5 Best Ways to Kill your Hands in Piano Playing 

Thanks for commenting, each such interaction improves the channel’s growth!

Me too !!!.....

Good luck with the piece and thanks for commenting!🙏

I am more than happy that my content is inspiring- that’s the best I could dream of! Thanks for a warm feedback and wish you a smooth progression with piano playing!

I think that these basic principles apply even for advanced people. Currently I’m working on Etudes op 25 no 1,2 and 9 and op 10 no 12 without a teacher. Even though I have applied these principles for several years, going back to these has helped me to improve considerably these etudes. Even when you start studying a Chopin Etude, these principles allow you to realize how to solve some of the difficulties you will encounter that even some advanced piano players struggle to solve.

Wow, thank you!🥰

Thank you so much!😊

If you meant that I use passive aggression, it’s wrong, my aggression is always active🤺😛

@@DenZhdanovPianist Haha no just the perfect amount of discretion 😏😏 (Edit: The finger-focussed portion of this video is especially useful -- a topic sadly neglected in these days of "Don't play with the fingers, it's all arm weight, wrist undulation and rotation." Great stuff.)

Happy to help, thanks for commenting!

Yes one should develop a certain independency between hands; first of all by practicing hands separately with a proper motion coordination, so you could play each hand without tension first. This is a good observation, thanks for bringing it up! Reg. an opened hand - of course stretch situations is a special topic, there might be a few reasons that could be limiting, it’s not smth I could guess.

Richter had a father - a good pianist, who gave him an initial advice, and most probably explained basics of playing quite well. But it’s true that there are some rare people who are naturally better in their playing progress, either feeling the most ergonomic way intuitively, or having a specific physiology, or both. Rebuilding technique takes a lot of time, that’s true. Unfortunately there are no instant solutions, but a patient conscious work, preferably also avoiding stress like performances during this process, because with any amount of stress you will jump back to the older habits. I suggest you to always keep in mind a 3-S formula: Slowness-smoothness-speed. Start learning each piece slowly in order to coordinate motions properly and achieve maximum smoothness, tracking down all bad habits you might notice. Raise the speed very gradually and only to that extent where you’re able to preserve smoothness and avoid unnecessary tension.

@@DenZhdanovPianist yes that's sound advice and would be particularly pertinent to me as I do always try to get pieces up to speed as quickly as possible and thereby fumble on the difficult parts It brings to mind Aesops fable of the tortoise and the hare. Good groundwork and meticulous study will repay itself in the end. Much like the Bible verse a foolish man builds on sand instead of rock You can apply this to many things Unfortunately we don't always follow the advice in today's instant results world

I started seriously piano at my 20’s. My piano teacher only taught me through master classes and allowed me to study with his most advanced student. After 3 years, I realized I was doing several things wrong. It was a day after a masterclass. In that time I started to study Chopin’s Etude op 25 no 2 and I was struggling a lot to learn it. Then that night I sat on the piano and focused on doing what my piano teacher told me every week. I started with one finger. Finding a way to relax it and producing the sound that comes from doing it correctly, very slowly. I had to find the way to apply all the principles Denis talked about. Took me 15 minutes. Once I realized how to do it with one finger, I went to the others and took me less time and effort. Then, how to combine two, three, four and five. I tested how it felt in pieces I already knew, very slowly and suddenly, I improved my sound considerably on those pieces that night. I was extremely patient and guess what? The Etude was difficult but I didn’t struggle with it anymore. Took me 3 weeks to be able to play it in a slow tempo and without tripping or errors. I developed speed faster than before. Basically everything that Denis summed up pretty well what I had to do to correct my technique in those times.

I guess he has an incredibly resilient genetics. Most of people would already end up with catastrophic hand issues, playing like that for decades.

You should see Yundi Li's playing

Oh wait for me getting to lower back problems, that will be a king among thumbs😉

Сложно сказать не видя, возможно конкретная клавиатура еще располагает формой клавиш или материалом. В целом при игре арпеджио в быстром темпе позиции не соединяются физически - на эту тему на канале есть отдельное видео

Some improvisation I think

Never mind, ANGRA often composed their music directly related to a classical piece. Their song lasting child is an adaptation of Mendelssohn's variations Serieuses op. 54.

Thanks! Chopin sonata op.58 3rd mov

Many musicians back then were not aware of physiology findings that we have nowadays, and were promoting playing with isolated fingers, that might be quite dangerous in a long term (watch my latest video about bad habits). But we can approach the same musical material differently. Hanon exercises are as good as anything else, but we won’t be too fanatic with exercises anyway, using them only as a stage of work, and as a perfect material for explaining universal principles of piano playing.

If your other keyboard is too light you might unconsciously hold static tension in the hand which causes a quicker fatigue and pain. But I can’t just guess the reason because there are might be many, and most probably the root in your playing habits.

Yes that’s true. I’ve seen many times that my students can’t release the hand as fast as I can do. But I believe this is possible to train as well as finger strength over time.

When you increase speed you have to notice you requiere less effort of the fingers by using momentum of the movement. Also less weight of the finger is required. The necessary force you need to produce the sound of the key comes from mmomentum of chained actions, basically thinking of one motion instead of isolated actions, combined with the speed. Fingers must feel lighter, the impulse of releasing the key fast enough is what gives you light touch. It’s like scratching the surface of the key.

Great suggestion, tnx

@@DenZhdanovPianist Thanks for reply. He sits far away from piano and high. Different from others. Look effortless.

Отсутствие широко доступной информации и обращения внимания на подобные аспекты в сфере проф.муз.обучения. Это сейчас у всех есть ютьюб ( и то, большинство людей живет по принципу «пока жареный петух…», а из старшего поколения еще не все привыкли учиться в интернете), а еще 15 лет назад всё зависело от того, попался ли тебе сведущий в физиологии педагог, которых 1 на 100, или нет.

@@DenZhdanovPianist Истинно так! Благо, сейчас ситуация намного лучше, и можно самому узнать намного больше, чем от занятий с большинством учителей. Аналогичная ситуация, вероятно, и у всех других инструментов. Будучи трубачом, по имеющемуся опыту могу с уверенностью сказать, что с технологией игры у нас лажа полная, причём не только в Украине, порой доходящая до абсурда. Гонят на инструмент, на мундштук, на губы, зубы, генетику, магнитные бури в прошлый месяц... Ученики буквально не понимают, что и зачем они делают, в итоге меняя инструмент, либо вовсе бросая музыкальную деятельность. Потом же начинаются разглагольствования о том, что, мол, труба инструмент такой сложный и не интуитивный. С фортепиано, полагаю, то же самое, ибо сам долгое время считал, что он лишь для "избранных", кто чуть ли не с пелёнок занимается. Всё же интересно, как это можно терпеть, и потом ещё детям впаривать? Меня в музыкальной школе по предмету "фортепиано" тоже учили и пальцы поднимать, и аккорды держать постоянно... Естественно, руки потом начинали болеть, и вследствие забивал на занятия. Но, что интересно, у меня тогда сразу чутьё какое-то возникло, что что-то тут не так, и всё можно играть намного легче, однако не умея искать информацию, был вынужден шесть лет кое-как играть. Только ближе к выпуску в музыкальном коллежде начал понимать, что музыкальное искусство - это не дэдлифтинг, где надо терпеть и изо всех сил жать. Естественно, никого учить играть теперь так не намерен, но, видимо, кому-то три копейки дороже истины будет.

@@DenZhdanovPianist Денис прошу Вас делать русские субтитры под видео. Они иногда очень нужны!) А так всё очень хорошо, большое спасибо вам за полезную информацию! Я вот полтора года назад начал 1 этюд Шопена учить, не имея при этом техники и играя на фо-но от силы года 4, так у меня и по сей день правая рука болит(

@@RaptorT1Vесли появится функция с автоматическим переводом, конечно. На мануальный перевод и вбивание субтитров требовалось бы нелепое кол-во времени, учитывая ничтожный оборот от канала.

I was making plenty of pushups and even goalkeeping when I was a kid/teen, it has not affected my piano technique, rather has helped me to strengthen fingers. However some say that developing stronger, bigger muscles of the arm might discriminate smaller hand muscles, but I have no scientific or personal experience proof of that. Often, an overuse fatigue comes gradually, and if you would be sensitive and informed enough, you may notice that you need to adjust your playing or give yourself more rest early enough, so it won’t turn into a great issue. It’s good that you have punched walls with your hands, not your head! But since this exciting activity is not part of my usual teaching or playing routine, I can’t answer this one!

@@DenZhdanovPianistThank you for explaining Maestro, now I have no worries of possibly breaking my fingers. Say though when did you start learning the piano? Do you practice everyday?

8y.o. Yes daily

​@@DenZhdanovPianist @Denis Zhdanov You've developed yours early sir you did not waste your potential unlike mine. 😥 I started playing the piano when I was 7 years old but never got to continue it after since I was really not interested before. But I'm slowly starting to practice everyday now. And btw congratulations to you and your wife hope you guys live a long and happy life.

​@@DenZhdanovPianistAt first, I decided not to tell you that you might have misunderstood what I meant about wall punching...It's actually the opposite...I was supposed to not punch walls for it might break my fingers. But the damage has been done now. I still thank God till this day that he protected my hands from my hyper actions. 🗿

In most of cases this is a long-term habit which needs a long period of getting rid from it by practicing really slowly and supporting the fingers which work. Concentrate on a sensation of standing, leaning towards the bed of the key when playing fingers 3-4, and a sensation of a complete release in the 5th finger. It takes time to relearn, and needs a lot of patience, but it’s a great skill to master, because it will free up a lot of physical resources in the hand. It doesn’t mean that by having tension in the pinky you will inevitably end up with hand issues, but it slightly raises the chances.

@@DenZhdanovPianist Thanks for the answer. I figured it would not be a quick fix. Thing is, it doesn't feel tense like other techniques which means I literally have to record my hand from the side whenever I am playing lol. I'll try and focus on standing on the keys more though, thanks!

No🥺

👍😂

Yes monkey-style is not my thing. I am interested in people who want to understand what they are doing and why. ✌️🫶👋

@@DenZhdanovPianist blabla bla

Thanks for promoting my channel!👍

​@@DenZhdanovPianist14:52

Please define too much

Happy to help!

Thank you so much!!!💙🔥