Why you should be PRACTICING your instrument SLOWLY // 10 tips to help IMPROVE your PIANO PLAYING 

Danae - as usual, this was incredibly useful and wonderfully presented. I am a former conservatory graduate, who left the piano for over 30 years, and am just now returning to it. It is experts like you who are guiding me, as I do not currently have a teacher. I have no words to express my gratitude for your brilliance and patience in preparing these amazing videos!! Thank you so much! Elliott from Manhattan.

Gosh, this is wonderful. Your attention to - and explanation of - even the smallest details is very, very helpful. Thank you.

So helpful. You are so thorough in your presentation.! I have been struggling( and suffering ) with "How to Practise Issues!" I really like and fully understand the significance of what you have said here. It will completely change the way I learn and practise new and not so new pieces It will also restore my confidence in my ability to learn, practise and enjoy music again. You are a great communicator as well as a Great pianist! Please keep sharing your gifts with us. Sincere Thanks.

there used to be a real lack of instruction on slow practice, probably still is. So it was nice to see this video pop up and go into such detail. Thankyou.

Im glad i stumbled upon on this video. When i don't play my instrument i search for this kind of content, it feels like im around with the people with the same passion...because in my family im the only one that plays an instrument. Thanks for this.

That was incredibly interesting! I'll definitely be applying some of these teachings in my practice. Having a piece decay over time has been one of my recurring issues, which I attributed to being a beginner, but I think the reason really is just continuing to play the piece at full speed instead of slowing down and letting my brain keep relearning it :)

Now i will practice slowly always

Josh Wright had a similar tip on polishing pieces before a performance, where he was talking about slow practice with eyes closed. I don't think we can ever practice enough slowly so I tend to write on the first page of a piece "practice slowly" and "focus on the tough spots" to ensure I am as efficient in practice as possible.

that Rachmaninoff anecdote is gold.

Thank you!

If you can play it slowly you can play it quickly 😆 no but seriously this is great advice. I attempted to add latin rhythms to paganini caprice 24 and it worked out great but half way through paganini got lost, perhaps he should have started slowly 🤷 great video thank you

Hi Danae, enjoying your videos. Thank you for reinforcing slow practice. Though I do a lot of slow play, I see that I need to be more methodical and focused as I have accuracy problems that seem insurmountable at times. It would be helpful for you to take a short passage, play it at tempo, then show how you worked up to it with slow practice as a video. I understand each piece is approached differently, but a good sample would be worth watching. I also liked your video where you showed playing a note, then immediately moving your fingers to the next note without playing it. I've tried that and it is also very helpful. I feel more determined to dedicate myself now to more quality slow practice. Thank you! UPDATE! Today I think I practiced EVERYTHING slowly, I gave myself permission to slow down, and I had the most incredible practice I have had in a very long time. I felt good about myself during the whole session, and I just can’t thank you enough this has been very, very insightful because today the approach to practicing slowly I gave it more importance, and allowed myself to play without judging myself or feeling like I had to hurry through it…I felt I was giving the music and myself more respect it was just a real breakthrough in attitude. ❤❤❤

Very interesting and helpful video. Thank you!

Very interesting!

This is great advice. I learnt about this previously but the daft thing is.. I actually forget to do it!? I need to get into the habit of doing it every time I practice 👍

Agreed 💯 right

I enjoyed this video very much simply because as a self-taught, you just reassured me that practicing slow is the best way! Slow tempo everything is like a miracle! I am learning Chopin's etudes 1,2 and 4 and the way I see them, for example, No. 4, I think it was composed by BAch, very slow, sounds like one of his fugues, I use a metronome. As you said, It also helps me to memorize the piece! Thank you, Thank you!

Thank you so much😊

Thank you. Very helpful!

Very informative and will definitely use your guidance in my endeavours to be a piano player. Thank you.

Thank you so much , subscribed!

Danae, thank you very much for this helpful tips....I´m discover your excellent channel...Hi from Mexico!!!

Thank you for the professional analysis of slow practice. Very helpful and concise. Probably best analysis on slow practice on the internet. 5 stars. I subscribed.

Great 👍🏾 stuff

❤ LOVE YOUR CONTENT !!! NEW SUB HERE !!!

Very helpful 😌

Amazing video!! Thank you 🙏🙏 Super well-thought out. I took notes. The word “overhearing” is one of those false friends, tho - in English it just means eavesdropping. The English word for what you mean would be overlook...although “overhear” would certainly be more logical! ☺️ Thanks again-wonderful advice! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Als ich jung war, bin ich häufig im Gebäude der Musikhochschule gewesen, weil es eine Abkürzung war oder wegen Veranstaltungen. Ich habe tatsächlich NIE jemanden langsam üben hören und dachte daher, dass man nur mit Schnellüben so gut wird wie diese Studenten. Diese Vorstellung hielt sich leider lange Zeit. Erst vor einigen Jahren haben ich das konzentrierte Langsamüben für mich entdeckt. Vielleicht haben diese Studenten diese Phase einfach hinter sich gelassen oder aber ihre neuen Stücke vor den Semesterferien aufbekommen und dann die langsame Übephase zu Hause durchgeführt und hatten die Sachen dann schon einigermaßen drauf, als sie dann wieder an die Hochschule zum Semesteranfang zurückkehrten. Ich weiß nicht woran es lag, aber es ist schon kurios, wie sowas eine falsche Vorstellung über das Üben prägen kann. Also das langsame Üben ist auf jeden Fall von großem Vorteil, nicht nur was die "richtigen Tasten" betrifft, sondern auch Akzente, Dynamik usw. Und wenn man es wirklich konzentriert macht, ist es auch überhaupt nicht langweilig.

Hi Danna, yes practicing slowly is a treasure but the key is to be able to play at all intermediate speeds from slow to not so slow, to not so fast, to fast and all gradations in between, without mixing them up, that's really what teaches a piece.

This was REALLY helpful for me thank you. I also want to make a point how what you eat affects your practice session, if you eat a high caloric or even sugary or salty food, for me I'm not as focused. I am trying to eat healthier for my discipline for slow practice. 😊

Thank you Danae for these wonderful tips, this is so helpful! I recently had the experience that I performed a piece that I normally play quite well - Chopin's Op. 25. No. 1 Etude - at a small informal concert in front of other pianists. I had just recorded the piece the previous week and it went quite well, in addition to going well when I have been playing it by myself. However, whatever pressure/anxiety (which actually felt only minor) of the performance situation resulted in my losing my technical security - motoric dexterity and security was greatly reduced, and the performance was sloppy, both in terms of notes and rhythmically. There is the aspect of jumping directly into a Chopin Etude (even if not the most difficult one) at the start of a performance, but still the sloppy performance -- so different from the usual level of my playing the piece -- was quite unnerving. Would methodical slow practice in the run-up to the performance be what the doctor ordered? I would be very grateful for your tips and advice, thank you!

Slow practice... I did it today at 200 on the eight note. It depends about what you are looking for because at fast tempo, the smallest error at the beginning or between the notes make everything wrong. I do slow down once or twice when fatigue comes and make you do wrong coordination but keeping in mind that this should be played at the final tempo. A dot + 16n note is difficult at fast speed. When I slow down, it is not to play slowly, but to concentrate on the feeling of the touch of the finger on the note, to be sure my finger is in the middle of the note or in center of black keys, or to secure the rythm like with the dot +16 n. When you play slowly, IMO, you should do it with a technical purpose, not just to memorize a piece. I work sometimes on silences...

What do you think of this fingering for chromatic scales ? Right hand ascending starting on C: 123451234545 and repeat; right hand descending same fingering - if starting on C 1545432154321. Left hand ascending starting on C is 543215432121 repeat; descending (starting on C) 5121234512345 repeat. What I like about it is A) there are only 3 hand positions per octave (2 moves) as compared to anything with a traditional thumb tuck involving at least 4 positions, 3 thumb tucks per octave, if you want to use the same fingering on every octave and not a 2 octave pattern before repeating; B) you can use the same fingering on every octave; C) when striking with a given finger on the left hand there is a single unique corresponding finger in the right hand - for example left thumb is always right pinky. The obvious disadvantage is that you can’t do a legato thumb tuck as with classical fingering. You need to jump the hand instead. Unless I do each way for years I can’t tell which approach is better. I’m very comfortable with the 1234545 fingering in right hand ascending, so I think it’s mostly a question of whether I can eventually get the hand jumps to the new thumb positions to be quick and seamless and not lead to uneven accent. If you think this is a bad idea, what fingering do you use for chromatic scales, or does it vary?

How is it possible that the techninc of playing piano slowly is the best and the only one ?

Thank you ...maybe you covered this but, how many times should one practice a passage of music before increasing tempo and how much tempo should be increased?

Hi Danae, thank you very much for your inspiring videos! Like the previous commenter I'm also a former conservatory student and have been returning to the piano more and more seriously. I was wondering if I can ask you a question about slow practice: Do you have experience with the reversed situation where slow practice is creating "bad habits" for the faster tempo? For instance, I'm currently practicing Czerny etudes and in slow tempo lift up my fingers quite a bit higher for regularity, accuracy and strength of tone. I simply have the time to do that ;-) In a fast tempo this cannot or should not always be achieved. Hence I may be impeding my faster tempo (the end result I strive for) by "wrong" slow practice. Can you comment on such situations? I'm curious to hear your take on them! Cheers, and the best of wishes going forward with your channel!

I found practicing slowly a very useful technique. It helps me to get rid of tension. However, sometimes it is quite difficult to get things aligned with beats and I have a lot of struggle with starting a slow practice using the metronome at he same time. Any advice how to fix that? Sometimes is easier to slow-practice already learned piece just to play it more relaxed than to start practicing the new one 😅

Eine tolle Übereihe hier auf RU-vid!!Kompliment! Da profitieren sicher eine Menge Leute! Hoffe weiterhin viel zu hören !Auch wieder von vielen Konzerten (nach Corona) und noch viele weitere Schöne u.nutzbringende Videos. Herzlich Alles Gute!

The information is really helpful but I wish there was some demonstration. I don’t know how you define slowly. Please include more demonstrations in your videos..

I always had the problem since I started playing at age 16, now 58, that when I start to play faster and faster, my fingers start to contract leaving me playing on my nails. It seems to be a muscle reflect that I can not control. It’s especially a problem because of my long fingers (span of a 10th on the keyboard). It’s a very weird problem. Any suggestions how to get rid of this bad reflex?

Need some examples of your playing ‘slowly’ please.

just great! Thank you so much! Ah, t h a n k y o u s o m u c h 🌟

Skimmed through it and never saw a piano - hmmmmmm

You talk too much. Demonstrate!!!!