Chopin said it was important that ones fingers should always be in contact with the keys. The keys that are not being played support the hand. This reduces strain on the wrist, the arm, the elbows and shoulders. It is a real challenge. 😢
Ok so I’ve been doing these exercises pretty regularly for the last month and I definitely noticed some positive changes! Specific sections in some pieces that used to give me the flying pinky are no longer doing it. Others still do of course, but in a more controlled fashion. I’m also more aware of tension, so when I feel it building up it’s easier to neutralize. So thanks again for your advices!
I’m just getting back into playing piano after a long hiatus. Your videos have been so helpful with correcting my technical issues. You’re also hilarious!!
thank you for this! this is neglected by teachers I know but I have noticed how much it improved my own playing. when i came back to piano after a few years i noticed my pinky sticking up and i fixed it quickly just by playing very slowly and re-relaxing my pinky after each note. it only took me about a week. now with my students i call it "flying fingers" and let them know pretty early on that their hands shouldn't look like that. some fix it right away and some are lazy about it. it just depends how much motivation they have. love your nerd videos!
Dear Akira, Thank you for creating the fantastic tutorial videos you do. Your genuine enthusiasm and professional approach shines through everything you show and explain. I'm glad I have found your videos and will continue watching. Take care and keep up the good work 👍🙂
Thank you! Right now, with all other work, I haven't been able to spend a lot of time editing, but hopefully this channel becomes big enough so that I can dedicate more time for it.
This usually happens when self taught students jump to full chords or other stuff that doesn't match their difficulty lvl. Eg in a book I have full chords at page 100!!! Beginner exercises are there for a reason
Akira, I have been practicing Hanon everyday for an hour, followed by scales for an hour, followed by Chopin Etude Op. 10, No. 2 for 30 minutes. This is my "finger technique" routine. I was wondering how long do you recommend practicing Hanon for each day? Am I practicing Hanon enough, and how long did you practice each day? Thank you! 😊
That is very serious finger technique routine. There was a time I was doing an hour or more of Hanon when I was focusing on my technique. How much you should dedicate to Hanon depends on so many variables like your stage, goal, weakness, etc. So unfortunately, I can't give a one-size-fits-all answer to that.
@@AkiraIkegamiChannel Thank you for inspiring me to buy Hanon and incorporate it into my practice, you helped spark my focus on improving my technique in particular, because you have a very solid and inspiring technique. My goal is to reach anywhere close to your Hanon speeds and then 144-160bpm with my scales. Do you think this routine would promise that kind of development with consistency over time? Oh and believe it or not, I cut down my finger technique a little bit recently, actually this whole past month I was doing about 5 hours of pure technique a day. 3 hours of which was spent on Hanon, Scales & Chopin Etude Op. 10, No. 2 in A minor. The rest on Arpeggios, Chords, Sight Reading etc. It was super intense and I'm glad I did that but after a month, I need a break from 5 hours, so I've cut things down a little bit to about 3-4 hours a day, for my sanity 😊
With your dedication and goal, the number of hours don't sound crazy to me. But you also want to make sure you are using that much time efficiently. Good practice comes from both quantity and quality. I try to be as thorough as possible in my videos, but there is only so much you can do in 10 minute TH-cam videos. These are also one-way instruction without seeing how the student is playing. So it doesn't include anything specific to each student's needs. So I think you will benefit from an online session. That way, I can see how you are practicing Hanon or anything else and see if there is any additional tips I can share with you so that you are getting most out of hours of practicing you are dedicated to. If you are interested, you can find the lionk to my appointment system in the video descriptions.
@@PiscesSenpai hi - I'm just curious -- which of the Hanon exercises are you using - 1 through 20? Are you practicing any of them in other keys besides C?
This doesn’t make sense. I’ve been playing for 17 years, I won a local piano competition in 2013, and I play regularly. Apparently I’m good, that’s what I hear. But I have a serious problem. I’m mostly self-taught and my technique needs a proper reworking. My 2nd and 3rd finger in the left hand are collapsing (been working on it for a month and it’s better, but still a long way to go before it becomes natural), and the 3rd finger sticks up on every occasion. I’m genuinly UNABLE to play a smooth and even scale with my left hand in the faster tempo. What’s interesting I can easily play these exercises, even faster than you show here, with a correct position. I even recorded myself to be sure. But I can’t play Bach’s 2 part inventions with correct hand position… after 17 years of playing. Unbelievable. Akira, can I „repair” my left hand by playing everything slowly and focusing on the correct hand position? I know I need to find a good teacher ASAP. I hope to play and enjoy playing Chopin and Debussy in the future. Oh, and Thank you for this video. I like your channel :)
You can fix anything. A lot of people, including myself, develop bad habits while learning piano. I myself had to do a lot of repair even at college level. It may take a while, but you should be able to address those issues. Seems like you are playing some advanced music already but missing basic technical foundation. This is seen in most of self learners. Taking lessons from a good teacher can definitely guide you through right steps to avoid developing these habits. I hate to see dedicated people like you not getting the most out of your time and effort. If you cannot find a good local teacher, I'll be happy to help you through online lessons: www.pianowithakira.com
Yes, I definitely were playing some advanced music too early before learning basic technical foudation. Thank you for your answer. Right now I try to find a new job, and hopefully move to another place. Thank you for your offer, if I won’t find a really good local teacher I’ll get in touch :)
It can be a similar finger independence issue, or there can be other things that may be causing it. It's hard to tell without seeing it, but I do have an online studio where you can show me what's going on and discuss solution: www.pianowithakira.com
It'll take a long time. So it's important to keep this in mind as you practice, but not to focus too much on it so hat your progress on other aspects won't stop.
So I just started about a month ago and right now my biggest problem is my pinky is making too much contact? My pinky has a slight curve inwards if you were to look at my hand laid out on a table, so the main point of contact seems to my the the center of the tip with a bias towards the outside and that is where my pinkies are forming blisters. It's especially apparent after practicing something like hanon #30. I'm finding it hard to find online how exactly my pinky should be making contact with the key.
Funny coming across this vid as I filmed myself a few days ago and noticed both my index fingers sticking out. Not really straight out nor pointing upwards but enough where u can see they're doing something that the other fingers aren't doing. So far it doesn't interfere in the least with my playing but someone else had mentioned that's not a good thing. So now I started to curve all my fingers slightly more while playing in order to force all of them to move in the same manner, at least temporarily till it's in my muscle memory. Is this really something I need to worry about or am i just unnecessarily flipping out?
It is not coincidence. Google is watching you!! :) You may not realize, but it is in fact affecting your playing to a certain degree. This problem won't go away overnight, so if you are able to, it's good to be aware of it and try to fix it whenever you can.
The problem is that you're engaging muscles that are unnecessary, and also which conflict with the other muscles. Muscles which are lifting are in conflict with muscles which pull down, and for a brief moment the two will fight each other because the lifting muscles must stop lifting before the finger can play down. This creates tensions and can result in injury. The ideal is to use *only* the muscles that pull down, and "turn off" the muscles that are lifting. That is, pull down, and release (stop pulling down) - but never lift. It can (and *should* ) be learned, but takes time and focus.
It's never OK, but rather common, especially if you haven't gone through proper technical training. You can still correct it, but it will take a very long time. So you can make it a long-term goal while working on other things.
I don't have this problem when playing thirds slowly but when I go fast my pinky flies all over the place .d I guess with more practice it will dissappear eventually.
You are tensing up when you go faster. It's easy to say but hard to do, but if we can just do what we do slowly at a faster tempo without changing anything, most things will just work :)
They stick up to show their contempt for the incessant hours you have to put in to get it right. But there is no getting around that fact. You have to put the work in if you want to get it right. There is no other way. That doesn't stop my hands from giving me the finger though when I need to put in the hours of scales and arpeggios.
@@AkiraIkegamiChannel Leschetisky's close touch is also a great help for this. The dozen a day are variations of it -- the first steps which are good for isolatiing the fingers, but they are still too "fingery" You need to rest your playing fingers on the keys, then drop the wrist slightly and catch the weight in the playing fingers. Then simply release the finger and let the key rise -- but do not lift the finger off the key. Using/transfering weight from the wrist to the finger is critical. Taubman approach can also be useful for transferring weight without lifting the fingers in isolation. Here's an example (the wrist motion is exaggerated for emphasis -- in the final form it is barely visible): th-cam.com/video/LjUyfTOnafI/w-d-xo.html
A nice tip is to press a note and check if all your fingers are relaxed, *then* play the next note and repeat it indefinitely. How severe should we be about keeping the fingers in the keys? Though I don't lift too much by fingers, sometimes I catch some of them a little bit higher than the keys, by a inch or even less. Should I be more rigid and make sure it's 100% touching the keys all the time? By the way, what's the name of the song/exercise you played in the end of the video?
Sorry it took me a while to respond to your comment. For good questions like this, I want to take some time to answer it, but it's been really hard to find time around here these days. Anyways, most ideally, you don't want to lift your fingers at all. If your fingers are totally relaxed while playing, gravity should keep them on the keys. So any lifting is a sign of your muscles contracting and creating tension. However, it takes very long time and lots of experience to achieve this perfectly relaxed state. So this should be a long-term goal and you don't want to spend too much time on it, to the point practicing becomes not enjoyable anymore. And by "rigid," I hope you are not tensing up your fingers to keep them down. Like I said, relaxed fingers should stay on the keys by the gravitational force, not by your muscles tensing up (which causes whole a lot of other issues). Finally, the background music is Chopin's Winterwind etude. It's the audio from this video: th-cam.com/video/vPxSjZv2zvw/w-d-xo.html If you are asking me what this music is, you must have missed this video and shame on you!!! I mean, please subscribe :)
I have plenty. I learned 3 languages and was once teaching Japanese at a university :) But to begin, check out my video about how I learned English. Same principle applies to learning any language. th-cam.com/video/2B7limNu9rw/w-d-xo.html
Chopin said it was important that ones fingers should always be in contact with the keys. The keys that are not being played support the hand. This reduces strain on the wrist, the arm, the elbows and shoulders. It is a real challenge. 😢
Can't disagree with Chopin :)
and Chopin praised and studied Bach’s 48! Definitely had a huge influence on his technique
Thank you! Until now I thought my fingers were just defective.... These are excellent practice tips - much appreciated!
Ok so I’ve been doing these exercises pretty regularly for the last month and I definitely noticed some positive changes!
Specific sections in some pieces that used to give me the flying pinky are no longer doing it. Others still do of course, but in a more controlled fashion. I’m also more aware of tension, so when I feel it building up it’s easier to neutralize. So thanks again for your advices!
I’m just getting back into playing piano after a long hiatus. Your videos have been so helpful with correcting my technical issues. You’re also hilarious!!
I have the series for A Dozen A Day and never played it only to realize now its the solution to my pinky problem. Thank you
thank you for this! this is neglected by teachers I know but I have noticed how much it improved my own playing. when i came back to piano after a few years i noticed my pinky sticking up and i fixed it quickly just by playing very slowly and re-relaxing my pinky after each note. it only took me about a week. now with my students i call it "flying fingers" and let them know pretty early on that their hands shouldn't look like that. some fix it right away and some are lazy about it. it just depends how much motivation they have. love your nerd videos!
"Flying fingers" 😂❤
Dear Akira, Thank you for creating the fantastic tutorial videos you do. Your genuine enthusiasm and professional approach shines through everything you show and explain. I'm glad I have found your videos and will continue watching. Take care and keep up the good work 👍🙂
Thank you very much for your kind comment.
Moments like this make all the effort worth it!
This channel is great, can't wait to see how far it grows!
Thank you!
Right now, with all other work, I haven't been able to spend a lot of time editing, but hopefully this channel becomes big enough so that I can dedicate more time for it.
This usually happens when self taught students jump to full chords or other stuff that doesn't match their difficulty lvl. Eg in a book I have full chords at page 100!!! Beginner exercises are there for a reason
This channel is pure gold
I did this exercise and it helped!
Thank you
Absolutely loved watching this.
Thank you❤️
heart warming humor, subscribed.
Love the video, tips and the charisma!
Great video! Thank you!
Great channel, great video👍
Thanks!
Excellent!
Akira, I have been practicing Hanon everyday for an hour, followed by scales for an hour, followed by Chopin Etude Op. 10, No. 2 for 30 minutes. This is my "finger technique" routine. I was wondering how long do you recommend practicing Hanon for each day? Am I practicing Hanon enough, and how long did you practice each day? Thank you! 😊
That is very serious finger technique routine.
There was a time I was doing an hour or more of Hanon when I was focusing on my technique.
How much you should dedicate to Hanon depends on so many variables like your stage, goal, weakness, etc. So unfortunately, I can't give a one-size-fits-all answer to that.
@@AkiraIkegamiChannel Thank you for inspiring me to buy Hanon and incorporate it into my practice, you helped spark my focus on improving my technique in particular, because you have a very solid and inspiring technique. My goal is to reach anywhere close to your Hanon speeds and then 144-160bpm with my scales. Do you think this routine would promise that kind of development with consistency over time?
Oh and believe it or not, I cut down my finger technique a little bit recently, actually this whole past month I was doing about 5 hours of pure technique a day. 3 hours of which was spent on Hanon, Scales & Chopin Etude Op. 10, No. 2 in A minor. The rest on Arpeggios, Chords, Sight Reading etc. It was super intense and I'm glad I did that but after a month, I need a break from 5 hours, so I've cut things down a little bit to about 3-4 hours a day, for my sanity 😊
With your dedication and goal, the number of hours don't sound crazy to me. But you also want to make sure you are using that much time efficiently. Good practice comes from both quantity and quality.
I try to be as thorough as possible in my videos, but there is only so much you can do in 10 minute TH-cam videos. These are also one-way instruction without seeing how the student is playing. So it doesn't include anything specific to each student's needs.
So I think you will benefit from an online session. That way, I can see how you are practicing Hanon or anything else and see if there is any additional tips I can share with you so that you are getting most out of hours of practicing you are dedicated to.
If you are interested, you can find the lionk to my appointment system in the video descriptions.
@@AkiraIkegamiChannel Thank you, that's very kind of you! when I get some time, I will definitely look into that. You're amazing Akira
@@PiscesSenpai hi - I'm just curious -- which of the Hanon exercises are you using - 1 through 20? Are you practicing any of them in other keys besides C?
That intro was hilarious, Master Nerd
I love you man ❤
all obey the master nerd
This doesn’t make sense. I’ve been playing for 17 years, I won a local piano competition in 2013, and I play regularly. Apparently I’m good, that’s what I hear. But I have a serious problem. I’m mostly self-taught and my technique needs a proper reworking. My 2nd and 3rd finger in the left hand are collapsing (been working on it for a month and it’s better, but still a long way to go before it becomes natural), and the 3rd finger sticks up on every occasion. I’m genuinly UNABLE to play a smooth and even scale with my left hand in the faster tempo. What’s interesting I can easily play these exercises, even faster than you show here, with a correct position. I even recorded myself to be sure. But I can’t play Bach’s 2 part inventions with correct hand position… after 17 years of playing. Unbelievable. Akira, can I „repair” my left hand by playing everything slowly and focusing on the correct hand position? I know I need to find a good teacher ASAP. I hope to play and enjoy playing Chopin and Debussy in the future. Oh, and Thank you for this video. I like your channel :)
You can fix anything. A lot of people, including myself, develop bad habits while learning piano. I myself had to do a lot of repair even at college level. It may take a while, but you should be able to address those issues.
Seems like you are playing some advanced music already but missing basic technical foundation. This is seen in most of self learners. Taking lessons from a good teacher can definitely guide you through right steps to avoid developing these habits. I hate to see dedicated people like you not getting the most out of your time and effort.
If you cannot find a good local teacher, I'll be happy to help you through online lessons:
www.pianowithakira.com
Yes, I definitely were playing some advanced music too early before learning basic technical foudation. Thank you for your answer. Right now I try to find a new job, and hopefully move to another place. Thank you for your offer, if I won’t find a really good local teacher I’ll get in touch :)
Thank you, I have the opposite problem, my left ring finger stuck down and that makes I press another key
It can be a similar finger independence issue, or there can be other things that may be causing it. It's hard to tell without seeing it, but I do have an online studio where you can show me what's going on and discuss solution: www.pianowithakira.com
Hi Akira this is so so helpful - how long does it take to fully relax the hand and for the fingers to relax naturally? Once again many thanks
It'll take a long time. So it's important to keep this in mind as you practice, but not to focus too much on it so hat your progress on other aspects won't stop.
@@AkiraIkegamiChannel thank you very much
Thank you!!!!!!
This is EXACTLY the videop I was looking for, THANKS
Glad you found this helpful. Please check out other tutorials on the channel :)
instant
subscribe after being called a nerd in slow motion
😂 me too
Thank you
Thank you very much for your generosity!
So I just started about a month ago and right now my biggest problem is my pinky is making too much contact? My pinky has a slight curve inwards if you were to look at my hand laid out on a table, so the main point of contact seems to my the the center of the tip with a bias towards the outside and that is where my pinkies are forming blisters. It's especially apparent after practicing something like hanon #30. I'm finding it hard to find online how exactly my pinky should be making contact with the key.
I was playing burgmuller op 109 n.3 and there was a passahe with double sixths and fingers sticked up
Hi. I watched your hanon video. May I ask what are the basics you mentioned that i need to learn before playing hanon? Thank you
Check out my videos on Dozen a Day, scale, black keys, etc. They are what I teach before I start Hanon with my students.
Hello! how long do you recommend practicing this for regularly?
I would say 5-15 minutes, but it really depends on your situation.
Funny coming across this vid as I filmed myself a few days ago and noticed both my index fingers sticking out. Not really straight out nor pointing upwards but enough where u can see they're doing something that the other fingers aren't doing. So far it doesn't interfere in the least with my playing but someone else had mentioned that's not a good thing. So now I started to curve all my fingers slightly more while playing in order to force all of them to move in the same manner, at least temporarily till it's in my muscle memory. Is this really something I need to worry about or am i just unnecessarily flipping out?
It is not coincidence. Google is watching you!! :)
You may not realize, but it is in fact affecting your playing to a certain degree. This problem won't go away overnight, so if you are able to, it's good to be aware of it and try to fix it whenever you can.
The problem is that you're engaging muscles that are unnecessary, and also which conflict with the other muscles. Muscles which are lifting are in conflict with muscles which pull down, and for a brief moment the two will fight each other because the lifting muscles must stop lifting before the finger can play down. This creates tensions and can result in injury. The ideal is to use *only* the muscles that pull down, and "turn off" the muscles that are lifting. That is, pull down, and release (stop pulling down) - but never lift. It can (and *should* ) be learned, but takes time and focus.
My Left thumb want to stick out. I had to make a conscious effort to tuck it back
It may take a while, but that conscious effort becomes a natural habit and you won't even have to think about it anymore.
Master nerd with a sense of humor. You're alright in my book
Can't change who I am, so I may as well just embrace it :)
1:14 I never realized that it was an issue 😱
Thank you for making a video about this issue! How much time would you recommend for a daily practice of these exercices? 10-30 minutes maybe?
That sounds about right. I usually say as much time as you feel you need, but you should also distribute time for other things you are working on.
Also incorporate the same technic in your practice of other things
Yes, my right hand pink is very short. So I have this problem
Is it okay to have this in level 6
I am really frustrated 😢💔
It's never OK, but rather common, especially if you haven't gone through proper technical training.
You can still correct it, but it will take a very long time. So you can make it a long-term goal while working on other things.
I didn't know I need to fix this I thought my fingers just want to let someone put a ring on it😂
That's a new way of asking someone to marry, putting a ring on her finger while she's playing the piano :)
I don't have this problem when playing thirds slowly but when I go fast my pinky flies all over the place .d I guess with more practice it will dissappear eventually.
You are tensing up when you go faster. It's easy to say but hard to do, but if we can just do what we do slowly at a faster tempo without changing anything, most things will just work :)
헐 쌤 한국말도 가능햇나요??대박
요즘은 한국 드라마 보는 것벢에 쓸 때가 없습니다 ：）
They stick up to show their contempt for the incessant hours you have to put in to get it right. But there is no getting around that fact. You have to put the work in if you want to get it right. There is no other way. That doesn't stop my hands from giving me the finger though when I need to put in the hours of scales and arpeggios.
After decades of training, my fingers gave up and stopped resisting :)
@@AkiraIkegamiChannel Leschetisky's close touch is also a great help for this. The dozen a day are variations of it -- the first steps which are good for isolatiing the fingers, but they are still too "fingery" You need to rest your playing fingers on the keys, then drop the wrist slightly and catch the weight in the playing fingers. Then simply release the finger and let the key rise -- but do not lift the finger off the key. Using/transfering weight from the wrist to the finger is critical. Taubman approach can also be useful for transferring weight without lifting the fingers in isolation. Here's an example (the wrist motion is exaggerated for emphasis -- in the final form it is barely visible):
th-cam.com/video/LjUyfTOnafI/w-d-xo.html
woa m a nerd 💀 cuz i watched all oh em
Shouldn't the fingers not playing be in touch with the keys?
Yes!
A nice tip is to press a note and check if all your fingers are relaxed, *then* play the next note and repeat it indefinitely.
How severe should we be about keeping the fingers in the keys? Though I don't lift too much by fingers, sometimes I catch some of them a little bit higher than the keys, by a inch or even less. Should I be more rigid and make sure it's 100% touching the keys all the time?
By the way, what's the name of the song/exercise you played in the end of the video?
Sorry it took me a while to respond to your comment. For good questions like this, I want to take some time to answer it, but it's been really hard to find time around here these days.
Anyways, most ideally, you don't want to lift your fingers at all. If your fingers are totally relaxed while playing, gravity should keep them on the keys. So any lifting is a sign of your muscles contracting and creating tension.
However, it takes very long time and lots of experience to achieve this perfectly relaxed state. So this should be a long-term goal and you don't want to spend too much time on it, to the point practicing becomes not enjoyable anymore. And by "rigid," I hope you are not tensing up your fingers to keep them down. Like I said, relaxed fingers should stay on the keys by the gravitational force, not by your muscles tensing up (which causes whole a lot of other issues).
Finally, the background music is Chopin's Winterwind etude. It's the audio from this video:
th-cam.com/video/vPxSjZv2zvw/w-d-xo.html
If you are asking me what this music is, you must have missed this video and shame on you!!! I mean, please subscribe :)
Haha wow u are alive
Do you have any advice for English speakers to learn Japanese?
I have plenty. I learned 3 languages and was once teaching Japanese at a university :)
But to begin, check out my video about how I learned English. Same principle applies to learning any language.
th-cam.com/video/2B7limNu9rw/w-d-xo.html
Thanks!
Thank you for your generosity!