I like your videos, I find them very helpful. Its also easy to see that the wrist circle movements are exaggerated for practice purposes, especially since you stated that @2:24 . some people obviously weren't paying attention :)
Sinkink down? I saw only young pianists (who don't have theris own technique) do that (trying to do everything right on competitions) Horowitz, Gilels and other great pianists don't do that.
@BalladeNumber1Opus23 Obviously, my videos are designed for people who don't know fairly basic technique - not professional geniuses. Everyone has to start somewhere with having a feel for playing,& this can be a good place to start. Obviously there are a million different theories on how one should play the piano,& it is well known that some of the best players have terrible technique which doesn't hinder them in any way. But for adult beginners suffering tension, this is a good place to start.
I wonder where you learned these " techniques ". Perhaps your advice should not be taken too literally. Nobody plays like that (just watch any video from a good pianist). Maybe what you say is indeed part of the way pianists play, but at any rate, these gestures should be microscopic. I think technique is more like a sensation than like an act of will.
@sbarrocha I learnt some of them from this guy: /watch?v=p6hdP7ELGV4 . The best way to first learn these techniques is to exaggerate them. As I say in the video, the faster you play, the smaller your movements become. Ideally they should happen eventually without you even realising it,but this may never happen for those learning piano as an adult.When children under the age of 8 learn an instrument, their body molds to it & they can imitate wrist movements. Adults don't have that advantage.
@ajguy8 You perceive it to be unnecessary because you think to yourself, "but it's only the fingers pressing the keys". But when you run or walk, do you hold your arms still? After all, it's your legs that move you forward. As musicians, we need to understand our bodies the way athletes do. If you play piano with stiff wrists, especially complex musical parts, soon you will experience pain and tension in your arms. Plus - it LOOKS really good to look relaxed at the piano.
Thanks for these vids. I've been playing piano for a few years now (self taught) and my wrists are really stiff and are not starting to crack. Hopefully this will help!
@astrobic yep the doctor very round aboutly told me to smash it but he 'doesn't recommend that method'. It's going to hurt. I tried smashing it myself and it hurt for like 2 days. I think i should wait until it gets bigger to try smashing it again, it's just a little baby bump at the moment.
i've had a sore right wrist for ages and there's a lump in there that's not in my left one and I can't put any pressure on it for more than 5 seconds. What is that?
@cmednc dude! That's not cool! Go to your doctor or a physio about it. If you think it's from playing piano incorrectly, it sounds like it could be inflamed muscle. But I am not a health practitioner, really I have no idea. Go see someone!
@astrobic i don't know if it's from dancing, bar work or piano. I just don't like doctors. And everytime i go to a doctor about it it's magically dissappeared and there's a scar which is completely unrelated to the problem right over the problem and they think it's from my scar. Which happened a year ago not 7 years ago. Doctors are stupid. Also only seems to happen during winter. Did my grade 4 exam with no troubles with at all and then winter came along and BAM can't move my wrist.
@cmednc my piano teacher is completely baffled. I've found though that concentrating on my wrist technique and hanon excercises seems to help alot. There used to be a clicking that has stopped since I started proper classical training.
@cmednc well then try going to see a physio, who will have touch and feel around your muscles. Even if the inflammation is down that day, they should still be able to feel it. Sounds like RSI. You will end up a cripple, unable to use your hand if you don't get it looked at. You may also need to rest it for 6 months, who knows. But yeah, of course having a relaxed, flexible wrist is important on piano! Otherwise, you get this! Good luck.
Thank you! Just starting to teach myself piano for real - did theory in college, so was familiar with the keyboard, but not technique - and finding that wrist fatigue is becoming a problem for me. Anything else you could suggest in a video to cure that problem would be great. Twisting my wrists is a bad habit that those of us who have only ever played a Rush Moog lead from time to time have as a luxury.. right up till the moment when it becomes a liability.
@DragonFlyEye Hey pal, no problem. I've never experienced "wrist fatigue" myself, though I do occasionally experience tension in my forearms when I need to play lots of fast notes. I know that part of that is due to holding tension in my arms, but I think it's also due to a lack of finger strength. When I do my 30 min finger strength routine often enough (I've made another video on that), I feel as if the shackles fall off and I can move my fingers quickly much more freely.
@DragonFlyEye having said that, I have been in periods where I was practising 30 - 45 mins of scales per day and experiencing pain in my forearms. So my problem I think was really tension. If you are still experiencing pain, I suggest you see either a piano teacher or an Alexander Technique teacher (you'd preferably want someone who specialises with pianists). Good luck!
@DragonFlyEye You might like to video yourself playing to see if you can catch WHEN you do bad things with your wrist. And always check that you feel relaxed, eg. your shoulders aren't hunched up. A good way to check is to purposely tense your muscles and then release - then you'll know if you were holding tension before.
I like your videos, I find them very helpful. Its also easy to see that the wrist circle movements are exaggerated for practice purposes, especially since you stated that @2:24 . some people obviously weren't paying attention :)
JohnnyLgood 2 weeks ago
Sinkink down? I saw only young pianists (who don't have theris own technique) do that (trying to do everything right on competitions) Horowitz, Gilels and other great pianists don't do that.
BalladeNumber1Opus23 2 weeks ago
@BalladeNumber1Opus23 Obviously, my videos are designed for people who don't know fairly basic technique - not professional geniuses. Everyone has to start somewhere with having a feel for playing,& this can be a good place to start. Obviously there are a million different theories on how one should play the piano,& it is well known that some of the best players have terrible technique which doesn't hinder them in any way. But for adult beginners suffering tension, this is a good place to start.
astrobic 2 weeks ago
@astrobic Alright. You're very adorable.
BalladeNumber1Opus23 2 weeks ago
I wonder where you learned these " techniques ". Perhaps your advice should not be taken too literally. Nobody plays like that (just watch any video from a good pianist). Maybe what you say is indeed part of the way pianists play, but at any rate, these gestures should be microscopic. I think technique is more like a sensation than like an act of will.
sbarrocha 3 weeks ago
@sbarrocha I learnt some of them from this guy: /watch?v=p6hdP7ELGV4 . The best way to first learn these techniques is to exaggerate them. As I say in the video, the faster you play, the smaller your movements become. Ideally they should happen eventually without you even realising it,but this may never happen for those learning piano as an adult.When children under the age of 8 learn an instrument, their body molds to it & they can imitate wrist movements. Adults don't have that advantage.
astrobic 2 weeks ago
Comment removed
sbarrocha 3 weeks ago
But isn't moving the wrist unnecessary movement itself?
ajguy8 1 month ago
@ajguy8 You perceive it to be unnecessary because you think to yourself, "but it's only the fingers pressing the keys". But when you run or walk, do you hold your arms still? After all, it's your legs that move you forward. As musicians, we need to understand our bodies the way athletes do. If you play piano with stiff wrists, especially complex musical parts, soon you will experience pain and tension in your arms. Plus - it LOOKS really good to look relaxed at the piano.
astrobic 1 month ago
Hmmmm.. wrist circles... sounds like a relaxing way to play. Thanks for the tip miss lady :)
mrmarlboro80 2 months ago
Thanks a lot. It was so instructional
sunpadh 2 months ago
Thanks for these vids. I've been playing piano for a few years now (self taught) and my wrists are really stiff and are not starting to crack. Hopefully this will help!
gamnub405 5 months ago
Thank you for this video. I have a very flexible left wrist but my right wrist is very stiff and strained, this helped me a lot.
vladinho7 6 months ago
it's a cyst from bar work...ewwww i've been told to smash it with a book....not going to happen!!
cmednc 7 months ago
@cmednc ha! did a doctor diagnose you? I think cysts can go away by themselves. Maybe someone will smash it for you when you're not looking...
astrobic 7 months ago
@astrobic yep the doctor very round aboutly told me to smash it but he 'doesn't recommend that method'. It's going to hurt. I tried smashing it myself and it hurt for like 2 days. I think i should wait until it gets bigger to try smashing it again, it's just a little baby bump at the moment.
cmednc 7 months ago
i've had a sore right wrist for ages and there's a lump in there that's not in my left one and I can't put any pressure on it for more than 5 seconds. What is that?
cmednc 7 months ago
@cmednc also i have trouble bending it forward. the pain used to be in my index finger part of my hand but has now travelled down to my wrist
cmednc 7 months ago
@cmednc dude! That's not cool! Go to your doctor or a physio about it. If you think it's from playing piano incorrectly, it sounds like it could be inflamed muscle. But I am not a health practitioner, really I have no idea. Go see someone!
astrobic 7 months ago
@astrobic i don't know if it's from dancing, bar work or piano. I just don't like doctors. And everytime i go to a doctor about it it's magically dissappeared and there's a scar which is completely unrelated to the problem right over the problem and they think it's from my scar. Which happened a year ago not 7 years ago. Doctors are stupid. Also only seems to happen during winter. Did my grade 4 exam with no troubles with at all and then winter came along and BAM can't move my wrist.
cmednc 7 months ago
@cmednc my piano teacher is completely baffled. I've found though that concentrating on my wrist technique and hanon excercises seems to help alot. There used to be a clicking that has stopped since I started proper classical training.
cmednc 7 months ago
@cmednc well then try going to see a physio, who will have touch and feel around your muscles. Even if the inflammation is down that day, they should still be able to feel it. Sounds like RSI. You will end up a cripple, unable to use your hand if you don't get it looked at. You may also need to rest it for 6 months, who knows. But yeah, of course having a relaxed, flexible wrist is important on piano! Otherwise, you get this! Good luck.
astrobic 7 months ago
Thank you! Just starting to teach myself piano for real - did theory in college, so was familiar with the keyboard, but not technique - and finding that wrist fatigue is becoming a problem for me. Anything else you could suggest in a video to cure that problem would be great. Twisting my wrists is a bad habit that those of us who have only ever played a Rush Moog lead from time to time have as a luxury.. right up till the moment when it becomes a liability.
DragonFlyEye 9 months ago
@DragonFlyEye Hey pal, no problem. I've never experienced "wrist fatigue" myself, though I do occasionally experience tension in my forearms when I need to play lots of fast notes. I know that part of that is due to holding tension in my arms, but I think it's also due to a lack of finger strength. When I do my 30 min finger strength routine often enough (I've made another video on that), I feel as if the shackles fall off and I can move my fingers quickly much more freely.
astrobic 9 months ago
@DragonFlyEye having said that, I have been in periods where I was practising 30 - 45 mins of scales per day and experiencing pain in my forearms. So my problem I think was really tension. If you are still experiencing pain, I suggest you see either a piano teacher or an Alexander Technique teacher (you'd preferably want someone who specialises with pianists). Good luck!
astrobic 9 months ago
@DragonFlyEye You might like to video yourself playing to see if you can catch WHEN you do bad things with your wrist. And always check that you feel relaxed, eg. your shoulders aren't hunched up. A good way to check is to purposely tense your muscles and then release - then you'll know if you were holding tension before.
astrobic 9 months ago
Excellent explanation on wrist. Thank very much!
scottlum 9 months ago