Very useful information, but the autofocus on the camera is a massive distraction. The camera keeps shifting from your face to your reflection and in some places it's impossible to see your fingers properly. I would get rid of the mirror behind you, then I would use fixed focus on your fingers.
Incredible! Does it means that on a two octave scale, you use this move to play thumb after the fourth finger? (I am a very beginer but i feel this move seems to be more natural than the crossing thumb).
1:04 I mean… nobody who tells you to tuck the thumb under tells you to move the hand "out of alignment" like this… nor is flapping the elbows like a chicken something that's ever recommended. That's a mistake children make because they lack wrist flexibility. I mean yes, rotating the forearm is a necessary component, but it's not the ONLY one. With a flexible wrist, it can freely move with great elasticity, so one doesn't ever HAVE to turn the hand and lift the elbow like that, keeping excessive movement to a minimum.
You are right, angling the hand differently like that when the thumb goes under will slow anyone down in piano, that's why no one teaches to play that way. There is so much tension in your hands. :( Look how tightly you hold your fifth (pinky) fingers. When not playing, they should be resting quietly on the keys, not held up tensely against your palms. First, no high-level teacher ever teaches a student to angle the hand differently when the thumb goes under, and doesn't teach rotation during scales, either, as that produces unevenness in tone and is simply unnecessary extra movement. Time for more piano lessons, my friend. Choose your teacher wisely.
I don’t really get where 9 o’clock and 3 o’clock are positioned. It looks like the thumb is not positioned to go under the hand when the 3rd or 4th finger plays.
The thumb is a heavy finger and the anchor of the hand. Often it could be louder than the other fingers because it can initiate the vertical velocity of the piano key faster than the other fingers. Subduing the thumb volume has more to do with slowing down the stroke when initiating the key. I hope this helps.
Very good video and explanation! I always have the issue that when my thumb passes under it strikes the key harder and the scale sounds with a "step", and I cannot control it, do you have any suggestions to solve this? Kind regards
Thanks Matias...The thumb is strong and heavy in comparison to the other fingers. The easiest way to 'equalize' all the fingers is to have it prepared (I have some videos about that on the channel) and be mindful of vertical velocity of how the key is struck. The faster it goes down, the louder the sound is. Hope that helps!
@@KeepingOnTheWatch Thanks Walter. So if Seppo is correct, then does that mean that the hand pivots about the second finger? If that is so, then which finger should really be considered as the pivoting one? The second one? Or the third one? Thanks!
@@southpark5555 I'd be careful with that. A lot of players have their wrists wrongly aligned, so the thumb and forefinger are unnaturally forward. This probably results from the outward position of the elbows while wanting to align the hands straight with the keyboard. If you align the little finger side of the hand straight with the lower arm, then you will see that you actually rotate around the middle finger. Also, in that position the ring- and little finger have much more natural elbow weight while playing, without "pressing" from the wrist. Try to keep the angle between wrist and arm at a minimum, even if that sometimes means that your knuckles are not parallel to the keyboard. Natural wrist position is more important than that little angle. You can still play the keys.
Hello Margaret. Nice explanation and nice of you. One question; IF arpeggio key after third finger farther then next key, how to reach them without turning the hand ? Thank you.
Nice video. True ---- minimising source of time delay or time lag, and maximise performance, reliability and efficiency is beneficial. Maybe the 9-o'clock and 3-o'clock needs to be defined --- such as - for 9-o'clock --- which part of the hand is the reference ? That is ---- for 9 o'clock position, what does it mean -- in terms of visualisation (which part of hand)? Assuming 9-o'clock is pointing to the left. Thanks Margaret!
Yes, the nine o clock is to the left (from the perspective of the pianist at the keyboard)...A slight rotation to the left, middle is 12 o'clock and right is 3:00. The range can be exaggerated at first to get the feeling, but thereafter minimized. Hope this helps!
@@MargaretWacyk Thanks very much Margaret for mentioning those details with the directions of orientation. Much appreciated. Your technique is excellent. I'll pay attention to those teachings. Thanks again!
Margaret's technique is also dependent upon her posture and distance from the piano. You'll see she is sitting quite close to the piano, which brings in the elbow much closer and changes the anatomical movement required for thumb over and thumb under. I sit much farther and I'm a larger guy, so my elbow tends to move a lot less. Thumb over, in my experience, is useful for additional volume at speed (see scales at end of chopin ballade 1). I wouldn't recommend flailing your elbows to any player, which may partially be a result of her close sitting position.
Thanks so much for taking the time to write...I agree that the distance away from the piano will change depending on the height of the player and adjustments made accordingly. I also wouldn't recommend flailing elbows to anybody, just like you said....All the movements I believe should be natural and efficient so that there isn't any wasted energy. Thank you so much for your thoughtful commentary!
Thank You for a beautiful demo. I have discussed thumb under with teachers who are vehement about it - there is one dreadful youtuber , heart of the keys, who claims to be a Chopin pro who actually recommends right thumb on A and 2nd on Ab at the same time for speed up the keyboard using only the tips of the keys both black and white AAAArrrgghh! However I have been working on your style since seeing Edna Golandsky and I am now happily traversing 4 octaves two hands both ways. Your cross hands is well beyond me at the moment.
Dear Peter- wow! Thank you so much for writing and I’m so happy that the thumb crossing approach is helpful. It’s true- there are so many schools of thought on this- for a long time I was told as a student that without twisting the hand in a crossing there would be an unmusical gap in the music but it’s not so. The natural position keeps the flow so much more efficiently. So great to hear from you and so happy about your successes at the piano. Keep me posted! I’m so happy for you 😀
Very interesting technique. I will try this. In defense of heart of keys pianist, she is only pointing out that the key has a sweet spot to depress the key which makes playing most efficient. Hense heart of the keys.. To me that is common sense as you don't see pianist playing up high on the keys. Lol I'm not sure what you are describing during the thumb transition? If you could explain that differently. Would be appreciated. Thanks
