I help pianists take their their skills to the next level. Whether beginner, intermediate or advanced, you'll find videos and tutorials on piano technique, piano pieces, and music theory. To progress even faster, check out my online course at petersonpianoacademy.com.
I appreciate the constructive criticism, and I think Vivek would, too. After all, he was a good sport for putting up that video even though he must have known that he flubbed it quite badly in places. It's a shame that the mean-spirited click-baiting cover graphic ("I'm amazing!" "God help us.") seems to predispose a lot of viewers against the video, as it did me (my first reaction was not to click on the link on principle). Vivek's problem with finger independence was one of the first things I noticed, too, but as a not very good pianist (probably comparable to Vivek) I'm curious how big of a problem it is. My fingers are quite calm when it's not their turn to play, but I've seen much better piano pianists with undue tension in their fingers, like Ben Laude's left pinky here. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RXCm6033JvM.html I would happily trade my less awkward-looking pinky to sound as good as he does.
What sets this tutorial apart is the section on musicality, I really appreciated the guidance on playing with rubato, the emphasis on beats 1 and 3, and ensuring the right hand is louder than the left as well as the exhortation to play with correct pedaling ❤❤❤❤❤
Excellent daily exercice more than cadence , playing scale first, chords ( including 7th.) and initiation to circle of fifths. At 2:50 -51 shouldn’t it be C first inversion instead of root position? Good work combination Thankfully NBG
I've been using Synthesia for 1 year, and for serious musicians, it's just not worth it. But, as many say, for just playing pieces you like, it is really good. With years of experience in rhythm games, Synthesia was very intuitive for me. My goal was to sight-read pieces with Synthesia, which I achieved after months of daily practice. My muscle memory developed to react quickly to sight-read any note. I also turned on the note names (A-G) on both the falling notes and the piano keys, which improved my reading and reaction time further. Additionally, I used a custom background with lines to help recognize the portions of the piano on the screen faster. All these factors combined helped me develop a fast muscle memory to sight-read most basic to medium and some advanced pieces. It even helped me learn parts of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto Nos. 2 and 3, Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Liszt, Liebestraum by Liszt, Clair de Lune by Debussy, etc. However, Synthesia has clear limitations. First, you need to learn hand and finger techniques from videos to understand the fundamentals. Once you have a strong base, you can guess most finger positions based on intuition and comfort, practicing slowly if there are complex passages. Rhythm and dynamics are aspects you can only grasp by listening to other interpretations of the piece. With experience, you learn to improve the sound every day, reinforcing it with music theory. In the end, Synthesia worked really well for me because it motivated me, was intuitive, very fun, and felt like a game, so I could use it every day. I have around 1000 hours with Synthesia, so I know what I'm talking about. After some time, you reach a level of sight-reading where you can play any piece on the first try, as long as it is 1 or 2 levels below the hardest piece you can play. For example, I retried Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 once a day about 25 times over 5 months. Even though there are many more songs or pieces in sheet music, MuseScore has enough MIDI files for at least 99% of the pieces I want to play. I have 2000 pieces in MIDI files in my Synthesia. It was a good starting point, and I'm now considering learning to read sheet music and improvise. Synthesia got me going, helped me develop a good connection with the piano, and gave me a lot of musical knowledge and creativity.
Imagine that the only way for some people to play emotionally is by reading notation instead of using your own ear and feelings for intepreting how it should sound.
Right! Lol I hate that argument against synthesia. There are downsides, yes, absolutely, but this one always makes my eyes roll. Either you know how the piece is supposed to feel and be played, or you don't. Even on sheet music, it's all relative/subjective. Sheet music isn't going to tell you how it should feel or sound. There are general queues, but again it's all relative so unless you've heard the piece/song before, you're still gonna be guessing. If anything, this is one of the positives in favor of synthesia, since you'll hear the song being played in real time when you watch the video. Personally, as a beginner who didn't learn as a small child (unlike like many people here, who seem to forget how complex sheet music actually is for a beginner), I used synthesia to see what the chords were and listen to how it's supposed to sound simultaneously.
I disagree. Even when reading actual music notation, the score markings are no substitute for using your own ear and feelings! Professionals spend years working on issues of interpretation.
i cant read sheet so synthesia way always my go to can you do a video that goes through the sheet basics and maybe do a tutorial on some music chopin ballade 1 would be cool, since im learning that right now
Problem is, you can learn that on synthesia, genuinely, quite quickly. But that is not the case for sheet music, as a beginner (beginner with sheet music, not piano). It'll take a very long time to work up to understanding how to read every notation for a piece like that, and play it in time. This is the upside of synthesia. Short term success, much faster
@@Joshsclips Yes True, didnt really think about that i guess learning the notes from the sheet but the layout, timings and volume from an actual recording from some pianist and just combine them could be a good option
The 1st Chopin Ballade is a VERY difficult piece! If you're playing piano at this level, you REALLY need to learn to read music, trust me!! I promise you it will be time well spent.
@@petersonpiano Yeah i definitely need to get into reading sheet. I can playt he ballade 1 up to like 2:30 so basically the rather "easy" stuff But i noticed myself that its almost impossible to learn the harder section because the notes come in so fast and its a pain in the ass to learn that with synthesia
It's those fuck-me-pumps that are throwing her off. Those ridiculous heels force her bumper to be six inches farther away than it should be, causing the awkward angle between legs and torso.
you forget the fact that people have different needs. people with cognitive disabilities tend to learn faster using visual cues. reading sheet music is simply not an option for them.
This is the internet a nuanced opinion is not allowed. But seriously come on man you're talking about a fraction of piano learners, the vast majority will be much better off not using synthesia to learn the piano
Perhaps, then maybe Synthesia shouldn't be the only tool to be used then? Is there such thing as a "deeper alternative" that could just help in the first place?
I've taught many students with cognitive disabilities. I haven't yet found a situation or student for which synthesia was preferable. Just my experience, maybe yours is different.
I know these falling bars only from some YT pianists and they look funny, but I would have never imagined that there are people out there that would learn pieces like this and think this is superior to normal notation? This is mindboggingly stupid to think that slowly falling bars a better than a piece of paper (or maybe a tablet nowadays) where you can jump immediately where ever you want.
It's deinitely not better. You're right. However, learning to read sheet music (at a playable pace, not just "I understand what these symbols mean") is really difficult. Did you learn to read sheet music as a child or adult?
I think learning to read sheet music is not nearly as difficult as most people make it out to be, provided you have a good teacher. I've taught many adults to read sheet music over the years. Granted, some people might not have access to a good teacher, but there are plenty of online programs that will teach you to read music, including my own petersonpianoacademy.com.
Those videos are cool visualizations that definitely attract attention. But since they are basically Tetris with music, I don't understand how they are supposed to be "tutorials" for actually playing the piano 😅
Some comments from a heavy Synthesia user. First, I agree with you that Synthesia is not a very good use of time for someone who wants to seriously learn piano. I also agree that many of the available Synthesia learning materials are bad and will teach bad habits. That said, Synthesia can be a lot of fun, and an engaging game in a way that normal piano practice generally isn't, particularly for beginners. For people who are not serious about piano, and just want to learn to have fun playing their favourite pieces, I think it has its place. The main area that I think Synthesia might be useful for someone seriously learning piano is in practising scales and arpeggios. The Synthesia falling notes notation, combined with finger hints, works really well for seeing where to put your fingers for playing scales. Many of the problems with Synthesia highlighted in the video don't really apply to scales. Further, playing scales in Synthesia, trying to beat your high score and play them as fast and smoothly and accurately as possible, makes what is otherwise one of the more boring parts of piano practice into an engaging, fun and effective practice routine. So I would encourage people not to reject Synthesia entirely - it may have its place along other learning methods.
Good points! I suppose I can see how it might be fun, a bit like playing Tetris. I suppose for me the difference between Synthesia and actually learning the piano is a bit like the difference between learning guitar and playing Guitar Hero. But I see your points!
I've never actually used Synthesia so I'm not here to argue for or against it. What I will say is that our arcane, centuries old system of reading music as dots on a staff or ledger line is extrordinarily complex. I'm glad you found it easy. Or perhaps you've forgotten your years of struggle as a child, trying to make sense of key signatures, accidentals, sharps, flats, double-sharps, and double-flats, trying to figure out which accidental went with which note in a dense cluster. And the rule that through the length of possibly long measures, each accidental stays in effect till the measure ends. I still struggle with it and I've been playing since I was 8. I'm now 67. I don't have dyslexia yet I still struggle. Pity the poor sap who does. I LOVE the idea of a piano TAB. On guitar, for instance, I LOVE that I can play from TAB. Far more intuitive, and no confusion as to which note goes on which string.I hear your complaints of Synesthesia but I don't know of a single one that couldn't be addressed. If you were consulting with the company, I bet they could fix all those things. A prospective piano student faces two huge hurdles. The first is our music notation system. The other is how to play the actual instrument. Why not give that student a break by at least making the first part easier?
Dude, the majority of children can learn the notation system. If there are people out there that cannot do it, then its great that there are other ways to show them the notes, but I checked out Piano Tab and it seems to me, that there are limitations to the complexity of a piece that you can write with it? But just because there are some people that struggle with stuff, we shouldn't lower the bar for everyone. We should always strife to get the best out of people and enable those that can't. If a child learns the piano, it must learn the normal notation simply because it should be able to learn every piece available that they want to play now or in the future.
Thank you for your interesting comments! The question of music notation and its efficiency is quite interesting. It has its origins in the Middle Ages, but then again our Latin alphabet goes back even further and we're still using that. If we could start from scratch, it would be interesting to consider how we could convey information more easily/accurately. Many people find accidentals confusing, and also slurs and ties, which look identical but have very different meanings. I'm all for discussion along those lines! As to your comment about making the music notation system easier through Synthesia, my experience is that it makes it much more difficult. The vast majority of people will be better served in the long run by learning to read sheet music, which, yes, requires some effort, but repays those efforts a thousand fold. Like learning to actually read instead of just listening to audio books because "the alphabet is difficult."
Yes, the limitations with piano tab are enormous. It's OK for learning some very simple pieces, but nothing else. With traditional notation, virtually anything you can possibly conceive can be written down.
I don't get synthesia. It is so frustrating to learn from, especially those youtube videos. You need to constantly adjust playback speed and rewind the video. You basically can't tell what is coming up, so you end up constantly pressing play and pause on repeat. With sheet music even displayed on video, you can pause the video and work on the phrase on your own pace. Good luck doing that with synthesia, where you see just a couple of notes at one time, and it is really hard to tell from those incoming notes, where they will land. Okay rant over, I will now watch the video :D
Have to agree. As a guitarist who can't read sheet music to save my life I think quick and dirty synthesia notation has given me quite a few bad habits when I first tried learning the piano. Would have been better off just learning to read sheets in the first place! (not that I can even do it now haha)
Knowing how to read music is easy. Actually reading it, the same way as reading a book is much harder. Maybe with a lot more practice I will master it but I am not holding my breath.
Wow, it's almost like some of the notes in one scale can also be found in other scales. I wonder if any other tunes can also be played on just the 12 notes on this "piano keyboard"? That would be amazing.
Vivek hasn't had time to be great at everything.....JUST MOST THINGS. Vivek was too busy with his career becoming a billionaire to be a pro piano player. Vivek Ramaswamy, once a nationally ranked junior tennis player. Vivek Ramaswamy is a biotech entrepreneur and investor. He worked as a hedge fund investor and made millions before graduating from Yale. He founded Roivant Sciences in 2014, a company that bought patents for drugs that had not been fully developed and marketed. He resigned as CEO in 2021 and became the executive chairman. He is also the co-founder of Strive Asset Management.
What do _I_ think about Vivek's piano playing? I think that the fact that someone who has risen from rather meager beginnings to have started several multi billion dollar companies, one of which has provided life extending therapies for people suffering from otherwise hopeless maladies, written several books that have moved the needle on the conversation on several important social topics, has risen from obscurity to garnering a significant number of promoters of the prospect of him becoming the holder of perhaps the most significant office on the planet, and even being a nationally-ranked tennis player in the meantime, the fact that he has had time to learn any more than Chopsticks on the piano is remarkable in and of itself.
Most impressive is finishing the piece while snowballing. He might have lost some notes, but he gained Dynamics 😊. Pretty safe to say musicians that perform at high levels aren't billionaires! I'm impressed by the guy regardless of his views. I'm glad I stumbled upon this, thanks!
