Piano Technique (2 of 38): Proper Way To Study

Novel, student-centered approach to liberating your piano technique!

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[pianoologist]

I just to emphasize a huge point that I fear might be missed by some viewers. You do EVERYTHING with your brain... including moving your muscles! Cheers, Frank

[born2drum16]

im sorry i completely disagree with his message that people dont need to practice a lot to improve. if people just "study" using their brain, they will not get better.

[pianoologist]

Some people seem to be hearing the message that you do not need to "practice". Practice is indeed very important. But practice should never consist of doing mindless "exercises". The point is this: Your BRAIN moves your muscles. Your muscles do not move themselves. In this sense, there is no difference between "mental" and "physical". In fact, the ability to do things like move and talk is the only reason for anyone to need a brain at all! Cheers, Frank

[loveandpeace1988]

fantastic, please keep these vids comin!!

i learnt a lot!!

[AbsoluteZ3R0]

@born2drum16 Glenn Gould is one who believed in spending more time practicing away from the piano than on it. Clearly, it worked for him

[lantenec]

@born2drum16 I disagree. Practice, what's worked for me in my last three years of guitar practice is not mindlessly going through the motions. What's made me progress so much in only 3 yrs (and I've progressed more in last 3 than I did in the first 20 of playing) is the extreme amount of concentration and focus on what I'm doing. It is mostly mental, and actually very much like meditation (constantly but gently bringing your focus back). Sometimes I even forget to swallow I'm so focused!

[TheElvis54]

It takes a great person to share such tutorial knowledge to the masses without expecting anything in return.

You are indeed a great human being and I thank you and wish you eternal health and happiness.

[Pianoantics]

Look at it this way you can practice by using your brain which is rarely left at home or with the lights on and there is no one there but that does not help you practice as you need to be relaxed and focused and give the brain who is the director a chance to absorb what it is you need to master during each session. Oh by all means you need to do is practice each day and have a plan to learn whatever it is you desire and no doubt the muscles do what they have to do with ease.

[mario54671]

So I don't think that whole thing is entirely a "myth." "You can't play an arpeggio without the pedal, the only way to do it is to jump, turning your thumb causes you to move your whole body." THAT'S a myth. The truth is, you simply cannot play an arpeggio by turning your thumb under if you're not used to it. Once you build up flexibility in your wrist, arpeggios without the use of the "glue" will be easy!

[mario54671]

I don't think I completely agree with this...all these "exercises" are what made pianists great back in the day. Franz Liszt wasn't doing so well, so his teacher (and ONLY teacher) Carl Czerny had him abandon his repertoire for three months to only practice scales, arpeggios and exercises to improve his technique. The problem is that people try to find shortcuts to these things nowadays because they're not dedicated enough to actually practice so they learn properly.

[Aul1kki]

After some "piano technique" videos I was thinking, isn't there anybody who is teaching the real deal? Then I saw your videos and watched couple of them! I have to agree with all you've said so far. I hope that I will find something useful from these videos, since I've been doing similar thinking progress in the front of the piano. Thank you for posting these and let's hope more people will watch these and learn how to play and study correctly!

[whirligiggle]

True, but there is such a thing as 'muscle memory'. This is built up through practice. 'Practice' is a combination of both mental and physical. Tying your shoe laces is pure muscle memory as a result of lots of practice!

[urahara53]

Yes, but you also train your brain through practise, there must be balance between mental and physical skill and understanding. Did you know that if you practise over and over, your brain learns it because it assumes that whatever you are repeating is necessary for survival.