How to practise?
- Thread starter lavender
- Start date
[QUOTE=pianomankris
Wow, this is so interesting. Very strict indeed. I might be the first one to be discarded if I were in this school. This is because I have yet to break my "invented" fingering habit for that particular song. Well, but it is getting better now..
Wow, this is so interesting. Very strict indeed. I might be the first one to be discarded if I were in this school. This is because I have yet to break my "invented" fingering habit for that particular song. Well, but it is getting better now..
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pianomankris
New member
Here is something for you to think about, lavender.
How do you get volume at the piano? I mean, if you wanted to play a note louder, exactly what would you do and how would you do it?
Do you life the finger higher? If so, do you bring it down on the key fast? Or do you 'push through' the note when you have played it i.e. try to push the key down further than its' lowest position? Do you need to lift the finger high? Could you just push really hard down with the finger without your finger being lifted off the key? Do you only lift the finger high? Do you lift the whole hand and bring the hand down as one unit? Do you bend the wrist upwards when you lift it? Do you straighten the wrist out when you come down? Do you keep the wrist level and let gravity take over, letting your arm/fingers 'fall' onto the keys/notes? Do you bend the wrist down the way when you come down on to the keys? If you get volume by lifting the hand off the keys and letting gravity make it 'fall' down, what do you do if you are meant to hold a note in then play the next one loud? You can't lift the hand up, as you need to hold the previous note. what would you do? Can you 'turn' your hand to swing the finger in to create volume, or do you always have to have the hand horizontal? Should your forearm move when you get volume on a note? Or should it only move when you move up/down the keyboard? What about your upper arm? Should it move in order to create volume?
Which ones are correct? Are all of them correct? Are none of them correct?
Is your teacher asking you any questions like this?
How do you get volume at the piano? I mean, if you wanted to play a note louder, exactly what would you do and how would you do it?
Do you life the finger higher? If so, do you bring it down on the key fast? Or do you 'push through' the note when you have played it i.e. try to push the key down further than its' lowest position? Do you need to lift the finger high? Could you just push really hard down with the finger without your finger being lifted off the key? Do you only lift the finger high? Do you lift the whole hand and bring the hand down as one unit? Do you bend the wrist upwards when you lift it? Do you straighten the wrist out when you come down? Do you keep the wrist level and let gravity take over, letting your arm/fingers 'fall' onto the keys/notes? Do you bend the wrist down the way when you come down on to the keys? If you get volume by lifting the hand off the keys and letting gravity make it 'fall' down, what do you do if you are meant to hold a note in then play the next one loud? You can't lift the hand up, as you need to hold the previous note. what would you do? Can you 'turn' your hand to swing the finger in to create volume, or do you always have to have the hand horizontal? Should your forearm move when you get volume on a note? Or should it only move when you move up/down the keyboard? What about your upper arm? Should it move in order to create volume?
Which ones are correct? Are all of them correct? Are none of them correct?
Is your teacher asking you any questions like this?
I like B, C#,G#, F and A keys.
Since this is something for me to think about, I was thinking about it....while I was practising.
I do not know how to put it in elegant words, but I think the volume is controlled by how quickly/slowly my fingers fall onto the keys and the amount of force applied when depressing the keys. If I want a softer volume, my fingers fall more slowly with less force. I found it rather difficult to control, esp., when changing from loud to soft, soft to loud; my wrist ached after several attempts. I think playing 'soft; is more difficult. My hand position, I mean, something like posture might be wrong since I felt aches
Anyway, this led me to think that the volume should be varied in my playing. It is just like when I am reading a passage aloud or telling a story, volume variation is important for effective expression~
Another thing to be learnt!
Thanks Kris..~
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That why I mention about rhythm in much earlier post. My finger was all about heavy hitting. Was scored by a well know local producer for his exam. My tempo was good but didn't have sense of rhythm. Not to mention pain. Later I trained with rhythm kit, I found how to control dynamic of my finger as if not it will not bend into it. Your instructor have to guide you about the dynamics of your finger.
pianomankris
New member
We're talking about how to practise, as the thread states.
And there's no point in practising at all if the finger isn't even playing a single note properly. How to play a note is a vital part of practising, and one that teachers overlook. If the basic striking of a note isn't even correct, then you'll have to unlearn years of a habit. That can be tricky.
Lavender - your teacher should have shown you this also by now - especially if you are going to be playing scales etc
Two books i'd recommend - 'Basic principles in Pianoforte Playing' (Josef Lhevinne), and 'Fundamental Principles of Pianoforte Playing' (Theodor Leschetizky). Two 'Russian School' pianists. They'll keep you right
pianomankris
New member
No - this is what you want to avoid lol
I'll explain why.
But first I have an exercise for you
Sit on a chair, place your arms on your legs and relax them completely. Get someone to lift one of your arms just above the wrist joint. DO NOT help them at all i.e. the full weight of your arm should be in their hand. But don't push down, as this is you 'trying' to make your arm heavy. Try also to avoid the tendency to 'help out' when the person lifts your arm. If you do this, your arm will go 'weightless' in their hand. Relax everything absolutely and completely, as in a puppet on a string. Btw this is very difficult to do - to 'switch off' your brain like this.Make sure you are relaxed at the shoulder - don't pull the shoulder up when the person lifts your hand. Don't push the elbow out either. Also - if you are completely relaxed, your hand will 'flop' at the wrist. PS if you are fully relaxed you won't need to think of any of what I have written in this paragraph, but what I have mentioned are common things that people do when they think they are relaxed.
Imagine if someone chopped your arm off and handed it to you (aside from the pain lol) - it would be heavier than what you expected. Look at your lower arm - it is actually quite a large mass of bone and muscle. It is really difficult to be aware of the actual weight of certain parts of our bodies, since we are all used to holding ourselves in certain ways. Our muscles compensate for the weight.
OK - next step - this is very difficult btw - try to lift your own arm. If you are right-handed, begin by using your right hand to lift your left hand, then try lifting your right hand using your left hand. It is very very difficult to do this to begin with. It is tricky to switch half of your body off whilst the other half is 'active'. PS this will be impossible if you can't relax when someone is helping you out. That should be second nature nefore you try what I just suggested.
OK now back to the piano lol. You shouldn't 'try' to play soft - this will just produce a weak tone. For now anyway, if you want a lot of volume, lift the hand high above the keys, and let gravity do the work i.e. let it fall onto the keys. don't worry about what notes you strike. The main thing is to develop the sense of freedom in the movement. Make sure your fingers don't tense up and try to strike the keys when you come down.
If you want to play soft, your fingers should fall from just above the key, rather than high above the key. But the weight should be the same i.e. gravity should do the work, rather than you 'trying' to play at a specific volume. If you 'try' to play at a specific volume, you'll probably find that the control you have over the volume is inconsistent.
So - remember - don't try to play loud or soft - judge it by the distance you are from the keys. Let gravity do the work. You'll eventually work out at what height from the keys your fingers need to be in order to play at specific volume levels.
(You said your fingers 'should fall more slowly' - don't try to control the speed - learn to let go. Also don't try to control the force - gravity will do everything for you. If you try to control the way you are doing, the sound will be 'brittle', and when you get to playing difficult pieces, you will tire very very quickly.)
I hope you can see how this relates to the relaxation exercise - it's almost the same thing you are doing.
PS don't worry about when you have to play legato and control volume i.e. playing scales - deal with the previous exercise first, and then we will get to that.
PPS this is 'Russian School' tuition here
Hence the Russians used to be able to tell if a player was any good or not even from the very first note.Hi, I've always been interested in Piano,
however I'm alrdy in mid-twenties... is it too late to start now?
I heard from my friends that you have to be discipline
as it takes alot of practices and playing of the song.
I'm thinking of composing and playing it for my bf as a birthday surprise.
however I'm alrdy in mid-twenties... is it too late to start now?
I heard from my friends that you have to be discipline
as it takes alot of practices and playing of the song.
I'm thinking of composing and playing it for my bf as a birthday surprise.
pf
New member
Your answer is on this thread: http://soft.com.sg/forum/how-keyboard/53953-too-late-learn.html
Happy learning.
Happy learning.
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pianomankris
New member
BTW Lavender - if you're still reading this thread lol
The way of playing a note I mentioned to you would be by many considered to be completely wrong. Read anything by Matthay and you'll see what I mean.
But each way has its own benefits and drawbacks. And the best way to start is to have a complete awareness of the full arm and its' weight, then gradually work down to the finger. Hence it is helpful to think of this first, then work from there.
The way of playing a note I mentioned to you would be by many considered to be completely wrong. Read anything by Matthay and you'll see what I mean.
But each way has its own benefits and drawbacks. And the best way to start is to have a complete awareness of the full arm and its' weight, then gradually work down to the finger. Hence it is helpful to think of this first, then work from there.
1. Not too late, never too late
2. Yes, it takes a lot of practices
3.
Love is the best motivation~ Envy your bf, you're so sweet!!This thread has been so quiet for a long while.
Hmmm, so renere, have you started learning?
Been almost 3 months since I started..attended about 10+ lessons, hmm..and still loving it. Learning songs I like is a really good motivation to keep interest going. However, I am not sure if I am practising efficiently. Co-ordination is still a big challenge. I take a really long time (days and weeks) to practise/coordinate my hands for the whole song......... (maybe I am slow
)
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