Danae - as usual, this was incredibly useful and wonderfully presented. I am a former conservatory graduate, who left the piano for over 30 years, and am just now returning to it. It is experts like you who are guiding me, as I do not currently have a teacher. I have no words to express my gratitude for your brilliance and patience in preparing these amazing videos!! Thank you so much! Elliott from Manhattan.
Elliott, your self-description could apply very well to me as well! I didn't leave the piano entirely for so long, but certainly left any kind of disciplined work on it or consistency. Good for you (and me) in returning to it seriously. And thanks Danae!! You are an amazing and valuable resource: insightful, clear, focused and selfless. Bravo!
there used to be a real lack of instruction on slow practice, probably still is. So it was nice to see this video pop up and go into such detail. Thankyou.
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Thank you! To me, slow practice is one of the best and most important ways to practice. So glad you liked it!
So helpful. You are so thorough in your presentation.! I have been struggling( and suffering ) with "How to Practise Issues!" I really like and fully understand the significance of what you have said here. It will completely change the way I learn and practise new and not so new pieces It will also restore my confidence in my ability to learn, practise and enjoy music again. You are a great communicator as well as a Great pianist! Please keep sharing your gifts with us. Sincere Thanks.
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Thank you so much for your lovely comment, this makes me so happy to read. Thanks for watching 🙏🏻
That was incredibly interesting! I'll definitely be applying some of these teachings in my practice. Having a piece decay over time has been one of my recurring issues, which I attributed to being a beginner, but I think the reason really is just continuing to play the piece at full speed instead of slowing down and letting my brain keep relearning it :)
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Absolutely! Sometimes, practicing it slowly is just the cleanse that our brain and fingers need. 🤗 Thanks for watching!
Im glad i stumbled upon on this video. When i don't play my instrument i search for this kind of content, it feels like im around with the people with the same passion...because in my family im the only one that plays an instrument. Thanks for this.
Josh Wright had a similar tip on polishing pieces before a performance, where he was talking about slow practice with eyes closed. I don't think we can ever practice enough slowly so I tend to write on the first page of a piece "practice slowly" and "focus on the tough spots" to ensure I am as efficient in practice as possible.
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Love that idea! Maybe I should do this, too - one can never have too many reminders! 🤗
If you can play it slowly you can play it quickly 😆 no but seriously this is great advice. I attempted to add latin rhythms to paganini caprice 24 and it worked out great but half way through paganini got lost, perhaps he should have started slowly 🤷 great video thank you
I enjoyed this video very much simply because as a self-taught, you just reassured me that practicing slow is the best way! Slow tempo everything is like a miracle! I am learning Chopin's etudes 1,2 and 4 and the way I see them, for example, No. 4, I think it was composed by BAch, very slow, sounds like one of his fugues, I use a metronome. As you said, It also helps me to memorize the piece! Thank you, Thank you!
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Thanks so much! Yes, slow practice truly does wonders sometimes. Have fun with the etudes 🤗
Yes I also studied chopins first etude and also use of legatissimo really helped. It really made my interpretation better but I found out that I really have too small hands and that they really ache when playing opět 10 no 1 so I rather stopped, but wish to come back to this etude later🙂
Thank you for the professional analysis of slow practice. Very helpful and concise. Probably best analysis on slow practice on the internet. 5 stars. I subscribed.
Hi Danae, enjoying your videos. Thank you for reinforcing slow practice. Though I do a lot of slow play, I see that I need to be more methodical and focused as I have accuracy problems that seem insurmountable at times. It would be helpful for you to take a short passage, play it at tempo, then show how you worked up to it with slow practice as a video. I understand each piece is approached differently, but a good sample would be worth watching. I also liked your video where you showed playing a note, then immediately moving your fingers to the next note without playing it. I've tried that and it is also very helpful. I feel more determined to dedicate myself now to more quality slow practice. Thank you! UPDATE! Today I think I practiced EVERYTHING slowly, I gave myself permission to slow down, and I had the most incredible practice I have had in a very long time. I felt good about myself during the whole session, and I just can’t thank you enough this has been very, very insightful because today the approach to practicing slowly I gave it more importance, and allowed myself to play without judging myself or feeling like I had to hurry through it…I felt I was giving the music and myself more respect it was just a real breakthrough in attitude. ❤❤❤
This is great advice. I learnt about this previously but the daft thing is.. I actually forget to do it!? I need to get into the habit of doing it every time I practice 👍
Amazing video!! Thank you 🙏🙏 Super well-thought out. I took notes. The word “overhearing” is one of those false friends, tho - in English it just means eavesdropping. The English word for what you mean would be overlook...although “overhear” would certainly be more logical! ☺️ Thanks again-wonderful advice! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Oh yes you are so right, sorry about that! And thanks for the reminder 😉🙏🏻
Hi Danna, yes practicing slowly is a treasure but the key is to be able to play at all intermediate speeds from slow to not so slow, to not so fast, to fast and all gradations in between, without mixing them up, that's really what teaches a piece.
@ Hi Danae, i am following you now, i like your presentations. Have you read my detailed comment about a technical problem i've had for years with my right hand thumb position relative to the keyboard ? Recently i think that i found what i was doing wrong, thanks to several Chopin etudes yelling at me together. If i had studied only one of them i would not have gotten the clue but now at 21 studied etudes that i regularly study and practice, several of them gave me the same feedback on the impracticality of my hand position for the thumb relative to the keyboard. The same discomfort with my thumb manifested itself in several studies. Allowing me to realize the way i was positioning my hand could not work for the thumb. I wrote it to you under your video on hand position and body posture. I hope i am going in the right direction now. Now i might (hopefully) be able to finish learning several of them as i am routinely going through them.
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@@goognamgoognw6637 Yes, I do remember reading your comment and I agree that even the slightest difference in the positioning of the thumb can have a huge impact on the agility and feeling of the fingers and hand. The hand position needs to accommodate the freeness of the thumb. Keep up the great work, 21 studies - that’s impressive! ;)
@ I hope you are well Danae and I wish you very well. Thank you so much your answer is right on, in every way. Something most strange i see when i study Op 25 n 12, the ocean etude, i started learning it about 6 months ago and the progress in my left hand and right hand are not the same. My left hand feels strong and at ease and even surprised me but the right hand is much behind and struggling in progress ! The left hand feels like the backbone at ease while my right hand feels struggling and uncomfortable. I don't understand how that difference could exist in the same pianist with a piece with same difficulty on both hands. I closely watched my left hand and saw it is doing small lateral, rotation and up/down small movement that perfectly make the movement fluid like a squirrel jumping with agility on a forest and that my right hand isn't doing that ! I asked myself why ? My hands are medium sized but my thumb is rather short, compared to some pianists that have such a long thumb their hand position need not be as strictly precise. Also i am left handed,. i've always had to work my right hand more than the left hand. I think i am thinking too much in term of the chords position in the right hand instead of finding a fluid movement.
Als ich jung war, bin ich häufig im Gebäude der Musikhochschule gewesen, weil es eine Abkürzung war oder wegen Veranstaltungen. Ich habe tatsächlich NIE jemanden langsam üben hören und dachte daher, dass man nur mit Schnellüben so gut wird wie diese Studenten. Diese Vorstellung hielt sich leider lange Zeit. Erst vor einigen Jahren haben ich das konzentrierte Langsamüben für mich entdeckt. Vielleicht haben diese Studenten diese Phase einfach hinter sich gelassen oder aber ihre neuen Stücke vor den Semesterferien aufbekommen und dann die langsame Übephase zu Hause durchgeführt und hatten die Sachen dann schon einigermaßen drauf, als sie dann wieder an die Hochschule zum Semesteranfang zurückkehrten. Ich weiß nicht woran es lag, aber es ist schon kurios, wie sowas eine falsche Vorstellung über das Üben prägen kann. Also das langsame Üben ist auf jeden Fall von großem Vorteil, nicht nur was die "richtigen Tasten" betrifft, sondern auch Akzente, Dynamik usw. Und wenn man es wirklich konzentriert macht, ist es auch überhaupt nicht langweilig.
This was REALLY helpful for me thank you. I also want to make a point how what you eat affects your practice session, if you eat a high caloric or even sugary or salty food, for me I'm not as focused. I am trying to eat healthier for my discipline for slow practice. 😊
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Thank you!! Yes, I completely agree - nutrition totally affects the practice session as well. I also try to avoid too much coffee before I practice or give a concert. 🤗
@ that's funny, maybe I'm not getting enough rest, but I find that after a short intense concentrated session , I get sleepy and have a hard time continue to work on the rest of my repertoire!. So I grab a coffee..which really doesn't help. Vicious cycle!
Thank you Danae for these wonderful tips, this is so helpful! I recently had the experience that I performed a piece that I normally play quite well - Chopin's Op. 25. No. 1 Etude - at a small informal concert in front of other pianists. I had just recorded the piece the previous week and it went quite well, in addition to going well when I have been playing it by myself. However, whatever pressure/anxiety (which actually felt only minor) of the performance situation resulted in my losing my technical security - motoric dexterity and security was greatly reduced, and the performance was sloppy, both in terms of notes and rhythmically. There is the aspect of jumping directly into a Chopin Etude (even if not the most difficult one) at the start of a performance, but still the sloppy performance -- so different from the usual level of my playing the piece -- was quite unnerving. Would methodical slow practice in the run-up to the performance be what the doctor ordered? I would be very grateful for your tips and advice, thank you!
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First of all, I just want to say that this is a completely normal thing to happen and I myself have experienced it many times in the past. Yes, slow practice will definitely help and also primarily playing that piece that you feel nervous about in front of an audience as often as possible and working through that uncomfortable situation. Another tip is to play through it at different tempi in order to turn off the automated muscle movements and reinforce the mental aspect and give you the feeling of more control. Going head first into a Chopin Etude at the beginning of a performance definitely is a hard thing to do! Thanks for watching and have fun with the study 😊
@@aaronepstein4906 I am probably far from your level of musicianship - nonetheless: I make it a practice to swallow my pride and select much simpler pieces than I am 'capable of' when I am called on to perform. I've noticed that big-name musicians in various types of music will invariably play something tried-and-true when performing on short notice, and often do so when not allowed enough performance time to 'work up' to the more challenging stuff. Just a thought.
@@hilariousname6826 Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experience, this is very helpful and I appreciate it very much! Yes, this does actually sound like a good plan. Thanks again for sharing.
@@aaronepstein4906 Well, glad to be of help! And I just remembered what used to be my rule of thumb when considering whether to perform a 'new' piece: I'll expect to play it no better than I did at home a month before the performance - if I had it mastered at home by then, I'll judge it ready for the stage; if I only had it mastered at home a week before the performance, then I'll leave it for later (if possible). That's not negative self-talk; it's just being realistic (for me, anyway; YMMV!). Btw, I'm not a particularly accomplished musician, but I've been plugging away at it for a long time. All the best on your musical journey!
How is it possible that the techninc of playing piano slowly is the best and the only one ?
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I wouldn’t say that it is the only one, bit it is definitely extremely helpful because it rearranges the thoughts and impulses that your brain gives your fingers and solidifies the piece on a deeper level.
What do you think of this fingering for chromatic scales ? Right hand ascending starting on C: 123451234545 and repeat; right hand descending same fingering - if starting on C 1545432154321. Left hand ascending starting on C is 543215432121 repeat; descending (starting on C) 5121234512345 repeat. What I like about it is A) there are only 3 hand positions per octave (2 moves) as compared to anything with a traditional thumb tuck involving at least 4 positions, 3 thumb tucks per octave, if you want to use the same fingering on every octave and not a 2 octave pattern before repeating; B) you can use the same fingering on every octave; C) when striking with a given finger on the left hand there is a single unique corresponding finger in the right hand - for example left thumb is always right pinky. The obvious disadvantage is that you can’t do a legato thumb tuck as with classical fingering. You need to jump the hand instead. Unless I do each way for years I can’t tell which approach is better. I’m very comfortable with the 1234545 fingering in right hand ascending, so I think it’s mostly a question of whether I can eventually get the hand jumps to the new thumb positions to be quick and seamless and not lead to uneven accent. If you think this is a bad idea, what fingering do you use for chromatic scales, or does it vary?
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I have made a video on chromatic scales where I talk more in depth about different fingerings, I will link it here for you to check out, if you like: ua-cam.com/video/kYz7DsICspA/v-deo.html I know of pianists that use your suggested fingering when playing chromatic scales, personally the switch from the thumb to the 5th finger would be too risky - especially at a high speed and when playing the chromatic scale over several octaves. It can be a helpful fingering if you are looking at a smaller section though, I find. Generally, I tend to use the fingerings that I mention in the video. Hope this helps!
Slow practice... I did it today at 200 on the eight note. It depends about what you are looking for because at fast tempo, the smallest error at the beginning or between the notes make everything wrong. I do slow down once or twice when fatigue comes and make you do wrong coordination but keeping in mind that this should be played at the final tempo. A dot + 16n note is difficult at fast speed. When I slow down, it is not to play slowly, but to concentrate on the feeling of the touch of the finger on the note, to be sure my finger is in the middle of the note or in center of black keys, or to secure the rythm like with the dot +16 n. When you play slowly, IMO, you should do it with a technical purpose, not just to memorize a piece. I work sometimes on silences...
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Yes I completely agree with you. When you slow down in order to focus on every little detail of the note that you are playing and in that way, create a good connection between your brain and finger movements for those specific notes.
Eine tolle Übereihe hier auf UA-cam!!Kompliment! Da profitieren sicher eine Menge Leute! Hoffe weiterhin viel zu hören !Auch wieder von vielen Konzerten (nach Corona) und noch viele weitere Schöne u.nutzbringende Videos. Herzlich Alles Gute!
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Vielen lieben Dank! Das freut mich wirklich sehr 🤗
Thank you ...maybe you covered this but, how many times should one practice a passage of music before increasing tempo and how much tempo should be increased?
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I would suggest increasing the tempo as soon as you feel somewhat comfortable playing it in the present tempo. And concerning how much the tempo should be increased, I would suggest going up metronome lines one by one. This means that the tempo increase is quite minimal and pretty doable. Hope this helped! :-)
@ Thanks again., Now this may be an elementary question for sure. But how many times practicing a passage? I'm a guitar player and even at a slow tempo , after 20 times on the passage my hand starts to feel weak..
@@NelsonRiverosMusic could it be a tension problem?. I am not a guitarist, but a pianist. I get exhausted and pain when I don't release the tension in my hands and body. Are there technique things they teach in guitar about playing with relaxed hands?
I found practicing slowly a very useful technique. It helps me to get rid of tension. However, sometimes it is quite difficult to get things aligned with beats and I have a lot of struggle with starting a slow practice using the metronome at he same time. Any advice how to fix that? Sometimes is easier to slow-practice already learned piece just to play it more relaxed than to start practicing the new one 😅
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Yes this can be true. However, it is a great exercise to force yourself to start playing a piece slowly from the start. Thank for watching!
Hi Danae, thank you very much for your inspiring videos! Like the previous commenter I'm also a former conservatory student and have been returning to the piano more and more seriously. I was wondering if I can ask you a question about slow practice: Do you have experience with the reversed situation where slow practice is creating "bad habits" for the faster tempo? For instance, I'm currently practicing Czerny etudes and in slow tempo lift up my fingers quite a bit higher for regularity, accuracy and strength of tone. I simply have the time to do that ;-) In a fast tempo this cannot or should not always be achieved. Hence I may be impeding my faster tempo (the end result I strive for) by "wrong" slow practice. Can you comment on such situations? I'm curious to hear your take on them! Cheers, and the best of wishes going forward with your channel!
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Yes, I do believe that this can happen which is why I find it very important to keep your focus when practicing slowly and to not let your mind wander because at that point, slow practice doesn’t make a lot of sense. However, if you manage to concentrate and focus on exactly the movements you want your hand and fingers to learn while practicing slowly, I believe that it is very beneficial. Another thing to mention is that I always practice slowly in combination with fast practice as well so that I can notice very quickly if a habit that I am incorporating into my slow practice isn’t actually helping me in the fast playing. Hope this helped!
The information is really helpful but I wish there was some demonstration. I don’t know how you define slowly. Please include more demonstrations in your videos..
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Thanks so much for watching - I will definitely include more demonstrations in my future videos. 🤗
I always had the problem since I started playing at age 16, now 58, that when I start to play faster and faster, my fingers start to contract leaving me playing on my nails. It seems to be a muscle reflect that I can not control. It’s especially a problem because of my long fingers (span of a 10th on the keyboard). It’s a very weird problem. Any suggestions how to get rid of this bad reflex?
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Maybe it would help to keep the wrist at a rather low position and thus forcing your fingers to assume a bit of a longer position rather than helping them curl up. This would be my idea, although I have personally never seen this problem. But I hope this can help!
@ thanks, I’ll give that a try. I’m also experimenting with playing with flat hands as I saw Horowitz playing so many times. This does help especially in reducing extra movements and relaxation.
@ I found a wrist position under key level that actually avoid the curling and also the constant nail sounds of my 4th and 5th fingers. It also feels lighter to play this way. Reminds me of Glenn Gould playing. Online search brought me to something called the Taubman approach. Are you familiar with this system? Is it something worth to study?
Finally someone who understands these important principles
Danae - as usual, this was incredibly useful and wonderfully presented. I am a former conservatory graduate, who left the piano for over 30 years, and am just now returning to it. It is experts like you who are guiding me, as I do not currently have a teacher. I have no words to express my gratitude for your brilliance and patience in preparing these amazing videos!! Thank you so much! Elliott from Manhattan.
Thanks so much, this means a lot to me! 🙏🏻
Elliott, your self-description could apply very well to me as well! I didn't leave the piano entirely for so long, but certainly left any kind of disciplined work on it or consistency. Good for you (and me) in returning to it seriously. And thanks Danae!! You are an amazing and valuable resource: insightful, clear, focused and selfless. Bravo!
there used to be a real lack of instruction on slow practice, probably still is. So it was nice to see this video pop up and go into such detail. Thankyou.
Thank you! To me, slow practice is one of the best and most important ways to practice. So glad you liked it!
Thank you!
that Rachmaninoff anecdote is gold.
So helpful.
You are so thorough in your presentation.!
I have been struggling( and suffering ) with "How to Practise Issues!"
I really like and fully understand the significance of what you have said here.
It will completely change the way I learn and practise new and not so new pieces
It will also restore my confidence in my ability to learn, practise and enjoy music again.
You are a great communicator as well as a Great pianist!
Please keep sharing your gifts with us.
Sincere Thanks.
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, this makes me so happy to read. Thanks for watching 🙏🏻
That was incredibly interesting! I'll definitely be applying some of these teachings in my practice. Having a piece decay over time has been one of my recurring issues, which I attributed to being a beginner, but I think the reason really is just continuing to play the piece at full speed instead of slowing down and letting my brain keep relearning it :)
Absolutely! Sometimes, practicing it slowly is just the cleanse that our brain and fingers need. 🤗 Thanks for watching!
Im glad i stumbled upon on this video. When i don't play my instrument i search for this kind of content, it feels like im around with the people with the same passion...because in my family im the only one that plays an instrument. Thanks for this.
Gosh, this is wonderful. Your attention to - and explanation of - even the smallest details is very, very helpful. Thank you.
Josh Wright had a similar tip on polishing pieces before a performance, where he was talking about slow practice with eyes closed. I don't think we can ever practice enough slowly so I tend to write on the first page of a piece "practice slowly" and "focus on the tough spots" to ensure I am as efficient in practice as possible.
Love that idea! Maybe I should do this, too - one can never have too many reminders! 🤗
Now i will practice slowly always
👏🏻👏🏻
If you can play it slowly you can play it quickly 😆 no but seriously this is great advice. I attempted to add latin rhythms to paganini caprice 24 and it worked out great but half way through paganini got lost, perhaps he should have started slowly 🤷 great video thank you
I enjoyed this video very much simply because as a self-taught, you just reassured me that practicing slow is the best way! Slow tempo everything is like a miracle! I am learning Chopin's etudes 1,2 and 4 and the way I see them, for example, No. 4, I think it was composed by BAch, very slow, sounds like one of his fugues, I use a metronome. As you said, It also helps me to memorize the piece! Thank you, Thank you!
Thanks so much! Yes, slow practice truly does wonders sometimes. Have fun with the etudes 🤗
Yes I also studied chopins first etude and also use of legatissimo really helped. It really made my interpretation better but I found out that I really have too small hands and that they really ache when playing opět 10 no 1 so I rather stopped, but wish to come back to this etude later🙂
Thank you for the professional analysis of slow practice. Very helpful and concise. Probably best analysis on slow practice on the internet. 5 stars. I subscribed.
🙏🏻🙏🏻
Hi Danae, enjoying your videos. Thank you for reinforcing slow practice. Though I do a lot of slow play, I see that I need to be more methodical and focused as I have accuracy problems that seem insurmountable at times. It would be helpful for you to take a short passage, play it at tempo, then show how you worked up to it with slow practice as a video. I understand each piece is approached differently, but a good sample would be worth watching. I also liked your video where you showed playing a note, then immediately moving your fingers to the next note without playing it. I've tried that and it is also very helpful. I feel more determined to dedicate myself now to more quality slow practice. Thank you!
UPDATE! Today I think I practiced EVERYTHING slowly, I gave myself permission to slow down, and I had the most incredible practice I have had in a very long time. I felt good about myself during the whole session, and I just can’t thank you enough this has been very, very insightful because today the approach to practicing slowly I gave it more importance, and allowed myself to play without judging myself or feeling like I had to hurry through it…I felt I was giving the music and myself more respect
it was just a real breakthrough in attitude. ❤❤❤
Very interesting and helpful video. Thank you!
This is great advice. I learnt about this previously but the daft thing is.. I actually forget to do it!? I need to get into the habit of doing it every time I practice 👍
❤ LOVE YOUR CONTENT !!! NEW SUB HERE !!!
Danae, thank you very much for this helpful tips....I´m discover your excellent channel...Hi from Mexico!!!
So glad you are enjoying it! Thank you :)
Amazing video!! Thank you 🙏🙏 Super well-thought out. I took notes. The word “overhearing” is one of those false friends, tho - in English it just means eavesdropping. The English word for what you mean would be overlook...although “overhear” would certainly be more logical! ☺️ Thanks again-wonderful advice! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Oh yes you are so right, sorry about that! And thanks for the reminder 😉🙏🏻
@ I didn't mean it as a criticism or anything -- I pretty much didn't realize you weren't American until you said that...your English is perfect.
Haha thanks so much 🤗
Thank you. Very helpful!
🙏🏻🙏🏻
Hi Danna, yes practicing slowly is a treasure but the key is to be able to play at all intermediate speeds from slow to not so slow, to not so fast, to fast and all gradations in between, without mixing them up, that's really what teaches a piece.
Yes, absolutely agree!
@ Hi Danae, i am following you now, i like your presentations. Have you read my detailed comment about a technical problem i've had for years with my right hand thumb position relative to the keyboard ? Recently i think that i found what i was doing wrong, thanks to several Chopin etudes yelling at me together. If i had studied only one of them i would not have gotten the clue but now at 21 studied etudes that i regularly study and practice, several of them gave me the same feedback on the impracticality of my hand position for the thumb relative to the keyboard. The same discomfort with my thumb manifested itself in several studies. Allowing me to realize the way i was positioning my hand could not work for the thumb. I wrote it to you under your video on hand position and body posture. I hope i am going in the right direction now. Now i might (hopefully) be able to finish learning several of them as i am routinely going through them.
@@goognamgoognw6637 Yes, I do remember reading your comment and I agree that even the slightest difference in the positioning of the thumb can have a huge impact on the agility and feeling of the fingers and hand. The hand position needs to accommodate the freeness of the thumb. Keep up the great work, 21 studies - that’s impressive! ;)
@ I hope you are well Danae and I wish you very well. Thank you so much your answer is right on, in every way. Something most strange i see when i study Op 25 n 12, the ocean etude, i started learning it about 6 months ago and the progress in my left hand and right hand are not the same. My left hand feels strong and at ease and even surprised me but the right hand is much behind and struggling in progress ! The left hand feels like the backbone at ease while my right hand feels struggling and uncomfortable. I don't understand how that difference could exist in the same pianist with a piece with same difficulty on both hands. I closely watched my left hand and saw it is doing small lateral, rotation and up/down small movement that perfectly make the movement fluid like a squirrel jumping with agility on a forest and that my right hand isn't doing that ! I asked myself why ? My hands are medium sized but my thumb is rather short, compared to some pianists that have such a long thumb their hand position need not be as strictly precise. Also i am left handed,. i've always had to work my right hand more than the left hand. I think i am thinking too much in term of the chords position in the right hand instead of finding a fluid movement.
Als ich jung war, bin ich häufig im Gebäude der Musikhochschule gewesen, weil es eine Abkürzung war oder wegen Veranstaltungen. Ich habe tatsächlich NIE jemanden langsam üben hören und dachte daher, dass man nur mit Schnellüben so gut wird wie diese Studenten. Diese Vorstellung hielt sich leider lange Zeit. Erst vor einigen Jahren haben ich das konzentrierte Langsamüben für mich entdeckt. Vielleicht haben diese Studenten diese Phase einfach hinter sich gelassen oder aber ihre neuen Stücke vor den Semesterferien aufbekommen und dann die langsame Übephase zu Hause durchgeführt und hatten die Sachen dann schon einigermaßen drauf, als sie dann wieder an die Hochschule zum Semesteranfang zurückkehrten. Ich weiß nicht woran es lag, aber es ist schon kurios, wie sowas eine falsche Vorstellung über das Üben prägen kann. Also das langsame Üben ist auf jeden Fall von großem Vorteil, nicht nur was die "richtigen Tasten" betrifft, sondern auch Akzente, Dynamik usw. Und wenn man es wirklich konzentriert macht, ist es auch überhaupt nicht langweilig.
Absolut, das sehe ich ganz genau so! :))
Very interesting!
Agreed 💯 right
Very informative and will definitely use your guidance in my endeavours to be a piano player. Thank you.
Thanks and all the best for your piano journey!
This was REALLY helpful for me thank you. I also want to make a point how what you eat affects your practice session, if you eat a high caloric or even sugary or salty food, for me I'm not as focused. I am trying to eat healthier for my discipline for slow practice. 😊
Thank you!! Yes, I completely agree - nutrition totally affects the practice session as well. I also try to avoid too much coffee before I practice or give a concert. 🤗
@ that's funny, maybe I'm not getting enough rest, but I find that after a short intense concentrated session , I get sleepy and have a hard time continue to work on the rest of my repertoire!. So I grab a coffee..which really doesn't help. Vicious cycle!
Thank you Danae for these wonderful tips, this is so helpful! I recently had the experience that I performed a piece that I normally play quite well - Chopin's Op. 25. No. 1 Etude - at a small informal concert in front of other pianists. I had just recorded the piece the previous week and it went quite well, in addition to going well when I have been playing it by myself. However, whatever pressure/anxiety (which actually felt only minor) of the performance situation resulted in my losing my technical security - motoric dexterity and security was greatly reduced, and the performance was sloppy, both in terms of notes and rhythmically. There is the aspect of jumping directly into a Chopin Etude (even if not the most difficult one) at the start of a performance, but still the sloppy performance -- so different from the usual level of my playing the piece -- was quite unnerving. Would methodical slow practice in the run-up to the performance be what the doctor ordered? I would be very grateful for your tips and advice, thank you!
First of all, I just want to say that this is a completely normal thing to happen and I myself have experienced it many times in the past. Yes, slow practice will definitely help and also primarily playing that piece that you feel nervous about in front of an audience as often as possible and working through that uncomfortable situation. Another tip is to play through it at different tempi in order to turn off the automated muscle movements and reinforce the mental aspect and give you the feeling of more control. Going head first into a Chopin Etude at the beginning of a performance definitely is a hard thing to do! Thanks for watching and have fun with the study 😊
Wonderful, thank you so much Danae, this is truly helpful! I will take all three of these tips to heart. Many thanks again and all the best! 😊
@@aaronepstein4906 I am probably far from your level of musicianship - nonetheless: I make it a practice to swallow my pride and select much simpler pieces than I am 'capable of' when I am called on to perform. I've noticed that big-name musicians in various types of music will invariably play something tried-and-true when performing on short notice, and often do so when not allowed enough performance time to 'work up' to the more challenging stuff. Just a thought.
@@hilariousname6826 Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experience, this is very helpful and I appreciate it very much! Yes, this does actually sound like a good plan. Thanks again for sharing.
@@aaronepstein4906 Well, glad to be of help! And I just remembered what used to be my rule of thumb when considering whether to perform a 'new' piece: I'll expect to play it no better than I did at home a month before the performance - if I had it mastered at home by then, I'll judge it ready for the stage; if I only had it mastered at home a week before the performance, then I'll leave it for later (if possible). That's not negative self-talk; it's just being realistic (for me, anyway; YMMV!). Btw, I'm not a particularly accomplished musician, but I've been plugging away at it for a long time. All the best on your musical journey!
Thank you so much , subscribed!
🙏🏻🙏🏻
Thank you so much😊
Thanks for watching 🙏🏻
How is it possible that the techninc of playing piano slowly is the best and the only one ?
I wouldn’t say that it is the only one, bit it is definitely extremely helpful because it rearranges the thoughts and impulses that your brain gives your fingers and solidifies the piece on a deeper level.
Very helpful 😌
Thank you 🙏🏻
What do you think of this fingering for chromatic scales ? Right hand ascending starting on C: 123451234545 and repeat; right hand descending same fingering - if starting on C 1545432154321. Left hand ascending starting on C is 543215432121 repeat; descending (starting on C) 5121234512345 repeat. What I like about it is A) there are only 3 hand positions per octave (2 moves) as compared to anything with a traditional thumb tuck involving at least 4 positions, 3 thumb tucks per octave, if you want to use the same fingering on every octave and not a 2 octave pattern before repeating; B) you can use the same fingering on every octave; C) when striking with a given finger on the left hand there is a single unique corresponding finger in the right hand - for example left thumb is always right pinky. The obvious disadvantage is that you can’t do a legato thumb tuck as with classical fingering. You need to jump the hand instead. Unless I do each way for years I can’t tell which approach is better. I’m very comfortable with the 1234545 fingering in right hand ascending, so I think it’s mostly a question of whether I can eventually get the hand jumps to the new thumb positions to be quick and seamless and not lead to uneven accent. If you think this is a bad idea, what fingering do you use for chromatic scales, or does it vary?
I have made a video on chromatic scales where I talk more in depth about different fingerings, I will link it here for you to check out, if you like:
ua-cam.com/video/kYz7DsICspA/v-deo.html
I know of pianists that use your suggested fingering when playing chromatic scales, personally the switch from the thumb to the 5th finger would be too risky - especially at a high speed and when playing the chromatic scale over several octaves. It can be a helpful fingering if you are looking at a smaller section though, I find. Generally, I tend to use the fingerings that I mention in the video. Hope this helps!
@ Thank you for the link. I'll check it out.
Slow practice... I did it today at 200 on the eight note. It depends about what you are looking for because at fast tempo, the smallest error at the beginning or between the notes make everything wrong. I do slow down once or twice when fatigue comes and make you do wrong coordination but keeping in mind that this should be played at the final tempo. A dot + 16n note is difficult at fast speed. When I slow down, it is not to play slowly, but to concentrate on the feeling of the touch of the finger on the note, to be sure my finger is in the middle of the note or in center of black keys, or to secure the rythm like with the dot +16 n. When you play slowly, IMO, you should do it with a technical purpose, not just to memorize a piece. I work sometimes on silences...
Yes I completely agree with you. When you slow down in order to focus on every little detail of the note that you are playing and in that way, create a good connection between your brain and finger movements for those specific notes.
Great 👍🏾 stuff
Thank you!!
Eine tolle Übereihe hier auf UA-cam!!Kompliment!
Da profitieren sicher eine Menge Leute!
Hoffe weiterhin viel zu hören !Auch wieder von vielen Konzerten (nach Corona) und noch viele weitere Schöne u.nutzbringende Videos.
Herzlich Alles Gute!
Vielen lieben Dank! Das freut mich wirklich sehr 🤗
Thank you ...maybe you covered this but, how many times should one practice a passage of music before increasing tempo and how much tempo should be increased?
I would suggest increasing the tempo as soon as you feel somewhat comfortable playing it in the present tempo. And concerning how much the tempo should be increased, I would suggest going up metronome lines one by one. This means that the tempo increase is quite minimal and pretty doable. Hope this helped! :-)
Danae Dörken Thank you :)
@ Thanks again., Now this may be an elementary question for sure. But how many times practicing a passage? I'm a guitar player and even at a slow tempo , after 20 times on the passage my hand starts to feel weak..
@@NelsonRiverosMusic could it be a tension problem?. I am not a guitarist, but a pianist. I get exhausted and pain when I don't release the tension in my hands and body. Are there technique things they teach in guitar about playing with relaxed hands?
I found practicing slowly a very useful technique. It helps me to get rid of tension. However, sometimes it is quite difficult to get things aligned with beats and I have a lot of struggle with starting a slow practice using the metronome at he same time. Any advice how to fix that? Sometimes is easier to slow-practice already learned piece just to play it more relaxed than to start practicing the new one 😅
Yes this can be true. However, it is a great exercise to force yourself to start playing a piece slowly from the start. Thank for watching!
Hi Danae, thank you very much for your inspiring videos! Like the previous commenter I'm also a former conservatory student and have been returning to the piano more and more seriously. I was wondering if I can ask you a question about slow practice: Do you have experience with the reversed situation where slow practice is creating "bad habits" for the faster tempo? For instance, I'm currently practicing Czerny etudes and in slow tempo lift up my fingers quite a bit higher for regularity, accuracy and strength of tone. I simply have the time to do that ;-) In a fast tempo this cannot or should not always be achieved. Hence I may be impeding my faster tempo (the end result I strive for) by "wrong" slow practice. Can you comment on such situations? I'm curious to hear your take on them! Cheers, and the best of wishes going forward with your channel!
Yes, I do believe that this can happen which is why I find it very important to keep your focus when practicing slowly and to not let your mind wander because at that point, slow practice doesn’t make a lot of sense. However, if you manage to concentrate and focus on exactly the movements you want your hand and fingers to learn while practicing slowly, I believe that it is very beneficial. Another thing to mention is that I always practice slowly in combination with fast practice as well so that I can notice very quickly if a habit that I am incorporating into my slow practice isn’t actually helping me in the fast playing. Hope this helped!
@ Thanks Danae! You taking the time to answer these comments is much appreciated!
The information is really helpful but I wish there was some demonstration. I don’t know how you define slowly. Please include more demonstrations in your videos..
Thanks so much for watching - I will definitely include more demonstrations in my future videos. 🤗
Need some examples of your playing ‘slowly’ please.
I will make sure to incorporate that into one of my next videos. Thanks for watching 🙏🏻
I always had the problem since I started playing at age 16, now 58, that when I start to play faster and faster, my fingers start to contract leaving me playing on my nails. It seems to be a muscle reflect that I can not control. It’s especially a problem because of my long fingers (span of a 10th on the keyboard). It’s a very weird problem. Any suggestions how to get rid of this bad reflex?
Maybe it would help to keep the wrist at a rather low position and thus forcing your fingers to assume a bit of a longer position rather than helping them curl up. This would be my idea, although I have personally never seen this problem. But I hope this can help!
@ thanks, I’ll give that a try. I’m also experimenting with playing with flat hands as I saw Horowitz playing so many times. This does help especially in reducing extra movements and relaxation.
@ I found a wrist position under key level that actually avoid the curling and also the constant nail sounds of my 4th and 5th fingers. It also feels lighter to play this way. Reminds me of Glenn Gould playing. Online search brought me to something called the Taubman approach. Are you familiar with this system? Is it something worth to study?
just great! Thank you so much! Ah, t h a n k y o u s o m u c h 🌟
You talk too much. Demonstrate!!!!