I learnt my crescendos and diminuentos by playing over and over 2 octave scales and arpeggios, starting from piano to forte and vice versa, very helpful
it's crazy to think what these composers did pre-recording. people used to to do so much with much less. or maybe thy had more than we do today, in a sense.
Here's a technical tip that helped me greatly to be able to play very softly and smoothly (think, e.g. Chopin's Nocturnes, slow Schumann, Debussy and similar). Basically, try to hold your hand flat and stretch your fingers out, so that you press the key with the soft flat part of your finger tip as opposed to the hard part just below your nail that you use when your fingers attack the keys at a 90°-angle. Imagine trying to leave a really nice fingerprint on the key (Thumbs are weird, won't really work there), but instead of pressing, stroke the key with a movement originating from your wrist/forearm. Don't cramp though, as this hurts your fluency. As a positive side effect, this forces your knuckles to align in an arc, sort of, that supports having the melody in fingers 4 and 5 by automatically putting more weight on them - incredibly useful when playing things like the ending of the Liebesträume No.3 where you have both melody and part of accompaniment in the right hand.
Very appreciated for your explaination about the dynamics. Especially about the tone when playing with only the fingers. My piano teacher once told me that the good tone come from the whole body, not just the fingers. The fingers are just the part of the arms and the body that make the sounds which is a part of making music. :) Thanks a lot again.
Great video! Just one note that being a percussion instrument with indirect activation, on the piano the only thing that affects the volume of sound is the velocity of striking the key. How you achieve this velocity - with your finger or full hand - makes no difference. Hand vs fingers may help with control but not with fullness of sound.
When it comes to dynamics in Baroque music, you occasionally find f & p in the score without the gradual changes (crescendo & decrescendo) between 2 different marks. The main keyboard instruments in the 17th century up to the mid-18th were harpsichord & clavichord. Depending on the instrument, some have a second keyboard on top for a softer sound from the first. Others may have specific mechanical lever or button you press to give a muted sound. Not every instrument allow for music to be played loud & soft so in many cases dynamics were left out completely in the original manuscript. A piece like the popular Minuet in G & G minor from the Anna M Notebook now credited to Christian Petzold instead of JS Bach it is very likely the originals had no dynamic marking. If you have a compilation of pieces from the Baroque period with dynamics, most likely the p & f were added later to make a piece sound more interesting when played on a piano. A month ago I came across an arrangement of a Handel Sarabande in a piano book that has cres. & decres. connecting 2 dynamic marks which was definitely added in by the arranger and not in the original. A piece by JS Bach with f & p written into the original manuscript is the Italian Concerto in 3 movements. Music scholars suggested the piece may have been written for a specific harpsichord with a second keyboard on top which produced a muted sound.
Oh wow, the explanation about projecting properly (almost over doing it to make it normal for everyone else) was very helpful to hear. I've found this to be true also!
I was taught that piano is a lot more fun when you can actually hear the music you’re playing. If you focus more on the sound than the keys and the right fingering and such then you can start to hear it as you play and it becomes less of a task and more of a reward. You play with your ears, not your eyes!
Wanted to ask, since the question came to me while practising piano. I was playing my the national anthem of my country, and this was featured in the first of my beginner series of piano books. It occured to me that since students play at different levels and with various mistakes, it may, in some countries be a bit awkward since the national theme of a country may be a big deal in regards to patriotism or not. In my country I do not think many would be bothered by this and that is perhaps why the national anthem of my country is in a beginner piano book(simplified of course). How is this in other countries, like the US, or Canada? Are the national anthem of a country featured in learning piano books, or is it dropped since the anthem is a more formal thing to respect more or... Just wondering. And by the way, excellent topic since I am in the process of learning the topic at hand currently aswell.
Very nice video, thanks. I noticed that being conscious about dynamics also enhances the ability to memorize the piece and play with less mistakes start to finish, then reason is that the piece becomes a more coherent idea, which makes it easier to remember.
That bit around 11:00, I'll probably write that down and pin it on the wall. I recently recorded myself playing Satie's Gnossienne 1 & 3 and had a pretty good feeling, being all _uncertain_ and _questioning_ and _"conseillez-vous soigneusement"_ yeah, doing that, and then I _buried the sound_ and... then I listenend to it and it was all just _très de robot_ So, thanks for that nugget of wisdom right there! Also, your channel rocks :)
