I would like to know more on the topic of slow and mindful practice sessions. I reckon I practice on auto-pilot 80% of the time. Maybe you can develop more on that topic and how you recommend to start developing into more mindful practice? Session length? Breaks? Any techniques about breathing or body position / technique?
@@hast66 I used to have the same problem. The main thing that helped was just practicing loads of different music to get used to reading more. Another really important thing is to try and read the intervals between the notes instead of reading each note separately.
I've been playing piano 45 years and teaching it for the best part of 30 of those, so it's really reassuring to find someone so much younger than myself giving the same tips and advocating the same methods - several of which I actually learned more through teaching, than through playing when I was younger. Great video!
@@savvymarie7882 I'm 30 years old and started about 6 months ago. Never too late to start a new instrument. I started with drums when I was a kid, then guitar in my 20's and now branching to piano :)
@@savvymarie7882 don't be discouraged mate, never too late, i'm 23 and started playing guitar a year ago, took me years of trying to actually just start, and now i want to play piano aswell, the start is very slow and takes time to get good but it's sooo worth it in the end.
01:56 This piece of information is really good: that when you play a piece that you have played many many times over, you don't play it from the sheets, you play it from your head and muscles
I think he was saying something else. I think what he's saying is that when an experienced player plays sheet music he has never seen before, he will recognize groups of notes that they have played many times in other pieces of music and it will be easy to repeat those phrases even though the song is new. The same thing happens when we are reading sentences. We have seen the words before, and even phrases of words, so we don't study each letter on the page, we just recognize the words or groups of words and fly through them quickly. But your comment is also true. After playing a piece many times, you won't have to study each note; your brain and hands will remember the familiar passages and the movements you need to make. But the songs may not be committed to memory. I can't play a single song from memory, but when the sheet music is in front of me I begin to remember the passages and the movements I need to make. I don't want to memorize the songs. I want to keep improving my sight reading skills to open up all songs to me, just like I don't want to memorize a book.
100% i barely know how to sight read so i sight read a part once learn it by heart and so on for a whole piece and never read the sheet music again and because ive played the piece so many times without sheet music i dont even have to really think about what im doing with my fingers.
@@samn6760 I started just around a week ago. Initially, I would like to cram canon but I found it pretty harmful without all the fundamentals, so I start playing scales to get to know some fingerings and follow John Thompson's Easiest Piano Course Book. Do you have any suggestions? Keep practice :)
@@weiyaxiao5954 yeah thanks for responding! I’ll check out that book - I’ve been using Alfred’s Adult beginner book, but then half way I got bored and decided to jump to the songs I wanna dive into (anime stuff, kingdom hearts, etc). Once I learned how to read both hands after about a month of using the Alfred book, I can read sheet music for basic songs well enough, so that’s what I’ve been doing. Not worrying about the classical approach to playing piano, I’m just playing thru songs since I’m impatient. I’m also exploring the option of playing by ear, since I like doing that on the violin but I find it difficult on piano. I did the Suzuki method in school for violin, but I don’t wanna read thru a book for piano, buuut I’m sure I’ll come back to Alfred’s, especially when I hit a point where I realize reading sheet music of random songs i like to listen to won’t help me in the long-run.
@@samn6760 yep thanks!! I will also check out the book. I also did Suzuki for my violin, and I might also get bored to start all over again on piano haha. I think I watch more piano tutorials or music theory videos online than reading books. Currently I kinda mix fundamentals and canon during practice. I wish I could play one nice (probably classical) piece one day :)
I definitely relate to the music theory suggestion. I started learning piano at 5 years old, and I continued with piano lessons through high school. I made progress, but it simply wasn't interesting to me. I had too many other interests. However, it was later that I learned about music theory and it opened up an entirely different viewpoint, which WAS interesting. It wasn't classical music that I played, I played popular music. But armed with music theory I was able to create variations and solos on the popular pieces. I improvised. It was so enjoyable to do. I wish my beginning teachers would have taught me the background of music instead of just saying "play this or play that." I know that I would done better and made faster progress. I could have analyzed the pieces, which is my nature. You just look at music differently as you showed with your examples. It's also more fun, at least for me.
Great vid! I would add another reason for practicing slowly: your brain makes neural pathways when you play correctly - and incorrectly. By playing slowly and correctly, you instruct your brain and reinforce the neural pathways and remember correct playing with a firm pathway!
I always tell my students to only play as quickly as they can successfully manage the weakest part of the piece. Otherwise the parts that you're good at keep getting better but the parts you struggle with simple stay the same. If you slow down, the weaker sections will catch up, and then you can proceed. And yes, of you keep playing the mistakes, you'll learn them. Muscle memory isn't just for the good stuff!
Great tips! I only started playing a little over a year ago--after meaning to for decades. So I'm trying to make progress by practicing frequently and carefully. Next weekend will be my first ever piano recital. I'll definitely be the oldest person in the recital, but I'm having a grand time learning!
mate u r so underrated! great video! 4. I find recording myself playing very helpful because aside from being able to spot mistakes, recording adds pressure -as if someone is watching over you. This pressure can really change how you play and it is important that you can handle this pressure well!
Ugh I know!! I tend to black out and forget even the name of the instrument the moment I have some sort of audience, including a camera recording. So annoying, because I love to play for people, but my brain just fizzles at that point.
Hi Jazzed, I have been learning piano for 6 yrs since I retired. I have made great progress to date by practicing an hour every day. I've just happened upon your tutorials. They make so much sense and your presentation style is brilliant. Can't wait to incorporate your ideas and wisdom in my daily practice. Many thanks.
I'm so happy you are learning piano since retiring. I hope you have lots of fun and progress. If I can be of smallest help to you I would be incredibly honoured 😊
@@jazerleepiano Thanks for your reply Jazzer. You did a great video on practicing scales. Something similar on arpeggios would be useful to your followers. Best wishes for your inspiring passion. Greg
Agreed. As I get older, I realize more and more the importance of working out, noting and practicing consistent fingerings. Developing that clarity pays off even when I am improvising...at least most of the time.
Fingering I would agree although if you have very small hands (I have tiny hands) You gotta keep in mind who wrote the fingering and for whom Also agreed to keep playing notes with consistency in the fingering A must
Solid gold advice, all of it, but especially #1. I'm going to recommend this to my pupils so that I can say, 'You see? It's not just me who thinks you should slow down.' I try to get them to care about each note, to give each note some quality, rather than rushing into an 'impression' of the music (complete with a nice blur of pedal, naturally).
I am 65 and just starting my 3rd year with a great teacher. I learned music theory in college and really enjoy it. I like the listening tip as that is important. I did not hear about relaxing the hands and arms and shoulders. Good video.
Think you so much for all of your tips. Growing up as a child my father was a gifted pianist at the age of 4 years old and his cousin who went on to become a Jazz musician was also gifted at that age
I’ve be playing for 30 years and I absolutely agree with adding speed as the last step. I learned a lot from the other tips that I will use in my practice. Thanks for the video!!
All of the suggestions are excellent! When I was a kid and teen, I wasn’t rigorous with learning fingering. Despite that, I played pretty well, and learned a lot of pieces. Decades later, when I go back to play those pieces, and I find myself making mistakes in the same places I did years ago, it’s always because I was not using the recommended fingering. Happily, I’ve been able to fix those spots! Anyway, I teach lots of students and I’m rather strict about fingering and counting. You didn’t mention counting, but I’ve found that insisting that a student count out loud during the learning process really improves their rhythmic ability.
Same here, but I found a wonderful early 20th century method for learning the piano from scratch and it helped a lot. Tip: start at very beginning, a very good place to start (thanks Sound of Music). I can now read music so much better and hardly ever look at my fingers anymore.
Esther, rhythm exercises really helped my reading. Now I see groups of notes as words and I only have to worry about hitting the correct notes even in quite complicated jazzy phrases.
Do a sight reading every single time you practice. I buy old "easy" books at music sales, trash and treasure shops (house clearances), even children's books. Always sight read one or two grades below your ability. Warm ups, scales/arpeggios/exercises, sight reading, repertoire. That's my order of practice every time. Keep a practice diary and record your progress. Write the date in pencil at the top of the piece when you sight read. You can come back to it again in 1 or 2 years because you won't remember it, it will still be "at sight". Always play a second time to see where you went wrong and correct it. The first play should be straight through, no figuring it out just keep going. I love sight reading, I discover new pieces I like that I can learn easily and I like to do different things, it's easy to get stale or bored working away at the same pieces every day. I;ve picked up these tips off you tube and comments. Good luck.
Thank you so much for your videos. I started picking up the piano again a year ago after a pause of 7 years. I always played pieces way above my skill level, so I stepped down a difficulty and reduced the speed a LOT. That did wonders to my progress. Your videos help me improve my practice sessions greatly.
Subbed. As someone who plays Drums and Guitar, I can say that most of what you said not only applies to other instruments, but anything else you want to learn and get good at. Also, "Practice doesn't make perfect" it makes Permanent, it highlights your point about going slowly and with the right fingerings. One doesn't want mistakes to become permanent.
I started practicing piano last year, however I had the wrong type of keyboard. This video really helped not to learn things I would have a hard time unlearning since I was teaching myself. My husband purchased an electronic keyboard with fully weighted keys (all 88) and pedals. Your videos have given me the confidence to keep learning at 54 years old.
Very good advice. Im happy for my very stubborn pianoteacher who made me do everything you say. Unfortunately I am stubborn to and avoid some of it,. So the reminder is necessary. It takes a lot of time to master this steps and usually you want to go fast as a pupil. So once again, my teacher is gold.
I’ve been playing since I was about 5, so 43 years? I was taught my my mom who learned from my grandmother (she was the only one who had lessons). We had a really old beginner book I learned from and I just went from there. I can’t read music very well and bass clef is a near impossibility for me. My mom used to write out the letters of the notes and that’s how I played… and still do. Imagine learning Moonlight Sonata with letters! But I did and memorized it. My muscle memory is still intact even after I didn’t have a piano in my house for 11 years! But I never learned any music theory. I’m learning that now with my guitar lessons (I just got a 12 string, how ambitious) and my instructor also teaches piano, so he explains how the theories are similar for both instruments. Now I’m really seeing it when I play the piano! I’m not great by any means, but I play fair enough. And I’ve only had my guitar 6 months, but I figured out how to play some songs in the 2 weeks between getting it and having my first lesson. So piano has really taught me a lot. I also play by ear, so that helps too
Hi, thanks for your video. The items that resonated with me are consistent fingering, practicing more slowly. I have trouble relating to how understanding music theory helps with learning to play a piece
Such good advice from you. I use the word "study" rather than "practice" for myself and my students. "I studied the piano for my usual hour and a half today." Practice takes on the meaning of doing something by rote over and over again; study means to analyze and dissect and LEARN something from what you are doing at each and every work session at the piano.
excellent ! You have cleared up a mystery for me. For many years, I've been asking why great pianists spend so much time on theory, chords and scales. Now it is clear.
N°6 is great, usually when I finished studying a piece with my teacher, I usually keep playing it over and over again (especially since I tend to enjoy all pieces I play, so it's a pleasure to hear). And I noticed that some pieces I love particularly I even play them eyes closed (and also record myself, I actually I enjoy it, never thought I would haha)
all great and number 1 is the one I prefer. Actually when I hear pieces I first find too fast they scare me, so knowing I can start going slow and then the speed will come easier and I'll eventually do it with enough work.
Excellent advice. Two of these are known and promoted by the best psychologists in the world on skill acquisition and that is chunking and deliberate practice that pushes your limit.
Final tip is super important. Practise slow and correctly. Then speed will come automatically. Once speed has automatically arrived, you can really focus on expression - again by slowing down. To not "stuff up" during a performance (no matter whether your own recording device or an audience) I need to be able to play a piece at any speed, especially slow. Only then you know you do not only rely on muscle memory but are actually aware of each part, each transition, each chord. This way you can, even when you do make a mistake, "save" the performance - you know it so well, you can continue right away and correctly. If you notice that when you make a mistake, you have to go back a bit and pick up again - then you know you are relying too much on muscle memory and do not REALLY know the piece yet. GO SLOWLY AND CORRECTLY, and repeat. Speed and Expression will follow on their own. Especially for younger players: Speed is NOT the sign of mastery !
Thank you so much. I just began studying piano as an adult 3 months ago and find myself doing many of these “don’ts” you point out. This was very helpful to hear from you, with great examples.
At age 47 I decided to try and learn how to play piano and I have had about 16 lessons so far. I’m glad to see I’m doing some things right, like no pedals, follow the fingering, and practise. I also see the need for some music theory, because a lot of the chord-talk was jibberish to me 😉 So thank you for the good advice.
I wish I had been taught to read music in chunks when I started piano and voice all those years ago. Not only would I have played and sung more accurately, but more musically since I wouldn't always have been thinking "What's the next note".
I ve started piano by myself 10 yrs ago and i always thinking the way you show, by thinking the chord i am as a one group of things and not as different notes. I think this happens because of the feeling of the music you play. Its like a different ability of the brain to analyze things, not the classic way. Its not something wow but a great technique to use.
Thank you for these advices. I think the muscle memory is so true, i haven't played my violin for 10 years, and when i picked it up again, i can still play some pieces, even though I don't really know what the notes are, but it sounds right because my fingers leads me to the next note!
Loved this, thank you! Clear, friendly, effective, clever and so compelling. I’m guilty of all the mistakes and needed this motivation to do things differently! Most important for me was using the fingerings given - I tend to think “I know better” but of course that’s just an excuse not to be quite as disciplined.
I have been playing piano for almost 18 years and I totally agree with all your pointers. Just so happy that I got to do all that when I was starting to learn piano:) The only thing I regret is that I wasn't able to pursue my piano lessons that's why I only know few classical piano pieces. I am hesitant to learn about them without a piano teacher because I fear I might not be able to give justice to it but I am still playing other piano instrumental pieces. Anyways, that was a very nice pointers. New subscriber here:)
I've been playing for about 4 years, and I agree with this a lot, I would say when you are first learning a piece to practice it more firmly when slow practicing for the first time because it has helped me get the fingering a bit quicker.
Hey Jazer, after watching just tip #7 I knew you were great and also that I needed to watch the whole thing. Thank God I did. I have been learning for about a year and I didn't think I could learn to play at my age (58). I will keep your tips and will follow them to the tee. Thank you and I wish you lots of success.
I am self taught and have hit a wall. The finger placement tip is going to be the hardest habit to break but I know it's my issue. Learning clair de lune right now. Will follow your advice here
Thank you. The tips most important to me are to use less pedal and to practice slowly. I think I have been speeding up too soon. Here's another thing: most music tells a story or evokes an emotion. Decide what that is and put in in your playing. Don't just play the notes, play the story.
I like the metronome "rule of three," which is coupled with the rule "If you can't play it slow, you can't play it fast." Slow it down until you can play it perfectly three times, then up the speed one notch. Repeat. If you play it wrong three times, drop the speed one or more notches until you can play it perfectly three times. When you get to your desired speed, follow the routine up another one, two or three notches! What happens when you play slow is like TaiChi: slow motion provides you the opportunity to incorporate micro-movements and interpretations into the music. By gradually increasing the speed, all the micro-movements also speed up, and when you're up to tempo, all the elements are smoothly incorporated into the sound.
Very good video. I like your mindful approach to the topic, like what happens in your mind when you read the sheet music (how you understand what you see), being conscious about your concentration (percentages) while playing...
I was now years old when I found out that people play the same notes with different fingers??! Is that what he's saying? It's so crazy to me because I started playing in april with almost 0 knowledge (I'm studying with alfred's piano book) but it never occurred to me not to use the correct fingers. I'm not bragging at all and I'm not even sure that's what he meant, I just find very intriguing the idea of playing the same piece with different fingers 😂 I'll definitely keep watching this informative videos and I'll keep practicing every piece forever because I love the satisfaction I get when I perform properly!! Sometimes I struggle to start a new piece and forget that satisfaction (=my comfort zone) 😂
Great vid I relate to all of them , practising til you cant get it wrong & learning slowly are my 2 favourites but they are all important thank you for refreshing my mind - its easy to lose sight of discipline and objectives 💕
I’ve played guitar for 55 years. Relative to your #6, if I really want to commit a song to memory, I play it until I can do it blindfolded, without error every time. As I learn the piano, I’ll apply the same discipline.
Playing slow is actually *harder* . Like you mentioned in the beginning of you video, playing is not about individual notes but about phrases (like reading is about words, not letters) - and that's pretty much automatic skill. You don't actively think how you play a phrase.... until you try to play it *slowly* :)
Been playing for 3 weeks now didnt think I had what it takes to play an instrument I couldn’t do a a simple 5 key scale 3 weeks ago my fingers literally didn’t have y to w movement Now I can do most scales competently up and down and reasonably fast aswell I’m learning music I can play a few songs I can play arpeggios my finger dexterity is ludicrously good compared to when I started. I’ve actually fully amazed myself I practice one hour a day that’s it I use Hannon and The rest is mostly stuff I’ve picked up off you tube I can’t wait to hear myself In 6 months the excitement is too much Just wanted to say if you got the time ju at try it it’s amazing how quick you pick it up I learn something new everyday and my skill is noticeably better each day to So if your thinking about starting but are hesitant because of the skill stop thinking and do it, If I can you can
And than I get a simply piano ad noooope 🤣 grouping into chords helped me a lot. I started with keyboard, so it was quite easy to notice the chords. 😊 great tips!
I’d like your advice Jazer: Is there a way I can burn into my mind what key I am in when I start playing a piece? It so often happens that I’ll read a piece, e.g.in C Sharp Minor, see a C, and forget to sharpen it.
Wow I really like this video! Thank you for the explanation about chunking the notes, my mind does that too when I'm "faking" through a piece and it walks the progressions. This was definitely something I haven't heard from anyone else 🥳
Jazer; Great points. Thank you. They fall into the the category of what I tell my students (not music) is "Simple, but not Easy IMHO". (see your "can I watch Netflix now?) video post.
I actually do all these things - I've learnt from experience. The advice "practice not until you get it right, but until you can't get it wrong" I read in a book somewhere a few years ago, and it really stuck with me. I don't consider that I have really learnt a piece until I can play it all the way through without errors, repeatedly - sometimes I may play it 100 times because I get one bit right and then I will get another bit wrong. So I correct that bit, and then I go wrong somewhere else. It can be frustrating at times.
When I started learning theory a bit every lesson my sight reading got so much better(not amazing by your standards but I was so much worse), and I saw things as chords making playing much more natural .
