For those of you struggling to find a good slow practice tempo we discuss how to easily find your perfect slow practice tempo in this video: th-cam.com/video/xDloU15-kWI/w-d-xo.html
It’s important to add one very clear point: If you can’t play anything at a fast tempo, you have to recognize that one song cannot address that. For instance: You can’t play 32nd notes at BPM 150 at all, even scales aren’t possible, then working specifically on that with various pieces that require that proficiency will help that overall goal. Also, playing scales at that tempo won’t magically produce playing parts unless those parts are just scales. How often does that happen ?
Slow is not a metronome setting, it's a mental process admitting of full intentional control. That's why her slow is not your slow. And as you practice in full control, your slow will increase also.
Thank you so much for the video. Hearing you explain this really helped me understand how I should go about explaining this to students. I feel like I often forget to talk about mid and fast tempo practice and how they should be used in coordination with slow practice because so many of my students play too fast. Hearing you explain the slow, mid, and once fast I realized that's what I've been doing for years and learned from my teacher but it's just become so engrained I forgot to really think about it and that I should explain that to my students! Excellent advice and explanation, thank you so so much!
Thank you so nice to hear and yes there are so many things that we do that we don't think about anymore, but it's actually really valuable info for our students :)
Hate to sound like an advertisement but last few days I have been following your advice and it works well for me. Sounds silly as I'm very old, but I realise that previously I have been almost guessing where I am and where I'm going in a piece, making errors and ironing them out merely by repetition which is so wasteful. I have also now focussed on really getting the score fingered thoroughly from the outset. All obvious I suppose but enthusiasm can have counter productive results. Anyway, thanks and best wishes.
I studied in Gnessin (Kissin's old school). My teachers came from the lineage of Beethoven, Chopin and Tchaikovsky. This was the mantra - 'SLOW, SLOW, SLOW. And by the way, the Krommelynck duo is my favourite duo. However you seem very nice and I would like to see what you and your hubby play.
Just came across your channel.. Great teaching ! clearly from being concert pianists 😀😀 I started trying to play Mozart K 414 - 1st movement - pages 1&2 and also 2nd movement - after watching your video - went to 1/2 speed on Murray Periah ‘s fantastic version on YT .. so my tempo matched with a metronome is at 65 .. Murray plays at 130 to the quarter note I think …This is helping a lot .. my level is sort of beginner with - lots and lots of gaps on music - just a hobby - no formal training at all ..but I have a Steinway Essex at home from just a year ago ..any thoughts on how my journey could be speeded up .?.. yes I am past 60 but can still learn complex stuff when I went to grad school 35 yrs ago …
So happy you are learning the piano and happy our videos our helpful on your journey. Start with practicing a lot 😊 listening a lot and watching a lot of good quality videos from people practicing their craft. You’ll see that you’ll get more clarity and more specific questions as you develop.Let us know if you want a video on a specific topic 😊
@@dimitrovboeleepianoduo exactly right !.. my sight reading is quite abysmal..but I have not figured out to improve it -yet...my second problem is getting the sync.. perfect between lh and rh.. playing seperately seems ok but it falls apart when together .. memorization of 3-4 bars is usually quite quick.. after I set the metronome at very very slow pace and break it down.. Also I don't find my playing musical - when I hear the iphone snippet I feel it is not musical at all.. I guess it is because the rythym is off.. and may get better in a few months.. any sources to look at ? method books ? I am pretty much self taught... that could be a huge part of the problem.. but can read every note of the k414 and know when it is played right or not ..
Thank you ... I know how important and I'm going to reform my self somehow! What is the name of this beautiful piece? And though you wont' need it, best of luck in your concert!!!
Thank you so much, your good luck wish is much appreciated :) let me know how it works out for you! The piece is '8 pieces op. 83' and this was number 2. It's originally written for viola, clarinet and piano but I play it in an arrangement for piano, saxophone and clarinet. Bruch wrote it when he was in his 70's(!) for his son who was a professional clarinetist.
Even slow tempo would depend greatly on the piece, for example I would personally practice a Rachmaninoff etude much slower than a Chopin Nocturne because of the difference in difficulty. It also really depends on the student and their level, skills and focus. I usually search together with my students for a good slow tempo. Feel free to send us a link to your playing :)
Hi, I would be happy to share that but it really wouldn't be of help because not only is everybody's slow tempo different, it will also be different for every piece and also it will be different according to how far you are with the piece (f.e. I know this piece very well, so my slow is faster than it was when I was just learning it for the first time).
hey liberty warrior, I sight read play a large variety of classical music, and I don't understand your comment which means I still have a lot to learn. Do you have more information behind your statement?
@@polymath6475 Learning by hearing intervals and understanding music theory is a more natural way to learn music. Absolute pitched notes on a staff is not how we hear music, we here interval. I use notation for my students, but I us chords and interval pattern representing melodies. It enables you to improvise over existing melodies is so desired, and your able to transpose to other keys instantly. It's all about harmonic interval patterns over chords, the patterns represent melody. I'm writing a book on the topic with my approach to teaching piano. The book should be finished by the end of the year if all goes well.
While I did Suzuki and kind of hate written music, it is the best way we have at writing down music so far. Like a language, it’s full of weird illogical things( even more to a violinist) but unlikely to change in one fell swoop. Still I would like to see your book
@@LibertyWarrior68 Thanks, what you wrote sounds indeed valuable. I would like to buy your book, is there a working title or author name I can put on my wait-list?
A method I use for learning and memorizing a solo piece is to play it slowly and not play it quickly but start on memorisation in a slow tempo. First concentrate on the most difficult passages. This slows down the learning process, but getting it to tempo is easier because you have done it slowly so often.
For those of you struggling to find a good slow practice tempo we discuss how to easily find your perfect slow practice tempo in this video: th-cam.com/video/xDloU15-kWI/w-d-xo.html
It’s important to add one very clear point: If you can’t play anything at a fast tempo, you have to recognize that one song cannot address that.
For instance:
You can’t play 32nd notes at BPM 150 at all, even scales aren’t possible, then working specifically on that with various pieces that require that proficiency will help that overall goal. Also, playing scales at that tempo won’t magically produce playing parts unless those parts are just scales. How often does that happen ?
Slow is not a metronome setting, it's a mental process admitting of full intentional control. That's why her slow is not your slow. And as you practice in full control, your slow will increase also.
Very well said!
i like to think more about kind of slowmotion then just slow.
Thank you so much for the video. Hearing you explain this really helped me understand how I should go about explaining this to students. I feel like I often forget to talk about mid and fast tempo practice and how they should be used in coordination with slow practice because so many of my students play too fast.
Hearing you explain the slow, mid, and once fast I realized that's what I've been doing for years and learned from my teacher but it's just become so engrained I forgot to really think about it and that I should explain that to my students!
Excellent advice and explanation, thank you so so much!
Thank you so nice to hear and yes there are so many things that we do that we don't think about anymore, but it's actually really valuable info for our students :)
Hate to sound like an advertisement but last few days I have been following your advice and it works well for me. Sounds silly as I'm very old, but I realise that previously I have been almost guessing where I am and where I'm going in a piece, making errors and ironing them out merely by repetition which is so wasteful. I have also now focussed on really getting the score fingered thoroughly from the outset. All obvious I suppose but enthusiasm can have counter productive results. Anyway, thanks and best wishes.
Thank you, this comment really made my day! And please never think something sounds silly because you're old! Please never stop learning new things!
I did Hanon 1 as you suggested while watching and it was magickal! Thank you!
Do happy to hear it!
This was helpful 😌 ❤
Happy it helped
I studied in Gnessin (Kissin's old school). My teachers came from the lineage of Beethoven, Chopin and Tchaikovsky. This was the mantra - 'SLOW, SLOW, SLOW. And by the way, the Krommelynck duo is my favourite duo. However you seem very nice and I would like to see what you and your hubby play.
That's very interesting thanks for sharing!
Very helpful! Thank you 🫶🏻
Thanks Dani :)
This is good advice. 👍
Thank you 🙏😊
Just came across your channel.. Great teaching ! clearly from being concert pianists 😀😀
I started trying to play Mozart K 414 - 1st movement - pages 1&2 and also 2nd movement - after watching your video - went to 1/2 speed on Murray Periah ‘s fantastic version on YT .. so my tempo matched with a metronome is at 65 .. Murray plays at 130 to the quarter note I think …This is helping a lot .. my level is sort of beginner with - lots and lots of gaps on music - just a hobby - no formal training at all ..but I have a Steinway Essex at home from just a year ago ..any thoughts on how my journey could be speeded up .?.. yes I am past 60 but can still learn complex stuff when I went to grad school 35 yrs ago …
So happy you are learning the piano and happy our videos our helpful on your journey. Start with practicing a lot 😊 listening a lot and watching a lot of good quality videos from people practicing their craft. You’ll see that you’ll get more clarity and more specific questions as you develop.Let us know if you want a video on a specific topic 😊
Sight reading will be very useful as well as it helps you learn to read notes more fluently and will help you study new pieces faster.
@@dimitrovboeleepianoduo exactly right !.. my sight reading is quite abysmal..but I have not figured out to improve it -yet...my second problem is getting the sync.. perfect between lh and rh.. playing seperately seems ok but it falls apart when together .. memorization of 3-4 bars is usually quite quick.. after I set the metronome at very very slow pace and break it down.. Also I don't find my playing musical - when I hear the iphone snippet I feel it is not musical at all.. I guess it is because the rythym is off.. and may get better in a few months.. any sources to look at ? method books ? I am pretty much self taught... that could be a huge part of the problem.. but can read every note of the k414 and know when it is played right or not ..
@@dimitrovboeleepianoduo yes your messaging and teaching is very precise..I hope you two get to 50k subscribers... soon.. at least
are you demonstrating with max bruch, acht stücke for viola/clarinet/piano?
Yes well spotted!
Thank you ... I know how important and I'm going to reform my self somehow! What is the name of this beautiful piece? And though you wont' need it, best of luck in your concert!!!
Thank you so much, your good luck wish is much appreciated :) let me know how it works out for you!
The piece is '8 pieces op. 83' and this was number 2. It's originally written for viola, clarinet and piano but I play it in an arrangement for piano, saxophone and clarinet. Bruch wrote it when he was in his 70's(!) for his son who was a professional clarinetist.
Can you recommend specific metronome values for slow practice? I assume medium and fast would depend more on the specific piece.
Even slow tempo would depend greatly on the piece, for example I would personally practice a Rachmaninoff etude much slower than a Chopin Nocturne because of the difference in difficulty. It also really depends on the student and their level, skills and focus. I usually search together with my students for a good slow tempo. Feel free to send us a link to your playing :)
Piece name? Amazing video, thanks you so love you ☺️ helped me a lot
8 Pieces for Clarinet, Viola and Piano op. 83, this was number 2. Happy it helped!
What is the name of that piece you are playing?
It is Bruch's 8 pieces for viola clarinet and piano, op. 83 and this is number 2.
Bpms for each????
Hi, I would be happy to share that but it really wouldn't be of help because not only is everybody's slow tempo different, it will also be different for every piece and also it will be different according to how far you are with the piece (f.e. I know this piece very well, so my slow is faster than it was when I was just learning it for the first time).
Slow practice=fast progress; fast practice=slow progress; no practice=no progress! 🤣🤣
This = true
Haha so perfectly said! :)
That did not seem very slow to me.
I actually find the metronome to be too distracting. always to my own detriment. Luckily, it seems that I have my own built-in "metronome" in me.
That is lucky!
Stay away from classical notation, it doesn't represent the way we hear music.
hey liberty warrior, I sight read play a large variety of classical music, and I don't understand your comment which means I still have a lot to learn. Do you have more information behind your statement?
@@polymath6475 Learning by hearing intervals and understanding music theory is a more natural way to learn music. Absolute pitched notes on a staff is not how we hear music, we here interval. I use notation for my students, but I us chords and interval pattern representing melodies. It enables you to improvise over existing melodies is so desired, and your able to transpose to other keys instantly. It's all about harmonic interval patterns over chords, the patterns represent melody. I'm writing a book on the topic with my approach to teaching piano. The book should be finished by the end of the year if all goes well.
While I did Suzuki and kind of hate written music, it is the best way we have at writing down music so far. Like a language, it’s full of weird illogical things( even more to a violinist) but unlikely to change in one fell swoop. Still I would like to see your book
Yes will contact you at the end of the year for a copy? Can you please share a contact mail address or website?
@@LibertyWarrior68 Thanks, what you wrote sounds indeed valuable. I would like to buy your book, is there a working title or author name I can put on my wait-list?
You're talking too fast and the first tempo you choose is not what most would call a s l o w w w tempo !
She’s not talking too fast. Most people waste so much time. I appreciate this well spoken person.
@@M_SC Thank you, I appreciate your kind comment :)
A method I use for learning and memorizing a solo piece is to play it slowly and not play it quickly but start on memorisation in a slow tempo. First concentrate on the most difficult passages. This slows down the learning process, but getting it to tempo is easier because you have done it slowly so often.