Greetings from Potsdam, Germany. Amazing videos. Extremely helpful. I am a 69 years old amateur, and have started playing again. I wished such phantastic teaching material had been accessible to me in my youth, where I started to play the piano. Thanks so much for your work!
Don’t forget “fast” is relative to ones current skill level. This FETCH method is of great value to the learner (me) as it is to one who is highly skilled.
Dr. Boyd - another wonderful contribution to this collection of pedagogical frameworks - mnemonics like this are so useful in communicating ideas to students! I think that one of the contributions to fluency (avoiding Hesitation) is to consider momentum. In passagework, from the beginning, feel the transfer of weight from key-to-key and consider at the same time the overall direction. In physics, momentum is mass (think "weight") directed along a velocity vector. It may be just my overly analytical way of thinking about this, but I've always felt that paying attention to momentum in a passage in this way helps achieve velocity without tension. The body wants continuous rather than episodic movements.
Thank you for offering this additional, helpful perspective! I think the physical body does respond well to momentum, and that definitely can be applied in certain piano passages and can help create more ease in fast playing. I am glad you have found this to be helpful to you as well! Happy practicing! 😊
I am a beginner and enjoy your method of teaching. The passage you used in this mini-lesson is well beyond my skill level for now, but I can apply your techniques now.
I am glad you have found ways to apply this to your repertoire! These techniques can definitely be applied to all types of music, and it is great that you are implementing them already even at the early level. Happy practicing! 😊
Thank you!! I've been avoiding any pieces faster than andante, but now I'm trying Burgmuller's Op100 etudes and need to step up the speed! (And re. fingerings - the edition I bought from Schirmer has some, uh, interesting ones... I started to feel like they were hazing the newbies. I've got an edition from Alfred on order.)
You're very welcome! I am glad you are beginning the Burgmuller etudes; those are wonderful pieces and hopefully you can find ways to apply the FETCH framework to these pieces! And I am glad you have found a useful edition with wiser fingerings! Happy practicing! 😊
Thank you -- I will put this lesson into action today. I am working on Scott Joplin's "Magnetic Rag", and my fingering is just not right. I'll chart it out, and try your FETCH methodology!
And you won’t if you don’t prepare for it. Playing fast is more of the quality of your study when you practice slow, meaning that you are completely aware of what you’re doing. All the advice Kate gives in this video applies in general to improving your practice. For example, making the habit of playing close to the keys is essential in general. Being aware of the motions you are doing while practicing too, since playing the piano is about controlling what you are doing and not just hopping things go well
Thank you for your response! I appreciate your comments and how you've noticed that many of these suggestions can be applied to various areas of piano playing and practicing! 😊
in the process of learning a fast piece, once you've learned the notes and start to work on the flow of the notes, do you have to work in chunks in order to accelerate it? what I mean is that if the piece is let's say 160 bpm and I can play it at 80, do I have to reach 160 for each chunk before moving to the next?
Practicing in smaller chunks definitely can be more effective, especially for the more challenging passages. Once you are able to increase the tempo for several smaller chunks, you can gradually work towards connecting those chunks and put them in context.
Thanks, nice video. I always miss a description of how to achieve a consistent fingering for the fast passage. If I play slowly, I cannot judge the correct fingering for fast playing.
One advantage of slow practice is so you can work out playing with the correct fingering consistently. With each repetition, use the same fingering to maintain consistency. As you gradually increase tempo and use the FETCH framework, continue to use the same fingering. The fingering should remain the same for both slow and fast tempos for one passage in order to help you maintain consistency in your practice!
@@ThePianoProfKateBoyd OK, thanks. So you think that fingering is not dependent on the speed of playing. I think I have had other examples in my practice.
Great points. I would like to recommend NOT to write down too many fingering for the early level students. Many students play by following the fingering instead of reading notes.
You are exactly right! For the beginner student, too much fingering can cause them to rely too much on finger numbers and less on their knowledge of note reading. Thank you for this recommendation! 😊
I want say it s better to watch kate video than studying in university with dumb prof always keep saying forte forte piano piano cresendo cresendo wo any advices
Come to Butler University and study piano with me! I promise I won't just say forte forte piano piano without any advice! 😊 www.butler.edu/jordan-arts/undergraduate-programs/music/apply/
I wanted to ask something not really related to your video. Did you ever had a piece that you just can't play without making any mistakes ? The Bach invention 6 is just driving me crazy. I play it and I make just a small mistake. Ok I work a bit that mistake and there's no problem with that part actually. So I start the piece again and I make another mistake. Again I work it and start again... and again and again with more and more mistakes as if the more I play it the more mistakes I make. I know that piece. I've been on it for 2 months now and I don't know what to do. I'm desperate.
@@growingpianists thank you for your comment. It's holiday now and don't see my teacher. I don't think he really has a solution for this. He usually says to repeat small chunks, but that doesn't help as I'm really ok at repeating parts of the piece. It's when I do the whole piece. There is always a few note I miss. That piece is not easy because there are a lot of accidentals and also there are many parts that look the same but just a few notes higher or lower and you have to remember which part is what.
I hear you - that's very frustrating. It can be very discouraging to feel like you're practicing so hard and you keep making random mistakes!! Without hearing you I can't diagnose a specific problem, but I would say two things: first, you mention that you keep starting at the beginning and making different mistakes and then realizing it's not a problem after all and then going back to the beginning. I think if you can take each mistake very seriously and identify the exact spot where you missed it, and then isolate and drill that exact spot (7 times or so), and then (this is the important part) when you've drilled it, just go back a little bit before that spot and drill going into that spot several times until it feels very very secure. Only then, go back further in the piece (not necessarily all the way back to the beginning) and practice through the place where you made the error earlier. If you don't make the error again, great - keep going. Then, the next error you make, treat it the same way. If you do this every time you practice, you won't eliminate all mistakes overnight but over time the "random" mistakes will start becoming less and less frequent, because you're treating each mistake as evidence that you need to really review and analyze that spot. Second, mistakes are super tricky because once you make a mistake a few times, you then need to take actions to correct it. So, it requires more correct repetitions to "fix" something than it takes to learn it correctly in the first place. Therefore, I would examine the way you initially learn a piece - it's too late to do that for this invention, but the next time you learn a new piece, examine your approach. Perhaps in this case you started playing it hands together or increasing the tempo before you were truly comfortable and ready to do so. Again, I haven't heard you play this piece or seen anything but those are the two thoughts that come to mind. I hope it's helpful!
Thank you very much for taking time to answer me ! Yes, I've started doing like you said, drilling specific spots where I make mistakes. I realize it's very difficult to start from a specific spot. I've been working that piece part after part but starting in the middle of a part is not easy. Maybe trying to start from anywhere in the piece is good exercise ? I realize also that for some note I have to watch the keyboard and when I come back to the score, I'm lost and these spots are problematic. I've also been searching a lot to find a good way to learn a new piece. For Bach, I haven't found a good way to learn I think. Mixing voices is so hard. I usually do separate hands first and try both as soon as possible. For this particular invention, the accidentals are hard to read fast, the rhythm and the "contre-temps" (don't know the word in English) is not easy at all. I've been working on just reading the notes, not playing thus. For the rhythms, I've worked it really really slowly and then speed up. Again thank you for all very valuable videos. It helps so much !!!
![How to Improve Your Left Hand ACCURACY and SPEED [7 Tips!]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3F0_XC5euyY/mqdefault.jpg)
![How to Improve Your Left Hand ACCURACY and SPEED [7 Tips!]](/img/tr.png)
Watch this next: th-cam.com/video/PUowXe0D93Y/w-d-xo.html
Greetings from Potsdam, Germany. Amazing videos. Extremely helpful. I am a 69 years old amateur, and have started playing again. I wished such phantastic teaching material had been accessible to me in my youth, where I started to play the piano. Thanks so much for your work!
You're most welcome 😊 I'm so glad you've been able to experience the joys of piano. Happy practicing!
Thank you for the valuable lesson, as always!
I'm glad it was helpful to you! Thank you, and happy practicing!
Your advise is so valuable and give us confidence to do something on piano
Thank you! I'm glad it was helpful and that you've found your confidence on piano! 😊
Excellent video. Your advice is awesome! Particularly keeping fingers close. Thank you for your generosity.
Yay! I'm so glad you found it helpful!
Don’t forget “fast” is relative to ones current skill level. This FETCH method is of great value to the learner (me) as it is to one who is highly skilled.
You are exactly right; that is important to keep in mind! I am glad you have found this to be applicable to various skill levels.s Happy practicing! 😊
Love your videos Kate, you're an excellent teacher! Thank you!!
You are so welcome! Thank you! 😊
Dr. Boyd - another wonderful contribution to this collection of pedagogical frameworks - mnemonics like this are so useful in communicating ideas to students!
I think that one of the contributions to fluency (avoiding Hesitation) is to consider momentum. In passagework, from the beginning, feel the transfer of weight from key-to-key and consider at the same time the overall direction. In physics, momentum is mass (think "weight") directed along a velocity vector. It may be just my overly analytical way of thinking about this, but I've always felt that paying attention to momentum in a passage in this way helps achieve velocity without tension. The body wants continuous rather than episodic movements.
Thank you for offering this additional, helpful perspective! I think the physical body does respond well to momentum, and that definitely can be applied in certain piano passages and can help create more ease in fast playing. I am glad you have found this to be helpful to you as well! Happy practicing! 😊
What a great video! Your teaching style is amazing and so easy to follow!
Thanks so much! Glad you're here!
I am a beginner and enjoy your method of teaching. The passage you used in this mini-lesson is well beyond my skill level for now, but I can apply your techniques now.
I am glad you have found ways to apply this to your repertoire! These techniques can definitely be applied to all types of music, and it is great that you are implementing them already even at the early level. Happy practicing! 😊
Thank you!! I've been avoiding any pieces faster than andante, but now I'm trying Burgmuller's Op100 etudes and need to step up the speed! (And re. fingerings - the edition I bought from Schirmer has some, uh, interesting ones... I started to feel like they were hazing the newbies. I've got an edition from Alfred on order.)
You're very welcome! I am glad you are beginning the Burgmuller etudes; those are wonderful pieces and hopefully you can find ways to apply the FETCH framework to these pieces! And I am glad you have found a useful edition with wiser fingerings! Happy practicing! 😊
You’re excellent. I love your teaching … I’ve learned so much ! Your channel helps to encourage and keep
Me motivated … thank you .
Thank you very much for your positive feedback! I'm glad these videos been helpful 😊 happy practicing!
Thank you -- I will put this lesson into action today. I am working on Scott Joplin's "Magnetic Rag", and my fingering is just not right. I'll chart it out, and try your FETCH methodology!
You got this!
I'm not ready to play fast, but this was very helpful for visualizing my pieces in Burgmüller. Merci beaucoup.
And you won’t if you don’t prepare for it. Playing fast is more of the quality of your study when you practice slow, meaning that you are completely aware of what you’re doing. All the advice Kate gives in this video applies in general to improving your practice. For example, making the habit of playing close to the keys is essential in general. Being aware of the motions you are doing while practicing too, since playing the piano is about controlling what you are doing and not just hopping things go well
Glad it was helpful, and I hope you find this method useful when you are ready to begin increasing the tempo! Happy practicing! 😊
Thank you for your response! I appreciate your comments and how you've noticed that many of these suggestions can be applied to various areas of piano playing and practicing! 😊
in the process of learning a fast piece, once you've learned the notes and start to work on the flow of the notes, do you have to work in chunks in order to accelerate it? what I mean is that if the piece is let's say 160 bpm and I can play it at 80, do I have to reach 160 for each chunk before moving to the next?
Practicing in smaller chunks definitely can be more effective, especially for the more challenging passages. Once you are able to increase the tempo for several smaller chunks, you can gradually work towards connecting those chunks and put them in context.
There’s utility here for we violinists as well.
You are exactly right; thank you for pointing that out! 😊
Thanks, nice video. I always miss a description of how to achieve a consistent fingering for the fast passage. If I play slowly, I cannot judge the correct fingering for fast playing.
One advantage of slow practice is so you can work out playing with the correct fingering consistently. With each repetition, use the same fingering to maintain consistency. As you gradually increase tempo and use the FETCH framework, continue to use the same fingering. The fingering should remain the same for both slow and fast tempos for one passage in order to help you maintain consistency in your practice!
@@ThePianoProfKateBoyd OK, thanks. So you think that fingering is not dependent on the speed of playing. I think I have had other examples in my practice.
Great points. I would like to recommend NOT to write down too many fingering for the early level students. Many students play by following the fingering instead of reading notes.
You are exactly right! For the beginner student, too much fingering can cause them to rely too much on finger numbers and less on their knowledge of note reading. Thank you for this recommendation! 😊
I want say it s better to watch kate video than studying in university with dumb prof always keep saying forte forte piano piano cresendo cresendo wo any advices
Come to Butler University and study piano with me! I promise I won't just say forte forte piano piano without any advice! 😊 www.butler.edu/jordan-arts/undergraduate-programs/music/apply/
I learn so much more from this video than months of lessons and blind efforts. Thank you.
I'm so glad it was helpful! You are very welcome! 😊
I wanted to ask something not really related to your video. Did you ever had a piece that you just can't play without making any mistakes ? The Bach invention 6 is just driving me crazy. I play it and I make just a small mistake. Ok I work a bit that mistake and there's no problem with that part actually. So I start the piece again and I make another mistake. Again I work it and start again... and again and again with more and more mistakes as if the more I play it the more mistakes I make. I know that piece. I've been on it for 2 months now and I don't know what to do. I'm desperate.
Getting help from a teacher would be a good idea at this point. Also, working on audiating the music you are playing:)
@@growingpianists thank you for your comment. It's holiday now and don't see my teacher. I don't think he really has a solution for this. He usually says to repeat small chunks, but that doesn't help as I'm really ok at repeating parts of the piece. It's when I do the whole piece. There is always a few note I miss. That piece is not easy because there are a lot of accidentals and also there are many parts that look the same but just a few notes higher or lower and you have to remember which part is what.
I hear you - that's very frustrating. It can be very discouraging to feel like you're practicing so hard and you keep making random mistakes!! Without hearing you I can't diagnose a specific problem, but I would say two things: first, you mention that you keep starting at the beginning and making different mistakes and then realizing it's not a problem after all and then going back to the beginning. I think if you can take each mistake very seriously and identify the exact spot where you missed it, and then isolate and drill that exact spot (7 times or so), and then (this is the important part) when you've drilled it, just go back a little bit before that spot and drill going into that spot several times until it feels very very secure. Only then, go back further in the piece (not necessarily all the way back to the beginning) and practice through the place where you made the error earlier. If you don't make the error again, great - keep going. Then, the next error you make, treat it the same way.
If you do this every time you practice, you won't eliminate all mistakes overnight but over time the "random" mistakes will start becoming less and less frequent, because you're treating each mistake as evidence that you need to really review and analyze that spot.
Second, mistakes are super tricky because once you make a mistake a few times, you then need to take actions to correct it. So, it requires more correct repetitions to "fix" something than it takes to learn it correctly in the first place. Therefore, I would examine the way you initially learn a piece - it's too late to do that for this invention, but the next time you learn a new piece, examine your approach. Perhaps in this case you started playing it hands together or increasing the tempo before you were truly comfortable and ready to do so. Again, I haven't heard you play this piece or seen anything but those are the two thoughts that come to mind. I hope it's helpful!
Thank you very much for taking time to answer me ! Yes, I've started doing like you said, drilling specific spots where I make mistakes. I realize it's very difficult to start from a specific spot. I've been working that piece part after part but starting in the middle of a part is not easy. Maybe trying to start from anywhere in the piece is good exercise ? I realize also that for some note I have to watch the keyboard and when I come back to the score, I'm lost and these spots are problematic.
I've also been searching a lot to find a good way to learn a new piece. For Bach, I haven't found a good way to learn I think. Mixing voices is so hard. I usually do separate hands first and try both as soon as possible. For this particular invention, the accidentals are hard to read fast, the rhythm and the "contre-temps" (don't know the word in English) is not easy at all. I've been working on just reading the notes, not playing thus. For the rhythms, I've worked it really really slowly and then speed up.
Again thank you for all very valuable videos. It helps so much !!!