Hi Jazer. Thanks for your meaningful advises! I am a self lerner piano beginner. Question: is there some kind of algorithms for fingering? When I start to learn from sheet music, and there is no information which finger to use for each note, how to find right fingers to play with?
Learning parts hands separately also helps with learning pieces quicker. If I learn how each part goes separately I have 50% less chance of making a mistake if one of my hands messes up when I put it back together.
My instructor said that, play it by reading the sheet music, don't look to your hand. It's okay to play wrong note, or slow, the purpose is to maximaze finger position. So that I can use all five fingers effectively, I tend to not use pinky or move my hand so much.
I tell my students all the time that they should be able to play their whole pieces 3 times through without mistakes before they’re ready for their lesson. Never happens though. Lol.
@@ritajohannessen9804 It'll work. Your tongue and lips need to get muscle memory to learn a language just as much as a keyboard learner has to increase muscle memory.
Honestly, what I think slows me down the most is, when I learn enough of a song, like a minute or two of it, I just keep playing it over and over because I love it, and I never end up learning the rest xo, I am trying to break that strange habbit!
Thanks for confirming that the way I learn is a good one. Self-taught from age 65 when I bought an 1887 Mason & Hamlin screwstringer upright at an auction. Had to learn to read music & play as well as tune and repair by myself. I am now 70 and still enjoying this antique piano which has a bit of problems but I figure it's like me.....getting older by the minute. Regards, Carol
@@kertheshima9939 I don't know because I've never tuned any other piano. It's the same I suppose but the strings are placed differently. I tune the middle string then each of the side strings. I don't know if that's how you say it but I get the richest tone I can when all three strings are close in tune. I have the tuning tool and use an app for the tune to acheive.
I just watched this a couple days ago, and practiced INTENSELY using this method to "clean up" a song "Just the way you are - Billy Joel" and just a day or so later the difference is quite staggering! Bits that have been crufty and rough for weeks are sounding smooth already! (Oh, and some advice I saw on another video - practice the SAME FINGERS every time - I actually write down numbers on the notes so I know which finger(s) to use and when. THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!
As usual, good advices from you. But, when choosing the piece to learn, it's quite important to be aware of one's ability and then choose piece that is just a little bit challenging. Because, if you choose too hard piece, whatever method of practicing you use, it will not really help you, and the end result will be frustration.
It can work, though you have to be *really* invested in the piece to actually power through. But I agree, stretching to far ability wise can be frustrating.
Yes, like language learning, finding something just a little bit harder than my level is efficient input. Try searching the difficulty rank of classic pieces, then pick up what you like
@@dogukankaradag1099 You're absolutely right, but I guess majority of the audience of this channel are beginners and people who want to learn piano just for fun. Therefore, majority of them don't really want to invest their life in trying to be as best musician as possible. Btw, I don't want to say that any approach is good or bad. I think the most important part is to never forget the joy of playing music!
My teacher always insists on something very similar to this: hands separately first before hands together, play slowly and 10 times challenge on each section before you can move on to the next.
Jazer, you deadset make some of clearest, easy to follow videos that makes it really easy for beginners, the way you explain things is amazing! You're really helping me as a beginner pianist. Keep up the great videos!!
What Jazzer is saying “practice smarter not harder”. Just don’t forget, practice makes perfect! That means “don’t practice till you get it correct”. Practice “it” until you can not get it wrong!
This video changed my life. I'm an intermediate player that play for almost 10 years. Started to use some of your tips like slow practice and connection points and it is insane how much I improved just by doing so. Never imagined that it would be THIS helpful, had to thank you for that 😊
this is so encouraging to read.... i'm an intermediate player as well, played for 10 years then took a break for 5 years. I'm getting back into playing but i want to do it right!!!
I was hoping I would hear advice like this - not keeping to the rhythm is good news, as I always tried to keep it and that really makes it hard as a beginner.
yeah you can always fix it later, just focus on getting the right notes, the right order of notes, and the correct coordination of the left and right hand.
Valuable, Jazer! I'm 73, and restarting piano/keyboard after a 30 year break! Already I've learned on my own something I think is of great value: IF I DON'T RELAX, nothing works right! So I just relax, relax, relax, and play just a measure (or two) at a time, playing all the notes in there. In the USA we say measure, and you say bar. :) Often I play just the melody and then add in the bass clef. If I mess up (you say stuff up!) I just smile and try again (and again) !!! I've subscribed! And clicked on "all" on the Bell icon!
欲速则不达。More haste, less speed. I wish I'd known about this long ago. Would have saved me years of years of wasted time, with much better results and confidence in execution too. Another great video Jazer!
Your advice of ignoring rhythm at first speaks big volume to me. I’m 70 learning piano. I tried your method today on Chopin’s Mazurka 68.3 and found major improvement especially on the areas which I had always stumbled on.
I've learned this same thing while beating my own Mario Levels. You get stuck at a certain point, and then you're forced to play the level from the start. However, it's way better to practice that specific section separately about 7 times then to repeat everything, cause in the end you'd have practiced the start of the level 100 times, and the ending only 1! An even spread, and constant repetition, are key!
I am a mathematics teacher in South Africa, I picked up the piano after having some lessons back in primary school. I used RU-vid videos to learn and I have come a far way. Really proud of the music I can play, but my music never seemed to flow, I always had trouble with some parts of songs. After using this method it was like ironing out a dress after you made it. It has improved my sound so much. THANK YOU!
I would add one addition: I am starting training from checking my progress by playing whole thing from start to current known end and I am making mental notes where I messed up and where it was ok. Then I go to the end and practice on next sections. Then I am going back to problematic sections and polish them.
Good advice. Thank you for sharing your insights, Jazer. From my own experience I would like to add: # Start practicing those small segments as slowly as possible (without losing the connection between the notes). If it works 7 times 100% perfect increase the tempo. Sometimes it might also be advisable to start with a medium tempo and slow it until you match the tempo you'd like. # Futher - and the absolute game changer - start practicing from the end and work from there to the start. So you overcome that frequent difficulties that you can play a piece only to this certain point, but never are able to finish it with gusto. 😉 # Then put 2 of those segments together. This is the moment when you should pay attention to the rhythm and thrive to be flawless. If you make a mistake, take a deep breath lower the tempo once more and try again. 7 times perfect is the charm. It might sound devastating. But believe me: it is far more consuming, if you "learned" a mistake and try to get rid of it afterwards because you ran repeatedly over it 😉 Happy practicing everyone 😘
I don't think its boring at all. making sure that each note is correct and the fingering correct brings you into the present moment and into the music, rather than just skimming it over and moving onto the next bar. It's getting into the state of appreciation of the composer and understand how he or she composed this bar or section that makes it sound so amazing.
last week I learnt the last third of moonlight sonata 1rst movement with this technique of practicing smaller sections until everything was fluid, it was game changing. Thank you very much Jazer!
This is pretty much the opposite of sight reading--especially sight reading in a group (something I guess doesn't happen that often with pianists, but is totally normal for band/orchestral players). When sight reading in a group, you have to just keep going. Rhythm and tempo are more important than the notes--though of course you want to try to get the notes, too. I'm really looking forward to trying this Deep Sections method. I love being told that rhythm doesn't matter and I can take my time finding the next note!
I took piano lessons 50 years ago (yikes!) and, though my husband brought his acoustic piano with us when we married in 1981, I never played it much. He bought me a digital piano last Christmas so I can play with headphones while he works from home. I am, in other words, starting over. I'm so happy to have found your channel! I'm applying your lessons to my very old books. Yesterday, I started working on just the two-bar transition from up to down in Hanon, rather than trying to go as fast as possible like before!
Love all of this! I tried the 7x from your earlier video and it has been a game-changer. It's by far from boring, it's a great way to immerse in the piece, which you don't necessarily do when sight-reading from start to end. A tip I've tried before is to start at the end of the piece - take the last bar or two, then the previous, and keep working back. Might sound odd but you're avoiding the first bars great, rest not so good scenario. Thank you!
Jazer, I’ve been struggling with piano for well over a decade. Spent thousands of dollars on lessons with many teachers, read books on theory, paid for various apps and learning softwares and this might be the single video that changed my playing the most almost immediately. Thank you thank you!
A+ tutorial. I have been using this method for years and it always has the greatest return on investment for time spent. This method can also be extended to other studies. Clear, concise, to the point, and presented wonderfully. Subscribed.
I really liked the advice of seeing it as a game where you have to get all the coins. I have always thought of sightreading in those terms and it had made me enjoy sightreading a lot more and has helped me progress faster since then.
I love this approach! Recently I found myself just chunking sections that are challenging and practicing them over and over again. I love the rule of seven and not worrying about the rhythm while working out the notes and fingering. As always, thanks for the super insightful content and for sharing your passion for learning and teaching.
Your intro perfectly described by first two years of learning piano. I became very frustrated that I wasn’t seeing much progress and I am an older player with no time to waste ;). This technique offers little frequent “wins” which will to keep me motivated. I plan to start this tomorrow with a piece I am learning. Thanks so much, I enjoy your videos!
I just discovered this video. It is a great method especially for beginners or inexperienced players. I've been self teaching keyboard for about 18 months. I have truly struggled with learning any piece of music because trying to sight read, place fingers on correct keys with both hands and manipulate all fingers to work together is a huge challenge. I tried your method last night and found it to be very helpful to both my fingers and my eyes while learning small parts. Thanks for sharing this with us!😊
Great video! One tip my piano teacher gave me along these lines is that even when practicing as slowly as possible, it's important to visualize where you want your hands to go *before* you move your fingers *at all*. That may seem obvious, but my teacher pointed out I was just slowly moving my hands from note to note rather than really understanding where I was supposed to be going. Sometimes it even helps to have your eyes closed or not looking at the keyboard because it forces you to really think about what the next note is as opposed to relying on not-fully-developed muscle memory. A gamble, as Jazer calls it.
THANK YOU! I was feeling stuck on one song. I'm following a lesson plan in a book series for beginners. From my experience of being in choirs, I was repeating sections that I was struggling with the most, but my progress was very slow. I used this method tonight & feel like I made so much more progress in just a couple of hours than I have in the last couple of weeks. So THANK YOU AGAIN!
This is a really good video, from which I got a lot! The importance of pausing to continue with the correct choice of notes, means the brain will take that in more deeply and store it. Playing things incorrectly even slightly, will mean the brain does not store the correct one when it happens. So taking your time to get it right, is actually faster in the end.
I have a Casio CTS 300 which I actually bought for my Daughter. However, I too am interested in learning Piano. I actually like your lessons. And I am learning a lot form your videos. Thank you.
Thank you for these great advices! At first I thought: Oh wait, I'm already using this method. I always broke pieces down into small manageable sections. But then I realized how much I was gambling through them. I'm quite impressed by the improvement, I experienced in just one week.
Great video, great advice. I also practice/learn deep sections but I work each hand separately many times before putting them together. So my practice would be more like - Left hand 7x, Right hand 7x, Together 7x. Your videos are inspiring and always helpful, thank you!
I agree! I imagine that Jazer would also advise learning hands separate before hands together, and it seems like the 7 times method is a great idea for that work as well.
I, basically, use the same method when I teach my students, as well as, when learning a new piece myself. It pains me to hear a student try to struggle through an entire piece in the beginning of the learning process. It is immediately obvious when the student has not applied this technique at home during practice. (Teenagers can be incredibly stubborn!) Your tutorials are great! I am so glad that instructors, such as yourself, are out there teaching appropriate techniques. It is frustrating dealing with people who come for lessons and have developed horrible technical bad habits from online quickie courses. I am quite strict when it comes to fingering and timing. Can I even begin to describe the look on my face when a student tells me …. “But that’s not the way “I” do it and I think it sounds better my way”. I would never had the nerve to say that to my instructor when I was a student!
💥 Just my additional tips: Instead of pausing to figure out the notes, try to learn first the chord and the points where you get stuck beforehand, so you don't need to always pause to figure out the next time you play. 2 - Instead of a pause, slow down the overall tempo, at a pace that suits you to look ahead and figure out at least 1 tempo ahead ( 1 bar would be ideal ). Don't be surprised by something your brain cannot process or decode instantaneously. Play it very very slowly. Study very slowly. Remember, you're not playing for the public, you're studying, these are different things. 3 - Try to never look at your hands. How do I practice not looking at the keys ? Put a blindfold over your eyes and study all scales and arpeggios for at least 5 octaves across the keyboard, very slowly every single day. I hope you get better with time. ( Remember one more time: Never look at the keys ). 🎉❤
You are one of the only piano tutors whose lessons are very clear and attainable. You also speak very clearly and precisely....your learning techniques are excellent. Thank you.
This encouraged me to practice again, for the 5th time today, practicing is honestly addictive for me, I just love learning the songs that make me feel emotions so deeply
I believe you had a similar video some time ago and I used the method then to learn Bach's Prelude in C. Perfect piece for this method since it is so repeatable and easy to divide into chunks.
I totally agree. For many years I've been trying to find the most efficient way to practise (for me) and I've finally come up with exactly the same method (which I now have a name for). Many thanks for this video.
Great advice! At the end of the day all that we are, mirrors in all that we do. I'm a bit impatient myself, haha. After a severe burnout I try not to overexert myself anymore. I stop practicing "before" I get tired or lose focus. Joy and relaxation are key components for me. Don't compare yourself to others, don't be in a hurry. Be patient, stay curious, be playful:)
Love your lessons. I am an adult average player without many lessons but your videos are so sensible and easy to understand. Wish I had had a teacher like you when I was first learning. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
I play the classical guitar, and my method to learn the pieces well and as fast as possible is similar to this (dividing it in sections): • First, I play the section at the maximum speed that I can do it safely and without making any mistake (if it's too slow, it doesn't matter) WITH METRONOME • Then, I set the metronome 10bpm below the comfortable bpm • I play the section at that speed from 7 to 10 times in a row PERFECTLY • I increase in 1bpm the metronome until I reach the original tempo • Now, I should be able to play it comfortably faster. So I try to play it at the maximum speed possible again, and I repeat the previous steps again and again, until I reach the desired tempo I guess this can be applied to other instruments. Maybe it can help someone. (Sorry for my English, I'm Spanish 😅)
@@celestine7126 pues los puntos para mejorar, en mi opinión y según mi experiencia, son seguir los pasos que he comentado arriba (a mí me funcionan) para aprender el repertorio; hacer ejercicios de técnica, que los puedes hacer como calentamiento antes del repertorio (aunque sea aburrido, es muy importante para no lesionarse); y si te aburre hacer mil ejercicios técnicos porque no tienen melodía ni nada, pues toca estudios, que cumplen la misma función pero son más entretenidos. Llevo 11 años tocando (con este 12) y más o menos siempre me ha funcionado, pero depende de cada persona claro.
I have just started learning and have already started this right out of the gate. It really helps. Coming across this video today just gave me a boost and let me know I'm doing something right.
I've been taking a very similar approach to practice (focused more on organ) so this is very interesting to see. The specification of 7 accurate repeats is the biggest take away for me - I've just been repeating an arbitrary amount of times before moving to each next section. Thank you for the dedicated insight!
You’re such an excellent teacher. I don’t play piano but my friend really got into it lately and I’ve been sending him your content as motivation. Thanks for doing what you do. Such a great teacher and person
Yes, I love this! I have accidentally stumbled into this method through years of practice. The only difference for me is that I use a metronome on a very slow setting at first. Every time I get to 10 perfect reps, the speed goes up. If I mess up once, speed goes slower.
Works amazing. Also explains why I always end up learning the intro thoroughly and quickly. I always end up repeating the intro til I figure it out and then do larger and larger sections later
I happen to be already using this method (segmenting any complex process into parts then mastering those parts individually) and yes it does work. It's not exclusive to piano either, I first utilized it when I was learning fighting games, which can be technically demanding in their own way.
I haven't tried this yet but it makes a lot of sense. I've watched a number of your videos now and I find them straightforward and useful. You really do seem to want to help people and I appreciate your willingness to take the time and effort to produce these videos. You seem like a very nice person.
wow no dislikes! I can attest to being of the habit of thinking rhythm is more important than accuracy during my practices. Thanks for this video, as I'm sure I'll make great use of it.
Would you consider teaching a piece of classical piano music using the exercises presented? For example, how to learn Fur Elise in this method? Or apply the arpeggio lesson to Fur Elise? Connect the lesson to a piano piece. Something that seems too difficult, but made easier by your instruction
This is just brilliant. This method locks in the neural pathways, piece by piece, strengthening the synapse connections along the way. I'm an intermediate player, and found this to immensely helpful - thanks much!
gracias señor, tengo 42 años y desde hace 4 meses me senté a aprender. Gracias a tus videos ya llevo 4 de las 6 Gnossienne de Satie. Muchas gracias, saludos desde Colombia. Thank you sir, I am 42 years old and for 4 months I sat down to learn. Thanks to your videos, I already have 4 of the 6 Gnossienne de Satie. Thank you very much, greetings from Colombia. sorry for my english, google traductor.
What are your thoughts on practicing different pieces? At which point can one be considered finished, and is it okay to work on other tunes while practicing? Thanks for all the great info dude. Been a huge help in picking up where I left off, and your fresh take on practice techniques is a big motivator. 🙏🏼
I haven't played since 2008. Now I'm trying to learn hymns to play at church and this method has helped me tremendously get back into the groove after just 3 weeks of practice! It's discouraging after being so good to be back to beginner level but I keep plugging along and watching your old videos to keep up my motivation. Thanks!
Does tempo matter? Can you move on after 7 successful tries with maybe imperfect rhythm and also at a slower tempo than the piece calls for, say half tempo? Thank you and you’re wonderful!
I'm a beginner, but I think tempo would not matter in this case, I usually practice challenging pieces without tempo and rhythm first and get the notes right as Jazer mentioned. For efficiency, I like to also divide the piece into bigger chunks, like thoughts or emotions that are longer and if I have all the chunks there, then I practice those together at a slow tempo. If I can keep that tempo I move to the next thought in the piece and start the smaller chunks again without rhythm. Once I did the whole piece, I go through with slow tempo and increase it as I get confident with it (and also start with the pedaling and phrasing).
This is PERFECT for people with adhd. You'd think it's boring to repeat small bits over and over again and sure, it's time-consuming, but because you immediately see improvement with each bit, it's much more motivating to do this than tackle (or procrastinate) tackling the whole piece at once which is frustrating and take a long time to notice any imrovement.
Thank you Jazer! This was a great video. Funny enough I’ve been using a similar method for learning my pieces so far. A whole piece at once always seems so “scary” to me. I start hand separately and with a slow tempo until I can put hands together a couple of bars at a time. Making learning into a game sounds like a fun way to study a new piece. Thank you for this idea. The problem I experience generally after learning a piece is, that I forget it almost as “quickly” as I learned it, if I don’t play it for a while. Maybe you have some tips on how to keep a repertoire “alive”?
@@johnflavin1602 I think the re-learning really solidifies the connections to the piece. You probably play it more fluently, at a better tempo, and more musically than the first time you learned it. I often set a piece aside for a few months and go back to it later with better results.
I’m learning more practical lessons everyday watching you. I’m going to take to heart the tips and methods on how to practice slow,, plus taking one measure at a time . I like the idea of playing per measure 7 times over and saying how many times you practiced it to really understand the note connectivity .These tips are golden and didn’t learn it when I was a kid. I’m glad you’re breaking it down for your students and your subscribers. Thank you.
Tempo builds with mastery, and I’d imagine that you begin to be stricter with rhythm when you don’t have to stop to find the next note anymore. Once the notes are automatic, be strict on rhythm. Once the note and rhythm are automatic, increase tempo until you reach full tempo.
For memorization I like to think about the pieces as instrumental stories and I divide them up by emotions, impressions or just any feeling that comes in my mind from listening to it. These usually align with the phrases, but mostly I also name smaller chunks too, and connect them meaningfully. I do this before starting to practice on it, listening to my favorite interpretations of the piece. A series of emotions or a story is definitely easier to remember than just notes and chords, and it evokes naturally from the musicality I guess. It also a good foundation to subtleties and dynamics later on.
Just ordered my Casio CT-S1BK. Haven't played in 20 years. I remember we used to do this in band and do little check boxes everytime we got it right. We'd have to practice with a fresh sheet for recitals because our practice sets were so tattered. I miss it, and can't wait to get back to it.
@@cdllc1956 easy to read, but there's some strange fingerings that I've never used before, I mainly play romantic era stuff and some classical so baroque is messing with me 😂
@@tatianamendoncastudio yeah memorizing has been somewhat difficult but usually that's the easiest part for me, a lot of the switches around the beginning of page 2 are very awkward
Yes, it fits perfectly! The playing has the right steady rhythm to sound like collecting items in a game, and the tone of the higher octaves of teh piano already resembles the coin collecting sound a little bit.
This method worked great for me on my guitar and my flute. I then added a second level for my guitar, which is to play the small sections while multi tasking (eg. Talking , doing conference calls at work, etc..). Just to really drill down the muscle memory.
Amazing. As a professional tennis coach I have been using this method for 35 years. As a struggling pianist of the last 10 years it never occurred to me. Thx Jazer.
Hi Jazer! I saw this video in mid-November 2021 and used this method. I've been playing a little piano piece by Beethoven (6 ecossaises) for almost 20 years, but never flawlessly. With your method I have made more progress in 3 months than in the last 20 years. It really works!!! Thank you very much for your work and many greetings from Vienna!!! 👋😄
Great tips I am 67, and did my 8th Grade piano from Trinity at 60!. Now I practise diploma pieces but still make errors after playing them for more rhan 4 years. I will jncorporate your method starting today. Thank you. Indira Jayaraman ( India)
Thank you!! I did this to play Maple Leaf Rag. I sat with it before and gave up because I was getting frustrated. Doing this helped out a lot. Thanks!!
This is a very good lesson. I've tried to implement it on a few songs and I can't seem to get 7 passes in a row perfect (on a section of 2 to 4 bars when they are a problem area). But still, after I've played about 7 to 10 times passes, I feel like I've improved it a lot. It's similar to another lesson I watched (I think it was you) where the teacher said you don't practice until you can do it right, you practice until you CAN'T do it wrong. I took an in person lesson once where the teacher said when he has problems in a piece he will work on just that section(s) where he has the problem until he gets it worked out. He said if you have to start with just 1 or 2 beats that you can play, do that until it's perfect. Then add another beat until it's perfect, then another and another until the phrase if mastered in whole. For the first 3 to 4 years that I've been learning to play from sheet music, I didn't want to do this type of intense analysis of passages. I just wanted to consume as much sheet music as I could until I could recognize the notes, chords, and put 2 hands together. It took me about 4 years of practice. Now that I can do that I think this "deep diving" is important to my continued improvement.
When I'm learning I chunk into musical phrases. This usually works out at around 2-4 bars per chunk. I have found that slowing the play to absolute snails pace even if some of the phrase is easy and could be sped up, helps a lot. My brain has time in the easy bit too get ready for the hard bit.
This absolutely worked for me when I was learning Debussy’s Arabesque No.1. Not to say that I have it down perfectly now, but I was able to play it decently from memory after about a week!
This has been extremely helpful to me. I have not played the piano in 60 years so, in my mind I can do it the way I remember I use to play…..my fingers aren’t responding, ,so, I’ll pay attention to Jazer’ s way, just like I had never played before.
I am so amazed how I also do this before even watching this video. No one taught me this but shows how as long as you practice you will eventually learn anyway, so just go with it whoever are being unmotivated
These are winning techniques, Jazer. I have a wooden toy abacus on a bench next to me. With each rep a bead gets moved which means I do 10 reps to move a full line of beads, left to right. I've read that Mozart used pennies to do the same. Also, I always end the repeat by crossing over the measure line and playing the first beat of the next section I will tackle. That makes it easier to knit sections together . . . .
