You're an awesome pianist and teacher, Josh. I've learned a lot from your videos. You're also incredibly generous to share your love for piano with all of us.
I have returned to the piano after many years working in front of orchestras.I lost what technique I had and never conquered tension. learning rotation has helped,thanks for your help .Robin Stapleton
I m so glad I ran into these videos! They have really changed my life! I was about to give up thinking that I was useless! But there ie always a solution for every technique problem! I really admire you Josh for sharing your knowledge about technique issues with other students ...I think that's a gift..having the ability to be infectious to other people..you can't find that very easily!
Yes, he is a great teacher and virtuoso pianist. I’ve looked at a couple of his tutorials and he sure Is very informative. He must of started very young to get to the level of playing concertos like Rachmaninov 2,3 etc. I don’t think many make that level starting too late and become world class like josh is. I had about 1-2 years of lessons starting on the 6 clementi sonatinas opus 36, no exams, but stopped at 13, 14 ish, think doing scales was part of it, but still kept playing without the teacher. My piano teacher used to play the revolutionary Chopin etude as to inspire me. I later learnt the Chopin opus 53 polonaise by myself (inspiration Horowitz)and played it right through to him. My advice to any budding pianist is to keep at it with a teacher if you’ve got some natural talent and don’t stop like I did as a young teenager, it will pay off in the end. Those who are taught by Josh in person, are very lucky indeed. I missed the boat maybe, but I still get a lot of enjoyment in playing. So Mara, what I’m trying to say is, you can play and don’t stop.
I am a piano teacher and I share your videos with my students all the time! It helps them to see someone else besides me explain what I’m trying to say but with much more impressive examples 😂
I've been playing for twenty years. The physical aspect of playing (the movement of different parts of the hand) is something that I've never really paid much attention to (or was not paid attention to by my teachers). I want to learn all of this stuff so I can improve as a pianist and a teacher. Keep these wonderful videos coming!
Well! I have had operations for "rotator-cuff syndrome" - and I am now free to rotate! I have been scolded so much over the years for "not minding my relaxation".
That is a really GREAT lesson! Very few piano teachers talk about the crucial importance of rotation! Even great pianists when they teach they forget to talk about rotation while they are using it naturally every second.
Thank you so much Josh. I've playing for years and love your perspective on rotating. I think Chopin's Ballad number 4 is the most difficult but most beautiful piece I've ever played.
Only a few days ago I came across your videos and I have to admit that some aspects in improving the technique of playing piano have allowed me a substantial improvement in a very short period of time. Especially in what refers to the flexibility of hands and their relaxation for a comfortable but precise performance of open arpeggios. The more flexible and relaxed the hands are, the greater the distance between the keys one can play. And, of course, played those arppegios effortless and, therefore, for longer. The student must only readjust the muscle memory to play the appropriate notes. Thank you very much for your masterClass Series. (Everlasting piano student)
Same reaction to your discussion re technique on Ballade #4. You mentioned the Chopin statement last week and I've been using it in practice, but this brought me further along. Will share with a former student in Maryland.
I have had the reaxation technique my entire "piano life", and there is something he is leaving out...the use of your arm, while approaching from above, and helping with rotation that way. After watching his videos, I may try and post some on my technique as well. I have tiny hands, and it is truly amazing what the relaxation technique allows me to produce.
Coincidentally I started work on this exact part of the Nocturne 27 no2 just yesterday and was looking for tips to make it more fluid and connected- as always great video Josh!
Interesting that you say you're rotating toward your thumb when the other way to look at it is that you're rotating toward your pinky (i.e., you're lifting the hand away from your thumb before you then rotate toward the thumb). Great video! I also am finding that this releases anxiety (I guess tension and anxiety are two sides of the same coin -- panic creeps in as tension and exhaustion build). I'm trying to apply these concepts to the Ocean etude, which I think is built around rotation of the hand/forearm in opposite directions that the arms are going (rotations go outward while the direction of the music goes inward and vice versa).
Josh, once again, just watching your one instructional video above made a HUGE difference in my playing. When I applied this rotation concept on certain passages (multiple passages) I was having problems with (for months!), I had almost immediate improvement - THANK YOU.
You're the most awesome teacher, Josh. I'm memerized by you and have learned a lot. When will you have the Pro Practice video for the nocturne in db major (plaintive)? Can't wait to buy it!
Thanks for this lesson, it´s very interesting even thogh I'm practically new to playing piano (one year now) and I'm nowhere near this level, but I can see many of the points you're making refering to rotation and its benefits.
Thank you for your videos. Just wish you could have shown the rotation to the thumb in a super slow motion. I couldn't really see what you were doing. More slow instruction I think would be really helpful to viewers like me. You sound great. Thanks for all you do.
Anyone remember in which of the last few videos Josh posted he mentions the fingering for the fast 48 notes in the op.27/2 nocturne? I can't seem to find it!
Great Video, Josh , I will use it when I get up to that level- What level or grade are those two or three pieces that you did on this video? Thank you for freely sharing so generously- the Lord bless you:)
At the deep rumbling left hand part that starts at 10:46 i cannot play without playing on my nails! Have you Josh had any problems with this, or in any other piece for that matter?
I've been struggling for a year and a half to implement rotation into my playing and to properly use my arm's weight after playing with my fingers for 9 years And even though I've been practicing seriously and vigorously for all that time it's come to a point where that's all my teacher talks about and the progress I thought I'd been making, doesn't exist or is not enough to please him Conclusion: I'm obviously talentless It sucks to know the one thing I love I can't play It sucks even more when it's your own teacher that makes you feel hopeless
hi josh I'm 16 and a pianist and when I practise my scales,I can get them quote fast and comfortably and accurately but I noticed that my pinky finger keeps sticking out and it seems like a problem and that shouldn't be happening
Lorenzo Pablo Santarelli Hi Lorenzo - that's a great idea. I'll have to do quite a bit of reading before I'm ready for that haha. Edna Golandsky has a wonderful channel dedicated to explaining Taubman technique. She is an absolute expert and will be able to explain it much better than I could since I'm not too familiar with that method. Have a great week!
Hi josh, I’m practicing the Liszt piece Lieberstraum no3. I now all the notes but the finish on the second cadenza right hand only, I find it works if you roll your wrist a little on the 1,5 fingers. Does this makes sense with this video? Also on the first cadenza, I try to slide on the thirds on the way back down to get it to sound more of a flow instead of stuttering gaps. It took me about 2 to three weeks to learn it myself. I started playing at 13 ish so really I was a bit late. 😂 I’m nearly 62. I did a video of the Wr polka. It’s not perfect, but I think it shows how difficult it is to play. ua-cam.com/video/Mm-VxJ0ZYdo/v-deo.html
My mother said that piano does not make sense for her when playing classical music. I played a Beethoven's piano Sonata in G mayor for a male friend of her. And he was amazed about it. After that my dear mom respected my music and piano. Some Classical piano pieces sounds more technical than musical and i understand her and her viewpoint.
![How to Avoid Piano Injuries | Get Rid of Tension and Pain [Hand, Wrist, Elbow, Shoulder & Back]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/tf2rbCjOpfA/mqdefault.jpg)
You're an awesome pianist and teacher, Josh. I've learned a lot from your videos. You're also incredibly generous to share your love for piano with all of us.
I have returned to the piano after many years working in front of orchestras.I lost what technique I had and never conquered tension. learning rotation has helped,thanks for your help .Robin Stapleton
I m so glad I ran into these videos! They have really changed my life! I was about to give up thinking that I was useless! But there ie always a solution for every technique problem! I really admire you Josh for sharing your knowledge about technique issues with other students ...I think that's a gift..having the ability to be infectious to other people..you can't find that very easily!
Yes, he is a great teacher and virtuoso pianist. I’ve looked at a couple of his tutorials and he sure Is very informative. He must of started very young to get to the level of playing concertos like Rachmaninov 2,3 etc. I don’t think many make that level starting too late and become world class like josh is. I had about 1-2 years of lessons starting on the 6 clementi sonatinas opus 36, no exams, but stopped at 13, 14 ish, think doing scales was part of it, but still kept playing without the teacher. My piano teacher used to play the revolutionary Chopin etude as to inspire me. I later learnt the Chopin opus 53 polonaise by myself (inspiration Horowitz)and played it right through to him. My advice to any budding pianist is to keep at it with a teacher if you’ve got some natural talent and don’t stop like I did as a young teenager, it will pay off in the end. Those who are taught by Josh in person, are very lucky indeed. I missed the boat maybe, but I still get a lot of enjoyment in playing. So Mara, what I’m trying to say is, you can play and don’t stop.
I am a piano teacher and I share your videos with my students all the time! It helps them to see someone else besides me explain what I’m trying to say but with much more impressive examples 😂
I've been playing for twenty years. The physical aspect of playing (the movement of different parts of the hand) is something that I've never really paid much attention to (or was not paid attention to by my teachers). I want to learn all of this stuff so I can improve as a pianist and a teacher. Keep these wonderful videos coming!
Well! I have had operations for "rotator-cuff syndrome" - and I am now free to rotate! I have been scolded so much over the years for "not minding my relaxation".
The figure rotation is so important but not many videos talk about it. Bookmarked!❤
Faris - Its the one about using rotation to ease tension. Have a great week :)
That is a really GREAT lesson! Very few piano teachers talk about the crucial importance of rotation! Even great pianists when they teach they forget to talk about rotation while they are using it naturally every second.
Thank you so much Josh. I've playing for years and love your perspective on rotating. I think Chopin's Ballad number 4 is the most difficult but most beautiful piece I've ever played.
Update to my last comment: Just put your advice into practice and the difference already is night and day! thanks so much Josh :0)
This is so helpful, because I "learned" these two Chopin pieces at the same time.
Josh i am here and i am enjoying how you and me make mistakes when giving advices. Happened a lot of times to me. You are great.
I admire you for your generosity!!! And you can't imagine how helpful you are. Thanks so much.
Only a few days ago I came across your videos and I have to admit that some aspects in improving the technique of playing piano have allowed me a substantial improvement in a very short period of time. Especially in what refers to the flexibility of hands and their relaxation for a comfortable but precise performance of open arpeggios. The more flexible and relaxed the hands are, the greater the distance between the keys one can play. And, of course, played those arppegios effortless and, therefore, for longer. The student must only readjust the muscle memory to play the appropriate notes. Thank you very much for your masterClass Series.
(Everlasting piano student)
Same reaction to your discussion re technique on Ballade #4. You mentioned the Chopin statement last
week and I've been using it in practice, but this brought me further along. Will share with a former student
in Maryland.
I have had the reaxation technique my entire "piano life", and there is something he is leaving out...the use of your arm, while approaching from above, and helping with rotation that way. After watching his videos, I may try and post some on my technique as well. I have tiny hands, and it is truly amazing what the relaxation technique allows me to produce.
Did you actually put out that video? It sounded like a valuable contribution.
Please post this! Thank you! I have small hands too :-)
Relaxation is just putting the tension elsewhere and not getting rid of the problem.
Since something has to carry the weight
Helpful verbalization of strategies I had stumbled on, but not formalized or read about.
Thanks! Telling us your thoughts while sight reading was a revelation.
These are very subtle points that take a lot of thinking about! Thank.
Super !
Je me pose toujours la question du positionnement du coude pour permettre un bon placement de la main ?
Love your program. Have been playing many years and accumulated bad habits.. Many eye opening facts I learned form you. Thank you
Amazing video Josh, thank you so much.
Coincidentally I started work on this exact part of the Nocturne 27 no2 just yesterday and was looking for tips to make it more fluid and connected- as always great video Josh!
MrPianolee Single handed is so important for that run. Get that right and the rest is easy.
This really helped me focus my attention in a more conscious way to the weight distribution of some faster passages I had
Interesting that you say you're rotating toward your thumb when the other way to look at it is that you're rotating toward your pinky (i.e., you're lifting the hand away from your thumb before you then rotate toward the thumb). Great video! I also am finding that this releases anxiety (I guess tension and anxiety are two sides of the same coin -- panic creeps in as tension and exhaustion build). I'm trying to apply these concepts to the Ocean etude, which I think is built around rotation of the hand/forearm in opposite directions that the arms are going (rotations go outward while the direction of the music goes inward and vice versa).
Josh, once again, just watching your one instructional video above made a HUGE difference in my playing. When I applied this rotation concept on certain passages (multiple passages) I was having problems with (for months!), I had almost immediate improvement - THANK YOU.
really appreciate your performance in Chopin competition!! Good luck
Thanks Josh! Great Vid
Greatest piano piano video on UA-cam , you're the best!!
I rember I wrote you an email to ask you what do you thing about rotation ahahah
I really appreciated this video! Great job at demystifying technique.
Always love your channel
Very detail in technique
Thanks for sharing
Regards from Indonesia
You're the most awesome teacher, Josh. I'm memerized by you and have learned a lot. When will you have the Pro Practice video for the nocturne in db major (plaintive)? Can't wait to buy it!
Thanks for this lesson, it´s very interesting even thogh I'm practically new to playing piano (one year now) and I'm nowhere near this level, but I can see many of the points you're making refering to rotation and its benefits.
Excellent Thanks
Especially the end of the ballade 4!
Can you make a video on basic posture for your wrists and how you should move your fingers and how it should feel pressing the keys
Thank you
Great videos. Most helpful. Congrats on your PhD.
Great tips thanks!
Yes, sometime they happen to me. I feel my self playing like a robot. Hands got tired soon.
You should be my teacher :))
Darksa Niwa Thank you for your support Darksa. Best wishes in your continued studies
thanks, it's been helpful to me.
thanks I,m a pianst I need heaps of this
Thank you for your videos. Just wish you could have shown the rotation to the thumb in a super slow motion. I couldn't really see what you were doing. More slow instruction I think would be really helpful to viewers like me. You sound great. Thanks for all you do.
Anyone remember in which of the last few videos Josh posted he mentions the fingering for the fast 48 notes in the op.27/2 nocturne? I can't seem to find it!
Helpful - thank you
Nice video, very helpful
thats so true. thanks.
Yeah,I was asking you about Taubman technique!!
Josh, when is a student ready for an étude ?
thanks for this helpful tip!
good stuff thank you so much
Great Video, Josh , I will use it when I get up to that level- What level or grade are those two or three pieces that you did on this video?
Thank you for freely sharing so generously- the Lord bless you:)
I'm curious, how many hours do you usually practice every day?
Like many great pianists, teachers, or concert pianist, arround 2 hours a day!
I'm speechless ~
At the deep rumbling left hand part that starts at 10:46 i cannot play without playing on my nails! Have you Josh had any problems with this, or in any other piece for that matter?
those are some cool tips. In simple melodies do those things apply? Like in supper beginner level pieces such as Ode to Joy by Beethoven.
I've been struggling for a year and a half to implement rotation into my playing and to properly use my arm's weight after playing with my fingers for 9 years
And even though I've been practicing seriously and vigorously for all that time it's come to a point where that's all my teacher talks about and the progress I thought I'd been making, doesn't exist or is not enough to please him
Conclusion: I'm obviously talentless
It sucks to know the one thing I love I can't play
It sucks even more when it's your own teacher that makes you feel hopeless
It sounds like time for a new teacher. I suggest an accredited Taubman teacher; search via the Golansky Institute.
So how would one start this technique? Big movements slowly, then smaller mvmts slowly, then speed up gradually?
Awesome!
Could I play the 2nd part of Chopin's nocturne op 15 n 1 using rotation?
hi josh I'm 16 and a pianist and when I practise my scales,I can get them quote fast and comfortably and accurately but I noticed that my pinky finger keeps sticking out and it seems like a problem and that shouldn't be happening
robert Russell hold your pinky in
i have the same problem. try stretching your pinky a little more before you play. and try rectifying this while playing slowly and pick up speed later
Good luck at Warsaw!
The ballade 4 coda is so similar to op.28. no.5
I hope that you will pass the 1st round on Chopin Competition
Good luck
Could you make a video which talk about Taubman technique ?i should be really interesting
Lorenzo Pablo Santarelli Hi Lorenzo - that's a great idea. I'll have to do quite a bit of reading before I'm ready for that haha. Edna Golandsky has a wonderful channel dedicated to explaining Taubman technique. She is an absolute expert and will be able to explain it much better than I could since I'm not too familiar with that method. Have a great week!
6:23 , was it ballade 1 or 4?
4
Please make a tutorial on liebestraume. You have the same finger problems on the high paced parts. Thanks!
YM M I have it added to the list :)
Josh Wright Wow, gonna look into it asap, big thanks!!
Winterwind at 15 :o
I can't give enough likes. :)
3251 3251 to 3251 3152 325 1325 1325 1325 ..gonna try
Hi josh, I’m practicing the Liszt piece Lieberstraum no3. I now all the notes but the finish on the second cadenza right hand only, I find it works if you roll your wrist a little on the 1,5 fingers. Does this makes sense with this video? Also on the first cadenza, I try to slide on the thirds on the way back down to get it to sound more of a flow instead of stuttering gaps. It took me about 2 to three weeks to learn it myself. I started playing at 13 ish so really I was a bit late. 😂 I’m nearly 62. I did a video of the Wr polka. It’s not perfect, but I think it shows how difficult it is to play. ua-cam.com/video/Mm-VxJ0ZYdo/v-deo.html
Good but intimidating to my skill
My mother said that piano does not make sense for her when playing classical music. I played a Beethoven's piano Sonata in G mayor for a male friend of her. And he was amazed about it. After that my dear mom respected my music and piano. Some Classical piano pieces sounds more technical than musical and i understand her and her viewpoint.
Rotation is hurting my wrist.
👍
7
Thank you