playing due to the small range of sound i can create?)
one things that’s hard to understand until it happens is not being able physically move your fingers that fast or nimble. with practice you actually do become faster and your hands become more able. i spent a lot of time feelin really bad. now i still do but now i know that even a really hard thing can actually be conquered. no human being is more capable than another.
i struggle with about everything i play. Nothing comes easy for me. Some of the difficult and intricate maneuvers, i found, must be trained in the mind first of all, and then the fingers follow better
sorry, manoeuvers
Yes! What a great comment, I totally agree. If you’ve discovered this you must be doing pretty amazing - so perceptive. This is why practicing away from the piano is so helpful.
Also, the struggle is where the gold lies ❤
Hello! Can I ask if your online courses are made for total beginners? Are there step by step tutorials ?
Thank you so much, Josh!
*This video was a sign from God. Thank you, Josh*