The way you speak per say makes your teaching invaluable and for which anyone can learn. Playing soft is crucial to the piano learning. After watching this video, I decided to go back and improve upon my shades of volume with your extraordinary example, Pathetique. I played it in a way, at last, I was satisfied with. Thank you, Paul.
Ah! I am really very pleased indeed. Music and art are very similar in the way they work and your description of "shades" of volume is (for me) the perfect way to think of it. Thanks for your comment and your encouragement - perhaps I will have a go at the whole Pathetique.
Spot on! As a pianist for over 20 years it's shocking to see how these basic principles are what I always come back to and try to refine in my playing. One other tip for playing chords quietly, which Paul did, but did not explain: depress the sustain (right) pedal before the chord is played. This raises the dampers from the strings before pressing the keys and therefore makes the keys ever-so-slightly lighter and easier to control. Of course you shouldn't add pedal just to play quietly, but it's worth knowing!
This is a very helpful tutorial, I congratulate you for that. Can you consider making one on the topic of playing the piano with a connected sound, particularly in reference to Chopin's prelude in e minor, around getting a smooth and connected bass voice. I (and probably others) would greatly appreciate this. Thanks.
OMIGOD ARE YOU THE AMAZING GENTLEMAN WHO PLAYS PIANO FOR ABUSED ELEPHANTS WHO WERE RESCUED AND NOW ARE LIVING THEIR REMAINING DAYS IN A PEACEFUL SANCTUARY????? I binge-watched ALL of your elephant videos years ago and I love, love, love you. We recently moved into a home that came with a baby grand piano and so I'm learning piano for the first time in my life, in my 30s. I was browsing different piano lesson videos and just came across yours. I am now 4 minutes into this video... and I was thinking... "He's so gentle and soft-spoken... I love his vibe... He reminds me of... NO! IS IT HIM??! NO!" And now I'm fan-girling like I'm meeting one of my heroes. Even though it's still through a youtube video versus in-person lol. Mr. Barton... you are an angel on Earth and now I am so privileged to be your pupil in my piano training. I'm so happy :)
Paul am SO amused seeing yr "younger" self to "matured" self... NOT FAIR kiddo - no one is allowed to get handsomer than they were in their "heyday" years...😄😄😄 You're a special man - epitomise what real men shld be. Sharing yr know-how & expertise SO professionally... Big hug to you & lovely Kwan & cute Emilie & all the ellies from Cape Town...SA. Stay safe...
QuanticTrip thanks for the in depth reply. I was referring to the next to useless advice I see from some teachers to drop your arm from different heights to achieve more/less volume. Yes it does change volume, but how would you play a loud trill? Dynamics are subtle combination or weight transfer, leverage and speed. Possibly one of the hardest parts of piano playing.
Sometimes the simplest tips are the most neglected. Many people play for years without realizing a lot of what makes playing less mechanical is simply controlling the weight of the shoulder and the movements of the arm. Thank you...
Hi Paul, Could I request some instruction or tips on how to sight read effectively? I've played piano for some time now, and though I can memorise and play pieces well enough, I've found my sight reading almost embarrassingly bad. I know you mentioned once about taking a year of piano practice to focus on sight reading specifically - perhaps you could elaborate on that? Love your playing and thanks for all the wonderful videos you do.
E. C. While I am definitely not Paul, I've got some information that may help you. The best way to learn to sight read is to practice sight reading. Get piano reductions and conductor's scores of pieces off of the IMSLP site (an excellent resource) and play along with recordings. Put emphasis on pieces you don't know. Don't just read piano parts - read voice, violin, flute, trombone; any concert-pitch instrument. Don't just read one genre - variety is good for you. For rhythms specifically,it helps to break up rhythms into 2-beat chunks (for 8th notes) and 1-beat chunks (for 16ths and unusual tuplets). Thinking vertically "beat to beat" like this will help you recognize the patterns - and once you can FEEL a particular pattern, you can start thinking horizontally and melodically.
I'm having this same struggle as well! Although, despite the fact that I've only been playing for about three years, I've noticed that being a better sight reader can be improved by not looking at the keys/fingers while you're sight reading. In addition to that, play at a SLOW TEMPO where you can process every note/chord/rhythm/dynamic marking/etc. I notice that this tip helps out TREMENDOUSLY. Best of luck!
First of all, thank you for remembering, that was a long time ago! There are lots of examples of wonderful pianists that were not good sight readers. I personally had a friendship (going back 25 years now) with a harpsichordist who had made many acclaimed LP's and was a regular concert performer but could barely sight read at all. As a result he seemed to have developed a better memory than most and when I occasionally was lucky enough to sit next to him I would ask him to play this or that and he would recall and play it confidently and without hesitations. I can elaborate if you wish on the year I spent sight reading but please excuse my unfashionably long reply. When I was beginning piano in my early teens, there were 2 teachers at our school who played piano; the music teacher and the maths teacher. It was the maths teacher who really played piano well. Before he became a school teacher he’d been an accountant and organist at a famous church in England that had only employed the very best organists in the country. I remember clearly the first time I met him as a newly arrived teacher at the school. I was playing piano in the music room waiting for our regular teacher to arrive, I was playing Schubert’s Impromptu in A flat Op.90. He was passing the open classroom door, backtracked and came into the room, stood next to me a while, nudged me off the stool and started to play it himself. But, as he was playing he said he couldn’t remember it but he still played it beautifully but in a completely different key - by ear, so to speak, and explained he was an organist not a pianist. He didn’t want to teach piano unfortunately, all my requests for help from him fell on deaf ears. Sometimes I would go search for him after school and if I found he’d been delayed, as he was always lightning quick to exit the building and be away home, I’d implore him to got to the music room and play this or that piece from the sheet music I’d brought to school with me just in case I got lucky with him. Occasionally he would play it for me - if he was in a good mood. No matter what I handed him, he would just pop it on the piano and play it effortlessly from sight. If the music wasn’t difficult enough for him, he would embellish it in wonderful ways. And as I got to know him better he told me he actually rarely practiced anything and didn’t memorize pieces, instead he was happiest playing with the sheet music in front of him at all times. This was because, as he explained, in his life he’d always been too busy making ends meet as an accountant to have the luxury of time to practice piano in the way we are all used to. As a result, what time he had at the piano/organ mainly, he devoted to sight reading. And to hold a post as organist in that important church mentioned, with all the musical demands that went with it, you had to be a phenomenal sight reader, and he was. When I left art school and started my professional life as a portrait artist, I was working hard painting pictures to make ends meet too. I liked playing piano but had to prioritize my time on commissioned art work (as I still have to do today) So, I wanted to sit down at the piano and just play the music I liked for pleasure. And to best do this, I figured I needed to be a reasonably good sight reader. Following this man’s example, I decided to stop practicing for a year and sight read instead. I’m glad I did that year early in my life and I would recommend something similar to anyone with a busy life wanting to just sit down and enjoy playing whatever they felt like at the piano when the mood takes without being held back by just deciphering notation. Sight reading is the key to being able to explore many pieces of music with limited time available instead of the alternative of just working over and over on a few selected pieces. If you wish to be a professional musician (which I have never wanted to be) it’s very important to assimilate a lot of very difficult repertoire fairly quickly, so sight reading is quite important, but as I said earlier thinking of my friend, not absolutely essential. In my own life I’ve given the occasional small solo piano recital here and there, and occasionally been asked by singers and instrumentalists to accompany them in their recitals. Singers, I can assure you, really like to work with pianists that can not only sight read anything they put in front of them, but do so with expression, are able to follow their tempo, rubato and breathing and even are able to transpose an accompaniment at sight in a more suitable key for the singer’s voice range preference. I like working with singers very much as an accompanist as I enjoy that “team member” feeling of sorts as the life of a soloist is a little lonesome at times. The way I look at it is like this. If you love doing something you tend to do a lot of it. When you do a lot of something you tend to get good at it in direct proportion to hours you spend doing it. I’m afraid I don’t really know how to make a sight reading tutorial because the only way I know to get better at sight reading, is simply just to sight read … Sorry not to be very helpful.
Thank you for your reply. It's absolutely no problem that your answer was as simple as it was: if anything, what you've said falls very much in line with what my former piano teacher and others have said, namely that the best way to improve sight reading is to do more of it. It was very interesting to hear about the teacher and situation that led to your year of sight reading. I would really love to be able to play well on sight, so I think I may well emulate what you and your teacher before you did. Thanks again!
Paul, you are an inspiration, and this tutorial, is so professionally done, every aspect, the tutorial helps me to push on! e-star .........and yes some comments should be done privately or better, not at all if you risk offending hurting, or are not yet perfect, ourselves.
Wow i actually really loved your moon river and bought little keyboard. One year later i was looking for how to play pianissimo and found this video helpful. And it was Paul barton!! Surprised. Thanks!!
I didn't expect this tutorial to be that interesting. You're surprising me so often! I do not fully agree with playing from the air making a harsh sound by itself. You just have to control the speed - same as when you play from in-touch.
Paul, would you consider doing a second video on playing soft? I'm working on the petite suites no 1 and 4 for piano duet. No 1 is a bit frustrating on the 4 finger pattern bits. You'll see them on the second page, at the bottom and on the third near the ending.. I definitely understand what you mean on playing and speed; however, what about when a piece requires one to play at a faster tempo with pianissimo? Let's use Chopin Etude Op.10 No.4 as an example... it's fairly quick of course, but to play it well is to have good control of sound, which involves playing at a fast tempo, yet softly. I struggle so much with this concept. Concert is August 3rd. Really trying to work on this and will continue to do so. There are many videos on UA-cam, but you're definitely my go to when I seek out advice. I graduated Uni with piano and have always struggled with this concept of playing soft. Figured I'd ask for your take on it at a more indepth level. I really wish to see your hands up closer to see and study the movement that takes place when playing softer and at a faster speed. It's definitely hard to do lol. Thank you regardless of this outcome. Really appreciate your videos. Huge fan. Best!
I just learned Nocturne... then you play it at the beginning... hm Anyway thanks for making this vid! I appreciate people like u. Normal people sharing wonderful things. (PS: When you "bang the piano," you play a Cm chord... which is very prominent in the piece I'm learning... (beginning of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto in C MINOR))
Omg thanks Paul i love you now i play La Valse d'Amelie and River Flows in You, and for 2nd Valse page i need that sooo much and sane for left hand on River :ooo thank you very much
Jack Jewell Great idea! I espacially struggle with staccato in soft sounding pieces that are mostly played with the pedal. I just can't figure out how to change from soft pedal-sound to suddenly staccato and back to pedal.
This video just appeared in my UA-cam today! It's really helpful. If I press one hand down more quickly than the other, I split the chord (or notes). How do I avoid this?
...problem is if you're playing claire de lune at 59bpm (in 9/8) and you're trying to keep the 8th note arpeggios quiet to bring out the melody you have no choice but to hit the keys fast.. so you also have to hit them lightly. I will add if you're playing on a typical mediocre to crappy piano that has inferior action and bad regulation you will not be able to play p/pp with any consistency. Along the same lines this is why it's frightening to play a concert on an unfamiliar piano... you want to be familiar with the action to play with proper dynamics - especially the pp stuff.
Do you practice playing scales softly but quietly? Seems really hard to do, if you're using arm and body weight to control, how would you go about playing softly but quietly?
Then i wonder, how can i play quite in the very fast song? Like Clementi Sonatine Op.1 3rd part? Just lightly? I am playing it now and it is hard to control the sound and speed..!
What's the point of mastering the touch required to play pianissimo with my piano at home when I have to perform my pieces in school on a completely different piano that feels completely different and requires a different muscle memory to get the pianissimo working.
it's been long since I attended lessons too so I only remember some ^^ I Just realized that piano means soft also so apologies for that, you were right. I guess i was reffering to which term it was interpreted pianissimo is very soft adagio is slowly allegro is fast crescendo is gradually gettinf louder forte is loud fortissimo is very loud i think mezzoforte means medium loud and mezzopiano means medium soft? that's all i could remember
Loudness does not depend on speed it depends upon on thing and that is how "c" shaped out had is. There are many super fast pieces that are fast but it all depends upon your hand shape. Soft is like grabbing a raspberry and loud is like grabbing an apple. Flexabiliy of our wrists is important but that in conjunction with our fingers is equally so. Piano to forte is not to hard but playing pianissimo requires finger flexibility as well as playing fortisimo which is as loud as you can play. Ot comes down to the shape of your hands which makes the tonal difference. I hope whoever is watching this video reads this comment because this is the true technique behind all dynamic playing
You guys are being really insensitive. Weight gain can sometimes stem from eating disorders associated with depression or anxiety. The guy might have just gained weight but it's possible that it's something more severe and the original commenter was just expressing concern in case it is.
In other words, "how to play piano piano."
Correction: Piano Piano on Piano.
@@li-te9cn you mean pianissimo?
Piano on piano.
The name of the Instrument was originally " Pianoforte" and not Piano
Xd
This planet seriously needs more people like you... who can even change the mood of elephants with his music... Loved that documentary....
The way you speak per say makes your teaching invaluable and for which anyone can learn. Playing soft is crucial to the piano learning. After watching this video, I decided to go back and improve upon my shades of volume with your extraordinary example, Pathetique. I played it in a way, at last, I was satisfied with. Thank you, Paul.
Would love more Beethoven from you!
Ah! I am really very pleased indeed. Music and art are very similar in the way they work and your description of "shades" of volume is (for me) the perfect way to think of it. Thanks for your comment and your encouragement - perhaps I will have a go at the whole Pathetique.
You should, sir! You're a great pianist.
I like the way he talks and I like him, just from one video, thanks, paul :) that was very informative
when paul pressed down the keys and it made no sound i cried
lmao most sensitive moment of my life 😢
Randy it was so funny
lmao I love your profile pic that is my life
Bob The Doge thank you very much, same goes to you
where was that at
THE WAY YOU TEACH IS SO BEAUTIFUL I SWEAR TO GOD!ITS PERFECT THANK YOU PAUL ❤️
I came here for help regarding playing softly on the left hand, and you ended up demonstrating with the exact piece I needed help for :)
Spot on! As a pianist for over 20 years it's shocking to see how these basic principles are what I always come back to and try to refine in my playing.
One other tip for playing chords quietly, which Paul did, but did not explain: depress the sustain (right) pedal before the chord is played. This raises the dampers from the strings before pressing the keys and therefore makes the keys ever-so-slightly lighter and easier to control. Of course you shouldn't add pedal just to play quietly, but it's worth knowing!
This is a very helpful tutorial, I congratulate you for that. Can you consider making one on the topic of playing the piano with a connected sound, particularly in reference to Chopin's prelude in e minor, around getting a smooth and connected bass voice. I (and probably others) would greatly appreciate this. Thanks.
Paul, this video is a very simple and straightforward explanation. this has really helped me! thank you
OMIGOD ARE YOU THE AMAZING GENTLEMAN WHO PLAYS PIANO FOR ABUSED ELEPHANTS WHO WERE RESCUED AND NOW ARE LIVING THEIR REMAINING DAYS IN A PEACEFUL SANCTUARY????? I binge-watched ALL of your elephant videos years ago and I love, love, love you. We recently moved into a home that came with a baby grand piano and so I'm learning piano for the first time in my life, in my 30s. I was browsing different piano lesson videos and just came across yours. I am now 4 minutes into this video... and I was thinking... "He's so gentle and soft-spoken... I love his vibe... He reminds me of... NO! IS IT HIM??! NO!" And now I'm fan-girling like I'm meeting one of my heroes. Even though it's still through a youtube video versus in-person lol. Mr. Barton... you are an angel on Earth and now I am so privileged to be your pupil in my piano training. I'm so happy :)
Paul am SO amused seeing yr "younger" self to "matured" self...
NOT FAIR kiddo - no one is allowed to get handsomer than they were in their "heyday" years...😄😄😄
You're a special man - epitomise what real men shld be. Sharing yr know-how & expertise SO professionally...
Big hug to you & lovely Kwan & cute Emilie & all the ellies from Cape Town...SA.
Stay safe...
Paul, You are an incredible artist.
Wow thanks for the tips, i just started playing piano and this would really help
Nice tutorial. Good use of repertoire examples.
More practical than the gravity drop method many teachers introduce.
QuanticTrip thanks for the in depth reply. I was referring to the next to useless advice I see from some teachers to drop your arm from different heights to achieve more/less volume. Yes it does change volume, but how would you play a loud trill?
Dynamics are subtle combination or weight transfer, leverage and speed. Possibly one of the hardest parts of piano playing.
Sometimes the simplest tips are the most neglected. Many people play for years without realizing a lot of what makes playing less mechanical is simply controlling the weight of the shoulder and the movements of the arm.
Thank you...
Hi Paul,
Could I request some instruction or tips on how to sight read effectively? I've played piano for some time now, and though I can memorise and play pieces well enough, I've found my sight reading almost embarrassingly bad. I know you mentioned once about taking a year of piano practice to focus on sight reading specifically - perhaps you could elaborate on that?
Love your playing and thanks for all the wonderful videos you do.
E. C. While I am definitely not Paul, I've got some information that may help you.
The best way to learn to sight read is to practice sight reading. Get piano reductions and conductor's scores of pieces off of the IMSLP site (an excellent resource) and play along with recordings. Put emphasis on pieces you don't know. Don't just read piano parts - read voice, violin, flute, trombone; any concert-pitch instrument. Don't just read one genre - variety is good for you.
For rhythms specifically,it helps to break up rhythms into 2-beat chunks (for 8th notes) and 1-beat chunks (for 16ths and unusual tuplets). Thinking vertically "beat to beat" like this will help you recognize the patterns - and once you can FEEL a particular pattern, you can start thinking horizontally and melodically.
I agree. I have been playing piano for almost 10 years, and I am still bad at sight reading.
I'm having this same struggle as well! Although, despite the fact that I've only been playing for about three years, I've noticed that being a better sight reader can be improved by not looking at the keys/fingers while you're sight reading. In addition to that, play at a SLOW TEMPO where you can process every note/chord/rhythm/dynamic marking/etc. I notice that this tip helps out TREMENDOUSLY. Best of luck!
First of all, thank you for remembering, that was a long time ago!
There are lots of examples of wonderful pianists that were not good sight readers. I personally had a friendship (going back 25 years now) with a harpsichordist who had made many acclaimed LP's and was a regular concert performer but could barely sight read at all. As a result he seemed to have developed a better memory than most and when I occasionally was lucky enough to sit next to him I would ask him to play this or that and he would recall and play it confidently and without hesitations.
I can elaborate if you wish on the year I spent sight reading but please excuse my unfashionably long reply.
When I was beginning piano in my early teens, there were 2 teachers at our school who played piano; the music teacher and the maths teacher. It was the maths teacher who really played piano well.
Before he became a school teacher he’d been an accountant and organist at a famous church in England that had only employed the very best organists in the country.
I remember clearly the first time I met him as a newly arrived teacher at the school. I was playing piano in the music room waiting for our regular teacher to arrive, I was playing Schubert’s Impromptu in A flat Op.90. He was passing the open classroom door, backtracked and came into the room, stood next to me a while, nudged me off the stool and started to play it himself. But, as he was playing he said he couldn’t remember it but he still played it beautifully but in a completely different key - by ear, so to speak, and explained he was an organist not a pianist.
He didn’t want to teach piano unfortunately, all my requests for help from him fell on deaf ears.
Sometimes I would go search for him after school and if I found he’d been delayed, as he was always lightning quick to exit the building and be away home, I’d implore him to got to the music room and play this or that piece from the sheet music I’d brought to school with me just in case I got lucky with him. Occasionally he would play it for me - if he was in a good mood.
No matter what I handed him, he would just pop it on the piano and play it effortlessly from sight. If the music wasn’t difficult enough for him, he would embellish it in wonderful ways.
And as I got to know him better he told me he actually rarely practiced anything and didn’t memorize pieces, instead he was happiest playing with the sheet music in front of him at all times. This was because, as he explained, in his life he’d always been too busy making ends meet as an accountant to have the luxury of time to practice piano in the way we are all used to. As a result, what time he had at the piano/organ mainly, he devoted to sight reading. And to hold a post as organist in that important church mentioned, with all the musical demands that went with it, you had to be a phenomenal sight reader, and he was.
When I left art school and started my professional life as a portrait artist, I was working hard painting pictures to make ends meet too. I liked playing piano but had to prioritize my time on commissioned art work (as I still have to do today) So, I wanted to sit down at the piano and just play the music I liked for pleasure. And to best do this, I figured I needed to be a reasonably good sight reader. Following this man’s example, I decided to stop practicing for a year and sight read instead.
I’m glad I did that year early in my life and I would recommend something similar to anyone with a busy life wanting to just sit down and enjoy playing whatever they felt like at the piano when the mood takes without being held back by just deciphering notation.
Sight reading is the key to being able to explore many pieces of music with limited time available instead of the alternative of just working over and over on a few selected pieces.
If you wish to be a professional musician (which I have never wanted to be) it’s very important to assimilate a lot of very difficult repertoire fairly quickly, so sight reading is quite important, but as I said earlier thinking of my friend, not absolutely essential.
In my own life I’ve given the occasional small solo piano recital here and there, and occasionally been asked by singers and instrumentalists to accompany them in their recitals. Singers, I can assure you, really like to work with pianists that can not only sight read anything they put in front of them, but do so with expression, are able to follow their tempo, rubato and breathing and even are able to transpose an accompaniment at sight in a more suitable key for the singer’s voice range preference. I like working with singers very much as an accompanist as I enjoy that “team member” feeling of sorts as the life of a soloist is a little lonesome at times.
The way I look at it is like this. If you love doing something you tend to do a lot of it. When you do a lot of something you tend to get good at it in direct proportion to hours you spend doing it. I’m afraid I don’t really know how to make a sight reading tutorial because the only way I know to get better at sight reading, is simply just to sight read …
Sorry not to be very helpful.
Thank you for your reply. It's absolutely no problem that your answer was as simple as it was: if anything, what you've said falls very much in line with what my former piano teacher and others have said, namely that the best way to improve sight reading is to do more of it. It was very interesting to hear about the teacher and situation that led to your year of sight reading.
I would really love to be able to play well on sight, so I think I may well emulate what you and your teacher before you did. Thanks again!
Paul, you are an inspiration, and this tutorial, is so professionally done, every aspect, the tutorial helps me to push on! e-star .........and yes some comments should be done privately or better, not at all if you risk offending hurting, or are not yet perfect, ourselves.
Very helpful and informative Paul!
When I clicked on this video, the song you played was the first that came to my mind, as I needed help with this. Thanks!
Wow i actually really loved your moon river and bought little keyboard. One year later i was looking for how to play pianissimo and found this video helpful. And it was Paul barton!! Surprised. Thanks!!
I didn't expect this tutorial to be that interesting. You're surprising me so often! I do not fully agree with playing from the air making a harsh sound by itself. You just have to control the speed - same as when you play from in-touch.
Thank you Paul for this informative video
Thank you paul!
Paul, would you consider doing a second video on playing soft? I'm working on the petite suites no 1 and 4 for piano duet. No 1 is a bit frustrating on the 4 finger pattern bits. You'll see them on the second page, at the bottom and on the third near the ending.. I definitely understand what you mean on playing and speed; however, what about when a piece requires one to play at a faster tempo with pianissimo? Let's use Chopin Etude Op.10 No.4 as an example... it's fairly quick of course, but to play it well is to have good control of sound, which involves playing at a fast tempo, yet softly. I struggle so much with this concept. Concert is August 3rd. Really trying to work on this and will continue to do so. There are many videos on UA-cam, but you're definitely my go to when I seek out advice. I graduated Uni with piano and have always struggled with this concept of playing soft. Figured I'd ask for your take on it at a more indepth level. I really wish to see your hands up closer to see and study the movement that takes place when playing softer and at a faster speed. It's definitely hard to do lol. Thank you regardless of this outcome. Really appreciate your videos. Huge fan. Best!
You have nice teaching ability, thank you!
Thank you! Great tutorial. Answers my question on how curved your fingers need to be.
I just learned Nocturne... then you play it at the beginning... hm
Anyway thanks for making this vid! I appreciate people like u. Normal people sharing wonderful things.
(PS: When you "bang the piano," you play a Cm chord... which is very prominent in the piece I'm learning... (beginning of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto in C MINOR))
Nice. That's useful information.
Omg thanks Paul i love you
now i play La Valse d'Amelie and River Flows in You, and for 2nd Valse page i need that sooo much and sane for left hand on River :ooo thank you very much
Thanks for tips
Gosh that's valuable advice. Good day Paul
Didn't know that about speed. Thanks Paul!
I love your videos! All of them are interesting.
Hi pretty lady. How are you doing today 😘?
Just one request if you don't mind, can you do a tutorial on tips to help with staccato?
Jack Jewell Great idea! I espacially struggle with staccato in soft sounding pieces that are mostly played with the pedal. I just can't figure out how to change from soft pedal-sound to suddenly staccato and back to pedal.
Most of my staccato problems come from pedalling on the bass but the melody is staccato which is a huge pain for me.
This video just appeared in my UA-cam today! It's really helpful. If I press one hand down more quickly than the other, I split the chord (or notes). How do I avoid this?
Love it...
Then............ if slowness = low volume, then how do you pay fast and softly at the same time?
I hope that will help me to improve the second part from Liebestraum nr 3 !
Thank Paul
really helpful!
Big help tnx
Anybody got tips for playing 'pp' but very fast passages? This is something I've always struggled with and still do.
Ive been playing piano for 10 years and couldnt play quietly till now xd especially when there's a large gap between notes
Its funny that i came to this video bcuz i was having trouble with the same song he showed in the vid (nocturne by chopin)
...problem is if you're playing claire de lune at 59bpm (in 9/8) and you're trying to keep the 8th note arpeggios quiet to bring out the melody you have no choice but to hit the keys fast.. so you also have to hit them lightly. I will add if you're playing on a typical mediocre to crappy piano that has inferior action and bad regulation you will not be able to play p/pp with any consistency. Along the same lines this is why it's frightening to play a concert on an unfamiliar piano... you want to be familiar with the action to play with proper dynamics - especially the pp stuff.
Paul from my experience playing softly on an acoustic piano is easier, and on my digital it's a bit more difficult.
Oh thank goodness, I thought it was only me struggling with that!
0:05 I couldn't help but think of the end credits after a Jimmy Neutron episode on Nickelodeon. 😂😂
my god did this comment send me back in time, holy shit. good catch lol
Very difficult indeed to make no sound on a digital piano.🤭😭
You can always play John Cage's 4'33
Do you practice playing scales softly but quietly? Seems really hard to do, if you're using arm and body weight to control, how would you go about playing softly but quietly?
Then i wonder, how can i play quite in the very fast song? Like Clementi Sonatine Op.1 3rd part? Just lightly? I am playing it now and it is hard to control the sound and speed..!
What's the point of mastering the touch required to play pianissimo with my piano at home when I have to perform my pieces in school on a completely different piano that feels completely different and requires a different muscle memory to get the pianissimo working.
If you can do it well on one instrument, you will be much more effective on other kind of piano instruments. Don't worry.
What is the song he first demonstrated with?
Andrew Coy Chopin nocturne in eb major op 9 no 2
Revs Thanks!
I think that my main problem is that I play on a really old keyboard and no matter how hard or soft you touch the keys it always sounds the same 🙁🙁
Hey Paul how long have you been playing the piano?
1:57 Beethoven Sonata No. 8 Op. 13 (Pathetique) EDIT: Ha, I wrote that before carrying on with the video. I was right :)
Speed or can i use weight too?
how can i press the keys slowly in fast passages to play quiet?
Johnny Breme If you wanna play soft and fast you need to use less bodyweight on your arms. Sort of... My English isn't great
What song we're you playing in the beginning?
Chopin Nocturne Opus 9 No 2
What is the second song he played? I can't remember 2:30
Gabriel Piropo Beethoven's piano sonata n8 Op. 13
Gabriel Piropo He literally said " here is a few chords of Beethoven's Pathetique sonata..."
were you even listening? -_-
Sorry, my main leanguage is portuguese and some times i can't understand
Ty
Gabriel Piropo no problem ^_^
How to not wake your neighbors up is what Im looking for
You seem like the British Robert Estrin
Please upload six ecossaise by Beethoven woo 83
Can I have you as my piano teacher?
1:30 Beethoven 10 1
처음 쾅!!!할때..진짜 깜짝놀랐네..
in this side of they world is 00:55 am
C minor? 1:30
Edit: confirmed a minute later by the Beethoven.
You didnt need to title it piano quietly, playing piano means playing soft... At leaast thats what i heard.
pianissimo means quiet. playing piano is just the word it means itself.
Nice, could you remind me what were the others, like forte or some words like those you said... I heard about that about 12 years ago
it's been long since I attended lessons too so I only remember some ^^
I Just realized that piano means soft also so apologies for that, you were right. I guess i was reffering to which term it was interpreted
pianissimo is very soft
adagio is slowly
allegro is fast
crescendo is gradually gettinf louder
forte is loud
fortissimo is very loud
i think mezzoforte means medium loud and mezzopiano means medium soft?
that's all i could remember
You do realize that "piano" is the name of the instrument, right?
well in the context of the video title then yeah of course. but it's also a term for "soft"
Loudness does not depend on speed it depends upon on thing and that is how "c" shaped out had is. There are many super fast pieces that are fast but it all depends upon your hand shape. Soft is like grabbing a raspberry and loud is like grabbing an apple. Flexabiliy of our wrists is important but that in conjunction with our fingers is equally so. Piano to forte is not to hard but playing pianissimo requires finger flexibility as well as playing fortisimo which is as loud as you can play. Ot comes down to the shape of your hands which makes the tonal difference. I hope whoever is watching this video reads this comment because this is the true technique behind all dynamic playing
the beethoven song ahh i love
lmao this is not a beethoven piece its chopins nocturne
It's Chopin Nocturne Op.9 No.2 :)
yep 😂😂
he didnt say he was talking about the song in the video, he was just saying he likes the Beethoven piece
owh I see
*Hi. I’m Paul*
Chopin Op. 9 No. 2
You hit the Keys not hard.
Paul, I'm not trying to be rude.. but it looks like you've gained weight in the last 6 months.. is everything okay?
Eatmagnificent why would something be wrong? you didn't try to be rude but you were. is it because your name is about eating?
He looks healthier to me
You guys are being really insensitive. Weight gain can sometimes stem from eating disorders associated with depression or anxiety. The guy might have just gained weight but it's possible that it's something more severe and the original commenter was just expressing concern in case it is.
I share the concern.
Eatmagnificent why not? food is love. food is life