What is it called or do you have a video for playing two or more keys at once with the same hand? If you play A, E, A on the left hand, keys start at different times but all end at the same time? (In the Beethoven piece you did)
Hi Irish Jessie! You might be referring to "rolled chords," which are generally when you start at the bottom of a chord, and add the notes one at a time going up. I don't think I have a video explicitly talking about this, but some of my Learn to Play Piano videos (check out the playlist here: th-cam.com/play/PLzbZE1Ty4bjVz_mjqf8oXoH_IlcYwxOdH.html) might cover other things you're interested in. Thanks for your support! 😄
Hi Charlie, you are playing on a beautiful acoustical piano. I' have only a cheap numerical piano Yamaha Piaggero np12. I don't hear a difference with pulling out the note. Probably it is normal with this kind of piano. But how could you explain what happen mechanically in the piano during the pulling out? I looked at: th-cam.com/video/yHTY4ySqAqU/w-d-xo.html, but didn't understand the effect of pulling out.
Thanks for the comment and great question, @rn5193! (I jotted it down for a possible future more-in-depth LPP episode, too!). Even on a cheap keyboard, "pulling" on the note can make a difference, I think. A lot of what you're doing by "pulling" on notes, moving your hands/wrists/arms/body, and changing the speed at which you press the keys is changing the way YOU are approaching/shaping/feeling the music, musical lines, and phrases. This, in turn, can significantly change how musical the instrument sounds. (When the speed of the keypress is changed, that also physically does affect how fast the hammer hits the string as well, and this might not come across as well or at all on cheap digital pianos...but may also come across on more expensive ones.) Thanks for the great question! 😄
how do we keep a smooth legato when it also needs to be forte? When I use too much strength it breaks the melody but otherwise it is just not loud enough.
Great question! Here are two things that might help: 1) Pull on the notes (literally, pull on the keys and slide your fingers slightly toward you (away from the piano), like you're trying to disconnect the key from the piano itself), and 2) slightly overlap the notes (don't let go of the previous note right away, so that you're actually playing two notes at a time for a short period). Hope this helps! :)
Thank you for these explanations, but my issue is with big gaps between notes. How can I play legato if I can't reach both two consecutive notes with one hand?
This is actually a great question, and a good idea for a possible future LPP video! A quick thought that might help: legato isn't *just* about physically connecting 2+ notes, but is also partly a "feel." Using combinations of things like dynamics, tone, how you move your arms/wrists/hands/etc., etc., you can make 2+ physically disconnected notes psychologically feel like they're still connected and/or part of the same melodic line.
Thanks a lot. Yes you answered my question (for an acoustical piano) with the speed of the hammer. As I read on several tutorials, each pianist used other method to play the legato. When not pulling, some says after pressing a key, wait bis the next one is pressed to release the pressure on the first key. That makes the smoth and connected sound. An other says, and I like the concept is to turn the wrist. Automaticaly the pressure of a key will decrease with the increasing pressure on the next key. Of course, there is no hammer effect on the key. We can compare this to ride a bicycle, the pressure on a pedal dicrease when the other leg increase the pressure. On my numeric piano, the sound is loud when pressing slowly without a big pressure on the key. I will see in one or two years if I don't buy a better digital piano.
I know nothing about playing the piano but everything made complete sense to me. The examples were very clear so that even a non-player could hear the before/after.
Hey that's great! Thank you, Poor Wotan! I'm trying to make the "Learn to Play Piano with Charlie" videos to hopefully help lots of people of varying levels of musical experience; while some are going to be more "advanced" lessons than others (including this one!), I'm very happy to hear that they make sense even if you're not a pianist yourself! 😄Thanks again!
Charlie! I’ve been viewing videos on music theory and ways to play the piano for a few months now, and I am thoroughly enjoying your videos, because you are incredibly authentic and humorous! Please do continue making these videos and content like this it is beautiful to watch someone teach and be passionate about what they do. Next time, I would really like to hear you sing! Haha, please don’t forget! Have a lovely rest of your day!
Playing legato is one of the most important skills at the piano. How do you play legato like a pro? Let's learn!
🎶
What is it called or do you have a video for playing two or more keys at once with the same hand? If you play A, E, A on the left hand, keys start at different times but all end at the same time? (In the Beethoven piece you did)
Hi Irish Jessie! You might be referring to "rolled chords," which are generally when you start at the bottom of a chord, and add the notes one at a time going up. I don't think I have a video explicitly talking about this, but some of my Learn to Play Piano videos (check out the playlist here: th-cam.com/play/PLzbZE1Ty4bjVz_mjqf8oXoH_IlcYwxOdH.html) might cover other things you're interested in. Thanks for your support! 😄
Hi Charlie, you are playing on a beautiful acoustical piano. I' have only a cheap numerical piano Yamaha Piaggero np12. I don't hear a difference with pulling out the note. Probably it is normal with this kind of piano. But how could you explain what happen mechanically in the piano during the pulling out?
I looked at: th-cam.com/video/yHTY4ySqAqU/w-d-xo.html, but didn't understand the effect of pulling out.
Thanks for the comment and great question, @rn5193! (I jotted it down for a possible future more-in-depth LPP episode, too!). Even on a cheap keyboard, "pulling" on the note can make a difference, I think. A lot of what you're doing by "pulling" on notes, moving your hands/wrists/arms/body, and changing the speed at which you press the keys is changing the way YOU are approaching/shaping/feeling the music, musical lines, and phrases. This, in turn, can significantly change how musical the instrument sounds. (When the speed of the keypress is changed, that also physically does affect how fast the hammer hits the string as well, and this might not come across as well or at all on cheap digital pianos...but may also come across on more expensive ones.)
Thanks for the great question! 😄
how do we keep a smooth legato when it also needs to be forte? When I use too much strength it breaks the melody but otherwise it is just not loud enough.
Great question! Here are two things that might help: 1) Pull on the notes (literally, pull on the keys and slide your fingers slightly toward you (away from the piano), like you're trying to disconnect the key from the piano itself), and 2) slightly overlap the notes (don't let go of the previous note right away, so that you're actually playing two notes at a time for a short period). Hope this helps! :)
Thank you for these explanations, but my issue is with big gaps between notes. How can I play legato if I can't reach both two consecutive notes with one hand?
This is actually a great question, and a good idea for a possible future LPP video! A quick thought that might help: legato isn't *just* about physically connecting 2+ notes, but is also partly a "feel." Using combinations of things like dynamics, tone, how you move your arms/wrists/hands/etc., etc., you can make 2+ physically disconnected notes psychologically feel like they're still connected and/or part of the same melodic line.
Thanks a lot.
Yes you answered my question (for an acoustical piano) with the speed of the hammer. As I read on several tutorials, each pianist used other method to play the legato.
When not pulling, some says after pressing a key, wait bis the next one is pressed to release the pressure on the first key. That makes the smoth and connected sound. An other says, and I like the concept is to turn the wrist. Automaticaly the pressure of a key will decrease with the increasing pressure on the next key. Of course, there is no hammer effect on the key. We can compare this to ride a bicycle, the pressure on a pedal dicrease when the other leg increase the pressure.
On my numeric piano, the sound is loud when pressing slowly without a big pressure on the key.
I will see in one or two years if I don't buy a better digital piano.
Slightly overlapping notes is definitely important in playing legato too! 😄
I know nothing about playing the piano but everything made complete sense to me. The examples were very clear so that even a non-player could hear the before/after.
Hey that's great! Thank you, Poor Wotan! I'm trying to make the "Learn to Play Piano with Charlie" videos to hopefully help lots of people of varying levels of musical experience; while some are going to be more "advanced" lessons than others (including this one!), I'm very happy to hear that they make sense even if you're not a pianist yourself! 😄Thanks again!
Charlie! I’ve been viewing videos on music theory and ways to play the piano for a few months now, and I am thoroughly enjoying your videos, because you are incredibly authentic and humorous! Please do continue making these videos and content like this it is beautiful to watch someone teach and be passionate about what they do. Next time, I would really like to hear you sing! Haha, please don’t forget! Have a lovely rest of your day!
Thanks so much for your support, Jenly! ...I'm pretty sure nobody wants to hear me sing! 🤣
The magic ingredient of Cantabile
😃