I did this for years and didn't start making progress till I started practicing very slowly and taking 5 minute breaks every half hour on the advice of wonderful teachers like Robert Estrin
What an invaluable video. The message is make sure you don't practice and embed your mistakes - slow down and make sure you get it right consistently. And if you are still making mistakes go back to separate hands and get that consistently right before putting the hands together.
Hi Robert! You‘re just Great! I‘m now close to 65 and my whole Life I tried to play keyboard and Piano just because I grew up with friends and family who impressed me very much to do like them… and I love piano playing (sorry 4 my English, I’m Swiss…). Thus all the past time I followed piano lessons with different piano teachers but I think, they thought - “it’s useless with him” … and now I get the time to invest some more time but “do it right” ! No one of my teachers told me things like you do - and i’m so grateful having found your “Living Pianos”! Thanks a lot! I guess, I’ll will progress… despite what others think! Theo
Thank you for your videos! I just got my very first acoustic piano (Yamaha U1) and I love all of these little clips. They’re so helpful as I begin my journey of learning the piano! I’m working mostly on improvisation and feel at least for now, but the application is just the same regardless of the goal. Thank you!!
The quicksand analogy is so true, I have actually destroyed a couple of tunes in the past, and I am so wary of doing it now!. It just takes patience and commitment to looking at what the problem is, and how to overcome it, as you have described.
Practicing quickly is like trying to jump over a high obstacle over and over while practicing slowly is like walking back a hundred meters to run towards the obstacle and then jump with momentum.
Isn't it true that a fingering that seems best when practicing slowly won't necessarily work well when played at performance tempo? If so, then shouldn't a good fingering for each section be worked out first at or slightly above desired tempo hands separately. Then go back and practice the whole piece slowly to ingrain it into muscle memory? A horse instinctively knows that it cannot walk at the speed of a gallop, that to gallop it has to change its footwork or it would stumble and fall. If you try to play Presto with Lento fingering you may stumble and fall.
The amount of novice mistakes I have been making for years just to be able to "clear" out 300bpm songs is so painful. The past weeks Ive gotten so much more comfortable technique and consistency by playing slow arpeggios and stuff..
Something i have always wondered about: I'm not that bad of a player and i can get whatever i want under my hands except extremely extremely fast things (by that i mean, play them perfectly and record them and they'd be wholly satisfying, the whole deal). In the past, i have tried raising the metronome for whole sections bit by bit but i wonder if there wouldn't be a tremendous difference if i'd try to get them to full speed phrase by phrase the very first day i'd learn them and just going forward when the previous phrase is 100% at speed. I say this because i know that there is not much difference technically speaking between going slow and medium or even a bit fast but when you go REALLY fast it seems like it's another gear.
Here is a video which may help you: th-cam.com/video/1-slj3cRewc/w-d-xo.html&pbjreload=101 It makes sense to take each phrase you learn to the fastest speed you can play cleanly as you learn. But you will reach a point of diminishing returns. So, at that point you are better off moving on to the next section and taking that as far as you can without spending an inordinate amount of time on it. The next day, you can take each section to another level of speed.
The best advice I gave myself with the piano was 'stop trying to play Bach': the number of times I quit because of Bach, the composer I most wanted to play well and couldn't. I'd spent months and months trying to play one of the Allemandes from the French Suites and it was driving me crazy. Once I reconciled myself to the fact that I couldn't play it, and never would play it, I returned to the piano and enjoyed it, even if it was in music I enjoyed less: Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Schumann, I enjoy playing all of them but I will never touch another piece by Bach. ETA: the piano is an evil instrument that will only lead to insanity. The play it well is astonishingly difficult.
Sorry you gave up on Bach. Perhaps you were trying to play a piece that was beyond your capabilities at that time. You might consider going back and attempting one of the two-part inventions, or one of the little preludes.
Bro classical guitar is also a torture don’t give up I today play pieces which I couldn’t even imagine to do 5 years ago I too was frustrated but I never gave up
Robert, I am wondering if you would be able to help me identify a noise coming from my Yamaha U3 upright. It’s an annoying little clicking sound that plays when I play the B above middle C. It sounds only when the hammer strikes the strings. I don’t believe it’s a cracked hammer or any wooden component because they all seem structurally sound and solid. Do you have any experience with noises like this?
Agreed, practice tempo is slow. And completely at odds with our modern instant gratification expectations.
Oh yes...
Dude i feel like you just opened up my brain and looked at what flaws i have
Good luck with learning the piano ;)
I did this for years and didn't start making progress till I started practicing very slowly and taking 5 minute breaks every half hour on the advice of wonderful teachers like Robert Estrin
Oh great that you did that! Sometimes it’s difficult to convince students to practice slowly 😂
I love how the production value on this channel has gotten so well
This is as much life coaching as piano tutorial! 👏
What an invaluable video. The message is make sure you don't practice and embed your mistakes - slow down and make sure you get it right consistently. And if you are still making mistakes go back to separate hands and get that consistently right before putting the hands together.
Love the turtle.
Hi Robert! You‘re just Great! I‘m now close to 65 and my whole Life I tried to play keyboard and Piano just because I grew up with friends and family who impressed me very much to do like them… and I love piano playing (sorry 4 my English, I’m Swiss…). Thus all the past time I followed piano lessons with different piano teachers but I think, they thought - “it’s useless with him” … and now I get the time to invest some more time but “do it right” ! No one of my teachers told me things like you do - and i’m so grateful having found your “Living Pianos”! Thanks a lot! I guess, I’ll will progress… despite what others think! Theo
Memorizing slowly after playing a piece slowly reinforces good pianism, after which you are in a better position to play it quickly and well.
Thank you for your videos! I just got my very first acoustic piano (Yamaha U1) and I love all of these little clips. They’re so helpful as I begin my journey of learning the piano! I’m working mostly on improvisation and feel at least for now, but the application is just the same regardless of the goal. Thank you!!
Good advice, as always. Thanks so much!
I've been practicing 16th notes at 80-90 way more than I should. I only play slower to warm up. Thanks for this advice.
Excellent advice. (WRT chopping wood, Abraham Lincoln allegedly said: "If I have a week to chop down a tree, I'll take 6 days to sharpen my axe".)
From piano teacher to piano teacher.... PREACH!
The quicksand analogy is so true, I have actually destroyed a couple of tunes in the past, and I am so wary of doing it now!. It just takes patience and commitment to looking at what the problem is, and how to overcome it, as you have described.
Practicing quickly is like trying to jump over a high obstacle over and over while practicing slowly is like walking back a hundred meters to run towards the obstacle and then jump with momentum.
THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST ADVICE EVER! SUBBED.
Excellent. Could listen to you for hours and then some.
So glad I found your channel, thanks so much for the great content!
I've recently found myself in the quicksand you mentioned. Thanks a ton for the insight.
As a piano teacher I so often hear a student begin playing at a barely managable pace and a few bars later it falls apart into a mess.
So many golden words flow from you.
Your videos are so insightful.
Slow practice really helps regardless if you are practicing classical music or working on accompanying a singer.
I always need this reminder
You described me at 00:46 perfectly! (Beginner here)
Thanks for your great videos.
The quicksand traps all and we need a helping hand.
Thanks Robert.
I really needed this video thank you Robert and merry Christmas! My teacher and I just talked about this
Happy holidays!
SUCH GREAT ADVICE👍👌 !@@@...I guess in other words > " don't confuse MOVEMENT with PROGRESS !!!! "
This can be applied to everything. Slow and steady wins the race.
Thanks for the excellent piece of advice !
Thank you so much for your wisdom. I would love you to be my teacher.
Isn't it true that a fingering that seems best when practicing slowly won't necessarily work well when played at performance tempo? If so, then shouldn't a good fingering for each section be worked out first at or slightly above desired tempo hands separately. Then go back and practice the whole piece slowly to ingrain it into muscle memory? A horse instinctively knows that it cannot walk at the speed of a gallop, that to gallop it has to change its footwork or it would stumble and fall. If you try to play Presto with Lento fingering you may stumble and fall.
You're such a smart teacher...
This knoledge can be aplied in almost anything
Thank you. I would have liked to see an example.
The amount of novice mistakes I have been making for years just to be able to "clear" out 300bpm songs is so painful. The past weeks Ive gotten so much more comfortable technique and consistency by playing slow arpeggios and stuff..
Thanx, Maestro 🌹🌹🌹
Hi Robert. Thanks for your tutorials i follow. What kind of keyboard are you playing? Is It a concert one with some kind of digital devise? Thanks
always a story? right but his final statement makes sense. thanks
Спасибо, очень правильный и полезный урок !
Excellent
This is gold! I loved the forest analogy.
No dislikes. Wise audience 🕶🎶
Something i have always wondered about: I'm not that bad of a player and i can get whatever i want under my hands except extremely extremely fast things (by that i mean, play them perfectly and record them and they'd be wholly satisfying, the whole deal). In the past, i have tried raising the metronome for whole sections bit by bit but i wonder if there wouldn't be a tremendous difference if i'd try to get them to full speed phrase by phrase the very first day i'd learn them and just going forward when the previous phrase is 100% at speed. I say this because i know that there is not much difference technically speaking between going slow and medium or even a bit fast but when you go REALLY fast it seems like it's another gear.
Here is a video which may help you:
th-cam.com/video/1-slj3cRewc/w-d-xo.html&pbjreload=101
It makes sense to take each phrase you learn to the fastest speed you can play cleanly as you learn. But you will reach a point of diminishing returns. So, at that point you are better off moving on to the next section and taking that as far as you can without spending an inordinate amount of time on it. The next day, you can take each section to another level of speed.
Very true, thanks
The best advice I gave myself with the piano was 'stop trying to play Bach': the number of times I quit because of Bach, the composer I most wanted to play well and couldn't. I'd spent months and months trying to play one of the Allemandes from the French Suites and it was driving me crazy. Once I reconciled myself to the fact that I couldn't play it, and never would play it, I returned to the piano and enjoyed it, even if it was in music I enjoyed less: Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Schumann, I enjoy playing all of them but I will never touch another piece by Bach.
ETA: the piano is an evil instrument that will only lead to insanity. The play it well is astonishingly difficult.
I've been practicing the Partitas the last two months, and I find Bach isn't that difficult to play once you learn the correct fingering.
Bach is difficult indeed but I guess the problem was that you didn’t have a professional teacher to help you. Good luck with your piano journey!
Sorry you gave up on Bach. Perhaps you were trying to play a piece that was beyond your capabilities at that time. You might consider going back and attempting one of the two-part inventions, or one of the little preludes.
Bro classical guitar is also a torture don’t give up I today play pieces which I couldn’t even imagine to do 5 years ago I too was frustrated but I never gave up
Can you talk please about that digital grand piano mechanism you are playing?
It is the second modular piano prototype I have developed. It provides a virtual concert grand experience.
If you can play it slowly, you can play it quickly🐝
We all know it 😂
Robert,
I am wondering if you would be able to help me identify a noise coming from my Yamaha U3 upright. It’s an annoying little clicking sound that plays when I play the B above middle C. It sounds only when the hammer strikes the strings. I don’t believe it’s a cracked hammer or any wooden component because they all seem structurally sound and solid. Do you have any experience with noises like this?
Never mind. I figured it out. It was a loose screw that holds the hammer butt flange onto an aluminum rail.
It could be many things, possibly a loose hammer shank. Next time you get your piano tuned, have your piano technician track it down for you.
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
I was expecting the comment section to be full of "if you can play it slowly you can play it quickly" jokes
Me, watching this video at 0.25x the speed 🤓
You probably learned more from the video than the rest of us who watched it at normal speed.
Big brain
Save it and then slow it again
👍🏽😀thx
But, if you can play it slowly, you can play it quickly, right?
If you can play it slowly