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I don't really need to imagine, do I?

Why is that?

I have a forearm injury right now and I'm trying to rework my technique.

She seems to be unavailable. Where can I learn more?

While I agree things do change and get smoothed out at higher tempos, I don't think that means there's only one way that scales can be played at higher tempos. Even when I play fast, I find that focusing my mind on doing it in a particular way (as to hand position, wrist position, movements using rotation, etc.) definitely has an effect on my accuracy and on how quickly I get fatigued. Additionally, video shows that my hand truly moves differently at high tempos according to how I am thinking about its movements, even when I'm playing the same notes of the same scale at the same tempo. So I can understand why you believe what you're saying, but all the evidence says you're mistaken.

You can tell when they're plotting world domination when they do the hand pyramid thing.

I know how you feel. I had also been playing a long time when I started getting introduced to the idea that forearm rotation is the most fundamental playing motion and that playing a note with the thumb crossed under the palm isn't necessarily a good idea. And no, I definitely didn't make it up. I first got introduced to these notions by a friend who is an excellent player and teacher who did pretty extensive training in the Taubman approach with Edna Golandsky.

Are you asking about crossing from 4 on Bb to 1 on C as you ascend the Fm scale? I'm not sure what aspect of that particular scale is making you ask about it.

I only started at 3, so only 55 years of piano here. Wiggling my hand was never an option and fortunately my thumb is anatomically able to fold under my fingers, this makes humans able tu use tools, so... Actually, no news here. Keep practicing and having fun.

I was taught the thumb to prepare to go under as soon as the index hits the D .. Th important thing is the quick displacement of the whole hand as soon as the thumb hits the F so that all fingers automatically are placed on the next 5 keys .... I do not think the thumb going under creates tension as long as one keeps the hand relaxed while doing it!!!Relaxation is the key and the quick displacement of the whole hand when practicing slowly!!! Just sharing my opinion as a pianist....

@@gregonline6506good lord I hope you’re joking by starting piano “only at 3”

@@ketz_165 I actually grew up on, under and at my parents grand piano in a rented flat at the 5th floor in Vienna, Austria. Just circumstances, nothing I could be proud of.

Yes, that's the idea.

Good question and I'm not sure I have a good answer. I suspect I'm overreacting to a past tendency to have my right wrist too high.

That's the problem with lurning on your own. Nobody there to smack you with a stick when you're doing it wrong.

1. If the link to my web site in the description doesn't tell you who I am, I don't know how to help with that question. Perhaps you will feel informed by the info available at robertkennedymusic.com/alter-web-egos/ 2. Viscount Legend Live played through a Leslie 3300. For more info see blog posts on my website. 3. Unfortunately I don't know where to get another stool like that one. I got it at a now-defunct thrift store in San Francisco for $8.00 and I have no idea of its provenance. Searching for "Z stool" on line gives expensive, artsy results that are similar in principle but not in price.

If the piece involves fast repetitive octaves, sometimes w fingers in the middle doing other notes, and you have an 8 in hand span like me, there will always be pain. Always. The pain decreases with increased hand size.

@@ericaeli3807Study Abby Whiteside and maybe add in Moshe Feldenkrais to to use your wrist, arm and body to help you play piano without pain.

@@ericaeli3807 I can only reach octave in my right hand as I broke my thumb lower joint as a teen on a motorcycle accident. When I started I could barely reach a 7th on fingertips. I was taught to relax the hand slightly in the air as you rotate left or right to the next octave then form the shape just as you touch the keys. The hand gets a fraction to relax between the stretches. It took a lot of practice at first but it saved me that pain like you complained of.

@@John-boythanks. No such time for Erlkonig! Even w successive fast octaves but not the SAME octave it’s better than the same octave.

It is hard for you because it is a naturally uncommon and awkward movement, but with repetition (practice) you can achieve it

Alas, no, but standard notation for this tune is easy to find.

Please read the video description which I updated several days ago to include the information you're asking about.

​@@robertkennedymusic I saw your video yesterday and description wasn't updated. Now it is. I am happy to know that new version solved the bug. Have fun with Italian musical instruments!

I guess it takes some time for description updates to propagate through the TH-cam serving infrastructure.

Thank you!

I'm here to assist if you have any questions. Cheers!

You flubbed notes on the scale at 4:50 multiple times in a row. That’s odd when also saying this is a very efficient approach.

@@audiomystic I hear you that it strikes you as odd for me to espouse this approach when I still make flubs in my video about it, but I didn't intend to create the impression that using this sort of technique absolves us of the need to practice. If you find the easy method for eliminating all mistakes without practicing I would love to watch your TH-cam video about it. Until then I think I will just persist in trying to use disciplined practice along with the best techniques I know in hope of eliminating my flubs. And I will continue working to accept that in spite of it all, I will still sometimes make mistakes.

@@robertkennedymusic as a student and a teacher of various disciplines, I tend to notice that I can’t teach something until I’m proficient in it. Because until then I haven’t encoded the qualities of the skill. You’re welcome to share what you know at this point, I just expect you will learn more and perhaps teach more accurately, especially the meta-level when you have more control of this approach. Personally, I’m frustrated how many clashing views about piano technique there are. I find in the end it’s important to prioritize a relaxed feeling in the hand as much as possible. Use the arm and body to avoid overuse of fingers. Everything else, appears secondary in the ‘skill tree’ of qualities.

Yup, this video was to share a suggestion with my piano-beginner cousin and to share a little glimpse into my own journey. Definitely not to exaggerate my level of authority beyond what it really is. And then this video went accidentally slightly viral so now a lot of folks are seeing it and commenting just to try to troll the piano lesson dude, but I am not trying to be the piano lesson dude. I'm happy if my video helps somebody and though you might disagree, I'm confident it won't be harmful. I absolutely care what other people think of my playing and that care is one reason I constantly work at trying to improve, but I would rather my playing be judged from my performances and recordings of music than by this video. In the end, though, you decide. Just realize that nothing more than an internet accident is responsible for the conversation we're having right now. It's completely unclear what you're saying I should do or understand differently. You found a Phillips screwdriver lying on the ground for free, and you're complaining that it's no good with your slotted-head screws. Make your own screwdriver if the one you found doesn't do what you need. Be the video you want to see on the internet.

@@robertkennedymusic I feel like the concept of rotation at the wrist breaks down and higher tempos and descending as well. I’ve just gotten a lot of Taubman approach videos recommended lately and I’m not convinced this particular aspect is entirely feasible.

I don't think the thumb can really be in contact with the F before the third finger has lifted at least most of the way from the E. But yes, I think your comment is basically aligned with the idea I'm trying to get across.

I am not a Taubman expert nor trainee, though I have had some exposure to it through friends and colleagues who know about it. Definitely there is some overlap but I can't make any representation about how well aligned my advice is with theirs. Certainly my advice is informed by what my Taubman-trained friends and colleagues have shared with me, though.

True. It was a quick response to a specific issue that came up, definitely not a complete treatment of the subject. A great deal of additional detail is out there and all you have to do is search for it.

Too many "problems" that don't exist attributed to thumb-under technique. By the time the thumb plays (F) the whole arm has moved so that it is played just as smoothly and easily as the initial (C). That is all that is happening here... nothing "new."

It was pretty messy, not even clean within one octave

😢