Something that helps me is to constantly remind myself to relax, tell my brain to shut up. Overthinking causes massive amounts of tension, not just in your hands and fingers but in your whole body. You need to find a balance of staying relaxed and applying pressure when necessary. It’s not just piano, it’s anything you’re attempting to do. If you’re not mentally stable I would assume that 100% of the the time it’s overthinking. Yes, you do have to learn proper techniques, but you need to practice patience. If you’re trying to force something most likely you’re going to break it. Once you learn the progression, the next step is focusing on mental, emotional stability. The problem isn’t in your fingers, it’s in your head. When you break any piece of music or technique down it’s really quite simple. If you’re not mentally stable your bridge is going to collapse into the ravine. To achieve control of a musical instrument, or anything else for that matter, you must first achieve control of your self.
I just found your channel. What a great resource! You explain things in a very relatable way. Many thanks for such detailed explanations. Many thanks Dr. Boyd!
Thank you for your videos. Most helpful. I'd like to know your thoughts on pianist Jose Iturbi's (1895-1980) hands when they play piano. To me, they appear very stiff with bent fingers, yet he appears to play well.
Well, clearly he does amazingly well!! 🤩 I am all about helping you as a viewer find what works for you - the advice I share on this channel is to help people make improvements and find more comfort in what they are already doing. BTW have you seen this amazing video of Jose Iturbi playing Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody with an 18-piano ensemble? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-tbeozgkNj8Y.htmlsi=jfgBqmsU2pMbRSwX
@@ThePianoProfKateBoyd Amazing!!! I had not seen this before. It's wonderful to see all the young pianists. And yes, Mr. Iturbi does well but it's almost painful for me to look at his hands. They just look so stiff. Go figure. Thank you for sending this link!
I struggle to play between the black keys as my fingers get stuck on the sides, and was hoping you maybe give some advice on what to do. Currently I turn my hand sideways , but this cause a lot of strain.
I address this briefly at around 7:07 in this video. In order to avoid getting caught between the black keys you need to play more toward the front of the key. Good luck!
@@ThePianoProfKateBoyd The problem I have are for example trying to play middle C# (finger 1) , A ( finger 3) ,1 higher C# (finger 5) in my right hand. My fingers seem to get more stuck if i move to the front of the keys than to the back .
@@zccsa If your 3rd finger can fit on the A between the keys, that's optimal. Sounds like your hand is large - I wonder if you can change the fingering and play 1-2-4 and get at it more sideways.
This video is extremely helpful! One question about chords: do you use the upper arm, flexing at the elbow, and keeping the chording fingers solid but letting the fingers that aren’t depressing a key relax, or do you move the chording fingers at the knuckle without using the upper arm? I’m guessing the former, but please let me know!
Me and my two cents. 🤣. I just wanted (had) to take the opportunity to say that she did say she prefers ‘hand bridge’. In fact, it was so loud she put it in writing for all to see. *(Yes. I read her reply, too.) Now, I’ll un-pause, and get back to the remaining 17 minutes of the video. 🤣.
