Frustration should only naturally come when the learning is counterproductive. I feel it when trying to play Bach’s third invention at Czerny’s speed of dotted quarter = 92. I bet Lisitsa feels frustrated, because even for her seems to be impossible.
Repent and trust in Jesus. He's the only way to Heaven. We've all sinned and deserve Hell. Sins like lying, lusting, etc. Repent and trust only in Jesus, and you will be saved! You can be saved because he took the punishment for our sins on himself when he died on the cross, just like someone can pay your speeding fine in court, and you get off free. Romans 3:23 John 3:16😊❤
It's so refreshing to see a practice session rather than a performance all the time, it makes the rest of us feel better to know that even great musicians (like yourself) have to take things slowly, piece by piece and build a performance and that they also make mistakes! Thanks, great video.
And what do you think about the idea that the note occurs way before the finger reaches the bottom of the keyboard ? In fact you don't need to go to the bottom and hurt something.
People pay money to get a customized teaching according to their level, physical and mental technique as well as a follow up on their progress. These are generic ideas, (which are good, don’t get me wrong) but its application vary from person to person and need constant supervision in the lesson and weekly to achieve proper progress. So people pay money for that.
The issue here is that these are expert level speed lessons. Most watching need to learn more basic speed lessons. For example never ever play in a way that your forcing your hands/ forearms. Your whole body needs to be relaxed at all times. If you can’t do that it means you need to slow down to a tempo -no matter how slow where you can do it relaxed and slowly move up from there. Never getting tense at all. Speed is about efficiency and not actual speed. When your playing difficult material like what is presented here your mental focus should be on what you are playing in the moment. Your never looking ahead/ anticipating the more difficult sequence that is next. Play it correctly at a tempo you can do it at and use a metronome to slowly increase the tempo. Learn it bit by bit faster and faster and slowly string more and more bits together. Again using a metronome to control your velocity to exactly where you need to be at the moment. This stuff is %100 mental. The moment it becomes physical means your doing it wrong and wont get where your aiming to be. Its not about endless hours of practice. Rather its about efficient/proper practice. Big difference. When you play relaxed you can play faster and longer without injury. When you play in a physical way you make more mistakes, wear your self out faster, are prone to injury and sound less musical.
The curious thing is that Chopin demanded strict time in the left hand for his music, “as per” Mikuli and many others. Why after so much practice then, virtually no one is able to play his mad music in strict time? Is it impossible? Has any recording ever achieved that? Have the marcati in his Revolutionary Etude been ever sounded at full speed? Is she playing too fast here? Yes, because we have created an idea that this is the speed Chopin wanted, but research has shown that it is not the case - one can easily look it up. There are no quotations speaking about Chopin being a sadist that asked for an unhealthy art or by which people complained about he being a torturer.
I employ these strategies, yet you accomplish in hours what takes me weeks/months. Thank you for showing your process; I appreciate your vulnerability to do so. Love your content, your playing, and yeah pretty much everything...
For the 10+ years I’ve been playing music, I have always struggled with speed, and this video was a brilliant eye opener for me. I would frequently try to brute force fast passages and then get irritated with the lack of results despite being aware my hands weren’t responding to the way I was trying to drill those passages. I appreciate you taking the time to make this video, it opened my mind up to the many possibilities for the songs I thought I wouldn’t be able to play 😳
Human bodies and musical machines have physical limitations. Composers knew this. Unless they wanted to create frustration for hundreds and then thousands of people as primary goal, their asked speed should be tolerated and treated as a sacrosanct impossibility that in the long term seems to reinforce frustration and worse yet: physical lameness and injury. If that was not the composers’ goal, though, then we should raise the aesthetic, psychological and historical question of their art. Luckily there have been people addressing the issue, of the outrageous tempi, during the last century. Every serious musician should delve into it, I believe. Frustrated musician, here, too.
@@peacegod7337 I know, and this video’s master’s output, not only here but in her channel is truly a testament to that! But surely no human brain can make enough mental and physical gymnastics to play at a rate of 29 notes per second as in the second page for Beethoven’s Op.31 No. 3 Sonata, where according to Czerny one has to play at 144 BPM and at a strict tempo. Or follow Cellarius’s indications of six waltz-steps in less than a second according to his metronome mark. What I want to hint at is to the most important problem that has plagued the classical music world during the last 100 years: that there are problems with the speeds indicated in scores by a big amount of composers from the past, and the thereby-justified research had until recently not able to provide an answer. If you have not heard or known about this problem, you can thank many factors of our culture, among most importantly the complacency and collusion of our arts and culture influencers and teachers that, maybe a lot unaware of it, quell question-asking and talking about it, as anyone with common sense would expect. That includes videos like this without a footnote that would say: this speed is one in which the artist prefer to play. But to say that this speed was intended by the composer? The artist has to stick to a metronome mark of either 84 or 100 Strictly (Chopin made clear that that was the way he wanted his music be played). But neither the artist or all of pianists in the world will, for this piece. Or all his works at what we would commonly nowadays interpret as his metronome speeds indicated on his scores.
@@peacegod7337 which by the way, I have to clarify that these speeds were not written down by Chopin but by two different editors, that’s why there are two speeds. But then we have also the problem with Chopin‘s very own metronome marking for the opus 10 number 12 étude where he asks for marcati to be played in the first 16th note of each descending four-16th notes groups. (No one seems to be able to play them at full speed). And many other works. Thank you,
@@peacegod7337 Here are some quotes about how Chopin wanted us to play his music, independent of how fast or slow he indicated: His pupil Friederike Streicher wrote in her diary that Chopin "required adherence to the strictest rhythm, hated all lingering and dragging, misplaced rubatos as well as exaggerated ritardandos." “Nothing was more foreign to Chopin’s nature than overemphasis, affectation or sentimentality: ‘“Je vous prie de vous asseoir” ["Please sit down", like saying “please, do take your time”], he said on such an occasion with gentle mockery’“ Other quotes on Chopin’s tempo-keeping: “'The left hand,' I often heard him say, 'is the choir master: it mustn't relent or bend,. It's a clock. Do with the right hand what you want and can” “Chopin, as Mme Camille Dubois explains so well, often required simultaneously that the left hand, playing the accompaniment, should maintain strict time, while the melodic line should enjoy freedom of expression with fluctuations of speed” "In keeping time Chopin was inexorable, and some readers will be surprised to learn that the metronome never left his piano. Even in his much maligned tempo rubato, the hand responsible for the accompaniment would keep strict time, while the other hand, singing the melody, would free the essence of the musical thought from all rhythmic fetters, either by lingering hesitantly or by eagerly anticipating the movement with a certain impatient vehemence akin to passionate speech."
With dotted notes, the strategy I was taught - and now teach! - is to start by dotting the odd-numbered notes (1st, 3rd, 5th etc) and halving the even-numbered ones; and then doing it the other way around - halve the odd-numbered notes and dot the even ones. Putting those together, you've essentially practised every join between two notes at double speed. Really useful video - thank you!
I am not sure that I understand what you mean, but I would like to understand your strategy. Would you mind explaining in another way or giving an example?
@jordanbpiano I can try! Take a group of 4 notes that are all the same length. Instead of playing them with the written rhythm, play the first and third notes as dotted, and the second and fourth notes as half the original value. You've then practised moving from note 2 to note 3 at double speed. Then swap the dotted notes and the shortened ones - notes 2 and 4 are now dotted, and notes 1 and 3 are half length. Playing like this, you practise moving from note 1 to note 2, and from note 3 to note 4, at double speed. Putting both of those together, you've now practised every move between two notes at double speed! And you can of course extend this to much larger groups of notes using the same idea.
I REALLY appreciate this video. I'm very much a beginner, and the first 2 minutes are actually extremely encouraging. I have this image that "good" players must play their complex pieces basically right while more or less sight reading. Seeing your raw and unpolished attempts helps a lot because I find myself thinking "well, that's about how I sound when I've only spent 10 minutes with a song...maybe I'm actually doing okay at progressing."
Hi Nahre, thank you for this video, these strategies are remarkably easily translatable to violin! :) For the "drilling" portion, there are a few more strategies I employ myself: -playing legato where eventually I will play staccato and vice versa -changing the dotted note (1st of a group of notes, then the 2nd etc etc) -changing the "amount" of the dotted notes (in this Chopin there are groups of 4 notes, but it can be interesting to group them as 3) -deliberately bridging across the "chunks" or patterns that show up from the analysis of the passage -starting with the very last note (in final tempo), then the last two notes (in final tempo), then the last three notes (in final tempo), and work your way to the front. Can be done in chunks (yay), or for entire passages (yuck) -play an accent on every string crossing and/or position change (I guess the translation to piano would be hand position?) Perhaps they are translatable to piano? Also, I find that a lot of the content you post about practicing piano are often applicable to my own violin practice, with a tweak here and there, thank you! :)
Fascinating:-)) Yes, those can be applied to piano practice as well, I use them! Thank you for sharing, it's interesting to learn about the other instruments.
I do think that the longer you play piano and the more pianists you watch, the more you also get a sense for new and innovative fingering that immensely helps with fatigue and speed - I've picked up some weird and wonderful fingering patterns from other pianists on youtube that weren't on my sheet music and that I never would have thought of
Fascinating to a non-piano player. Your brain is clearly wired differently than most to be able to execute and listen to your performance simultaneously to such a complex, rapid work. I can understand your strategy for dividing into parallel strategies but to actually see it played in real-time, it's mindblowing.
Assuming a skill like this is due to a “differently wired brain” is exactly why most people never advance to the next level in what they do. If you put in the hours, you would understand how simple it becomes. I haven’t met someone who couldn’t learn a lot of musical information in a short amount of time with the proper coaching. Just takes time and dedication, just like everything else.
Being a fairly advanced clarinetist I've in the past year decided that I'm switching my instrument to piano and started learning it. I remember as I was developing as a clarinetist using ideas like blocking, pattern recognition to learn fast passages. After a while it became second nature and I could just play anything without thinking of those things. Now, here I am, back at the beginner level on the piano and I'm so GLAD that you did this video. I had completely forgotten these techniques for learning to play fast without stumbling or getting lost. THANK YOU!!! Now I will be able to get past the first e diminished run in Beethoven's Appassionata
I am 40, sometimes I don't know how I can still improve on the piano. You are my inspiration, so much talent. I LOVE your touch on the instrument and how complete of a musician you are.
Found your channel about a year ago, I think - specifically because of the 'Sound like Rachmaninoff' video (which I love, in addition to that entire series!) and have been loving it more and more with each video! There are so many of your videos that deserve comments and support, and if I had time and mental energy (being a dad of three under five is a heavy load), I would do it. But at least I can start here! I studied composition at a conservatory but never built up my confidence in piano playing to the level that I would have liked. Your videos on this subject - and this one in particular - are absolutely amazing! You break down a lot of the roadblocks and obstacles to making progress, and I truly appreciate your efforts here. Please keep creating - we need more people like you who share and educate and create!!!
I find that at the end of a long practice session - with lots of repetition and analysis/ getting granular with it - that when I play what I have been practicing it almost sounds worse, it's like you can hear all the pathways that are being created and tired from firing. The next day is where you can really see & feel the progress , the other half of the learning as they say! It's like all of it comes together while you are away/ sleeping and then can play it from a different space. I find my energies vary a lot when it comes to my time alone with the drums. Like the moon cycle or something, there's a time where improvisation and inspired flow is coming through, there's times where it's really all about the repetitions and slow methodical with a metronome etc... just felt like sharing idk. I really enjoyed this video and I like your approach and how you illustrated the mental notes / noticings that happen first that inform the practice, and from there how you troubleshoot. I use similar techniques, I find it keeps things really fun also to troubleshoot in this way. All the best!
Yes... I often found after a very long session I seem to be getting nowhere or even my playing falling apart but after a good night's sleep things suddenly became very good and I'm suddenly unstuck from the trouble spots from the day before.
I'm a guitarist, but I think this is really well delivered advice, since even the physical advice (avoiding vertical motion, zoning to divide the instrument) is pretty naturally to other instruments. I really like the idea of zoning as it reminds me of something my first guitar teacher taught me when arranging, using different guitar positions to access different ways of phrasing the same melody, he emphasized that you can do this in reverse, too, taking the desired phrasing and placing it in a different part of the instrument to visually signal to yourself that this is a separate phrase. Great video as always.
I know this piano lady on UA-cam; she plays Chopin as her profession. You all are 3 worlds above me in piano, but when I retire, I already have my sheet music in a folder of what I want to learn. It's great watching you do these videos, I learn so much.
It has always been my belief that Chopin truly understood the piano as an instrument. And you my dear capture the essance of both the piano and Chopin. To be so young with your whole life ahead of you and able to interprit Chopin the way you do is truly something to be admired. 🙌
I’m gonna be starting my second year in music school here in a week and a half so I’ve been perusing your videos to find ways to improve since I had a few hiccups last year I want to get over. Really appreciate the content, you’re definitely inspiring me to continue on as a pianist and improve!
Lady Nahre Sol, not only are your Videos excellent, they are most informative, elaborate yet easy to understand! Thank you so much for sharing your awe inspiring gift and knowledge with us!
It’s crazy how this sounds like classical bebop! You’ve got stride piano in the left hand, and running double time bebop lines in the right hand. Love it!
One of the most valuable things my teacher told me on this subject was "playing fast is not about how fast you can press the next note, but how fast you can let go of the latter". Any how, nice video with some good techniques for improving speed!
My favorite part of the piece so far is that fermata rest before the second measure. Because I can pause there and pretend like I’m about to launch into some amazing performance
The towel cracked me up - this piece looks more intense than 90 minutes on treadmill! 💪😅 Great advice as always, love the point you made around 6:20 with shifting energy - focusing energy in the direction of a target rather than thinking "oh crap, I have to play a million fast notes in a row." Thanks for sharing!
Hahaha today I was so happy I could finally play some piece from my lesson book flawlessly (enough to give me that good old Victory! moment). A gazillion times slower than this and mostly one note per hand, the occasional chord on the left hand, exploring this interesting terrain of finger movements... And then I saw this video just after my practice routine, made my day 😆 Still love it everyday that I finally started to learn playing the piano the beginning of this year ♥ As a kid I hated it when my teacher made me play some piece of music over and over again, but now there's just no way I let myself get away with sloppy playing. Because that magic feeling when your fingers do something that seemed impossible just a bit earlier is the best :) Loved your video as always!
Thanks for the video! I didn't really understand the zoning idea, but it seems the most interesting. I hope you will have the opportunity to explain it in more detail at some point.
Great to have you here in Hamburg Nahre! Good video and good explaining, I was looking for something like that because I felt a little bit stuck in my practice routine and I felt like I was not building so much accuracy in my jazz playing, this comes really at the right time!
Many people struggle with Czerny’s Daily studies and School of velocity. Also, with the Revolutionary Etude by Chopin Op.10 No. 12, where the 16th-note accents are inexistent at “full speed”. It could be good to have a video tackling those works for the benefit of artists and enthusiasts, so as to finally reveal a technique that can render such studies feasible in a healthy way as the composers intended, at full speed.
Thank you for sharing these methods! I am currently working on a daunting and fast section myself, and this has given my some new ideas on how to approach practising it :)
Fascinating questions. It makes me miss my college Piano Maestro. The things I'd ask today. (1): When do you hit your peak, conquering all of the standard literature after which you never progress much further? About 10 years? (2): What's the smartest way to practice? With stuff that you have already mastered just for pleasure, or new stuff? (3): What about zen moments? Why am I sometimes flawless and other times horrendous? What explains that?
Good GOD ALMIGHTY. I was watching this while folding clothes and she started her run through after the ninety minutes and my mouth dropped and I stood there holding my towel flabbergasted 😂
Despite playing piano for literally decades, I very rarely ever played without sheet music. Amazing to see such a complex piece played like this -- I'm inspired to try hard mode on some piano pieces again. Ok, maybe hard-ish mode at first...
Great tips! I love classical for that fact that the expression induced from properly performed speed is still allowed. In rock music today, anyone playing a few notes fast on guitar will immediately be deemed a worthless shredder without feel, when in reality speed increases dynamics, drama and feel along with acting as excellent ornamentation.
Interestingly, many people in Chopin’s time also denounced as unmusical the speed-runner, showy playing that does not stick to tempo. So, the zeitgeist lives on,
@@AlbertoSegovia. Thanks, I wasn't aware of that, so quite interesting. I have to say that coming rhythmic music, the tempo part can bother me as well. Not that the tempo can't be flexible for emphasis and expression, but when it's too obvious that it slows due to the technicality of the phrase or run, it start hurting the piece as a whole.
@@poulwinther Exactly! Chopin himself denounced that very much: His pupil Friederike Streicher wrote in her diary that Chopin "required adherence to the strictest rhythm, hated all lingering and dragging, misplaced rubatos as well as exaggerated ritardandos." “Nothing was more foreign to Chopin’s nature than overemphasis, affectation or sentimentality: ‘“Je vous prie de vous asseoir” ["Please sit down", like saying “please, do take your time”], he said on such an occasion with gentle mockery’“ Other quotes on Chopin’s tempo-keeping: “'The left hand,' I often heard him say, 'is the choir master: it mustn't relent or bend,. It's a clock. Do with the right hand what you want and can” “Chopin, as Mme Camille Dubois explains so well, often required simultaneously that the left hand, playing the accompaniment, should maintain strict time, while the melodic line should enjoy freedom of expression with fluctuations of speed” "In keeping time Chopin was inexorable, and some readers will be surprised to learn that the metronome never left his piano. Even in his much maligned tempo rubato, the hand responsible for the accompaniment would keep strict time, while the other hand, singing the melody, would free the essence of the musical thought from all rhythmic fetters, either by lingering hesitantly or by eagerly anticipating the movement with a certain impatient vehemence akin to passionate speech."
@@AlbertoSegovia. Thanks a lot - I thoroughly enjoyed that read, and all the more respect to Chopin! This is exactly how I would expect it to be played, just like a tight hard rock band with a great and expressive soloist. Do you know if the modern tempi are interpreted correctly?
@@poulwinther Hi! From what I’ve seen and heard: some people can play some pieces at his crazy metronome mark speeds. But not a single one can play everything at those speeds. Maybe some can come close. Everyone in the classical music world knows about this problem, but the questions it asks are dutifully swept under a rug, and prevented to come to light through very questionable methods. Chopin’s Tristesse etude op.10 no.3 is too fast and almost always performed at half speed. His Op. 10 No. 12 Etude, the revolutionary, has marcati indicated at the first note of each group of four 16th notes, but not a single pianist attempting “full speed” will be able to play them as indicated. Moving on, Czerny’s edition of Beethoven’s Op. 31 No. 3 Sonata, asks for both a 144 BPM speed and a strict tempo, but in the second page comes a group of twelve notes that by adhering to prescribed speed, would require the pianist to play at a rate of 29 notes per second. What is going on here? Moreover, for the ill-fated ship Brittanic, Max Reger recorded organ rolls that, according to a digital, strict reconstruction, and to his friend Straube’s metronome marks of Reger’s works, were intended to be played at a speed half of what Reger himself indicated on paper. Cesar Franck’s works are performed around half his tempi, or not even close to his full speeds. Also, it appears that at least one author on church music in the XIXth century equated a mark of quarter note = 120 to the duration of an eighth note (half a second), which is half of such an indication. Also, at least some professors from the Paris Conservatory spoke of the metronome’s spindle beat as a “there to here” movement (and not just a “there”) and as a “tic tac”, and not just a “tic”, as we would otherwise expect. A pattern starts to emerge. Czerny said that the commonly used waltz time in his time was dotted half note = 72 if I remember correctly. But coreographer Cellarius indicates six complicated steps to be danced at a similar speed in such a second of time. Though which nowadays almost nobody respects. Although they do, but at close to half speed. So, this is a problem that has been studied for decades and we as musicians and music lovers need to delve into to prevent injuries and to build an authentic philosophy of bringing all these dead people’s art back. Or how would we justify growing stuck in this period of Music? Coming back in a circle, well, Chopin is never played respecting his strict tempo while attempting full speed. So let’s start there: let’s stick to Chopin’s metronome (which is not done in this video), and see how far we get. Thanks for reading,
Bravo,, Bravissimo, Outstanding. Huge ,, Thank You. No, I don't play Chopin I play jazz and rock and fusion of course. I even went to Temple, AND You Still teach me fingering techniques and This video ? Supper Informative, never thought about it this way. My heart Thanks You Big Time !!!!.
no one said a word about stride piano aka u use 4th finger for chords and leave 5th pinky open for free movement back and forth which allows your left hand to be more relaxed, and faster , but now i have re- learn what little stride I know .
Thanks for doing this video I’ve been playing a lifetime of easy listening pieces but my left hand runs have been getting stuck-y following your advice and it’s much better. Will do 9 minutes over the next ten days ❤should be much improved 😊
Nahre sol Love Piano speed Exercises Outstanding and excellent Concept and Great Ideas presented and useful Thank you so much sharing this Learn Very Much GOD BLESS Producer Chico Black ❤
Thanks Nahre. It's very brave to share imperfections and frustration with us. It's part of the way, lot of work, then more work. But not the most Instagramable, So many thanks ❤
I am in awe every time I watch one of your videos. I hope your strategy will work with Charlie Parker saxophone solos. I hope you are enjoying your residency.
I don't play piano, but I often look at piano charts as if they were arrangements for a rock band, something like zoning. I'll parse out the bass vs the rhythm guitar in the left hand, and then think of a singer or guitar solo on top. This is also how I think of piano charts on the rare occasion I have to write one.
That tempo tracker in your run throughs is really interesting! How did you set this up? Is it something you made during editing, or is it connected to your piano?
Not just about to analysis or grouping note. You need to let every part of your whole arm to move freely , natural and relax ,that will help you transport your fingers to each key easily and without tension and speed will come later.
I swear an hour ago I just searched up how to play fast, and this just popped up... kudos, Nahre.
Awesome!!
That was a pretty slow search by Google, then😊
I search that like 5 times per day like i’m praying for my religion, please grant me dexterity 🙏🏻
I was just thinking about that
And are u fast now?... It's been 7 months u c. 😅
Love how you show frustration as an authentic part of the learning process. Also really intuitive advice for playing fast. Perfect video!!
Frustration should only naturally come when the learning is counterproductive. I feel it when trying to play Bach’s third invention at Czerny’s speed of dotted quarter = 92. I bet Lisitsa feels frustrated, because even for her seems to be impossible.
Repent and trust in Jesus. He's the only way to Heaven. We've all sinned and deserve Hell. Sins like lying, lusting, etc. Repent and trust only in Jesus, and you will be saved! You can be saved because he took the punishment for our sins on himself when he died on the cross, just like someone can pay your speeding fine in court, and you get off free.
Romans 3:23
John 3:16😊❤
It's so refreshing to see a practice session rather than a performance all the time, it makes the rest of us feel better to know that even great musicians (like yourself) have to take things slowly, piece by piece and build a performance and that they also make mistakes! Thanks, great video.
People pay vast amounts of money to learn these concepts. What a masterclass. Thank you Nahre for sharing your knowledge with everyone the way you do!
And what do you think about the idea that the note occurs way before the finger reaches the bottom of the keyboard ? In fact you don't need to go to the bottom and hurt something.
People pay money to get a customized teaching according to their level, physical and mental technique as well as a follow up on their progress. These are generic ideas, (which are good, don’t get me wrong) but its application vary from person to person and need constant supervision in the lesson and weekly to achieve proper progress. So people pay money for that.
"This is where I'm at" *playing wonderfully*
The issue here is that these are expert level speed lessons. Most watching need to learn more basic speed lessons. For example never ever play in a way that your forcing your hands/ forearms. Your whole body needs to be relaxed at all times. If you can’t do that it means you need to slow down to a tempo -no matter how slow where you can do it relaxed and slowly move up from there. Never getting tense at all. Speed is about efficiency and not actual speed. When your playing difficult material like what is presented here your mental focus should be on what you are playing in the moment. Your never looking ahead/ anticipating the more difficult sequence that is next. Play it correctly at a tempo you can do it at and use a metronome to slowly increase the tempo. Learn it bit by bit faster and faster and slowly string more and more bits together. Again using a metronome to control your velocity to exactly where you need to be at the moment. This stuff is %100 mental. The moment it becomes physical means your doing it wrong and wont get where your aiming to be. Its not about endless hours of practice. Rather its about efficient/proper practice. Big difference. When you play relaxed you can play faster and longer without injury. When you play in a physical way you make more mistakes, wear your self out faster, are prone to injury and sound less musical.
The curious thing is that Chopin demanded strict time in the left hand for his music, “as per” Mikuli and many others. Why after so much practice then, virtually no one is able to play his mad music in strict time? Is it impossible? Has any recording ever achieved that? Have the marcati in his Revolutionary Etude been ever sounded at full speed? Is she playing too fast here? Yes, because we have created an idea that this is the speed Chopin wanted, but research has shown that it is not the case - one can easily look it up. There are no quotations speaking about Chopin being a sadist that asked for an unhealthy art or by which people complained about he being a torturer.
I employ these strategies, yet you accomplish in hours what takes me weeks/months. Thank you for showing your process; I appreciate your vulnerability to do so. Love your content, your playing, and yeah pretty much everything...
For the 10+ years I’ve been playing music, I have always struggled with speed, and this video was a brilliant eye opener for me.
I would frequently try to brute force fast passages and then get irritated with the lack of results despite being aware my hands weren’t responding to the way I was trying to drill those passages. I appreciate you taking the time to make this video, it opened my mind up to the many possibilities for the songs I thought I wouldn’t be able to play 😳
Human bodies and musical machines have physical limitations. Composers knew this. Unless they wanted to create frustration for hundreds and then thousands of people as primary goal, their asked speed should be tolerated and treated as a sacrosanct impossibility that in the long term seems to reinforce frustration and worse yet: physical lameness and injury. If that was not the composers’ goal, though, then we should raise the aesthetic, psychological and historical question of their art. Luckily there have been people addressing the issue, of the outrageous tempi, during the last century. Every serious musician should delve into it, I believe. Frustrated musician, here, too.
@@peacegod7337 I know, and this video’s master’s output, not only here but in her channel is truly a testament to that! But surely no human brain can make enough mental and physical gymnastics to play at a rate of 29 notes per second as in the second page for Beethoven’s Op.31 No. 3 Sonata, where according to Czerny one has to play at 144 BPM and at a strict tempo. Or follow Cellarius’s indications of six waltz-steps in less than a second according to his metronome mark. What I want to hint at is to the most important problem that has plagued the classical music world during the last 100 years: that there are problems with the speeds indicated in scores by a big amount of composers from the past, and the thereby-justified research had until recently not able to provide an answer. If you have not heard or known about this problem, you can thank many factors of our culture, among most importantly the complacency and collusion of our arts and culture influencers and teachers that, maybe a lot unaware of it, quell question-asking and talking about it, as anyone with common sense would expect. That includes videos like this without a footnote that would say: this speed is one in which the artist prefer to play. But to say that this speed was intended by the composer? The artist has to stick to a metronome mark of either 84 or 100 Strictly (Chopin made clear that that was the way he wanted his music be played). But neither the artist or all of pianists in the world will, for this piece. Or all his works at what we would commonly nowadays interpret as his metronome speeds indicated on his scores.
@@peacegod7337 84 or 100 half notes, that is! (168 or 200 quarters).
@@peacegod7337 which by the way, I have to clarify that these speeds were not written down by Chopin but by two different editors, that’s why there are two speeds. But then we have also the problem with Chopin‘s very own metronome marking for the opus 10 number 12 étude where he asks for marcati to be played in the first 16th note of each descending four-16th notes groups. (No one seems to be able to play them at full speed). And many other works. Thank you,
@@peacegod7337 Here are some quotes about how Chopin wanted us to play his music, independent of how fast or slow he indicated:
His pupil Friederike Streicher wrote in her diary that Chopin "required adherence to the strictest rhythm, hated all lingering and dragging, misplaced rubatos as well as exaggerated ritardandos."
“Nothing was more foreign to Chopin’s nature than overemphasis, affectation or sentimentality: ‘“Je vous prie de vous asseoir” ["Please sit down", like saying “please, do take your time”], he said on such an occasion with gentle mockery’“
Other quotes on Chopin’s tempo-keeping:
“'The left hand,' I often heard him say, 'is the choir master: it mustn't relent or bend,. It's a clock. Do with the right hand what you want and can”
“Chopin, as Mme Camille Dubois explains so well, often required simultaneously that the left hand, playing the accompaniment, should maintain strict time, while the melodic line should enjoy freedom of expression with fluctuations of speed”
"In keeping time Chopin was inexorable, and some readers will be surprised to learn that the metronome never left his piano. Even in his much maligned tempo rubato, the hand responsible for the accompaniment would keep strict time, while the other hand, singing the melody, would free the essence of the musical thought from all rhythmic fetters, either by lingering hesitantly or by eagerly anticipating the movement with a certain impatient vehemence akin to passionate speech."
With dotted notes, the strategy I was taught - and now teach! - is to start by dotting the odd-numbered notes (1st, 3rd, 5th etc) and halving the even-numbered ones; and then doing it the other way around - halve the odd-numbered notes and dot the even ones. Putting those together, you've essentially practised every join between two notes at double speed.
Really useful video - thank you!
I am not sure that I understand what you mean, but I would like to understand your strategy. Would you mind explaining in another way or giving an example?
@jordanbpiano I can try!
Take a group of 4 notes that are all the same length. Instead of playing them with the written rhythm, play the first and third notes as dotted, and the second and fourth notes as half the original value. You've then practised moving from note 2 to note 3 at double speed.
Then swap the dotted notes and the shortened ones - notes 2 and 4 are now dotted, and notes 1 and 3 are half length. Playing like this, you practise moving from note 1 to note 2, and from note 3 to note 4, at double speed.
Putting both of those together, you've now practised every move between two notes at double speed! And you can of course extend this to much larger groups of notes using the same idea.
Ah, okay! A former teacher taught me that strategy, and it has helped immensely. Thank you for taking the time to explain.
I REALLY appreciate this video. I'm very much a beginner, and the first 2 minutes are actually extremely encouraging. I have this image that "good" players must play their complex pieces basically right while more or less sight reading. Seeing your raw and unpolished attempts helps a lot because I find myself thinking "well, that's about how I sound when I've only spent 10 minutes with a song...maybe I'm actually doing okay at progressing."
Hi Nahre, thank you for this video, these strategies are remarkably easily translatable to violin! :)
For the "drilling" portion, there are a few more strategies I employ myself:
-playing legato where eventually I will play staccato and vice versa
-changing the dotted note (1st of a group of notes, then the 2nd etc etc)
-changing the "amount" of the dotted notes (in this Chopin there are groups of 4 notes, but it can be interesting to group them as 3)
-deliberately bridging across the "chunks" or patterns that show up from the analysis of the passage
-starting with the very last note (in final tempo), then the last two notes (in final tempo), then the last three notes (in final tempo), and work your way to the front. Can be done in chunks (yay), or for entire passages (yuck)
-play an accent on every string crossing and/or position change (I guess the translation to piano would be hand position?)
Perhaps they are translatable to piano?
Also, I find that a lot of the content you post about practicing piano are often applicable to my own violin practice, with a tweak here and there, thank you! :)
Fascinating:-)) Yes, those can be applied to piano practice as well, I use them! Thank you for sharing, it's interesting to learn about the other instruments.
@@JuliaPikalova Very cool! Thanks for the reply :)
I do think that the longer you play piano and the more pianists you watch, the more you also get a sense for new and innovative fingering that immensely helps with fatigue and speed - I've picked up some weird and wonderful fingering patterns from other pianists on youtube that weren't on my sheet music and that I never would have thought of
Study Godowsky’s fingerings! His works are like an encyclopedia for this,
@@AlbertoSegovia. Agree 100 percent !
@@chopholtz4950u could’ve just said, “different fingerings result in different sounds”
Thanks for sharing. As a beginner, this is immensely helpful to know.
Fascinating to a non-piano player. Your brain is clearly wired differently than most to be able to execute and listen to your performance simultaneously to such a complex, rapid work. I can understand your strategy for dividing into parallel strategies but to actually see it played in real-time, it's mindblowing.
It’s incredible, the human ability. Being at her level comes through a lot of hard work. And it’s a delight to watch!
@@AlbertoSegovia.Yes, its obvious that she’s practiced a lot over the years. But she knows how to practice -which is even more important.
Assuming a skill like this is due to a “differently wired brain” is exactly why most people never advance to the next level in what they do. If you put in the hours, you would understand how simple it becomes. I haven’t met someone who couldn’t learn a lot of musical information in a short amount of time with the proper coaching. Just takes time and dedication, just like everything else.
@@taiteyard3567very true
Being a fairly advanced clarinetist I've in the past year decided that I'm switching my instrument to piano and started learning it. I remember as I was developing as a clarinetist using ideas like blocking, pattern recognition to learn fast passages. After a while it became second nature and I could just play anything without thinking of those things. Now, here I am, back at the beginner level on the piano and I'm so GLAD that you did this video. I had completely forgotten these techniques for learning to play fast without stumbling or getting lost. THANK YOU!!! Now I will be able to get past the first e diminished run in Beethoven's Appassionata
I am 40, sometimes I don't know how I can still improve on the piano. You are my inspiration, so much talent. I LOVE your touch on the instrument and how complete of a musician you are.
Found your channel about a year ago, I think - specifically because of the 'Sound like Rachmaninoff' video (which I love, in addition to that entire series!) and have been loving it more and more with each video! There are so many of your videos that deserve comments and support, and if I had time and mental energy (being a dad of three under five is a heavy load), I would do it. But at least I can start here!
I studied composition at a conservatory but never built up my confidence in piano playing to the level that I would have liked. Your videos on this subject - and this one in particular - are absolutely amazing! You break down a lot of the roadblocks and obstacles to making progress, and I truly appreciate your efforts here. Please keep creating - we need more people like you who share and educate and create!!!
I find that at the end of a long practice session - with lots of repetition and analysis/ getting granular with it - that when I play what I have been practicing it almost sounds worse, it's like you can hear all the pathways that are being created and tired from firing. The next day is where you can really see & feel the progress , the other half of the learning as they say! It's like all of it comes together while you are away/ sleeping and then can play it from a different space. I find my energies vary a lot when it comes to my time alone with the drums. Like the moon cycle or something, there's a time where improvisation and inspired flow is coming through, there's times where it's really all about the repetitions and slow methodical with a metronome etc... just felt like sharing idk. I really enjoyed this video and I like your approach and how you illustrated the mental notes / noticings that happen first that inform the practice, and from there how you troubleshoot. I use similar techniques, I find it keeps things really fun also to troubleshoot in this way. All the best!
Yes... I often found after a very long session I seem to be getting nowhere or even my playing falling apart but after a good night's sleep things suddenly became very good and I'm suddenly unstuck from the trouble spots from the day before.
I woke up and could do the run perfectly while the day before I thought that I'll never learn
I'm a guitarist, but I think this is really well delivered advice, since even the physical advice (avoiding vertical motion, zoning to divide the instrument) is pretty naturally to other instruments. I really like the idea of zoning as it reminds me of something my first guitar teacher taught me when arranging, using different guitar positions to access different ways of phrasing the same melody, he emphasized that you can do this in reverse, too, taking the desired phrasing and placing it in a different part of the instrument to visually signal to yourself that this is a separate phrase.
Great video as always.
I know this piano lady on UA-cam; she plays Chopin as her profession. You all are 3 worlds above me in piano, but when I retire, I already have my sheet music in a folder of what I want to learn. It's great watching you do these videos, I learn so much.
It has always been my belief that Chopin truly understood the piano as an instrument. And you my dear capture the essance of both the piano and Chopin. To be so young with your whole life ahead of you and able to interprit Chopin the way you do is truly something to be admired. 🙌
It's so cool to see a great pianist go through the process of learning a very technically difficult piece. Thanks Nahre!
I’m gonna be starting my second year in music school here in a week and a half so I’ve been perusing your videos to find ways to improve since I had a few hiccups last year I want to get over.
Really appreciate the content, you’re definitely inspiring me to continue on as a pianist and improve!
Lady Nahre Sol, not only are your Videos excellent, they are most informative, elaborate yet easy to understand! Thank you so much for sharing your awe inspiring gift and knowledge with us!
It’s crazy how this sounds like classical bebop! You’ve got stride piano in the left hand, and running double time bebop lines in the right hand. Love it!
In case you havent seen the new video about chopin jazz :)
One of the most valuable things my teacher told me on this subject was "playing fast is not about how fast you can press the next note, but how fast you can let go of the latter".
Any how, nice video with some good techniques for improving speed!
Wow, so helpful. Thanks.
My favorite part of the piece so far is that fermata rest before the second measure. Because I can pause there and pretend like I’m about to launch into some amazing performance
You are such a incredible teacher/pianist, Nahre, do you know that? Thanks a lot! 🇧🇷
I played the piano for ten years, and this video reminded me how it was to practice
Made very well, as always!
The towel cracked me up - this piece looks more intense than 90 minutes on treadmill! 💪😅 Great advice as always, love the point you made around 6:20 with shifting energy - focusing energy in the direction of a target rather than thinking "oh crap, I have to play a million fast notes in a row." Thanks for sharing!
As an amateur, it's really helpful to see how a serious player practices. Thanks for the easy explanations.
Wow You play piano pretty Fast Nahre Sol great Job
Hahaha today I was so happy I could finally play some piece from my lesson book flawlessly (enough to give me that good old Victory! moment). A gazillion times slower than this and mostly one note per hand, the occasional chord on the left hand, exploring this interesting terrain of finger movements... And then I saw this video just after my practice routine, made my day 😆
Still love it everyday that I finally started to learn playing the piano the beginning of this year ♥ As a kid I hated it when my teacher made me play some piece of music over and over again, but now there's just no way I let myself get away with sloppy playing. Because that magic feeling when your fingers do something that seemed impossible just a bit earlier is the best :)
Loved your video as always!
Fantastic! Nahre Sol!... I'm definitely a fan! Keep up the good work. Extremely helpful, thank you for recording this video. 😊
Long time subscriber here 😊
I deeply APPRECIATE you ❤
Thanks for the video! I didn't really understand the zoning idea, but it seems the most interesting. I hope you will have the opportunity to explain it in more detail at some point.
This is wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing.
Everyone young pianist should watchi this.
"Here's where I'm at to start"
Way better than anything I can do after extensive practice lol. Really good tips, thanks.
Great to have you here in Hamburg Nahre! Good video and good explaining, I was looking for something like that because I felt a little bit stuck in my practice routine and I felt like I was not building so much accuracy in my jazz playing, this comes really at the right time!
Stupendous! So grateful for the knowledge you share! ❤🙏🎶💐🎹
Many people struggle with Czerny’s Daily studies and School of velocity. Also, with the Revolutionary Etude by Chopin Op.10 No. 12, where the 16th-note accents are inexistent at “full speed”. It could be good to have a video tackling those works for the benefit of artists and enthusiasts, so as to finally reveal a technique that can render such studies feasible in a healthy way as the composers intended, at full speed.
Thanks Nahre! This is great advice, not only for piano, it works on guitar too!
Outstanding. One of the most insightful vlogs for advanced piano practise I've ever seen. First rate!
Thanks a lot Nahre! Very nice
This is some kind of mythic grade.. U rock Nahre!
Thank you for sharing these methods! I am currently working on a daunting and fast section myself, and this has given my some new ideas on how to approach practising it :)
Fascinating questions. It makes me miss my college Piano Maestro. The things I'd ask today. (1): When do you hit your peak, conquering all of the standard literature after which you never progress much further? About 10 years? (2): What's the smartest way to practice? With stuff that you have already mastered just for pleasure, or new stuff? (3): What about zen moments? Why am I sometimes flawless and other times horrendous? What explains that?
Ι always look forward to your videos! Always interesting, informative and real! Thank you!
It's an incredible honour to learn from you, Nahre. Thank you for all you gift the music community!
Terrific strategies and also love that 'winging it' stage where you can find your baseline!
Such dedication and passion for efficiently honing your craft to a level of precision and perfection! ❤
Very helpful. Thanks. Love watching you work out at the piano; quite inspiring. Keep it up!
Good GOD ALMIGHTY. I was watching this while folding clothes and she started her run through after the ninety minutes and my mouth dropped and I stood there holding my towel flabbergasted 😂
Despite playing piano for literally decades, I very rarely ever played without sheet music. Amazing to see such a complex piece played like this -- I'm inspired to try hard mode on some piano pieces again. Ok, maybe hard-ish mode at first...
Great tips! I love classical for that fact that the expression induced from properly performed speed is still allowed. In rock music today, anyone playing a few notes fast on guitar will immediately be deemed a worthless shredder without feel, when in reality speed increases dynamics, drama and feel along with acting as excellent ornamentation.
Interestingly, many people in Chopin’s time also denounced as unmusical the speed-runner, showy playing that does not stick to tempo. So, the zeitgeist lives on,
@@AlbertoSegovia. Thanks, I wasn't aware of that, so quite interesting. I have to say that coming rhythmic music, the tempo part can bother me as well. Not that the tempo can't be flexible for emphasis and expression, but when it's too obvious that it slows due to the technicality of the phrase or run, it start hurting the piece as a whole.
@@poulwinther Exactly! Chopin himself denounced that very much:
His pupil Friederike Streicher wrote in her diary that Chopin "required adherence to the strictest rhythm, hated all lingering and dragging, misplaced rubatos as well as exaggerated ritardandos."
“Nothing was more foreign to Chopin’s nature than overemphasis, affectation or sentimentality: ‘“Je vous prie de vous asseoir” ["Please sit down", like saying “please, do take your time”], he said on such an occasion with gentle mockery’“
Other quotes on Chopin’s tempo-keeping:
“'The left hand,' I often heard him say, 'is the choir master: it mustn't relent or bend,. It's a clock. Do with the right hand what you want and can”
“Chopin, as Mme Camille Dubois explains so well, often required simultaneously that the left hand, playing the accompaniment, should maintain strict time, while the melodic line should enjoy freedom of expression with fluctuations of speed”
"In keeping time Chopin was inexorable, and some readers will be surprised to learn that the metronome never left his piano. Even in his much maligned tempo rubato, the hand responsible for the accompaniment would keep strict time, while the other hand, singing the melody, would free the essence of the musical thought from all rhythmic fetters, either by lingering hesitantly or by eagerly anticipating the movement with a certain impatient vehemence akin to passionate speech."
@@AlbertoSegovia. Thanks a lot - I thoroughly enjoyed that read, and all the more respect to Chopin! This is exactly how I would expect it to be played, just like a tight hard rock band with a great and expressive soloist. Do you know if the modern tempi are interpreted correctly?
@@poulwinther Hi! From what I’ve seen and heard: some people can play some pieces at his crazy metronome mark speeds. But not a single one can play everything at those speeds. Maybe some can come close. Everyone in the classical music world knows about this problem, but the questions it asks are dutifully swept under a rug, and prevented to come to light through very questionable methods. Chopin’s Tristesse etude op.10 no.3 is too fast and almost always performed at half speed. His Op. 10 No. 12 Etude, the revolutionary, has marcati indicated at the first note of each group of four 16th notes, but not a single pianist attempting “full speed” will be able to play them as indicated. Moving on, Czerny’s edition of Beethoven’s Op. 31 No. 3 Sonata, asks for both a 144 BPM speed and a strict tempo, but in the second page comes a group of twelve notes that by adhering to prescribed speed, would require the pianist to play at a rate of 29 notes per second. What is going on here? Moreover, for the ill-fated ship Brittanic, Max Reger recorded organ rolls that, according to a digital, strict reconstruction, and to his friend Straube’s metronome marks of Reger’s works, were intended to be played at a speed half of what Reger himself indicated on paper. Cesar Franck’s works are performed around half his tempi, or not even close to his full speeds. Also, it appears that at least one author on church music in the XIXth century equated a mark of quarter note = 120 to the duration of an eighth note (half a second), which is half of such an indication. Also, at least some professors from the Paris Conservatory spoke of the metronome’s spindle beat as a “there to here” movement (and not just a “there”) and as a “tic tac”, and not just a “tic”, as we would otherwise expect. A pattern starts to emerge. Czerny said that the commonly used waltz time in his time was dotted half note = 72 if I remember correctly. But coreographer Cellarius indicates six complicated steps to be danced at a similar speed in such a second of time. Though which nowadays almost nobody respects. Although they do, but at close to half speed. So, this is a problem that has been studied for decades and we as musicians and music lovers need to delve into to prevent injuries and to build an authentic philosophy of bringing all these dead people’s art back. Or how would we justify growing stuck in this period of Music? Coming back in a circle, well, Chopin is never played respecting his strict tempo while attempting full speed. So let’s start there: let’s stick to Chopin’s metronome (which is not done in this video), and see how far we get. Thanks for reading,
Bravo,, Bravissimo, Outstanding.
Huge ,, Thank You.
No, I don't play Chopin
I play jazz and rock and fusion of course.
I even went to Temple,
AND You Still teach me fingering techniques and This video ? Supper Informative, never thought about it this way.
My heart Thanks You Big Time !!!!.
no one said a word about stride piano aka u use 4th finger for chords and leave 5th pinky open for free movement back and forth which allows your left hand to be more relaxed, and faster , but now i have re- learn what little stride I know .
I absolutely cannot play this Prelude, but this was super useful. The reframing you do for 'zoning' is such a good idea.
Thank you for sharing. I'm borrowing your concepts in my cello practice. The concept is universal. Wonderful. Thanks!!!
Appreciate your transparency Nahre, great video.
This is exactly the lesson I need. Thanks Nahre.
Excellent job !!! This is great for all musicians . Thank you
I see hard work, dedication, talent and love for music😊
"speed for the sake of speed is nothing" love this
This is so useful, thank u so much 💖
Thank you Professor. One is never too old or too late to learn new things. I took away a lot from this video.
Got my Nahre Sol fix for the day. Life is good!
Thanks for doing this video I’ve been playing a lifetime of easy listening pieces but my left hand runs have been getting stuck-y following your advice and it’s much better. Will do 9 minutes over the next ten days ❤should be much improved 😊
Very helpful, even for musicians who play other instruments besides piano. Thank you.
Extremely clear and concise! Really great!
The best teacher ever !
One of your bests! Thank you Nahre
Very nice and useful video.
You manage to make complex things look less complex.
Thank you !
Were you at Juilliard with Tiffany Poon?
Nahre sol
Love Piano speed Exercises Outstanding and excellent Concept and Great Ideas presented and useful Thank you so much sharing this Learn Very Much
GOD BLESS
Producer Chico Black ❤
Brilliant, thank you!!!! I'd given up on playing like this. Listening to you, I realise it might be possible with careful study & hard work!
Gosh Nahre ... Such a brilliant and helpful video! Thanks :)
Really helpful 🙏
Thanks 🙏
Thank you for another great master class!!!
This is wonderful! I am definitively trying this on my practice. Thank you so much for sharing, Nahre! 🙏
Thanks Nahre. It's very brave to share imperfections and frustration with us. It's part of the way, lot of work, then more work. But not the most Instagramable, So many thanks ❤
I loved that video with your friend working on making this piece jazz! ❤❤❤❤❤ would love another collab!!!
Thank you so much. This is so helpful! Love your channel! Keep up the great work😊
I bet you can play Feux follets, you are so fast and a good teacher too. Thank you.
"Okay, so, this is where we're at."--is 100x better than any of us could begin to play.
I am in awe every time I watch one of your videos. I hope your strategy will work with Charlie Parker saxophone solos.
I hope you are enjoying your residency.
Thank you Nahre! I'm struggling on Scherzo 1's CODA, and these advices are so much help!
You're amazing, thank you for sharing this knowledge
I don't play piano, but I often look at piano charts as if they were arrangements for a rock band, something like zoning. I'll parse out the bass vs the rhythm guitar in the left hand, and then think of a singer or guitar solo on top. This is also how I think of piano charts on the rare occasion I have to write one.
Nahre is awesome and thrilling and this truly showcases that!
Difficult yet pretty helpful. Thank you!
2'
analyze locally as turnaround to the note d b and a scale pattern to db
AND
analyze harmonically as elements of the tonality of Bb min
!
I love this woman, nice job
I love you Nahre!
Thanks a lot for this helpful video, seriously, learning for professionals as you is a real blessing. ❤
Thank you . I am guitar player, and I agree with what you are saying all ovetr this video.
Very informative. Thank you!
Thank you for the excellent content. I learned a lot. Am sure your advise will benefit me in the long term.❤
That tempo tracker in your run throughs is really interesting! How did you set this up? Is it something you made during editing, or is it connected to your piano?
Not just about to analysis or grouping note.
You need to let every part of your whole arm to move freely , natural and relax ,that will help you transport your fingers to each key easily and without tension and speed will come later.
excellent ! thank you Nahre !
Incredible information! Especially how you drill the 16th notes.