7 Things I Wish I'd Known When Learning Piano
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- Опубліковано 15 чер 2024
- 7 Things I Wish I Knew When Learning Piano | Piano Tutorial by Jazer Lee
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🎥 This is a video about the 7 mistakes I made when learning piano. If you find learning piano slow and frustrating, you should watch this. There are many helpful tips for you going forward. Have a nice day and stay happy!
🕘 Timestamps
0:00 Intro
0:34 Learn more music theory
4:04 Practice until you can't stuff up
4:55 Use less pedal during practice
5:40 Record yourself more
7:25 Follow the fingerings
8:31 Practice more consistently
9:34 Practice slower and more mindfully
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Which of these tips do you want more in-depth tutorials for?
Learn more music theory!
Any tips for learning and consolidating music theory in our everyday practice session?
Thanks~
It would be great if you analyse pieces for the first time as you did in this video 👍 thanks for the tips
To me, an issue is reading and playing (broken) chords and patterns. Any tips and recommendations would ge greatly appreciated. Thank you
I would like to know more on the topic of slow and mindful practice sessions. I reckon I practice on auto-pilot 80% of the time. Maybe you can develop more on that topic and how you recommend to start developing into more mindful practice? Session length? Breaks? Any techniques about breathing or body position / technique?
@@stefanhaesen1881 I used to have the same problem. The main thing that helped was just practicing loads of different music to get used to reading more. Another really important thing is to try and read the intervals between the notes instead of reading each note separately.
Wise people once said, ‘if you can play it slow, you can play it fast’.
SACRILEGIOUS
*starts playing Flight of the Bumblebee*
Interestoui
OneSetViolin 😂
Yeah, only years later, but playing slow is key
I always hate it when I get really inspired to play piano, but then everyone in my house is asleep.
I have a piano and a weighted keyboard, keyboard with headphones is really good for when you need to be quiet. Also having to practice on a different set of keys means you don't just get used to your own piano, ime.
Some acoustic pianos have a mute in one of the pedals.
Same my mom yells at me to go to sleep
word
You've heard of this new thing?
It's called a keyboard...? Lol
Don't forget the adapter plug for headphones...you need 3mm to 1/4 inch.
Once I started thinking "Chords" rather than "Notes" things got much easier....
Thinking "Chords" rather than "Notes" is what I NEED to do BUT I really need to learn chords.
@@jimmyponds5504 yes you do
@@Nobddy Not sure if your comment is "encouragement" or "sarcasm." Ha Yes, I need to begin recognizing/becoming more familiar with chords. Have never been really "taught" that system; taught mainly by note reading. Even while using "adult" methods books, my teacher(s) has/have not emphasized that I should be recognizing chords, even if the book, such as "Alfred's Adult All-In-One" includes the information. I guess I have been "afraid" of learning chords for fear it would result in learning "hand placement" on the piano instead of recognizing/transferring the notes to chord recognition. I know just enough theory to make me dangerous to myself on the piano! ha I guess this is where more "practice" is needed in building more musical self-confidence.
This is/was a good presentation! Where did all the replies go? haha
@@jimmyponds5504 lol for real you’ve got to learn chords! But more importantly you have to learn theory. I played guitar for 8 years before I began to learn theory. That whole time music was like some magical mystery. I could figure stuff out, but I didn’t understand how or why things “worked” in music. I knew a handful of chords and their names, but I didn’t know their relationships. I didn’t know why an A chord was different than an A7 chord except that it sounded a little different, etc. As I studied theory, everything began to click into place-simply put, a key is a set of 7 notes that forms the backbone of a piece-Chords are, at their simplest, triads that fit in a key. Chords consist of a root (first), a third, and a fifth (those are degrees from the root of the chord). More complex chords have additional notes. Like, you can add a seventh to the triad for instance. Anyway it’s super complex and really fun to learn and even more fun to apply. If you like to be challenged, learning music theory is the way to go.
Edit: forgot to say that when I picked up piano, I got pretty good within a month because I already understood so many of the underlying concepts thanks to music theory. Good luck in your musical journey!
I've been playing piano 45 years and teaching it for the best part of 30 of those, so it's really reassuring to find someone so much younger than myself giving the same tips and advocating the same methods - several of which I actually learned more through teaching, than through playing when I was younger. Great video!
Thank you Carl!
when did you start? I just started played at 14 years old, and although I’m a bit discouraged, I’d definitely love to keep on going!
@@savvymarie7882 I'm 30 years old and started about 6 months ago. Never too late to start a new instrument. I started with drums when I was a kid, then guitar in my 20's and now branching to piano :)
@@Forcedlaw thank you that helps :) I really appreciate it
@@savvymarie7882 don't be discouraged mate, never too late, i'm 23 and started playing guitar a year ago, took me years of trying to actually just start, and now i want to play piano aswell, the start is very slow and takes time to get good but it's sooo worth it in the end.
Watching this after 10 years playing piano, nice
😆😆😆
Same...
Watching after 9 years lol
watching this after I sold my piano
@@shiinjoy155 lmao
"He's been playing for 18 years."
👀 "But how old is he?"
20
Is he really, or is that a joke?
He sounds like he's at least 24 or 25-yrs old.
He looks like late 30s asian.
Or maybe early 40s
@@ChristineEverth late 30s? mid 30s mayyyyybe
1) Learn more theory,
2) Practice until you can't get it wrong
3) Use less pedal during practice
4) Record yourself a lot
5) Follow the fingerings stipulated on the page
6) Practice more consistently
7) Practice slower and more mindfully
Ty for your hearting my comment. I am 1) trying to be more consistent with my study, and 2) trying to be more positive and am deleting my negative comments. Could you please un-shadow-ban me?
You are probably one of the most methodical piano teachers on UA-cam. Every single thing you said was well-thought and no cliche. I started following you a year ago. Welcome back😊
Thank you! You have a great channel Dr Grace :)
As a piano teacher, I can say that most of what he says is cliched and well known - making it good advice in my book. I'd like to know if the percentages mentioned are arbitrary or based on any scientific studies though.
@@miketurnbull4333 the percentages are just exponential growth and decay, which are math things not scientific. Similar to compound interest
@@antimatter2376 Hi Jazer, thank you for taking the time to respond.
My query was actually regarding the 80/20% 'brain power' figures that you mention in the 'Record Yourself More' section. Are those figures arbitrary or did you get that from a publication/source?
With regards to the growth/decay figures - can you quantify what a 1% gain/loss looks like in practical terms?
Many thanks,
Mike
@@miketurnbull4333 Oh sorryyy, im not jazer :/ But what i can tell you is that he was probably making an estimation, since you really dont truly hear yourself when youre playing. If you listen to a recording of yourself playing, you will hear so much more.
As for how the 1% is quanitifed, again it was just a random number to signify small improvement. You can almost certainly get one percent better daily. For example, if you play a piece at 100 bpm, getting one percent better is playing it at 101 bpm. Even with 200 bpm, a 1% increase is 202 bpm. As for a less quantifiable measure, take music theory. If you already know the chord types (major, minor, diminished, augmented, etc), getting one percent better might be to switch between two major chords 1% percent faster, or maybe you finally sightread a minor chord correctly after 100 attempts, a 1 percent improvement. Or even learning can be an improvement. One might say that just by learning what inversions are can be a more than 1% percent improvement. But this is all being distracted from the main point, which is to practice DAILY and CONSISTENTLY. Even if youre only improving by 1%. Hope this helps!!
Playing slowly is so important. When I started playing bass guitar as a teenager I noticed that playing fast means being up against one's physical limits. Backing off from those limits means the parts that rely on the limits fall apart because it was the "bump-stops" that kept the notes in place, not skill.
Rock on!
Wow this is amazing and helping indeed. I am doing self_ study and this I find it helpful . Continue helping and God will continue to bless give you more knowledge and wisdom .I appreciate your gift
I hope I’m not totally alone in this: My posture makes a huge impact on my playing. In difficult passages, if I become aware of my posture, I realize I’m hunched over the keys. I know I would benefit from an observer/teacher (I’m self-taught) prompting me to sit up straight when I lose my self awareness!
Like Beethoven 🤣🤣
Look into the Alexander Technique. Musicians benefit greatly from it.
Observer - your cellphone.
I definitely relate to the music theory suggestion. I started learning piano at 5 years old, and I continued with piano lessons through high school. I made progress, but it simply wasn't interesting to me. I had too many other interests. However, it was later that I learned about music theory and it opened up an entirely different viewpoint, which WAS interesting. It wasn't classical music that I played, I played popular music. But armed with music theory I was able to create variations and solos on the popular pieces. I improvised. It was so enjoyable to do. I wish my beginning teachers would have taught me the background of music instead of just saying "play this or play that." I know that I would done better and made faster progress. I could have analyzed the pieces, which is my nature. You just look at music differently as you showed with your examples. It's also more fun, at least for me.
01:56 This piece of information is really good: that when you play a piece that you have played many many times over, you don't play it from the sheets, you play it from your head and muscles
I think he was saying something else. I think what he's saying is that when an experienced player plays sheet music he has never seen before, he will recognize groups of notes that they have played many times in other pieces of music and it will be easy to repeat those phrases even though the song is new. The same thing happens when we are reading sentences. We have seen the words before, and even phrases of words, so we don't study each letter on the page, we just recognize the words or groups of words and fly through them quickly.
But your comment is also true. After playing a piece many times, you won't have to study each note; your brain and hands will remember the familiar passages and the movements you need to make. But the songs may not be committed to memory. I can't play a single song from memory, but when the sheet music is in front of me I begin to remember the passages and the movements I need to make. I don't want to memorize the songs. I want to keep improving my sight reading skills to open up all songs to me, just like I don't want to memorize a book.
@@TheSteveGainesRockBand mucho texto
@@bigeral6436 No voy a traducirlo.
@@TheSteveGainesRockBand no debes, sé inglés, sino que no esperé que el texto fuera tan largo, una re pajaaaa
100% i barely know how to sight read so i sight read a part once learn it by heart and so on for a whole piece and never read the sheet music again and because ive played the piece so many times without sheet music i dont even have to really think about what im doing with my fingers.
mate u r so underrated! great video!
4. I find recording myself playing very helpful because aside from being able to spot mistakes, recording adds pressure -as if someone is watching over you.
This pressure can really change how you play and it is important that you can handle this pressure well!
Good tip Paphinvit! Recording adds pressure to our performance, which is a great thing for preparing for performing.
It's fine if you intend to throw the recording anyway so the pressure is lessened
Until I want to share and get pressured...
Ugh I know!! I tend to black out and forget even the name of the instrument the moment I have some sort of audience, including a camera recording. So annoying, because I love to play for people, but my brain just fizzles at that point.
@@nsejita YES!
I’ve got to try recording!
Self-teaching myself for 3weeks now and have never missed a day of practice. I see myself improve everyday, much more than I expected
Congrats to you! I'm doing my best to commit to daily practice as well and I'm already surprising myself with my ability to improvise
@@raylubin keep it up, im surprising myself every. Im in my third month
Any advice for absolute beginners what to start with first?
@@crrc77 uhh try hard to do some music theory so that you can keep up with the music terms in tutorials and explanations you seek
How's practicing going?
Glad I found you. I’m a beginner at 68. Love piano and organ. I’ve taken about 7 months of private lessons with a teacher. But will continue on my own in a few weeks. This is only playing for fun for me. I’m sure with your lessons and practice and time I’ll get this down. I’ve come a long way in 6 months.
This video was very informative, thank you!
"Practice is not for performing, practice is for practicing..", I'm gonna keep this in mind 😊
Rock on Mimi 😊😊
Great tips! I only started playing a little over a year ago--after meaning to for decades. So I'm trying to make progress by practicing frequently and carefully. Next weekend will be my first ever piano recital. I'll definitely be the oldest person in the recital, but I'm having a grand time learning!
You are inspiring, let me know how the recital goes :)
Way to go!
Hope it went well
How did it go?
How’s it go? :D
i'd know the update!! :D
Brilliant teaching. Where were you 50yrs ago when we needed you? Your students don't know how lucky they are. Good man. All the best to you.
Great vid! I would add another reason for practicing slowly: your brain makes neural pathways when you play correctly - and incorrectly. By playing slowly and correctly, you instruct your brain and reinforce the neural pathways and remember correct playing with a firm pathway!
Good stuff!
Good to know!
I always tell my students to only play as quickly as they can successfully manage the weakest part of the piece. Otherwise the parts that you're good at keep getting better but the parts you struggle with simple stay the same. If you slow down, the weaker sections will catch up, and then you can proceed.
And yes, of you keep playing the mistakes, you'll learn them. Muscle memory isn't just for the good stuff!
I learned violin for ten years and now I try to start piano. Honestly, I feel very relatable for all these 7 things, both on violin and piano lol
Wow me too! I love violin so much but wanted to try piano out -- out of curiosity what learning resources r u using? Are you self teaching urself?
@@samn6760 I started just around a week ago. Initially, I would like to cram canon but I found it pretty harmful without all the fundamentals, so I start playing scales to get to know some fingerings and follow John Thompson's Easiest Piano Course Book. Do you have any suggestions? Keep practice :)
@@weiyaxiao5954 yeah thanks for responding! I’ll check out that book - I’ve been using Alfred’s Adult beginner book, but then half way I got bored and decided to jump to the songs I wanna dive into (anime stuff, kingdom hearts, etc). Once I learned how to read both hands after about a month of using the Alfred book, I can read sheet music for basic songs well enough, so that’s what I’ve been doing. Not worrying about the classical approach to playing piano, I’m just playing thru songs since I’m impatient. I’m also exploring the option of playing by ear, since I like doing that on the violin but I find it difficult on piano. I did the Suzuki method in school for violin, but I don’t wanna read thru a book for piano, buuut I’m sure I’ll come back to Alfred’s, especially when I hit a point where I realize reading sheet music of random songs i like to listen to won’t help me in the long-run.
@@samn6760 yep thanks!! I will also check out the book. I also did Suzuki for my violin, and I might also get bored to start all over again on piano haha. I think I watch more piano tutorials or music theory videos online than reading books. Currently I kinda mix fundamentals and canon during practice. I wish I could play one nice (probably classical) piece one day :)
Clarity/Less pedal and muscle memory/same fingerings made sense to me. Thanks for calling me back to the basics!
Happy practicing!
Thank you, as a beginner, I see the wisdom in your tips. My favorite is “ practice a song until you can’t get it wrong.
Piano teacher here. I really enjoyed this video, always telling my students these EXACT things: Consistent fingerings for easier memorization, clarity which is also related to mindful practice of examining posture, hand/wrist/elbow/finger postions, and areas of tension (also helps to video oneself for these) as well as covering it with too much pedal (or volume or speed).
Sharing this my students!
I'd like to mention I tell my kids reading music is like a jig saw puzzle.Once you can see where the pieces are you can put them together.Also forgive yourself when you make a mistake.I show them professionals on youtube stuffing up, this happens it's life, who cares just keep going and create a beautiful picture.Enjoyed your video.Also have empathy I remember thinking it was impossible to read two clefs, eventually the penny drops.ENJOY!!!!! that's what music is all about.If you get frustrated go to something that really cheers you up!
The whole learning chords/scales/patterns for sight reading makes so much sense and also explains why after 10+ years of playing classical my brain short circuits when trying to sight read jazz because all the chords are so foreign
This is exceptionally helpful. I went to a semi-specialist music school and was not taught most of these things. I have figured them out myself over the years, but it's great to hear them reinforced. You will help so many people with this!
« The worst thing you want to hear is something like this: »
*starts playing exactly like me*
I was thinking the exact same thing.
🤣
I was thinking what's wrong with that 🤔😂
HILARIOUS!!! But I actually thought it sounded pretty good! (my VERY beginner ear!) 🤷♀️
Thank you for these comments Jazer Lee! These are things I say to my students every week, but I am excited to present them from you, so that they can see it isn't just my own demands as their teacher!
That's awesome Ruthanna, let's spread the message! 😝
Okay identical fingerling is a really good idea. For difficult passages it's useful to create fingerings too if it doesn't exist. Noted.
Agreed. As I get older, I realize more and more the importance of working out, noting and practicing consistent fingerings. Developing that clarity pays off even when I am improvising...at least most of the time.
Can I ask for the source of your profile picture? It looks rly nice
Fingering I would agree although if you have very small hands (I have tiny hands)
You gotta keep in mind who wrote the fingering and for whom
Also agreed to keep playing notes with consistency in the fingering A must
@@hiphop4eva374 its megumi photo
Me who learns pieces from black MIDI, which doesn't have fingerings:
I love how you explained what goes through your head as you play a piece, thank you! I've wondered that for years, and how someone can read all those notes so quickly. I need to learn some chords!
Thanks for being so helpful, it's a blessing for people living in third world countries where a musuic teacher is hard to find or afford.
Thank you. I’m a 63 old beginner and this is very useful.
I'm same as you, I'm 61
I'm 64 j
I’m 13 ;-;
Hi Jazzed,
I have been learning piano for 6 yrs since I retired. I have made great progress to date by practicing an hour every day. I've just happened upon your tutorials. They make so much sense and your presentation style is brilliant. Can't wait to incorporate your ideas and wisdom in my daily practice. Many thanks.
Jazzer I meant
I'm so happy you are learning piano since retiring. I hope you have lots of fun and progress. If I can be of smallest help to you I would be incredibly honoured 😊
@@jazerleepiano Thanks for your reply Jazzer. You did a great video on practicing scales. Something similar on arpeggios would be useful to your followers. Best wishes for your inspiring passion. Greg
Jazer, I taught myself to play guitar when I was 13 and I fell victim to literally every single one of these potential pitfalls. Piano is a clean slate to me, I'm not going to bungle it again. This vid was a huge help towards that goal, so thank you.
Jazer,
I just discovered your lessons on UA-cam and find them most informative. I particularly like your plain spoken-ness, and addressing important details to improve playing.
I will integrate them into my daily practice session, and am confident it will help to more quickly, and correctly, improve my playing.
Thank you,
Jim M
"That's got to be one of the worst things to hear in a concert" - I can barely discern the difference. Sigh. So, tip #8 is this is why we have professional teachers to identify and point these things out. Teaching.
If I were to try to explain the difference, it would be that the first time around, not only did you hear the movement, but you actually clearly heard every note.
The second time around, you still heard the overall movement, butthenotessoundedlikethis. There was no clarity or distinction between them.
The fact that you can discern the difference is a great start. That means, your brain is processing that something is off, but you don't quite know how to describe it.
The best way I can explain it is that the length of time in-between notes is not consistent, and close to the end of the piece, you hear a little (though brief) lag between the last...I'd say, four notes?
Most of the time, music is about timing and expectation. If you listen to a song enough times, your brain is wired to anticipate certain periods of silence, and when that gap is either too long, or too short, you're like, "Wait. That doesn't sound right". It's not that the notes were wrong. It is just the spacing between notes was not consistent. I hope that helps.
I've been playing amateur for 10 years and I could barely hear the difference at first either, but then I realized the timing between the notes was not consistent: he would slightly speed up and cram certain notes together, then play a few correctly, then cram them together more again... so it sounded slightly messy. I also had the impression he was sometimes failing to play a note at the end of each time his hand goes up (rightwards) (think of playing a C major cadence but only from C to B rather than C to C), but that impression might simply be due to the wonky nature of the playing rather than him actually failing to play the last note. Like he played and released it too fast to register.
Ive been playing for 8 years and i heard the difference instantly
Try playing it back at half speed.
Metronome! It's good to use a metronome, sometimes.
Most of the time, yes. For baroque/classical pieces, and some 20th century pieces also
Thank you so much for your videos. I started picking up the piano again a year ago after a pause of 7 years. I always played pieces way above my skill level, so I stepped down a difficulty and reduced the speed a LOT. That did wonders to my progress. Your videos help me improve my practice sessions greatly.
I am grateful for your light hearted, honest teaching, Jazer. I saw patterns in classical music I didn’t understand and wanted to know harmonic relationships between notes. Learning music theory this late in life is still exciting, but slow; however, being very patient and enjoying the journey is worth the eye opening experience. Delving into a used college level textbook and workbook make me realize how much more I need to know in basic music theory. For instance, I am beginning to experience the purpose of knowing the nomenclature of the many scales and how to practice them. Apparently this is at least a 2 year journey, according to the text.
I wasn’t taught Music Theory with my piano lessons and I’m not a good sight reader. I wish I did.
Same here, but I found a wonderful early 20th century method for learning the piano from scratch and it helped a lot. Tip: start at very beginning, a very good place to start (thanks Sound of Music). I can now read music so much better and hardly ever look at my fingers anymore.
Everyone has weaknesses, just work on them!
@@dincerekin indeed, frankly it's not that hard to improve at sight reading.
Esther, rhythm exercises really helped my reading. Now I see groups of notes as words and I only have to worry about hitting the correct notes even in quite complicated jazzy phrases.
Do a sight reading every single time you practice. I buy old "easy" books at music sales, trash and treasure shops (house clearances), even children's books. Always sight read one or two grades below your ability. Warm ups, scales/arpeggios/exercises, sight reading, repertoire. That's my order of practice every time. Keep a practice diary and record your progress. Write the date in pencil at the top of the piece when you sight read. You can come back to it again in 1 or 2 years because you won't remember it, it will still be "at sight". Always play a second time to see where you went wrong and correct it. The first play should be straight through, no figuring it out just keep going. I love sight reading, I discover new pieces I like that I can learn easily and I like to do different things, it's easy to get stale or bored working away at the same pieces every day. I;ve picked up these tips off you tube and comments. Good luck.
Audio picks up the wrong notes, phrasing & sound related issues. Video picks up problems with hand position & posture. Years ago somebody in the family took the first & last violin exam and barely passed. She never made 1 recording in the 2 years of music lessons and started recording 2 weeks before the exam. Rather late. For more than a year, playing was more trial & error than listening and analyzing all the things that need to be improved. The 1 thing I do differently since starting piano is making regular recordings.
Some people think they don't have any talent for music but probably many people are not practicing properly.
"Audio picks up the wrong notes, phrasing & sound-related issues. Video picks up problems with hand position & posture." Interesting way of putting it. Never tried either. I grew up in an era (1960s) where recording yourself was actively discouraged. Times change.
Been playing for 3 weeks now didnt think I had what it takes to play an instrument
I couldn’t do a a simple 5 key scale 3 weeks ago my fingers literally didn’t have y to w movement
Now I can do most scales competently up and down and reasonably fast aswell 100-110 bpm
I’m learning music I can play a few songs
I can play arpeggios my finger dexterity is ludicrously good compared to when I started.
I’ve actually fully amazed myself I practice one hour a day that’s it I use Hannon and The rest is mostly stuff I’ve picked up off you tube
I can’t wait to hear myself In 6 months the excitement is too much
Just wanted to say if you got the time ju at try it it’s amazing how quick you pick it up
I learn something new everyday and my skill is noticeably better each day to
So if your thinking about starting but are hesitant because of the skill stop thinking and do it, If I can you can
So many people confuse talent with training! Just like learning a language, it takes time to do music well, on any instrument.
@@kristinasullivan8198 A while ago I met a Suzuki teacher. The philosophy behind Suzuki is that every child has the "talent" for music and can be nurtured to be musical. The end of the day, those with a keen interest in music would succeed.
It it because of your 1st tip that i didn't give up playing. I could play even hardest pieces when i started playing them slowly. As i was able to build muscle memory foe them
Your students are very fortunate to have a good teacher. The rest of us are fortunate that you share your teaching skills with the world.
Thank you Jazer it will help me practice. Thanks again from 🇵🇭
This is an excellent video, and what crystal clear articulation on your playing! I've been reflecting more on the value of theory, and wanting to integrate it more into my playing. I think there is some resistance in me, since even though I have some theory training, I feel like "analyzing" a piece takes a decent amount of mental energy that I'd rather devote to "practicing". I realize this is just an internal block and my practicing will be easier once I get over the hump and sit down to analyze the piece. This video helped remind me to do that, so thank you. I am curious though how you convince yourself to do some things you resist like analysis (in my case) or repetitive fingering exercises to get trills or other difficult stretches. Thanks for sharing!
Great advice! Thank you!
I relate the most to #7 - theory. I grew up taking written theory, but as a pianist, so much emphasis was put on memorizing all the notes. I wish that more emphasis had been put on recognizing patterns as a pianist - such as scales and arpeggios. Too much emphasis on note-names can really slow down the sight-reading process! Now that I’m a teacher, I still do flash cards with the kids, but we spend time going through each song and identifying intervals, scales, triads etc, before they even play the song. That is my biggest tip! You outlined this very well.
Which book would you recommend??
@@erickquiroz3776 I grew up in Canada, so I learned the Royal Conservatory of Music Curriculum.
@@erickquiroz3776 There are lots of online courses, you can free trial most of them, I find video is better than for this kind of thing video also includes reading, they usually incorporated bits to read. Udemy, Lynda, UA-cam channels, etc ...
You're absolutely right. Fully agree with your advice. Thanks for sharing.
Glad it was helpful!
I needed to see this video. Even though I've been playing for a few years, I still make many of the mistakes he listed.
Solid gold advice, all of it, but especially #1. I'm going to recommend this to my pupils so that I can say, 'You see? It's not just me who thinks you should slow down.' I try to get them to care about each note, to give each note some quality, rather than rushing into an 'impression' of the music (complete with a nice blur of pedal, naturally).
Preach it Catherine!
Ah, so lovely to hear you say these things! Thank you, I will start next term by sharing this video with my students! Mindful practising is something I talk about a lot. Backwards practising too (start at last few bars, working back, adding bars - so many benefits :) )
Thank you again x
Oh nooo....I relate to all of them! I just started basic piano lessons and I do every one of these in practice. Ugh!!
Thanks for pointing these out so concisely and informatively. I just subscribed!! Looking forward to more tips!
Thank you, I appreciate these pointers. Stated clear and true.
All of the suggestions are excellent! When I was a kid and teen, I wasn’t rigorous with learning fingering. Despite that, I played pretty well, and learned a lot of pieces. Decades later, when I go back to play those pieces, and I find myself making mistakes in the same places I did years ago, it’s always because I was not using the recommended fingering. Happily, I’ve been able to fix those spots!
Anyway, I teach lots of students and I’m rather strict about fingering and counting. You didn’t mention counting, but I’ve found that insisting that a student count out loud during the learning process really improves their rhythmic ability.
Hello Jazer! So many good tips for beginners in your videos! Thank you for all of them.
Definitely No 1.
Great teaching point.
Thank you Maestro.
I am 65 and just starting my 3rd year with a great teacher. I learned music theory in college and really enjoy it. I like the listening tip as that is important. I did not hear about relaxing the hands and arms and shoulders. Good video.
One thing my teacher taught me when I was a kid was:-
Practice very slowly, repeatedly till you make no mistakes. Keep practicing.
Once you've perfected it, then practice it at the fastest speed possible, way faster than the piece is intended for, keep practicing till I make no mistake. The reason she told me to do this is so my mind/brain would be way ahead of the actual speed/timing of the piece, and when I do my performance/test/exam, I'd be able to play it more comfortably.
Then go back to the actual speed the piece is meant to be, and develop characters and colours for the piece, and I realize the piece would be so much easier in the end.
I've managed to pass all my ABRSM tests from Grade 3-7 with distinctions, but my Grade 8 was only a merit, because my sight reading brought me down.
Anyway, I've just started playing the piano again last year after the pandemic lockdown begun, and I'm using a lot of your materials to learn, and to refresh my learning experiences.
It’s very noble of you to share such wisdom, you’re really helping people. Thanks
Your points are super important, especially when you say to take your time and not rush your practices; thank you so much.
Everything you said is spot on. At least 5 on the list are things I say every day to my students.
Jazer, I wish I had found your channel a long time ago. I've wasted my pandemic so far and I think my improvement is closer to the 0.03%.
Hope these tips can help you from now Sean!
I'm a piano teacher and have been teaching for over 20 years, and totally agree with what you've said, I tell my students all 7 of these almost every week before I saw your video! :)
Keep up the good work!
I just started watching you recently. I’m loving these videos because they work for my piano practice but also many of the tips I can also apply to my clarinet playing!
Started learning Mozart alla turca more than a year ago and still can’t play it without mistake....it’s because I mess up 99% then stop when I get it right. Thanks for the tips!
Practice in very small chunks in order to play them with no mistake for many times, slowly but with the same precise, sharp and little movement as it were fast
I have been teaching piano for over 20 years. This is good advice! Music theory and practicing slowly with quality are often neglected by many instructors
You are so perfectly practical, you have won me over…thank you.
I’ve be playing for 30 years and I absolutely agree with adding speed as the last step. I learned a lot from the other tips that I will use in my practice. Thanks for the video!!
Thanks for your insights: pure gold. Keep up the good work!
Much appreciated!
Thank you. I'm a begginer and I make all the mistakes you said. Greetings from Argentina 🇦🇷
Great advice! Enjoying the lessons very much, thanks!
Thank you! Fantastic! No really, I appreciate the thought that you put into this list. The wisdom of it jumps right out and makes sense.
This is motivating me to get back to practicing more even though I've barely played the piano in years. Thank you!
Go for it!
I like every one of them! I started out like that when I was younger, I find my self slowing down a lot to learn it better. I'm 62.Good tips!
Right on!
As a drum and guitar teacher (who’s about to start learning piano it seems since these videos keep showing up in my feed lol), I LOVE that basically all of these I teach to my students. Slow down, learn theory, be purposeful about practice, have a goal in mind, focus on technique, etc. And they all apply as what were valuable as a beginner at drums (if I accurately remember that far back lol) and certainly guitar. Music is music, and many of these key lessons are universal. Great video, I really enjoyed it, you’re a great musician!
Thank you so much. I just began studying piano as an adult 3 months ago and find myself doing many of these “don’ts” you point out. This was very helpful to hear from you, with great examples.
My biggest regret is not focus in time & rhythm accuracy and consistency.
Subbed. As someone who plays Drums and Guitar, I can say that most of what you said not only applies to other instruments, but anything else you want to learn and get good at. Also, "Practice doesn't make perfect" it makes Permanent, it highlights your point about going slowly and with the right fingerings. One doesn't want mistakes to become permanent.
Your tips are helping me so much! Thank you!
Thank you for clear, practical instruction. I see personal improvement as I follow the given tips. I am improving.
Thanks for the tips! I learned a lot from you. I've been playing the piano for almost 11 years already. Until now, I'm still playing like a beginner. I'm very slow when it comes to reading the notes.
That's great!! Keep practicing, you will be amazing Helena!
That is so good what you said about pedaling. It is so true! No pedal keeps us honest.
Correct Jen!
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.
Thank you so much for all your help. I will try and follow your advice
6:37 thats Chopin right there lol. I just loved how random it was!
😝😝😝
Yes. It's the Torrent Etude,right?
Good to see you again in UA-cam!
Hello!
Thank you. You are a great teacher….please keep doing what you are doing…don’t change…no need!
Great vid I relate to all of them , practising til you cant get it wrong & learning slowly are my 2 favourites but they are all important thank you for refreshing my mind - its easy to lose sight of discipline and objectives 💕
yoo i just realized you upload 2 videos also some days ago
welcome back sensei
Thank you!
What's really fun. Learning a Bach fugue using an urtext edition with no fingerings. Good luck!
😆
Thanks, Jazer. I needed this. I have been a self-taught player most of my life, having runs of doing practice then big gaps of not playing at all and I feel like I am actually getting worse. I'll step back and follow your rules here and do some quality practice. Appreciate the video and your style of teaching, awesome..
there is a huge value in the information contained in this video. Thank you, well put together and thought out.
All great things to know! My favorite is getting to 1% improvement each day. Oh, that power of compounding over 365 days!!
Let's all improve together!
i’ve been playing the piano for 8 years and i relate to everything you said in this video! although i still have some of this “bad habits”. i’m definitely an abuser of the pedal and i sometimes change fingerings (but that’s because i have super tiny hands and most fingerings you find printed out don’t work at all with my hands). but yeah, with time and experience you realize many things. also, i have been playing the violin for 4-5 years and the guitar for about a year and all these “tips” apply to those instruments as well.
Thanks for sharing your story Elena, inspiring!
@@jazerleepiano of course. thanks to you for making this kind of videos and being realistic!
Actually there's nothing wrong with changing fingerings if you have one that's more suitable for yourself
Your video is really motivating. I deeply appreciated your sharing. I am so glad to listen to this. Thanks.
Thanks for your ADVICE 👍😁
Ironically, sometimes there are passages that I could play more correctly if I play them faster, and I screw it up more if I go slower. I have no explanation, and it doesn't always apply, but there are those passages.
Because when playing slowly you're not just relying on muscle memory and apparently very consciously playing the notes brings up additional difficulties. This is a good indicator though that these passages need some more studying, since you have a big chance of running into problems when playing on different instruments than your own. Speaking from experience here.
I agree - It’s odd, too.
@@JC050980 From my own experience, I completely agree with you here.
That's because you're relying too much on muscle memory to play those passages, and you aren't actually aware of what you're doing, what notes you're playing, and why you're moving your fingers in that order.
First, the new ideas were, "practice until you can't stuff up," and "record yourself more." I don't record myself at all, because I am still at the beginner level. But, I can see the value of doing so later on. I am already struggling with making myself practice more slowly. I have to keep telling myself that this is not a short procedure....it's a journey.
These tips are golden advises. Thank you very much
Totally agree with you 😊 Musical pieces can be created with different tempos so playing accurately is the key to play any tempos at a later stage.