Thumb Troubles: Piano Fixes You Need to Know! 

Brilliant and generous, as always, as you are. Many blessings!

Thank you Denis., for this very interesting and helpful video! Blessings to you!

Yes, very helpful, especially the tips on how to practice to achieve the evenness and lightness in the Chopin passage. That could apply to many other passages! Thank you again, Dennis!

Loved the last part, especially!

Your videos addressing the fundamentals of how to play arpeggios and scales are presented in a way that's refreshing and easy to understand. Many people teach that there is only one way to play scales which is basically passing the thumb under the hand. What you have highlighted is that playing scales faster requires a modified hand position and diminished pressure on the keys and, as simple as that is to understand it is often a serious roadblock for students unless a talented pianist is willing and capable of explaining exactly how that is done, mechanically. In my experience, it's the pounding thumb creating unwanted accents while playing scales and arpeggios that needs serious understanding and taming. Your videos are greatly appreciated.

I agree wholeheartedly with @maddub. Could you please expand and post another lesson on scale work going to the center of the keyboard, both hands. Thank you for all your great work.

Great video, very helpful recommendations. Thanks for posting!

Yes, very helpful ! Thanks

Very helpful. Thanks.

This was helpful. Thanks 😂

Thanks

Your technique series is awesome, Denis. By the way, can you do the video about where our hand's position is when playing just the white keys and the black mixing white keys?

Классное видео, спасибо. Сколько усилий пошло на борьбу с первым пальцем!

This area of hand usage is one of the most valuable areas for me. Thumb usage is seminal. Great guidance and attractive presentation. I'm doing and working on your tips, changing positions by forearm lateral motion. Thanks for the note on thumb direction, last phalanx. In my jazz scores, I need to bracket the thumb on 2 notes frequently and for wide chords, of course. But I am trying to gently curve thumb in line with the keys, for the reasons you suggest. After extending thumb it can become a habit to keep it there, rather than immediately relaxing. I will watch for this when possible. One thing, my technique now comes from a defaulted higher wrist position and lowering it as needed. I am finding a lot of success with this which puts the fingers and thumb more vertically at times, playing of fingertips, as the tips seem more intuitive and brain connected than my pads. All your technique teaching applies across the board for my arranged jazz music. I like your videos and consider you the most technically adept teacher that I know of. In the top shelf of teachers, there will be some difference in approaches but all leading to same end: ergonomic and efficiency in the max. Keep these gems coming and again, thank you.

Thank you Denis, I have been trying to put my thumb lightly (as you demonstrated previously ) but perhaps I should have my piano serviced ,to see if that can add to the improvement I am noticing already 😅 .

I use to have problems with constant pain/swelling in the knot at the base of my thumbs, I guess caused by bad technique (thumb under the hand?) in playing arpeggios, scales or maybe also pounding my thumbs too hard into the keys. Since watching your videos on scales (and applying your technique), I have noticed improvement . Thanks Denis!

Your videos and courses have been my inspiration for about three years now and the improvement in my playing is so gratifying. Someday I hope you can do a video on Czerny Op. 299 No. 26. Cann"t decide if I should line the notes up between right and left hands or keep them independent.

Quite helpful. Thank you Denis. For me playing with my thumb at the correct angle, as you demonstrate, feels precarious, because my point of contact with the key is so small. But I will try and fix this, as I am sure it would help with my lamentably slow and uneven scales.

My problem now is with osteoarthritis starting in my left thumb. It usually doesn’t hurt, except whenever I play scales. I’m 63 and classically trained, so this really bothers me, especially since I have small hands and try to stick mostly to pieces that are suited for small hands.

Excelente!!! Tens algum video falando sobre escolas/arpejos descendentes?

I'm having issues with interlocking octaves, blind jumps, scales in thirds, left hand in Erklonig, coda from Chopin's Ballade No. 4, and Liszt's Grosse Konzertfantasie über spanische Weisen, S.253....otherwise...I'm good, for now.

Great videos! I'm new to watching your channel and wondering if you have a video about voicing chords? Not sure if this topic has already come up. For example, I'm working on Scriabin sonata no 4, mvmt 1, and I'm not quite sure how to voice the left hand chords in the section measure 35-51 to bring out the melody with more clarity. The chords all have different hand shapes so I'm not quite sure how to think about the problem more generally.

I wanted to ask whether you plan on releasing a course on cortots rationale of piano playing?

Just intentionally googled your first thumb video a few hours ago