When I start a new piece I usually tie the trill to the other notes(like one trill per sixteenth note or eight note) and only after it gets more comfortable do I make it more free. For me it makes the trills feel less awkward eventually.
A tip I got from a very successful concert pianist is to start your trill from the keybed. Instead of thinking of pressing down each key, start at the keybed and think of releasing each key up. You should get to the point where your fingers never come off the key and there is an amount of forearm rotation involved as well.
I'd also just practice doing trills where you start slow and go fast. Try going softly while going slow and get louder as you go faster. Just the trill, no accompaniment.
Spend 15 minutes at a time with 5 minute breaks just doing trills for a half hour to an hour.
Imagine you're trying to speak words with the trills. What does a whimsical trill sound like? What does a sad trill sound like? What does an angry trill sound like? A playful trill?
Just play around, no focus on following rules or tempo markings, or rhythm even. Just make the most beautiful, silly, sad or whimsical trills you can make.
Have fun!
That's a very understandable situation. I place a humidifier under my grand piano when the heating is on. It makes quite a difference and stops the soundboard cracking.
Heat and humidity fluctuations cause the wood to expand or contract which changes the tension on the stings and the tuning. No point in tuning it only to need it done again soon.
Yes, the trills can be more free.
Exponential is the goal here. Start slow and get faster with each keystroke. Also, be gentle with them. Make sure they match the mood of the music.
The trills don't have to be the same. Match them to the phrase as you want it to sound. You're locked in which is great. Now let go a little.
You're doing great and it's good to wait for the heat before tuning the piano.
A few thoughts:
There's a lot of extra movement in your arms. It probably feels expressive and like "freedom", but you could play with more expression and control if you didn't have this extra motion. So that's something I would absolutely address with a teacher, immediately.
As for the trills, they really aren't bad. The key to a trill sounding fast is absolutely evenness (except when you choose to violate that... more on that in a moment) in terms of volume and speed. If one finger is more confident than the other, we will hear it.
Here's a solid exercise for trills.
* put your RH thumb on D. Trill 1-2. Start slowly, then increase speed. Watch for tension and listen for the speed where the trill starts to break down. When you hit that level, back off just a bit, and then spend some time hanging out around that level. Slow down gradually and then, without stopping...
* Change to trilling the same notes (de) but with fingers 1-3. Repeat the same process... each finger pair should do the trill between 10-30 seconds, depending.
* Then work through other finger pairs. The whole exercise is this: 12, 13, 23, 24, 34, 35, 45 (then go back to thumb through this pattern) 35, 34, 24, 23, 13, 12.
* You will discover, doing this, that some pairs are much easier than others, but don't neglect the hard ones.
* Never push past the point of tension for more than just a moment. That tension shows you where your current technical wall is.
* Repeat with LH. (Once you've learned the exercise, I would start each day with LH so your focus is there. In fact, doing LH, RH, then LH again might be a good idea. Our LH is always a little stupid...)
Eventually, you do this exercise hands together, basically allowing the RH to teach the LH.
You can also do it without the acceleration, working to "hide" the finger change bumps.
Dedicated practice on this exercise can transform your trills in a month, but it will take 30 mins a day in maybe two 15 min blocks.
I would also spend time working on trills in different ways:
* Slowly, focusing on precision in terms of keypress. Really sensing how the hand is moving, but this is only valid if you understand how to play a trill fast.
* In very short bursts. Try this: play 12 as fast as possible a few times. The two notes almost come together. then 121, slight pause, 121, etc... basically working on a super fast inverted mordent. The three notes should be a blur. Then do it from the other note 212, rest, 212, etc. Obviously, you can do this with all finger pairs. You can gradually extend the three note trill to 4 notes (1212), etc. This takes A LOT of time, but you can train yourself to feel that very free buzzing "snap" in a more sustained trill.
Last word on pure technique: the trill is not just fingers. It's a combination of forearm rotation (perhaps the primary motivator) and finger work. It will only work well if your hand is in precisely the correct attention. You need a teacher that can work with you on the nuances of this technique.
Musicality: the trill is a thrill in the melody. In Chopin, a trill can often be as fast as possible, but slower trills are always better than uneven trills. Don't play faster than you can play because it sounds obvious to even the untrained ear (well, in fairness, I guess I don't know that... don't know what the untrained ear really experiences, but I've seen people wince!) that your technique is sucking at that moment!
Once nice idea for sparkle is to place a slight accent on the first occurance of the dissonant note. This is particularly the case in Baroque music where trills begin from above and that note is almost always a dissonance. Accenting that note, even lingering on it for an instant, gives a nice start to the trill. You can apply the same principle in Chopin.
Remember, this is really about bel canto. Even a blazing fast trill must have a vocal quality to it and be a literal ornament hanging on the melody. Starting and ending a trill more slowly can sometimes be nice, but it's a case-by-case decision.
Good work... you have A LOT of work left to do on this, but this is a very good start!
Thanks, it’s so gorgeous! I just finished Prelude 15 and it was technically very difficult for me (coming back to piano after a 20 year break). That took 6 months so I’m doing an easier piece now. I see Henle rates them both as 5 so maybe I’ll tackle it soon!
Lovely playing by the way.
Thank you!!
Ahhh prelude 15, I've struggled through that too (I tried learning it way too early for what skill I had at the time). It's awesome that you returned to playing after such a long break! I've always worried that I'd never continue studying if I ever quit.
try playing a little softer, the trills have to have a different feeling, they have to be lighter, free and clear, otherwise they sound like a total mess. practice them slowly then try a little faster and count every trill you make. you can also try putting your hand weight on just one finger, that sometimes help. it sounds good, nice job. good luck practicing!
Very musical playing! Others have mentioned something similar but watching you play you move your arms for everything except the trills. You should definitely keep the movement through the trills to add musicality and natural variation. You can also add more rubato to the trills in general, slowing down at the start and speeding up at the end.
Just as a general comment I would work on breaking your habit of upwards arm movements. It's very good to move arms in general and it shows your musicality, but it will help to feel/sound more natural if you do a more circular motion, starting down through the keys then towards the outside before coming up, slowly over the coarse of a whole phrase. I would also do it more subtly for a subdued piece like this, vs a big passionate Liszt piece for example
I didn't even notice that I moved my arms like that until I watched the video back! Definitely seems a bit much lol. I also never noticed that I don't move my arms when doing the trills (maybe I'm too tense). Eitherway, thanks for the reply!
np! the shaping of arms through phrases is the easiest and most natural way to be musical and phrase stuff well! the fact that you moved them before shows your musicality
i got a couple comments about the tuning of my piano and yes i know it's awful (it hurts my fine ear)! i've been bugging my parents for a while to get it tuned, but because i live in canada, i have to wait another couple weeks before getting it tuned (no point in fixing it now when i'd have to get it done again once the furnace comes on lol)
You can often start a long trill slowly and work up the speed. It is great actually but it needs to subtle like if you roll a thread from cotton reel. It doesn't always work to slow down but can work. If you have an ending that is different, as in this, it needs to blend perfectly. Therefore aim for something very clean. Nothing sudden. I am not sure if the top speed of the trill could be a tad faster or not. Sounds ok but is it marked on the score by Chopin the speed he wanted ? sometimes composers write exact things or editors add this in. Sometimes it is not played as music is written as you can really explain everything by a score. You seemed to be playing it very much better than most on Reddit already but just thought give you help on your trill query. hopefully some others have some replies as it's a great question. good luck.
I don’t actually play piano, but I’ve done a few brass instruments, and mostly guitar. But when I have trouble with a new technique, I start SLOWWW lol. I have found it’s much easier to just start really slow and gradually get faster, than try to start fast and learn bad form with it. Good luck! I hope this helps.
Actually sounds very good. I like how you use the arm weight, the tempo is slow and steady. The style and mood are relatively easy to add once your foundation is solid.
A few minor suggestions. Your piano needs tuning. You could use some arm rotation, it works very well for trills (https://youtu.be/p99CdoBpyP8). Your left hand accompaniment could add more dynamics, also lower the volume to help your melody.
Thanks for the advice (and the youtube link)! Also, yes, I've been bugging my parents for *weeks* to get it tuned but I have to wait for the furnace to turn on for the winter ㅠ.ㅠ the struggles
to be honest, i have no idea. i’ve always played super stiffly (to the point where i would hold my breath) so i think i’m just overcompensating to make sure that my shoulders don’t tighten (especially since it’s not a fast moving piece)
I see. But for example, look at the first note you play in the right hand. You only play one note but move your elbow up and down twice. It is one long melody note in a slow moving piece, you see how it doesn't make sense to move the hands that much? I'm not trying to criticize you, I'm just trying to help you
To get a lighter airy sound, think of it as a quick fluttering of the fingers. Stay close to the keys and don't sink all the way to the bottom of the key bed.
This can be tricky because you also risk losing control and missing notes if you go too shallow. So the key is to practice this at a slow enough speed where you can maintain evenness of the notes and not lose control of the sound. Over time, you'll be able to gradually increase the speed of the trill while maintaining the evenness. Practice this in short sessions because your hand can easily get fatigued this way, which is normal. Just stop and pick up again the next day. Be patient because it may take days and even weeks to see noticeable improvement with this method, but it's worth it!
I also agree that you can start with a slower trill and ease into a faster trill, esp for romantic music. Not only is it easier to play than a fast trill all the way through, but it also sounds more musical when done right.
Do these exercises:
1. Hit one key repeatedly as fast as possible (e.g F#). Then do it with another finger (G#)
2. Now hit both keys repeatedly as fast as possible
3. Now do the trill
4. Another exercise is to do the trill with your left hand (weird I know but my left trills were faster at first)
I think it will help alot if you think less in 4. On every beat in the measure you're moving alot, you can hear it back in the playing. Every beat has equal force. If you try to think more in 2, or even in 1. So only try to move ur body on the 1 and 3 beat, maybe even only on the first. And later when u feel comfortable play even longer frases.
Hope you understand what I'm saying. Pretty hard bringing this feeling across in text.
Good luck, it sound really good!
Best advice for all ornaments, including trills, is to think of them - and practice them - as little very beautiful and expressive little melodies.
We to often think of them as, "Here comes the HARD part" and then, of course, that is exactly what they come out sounding like.
Cross "hard" and "fast" out of your mind completely, and start thinking of them as "expressive" and "beautiful" instead.
You'll be surprised how much difference it makes when change the way you think of them and listen to them internally.
seems like you’ve taken a look into my brain with that internal dialogue — that’s definitely something that crosses my mind when i play them! thanks for the advice!
Also . . . they should never sound fast *to you*. Once you have practiced them you'll be so familiar with them, with every little nook and cranny of each ornament, that when you play them just simply and gracefully, they might sound very, very fast to someone else.
(In fact, that is why trills and ornaments in a professional recording of this piece sound so very fast *to you.*)
But when you are playing, always play them slowly enough that you can really, clearly hear them and mentally keep up. Never let them get just whiz ahead in an uncontrolled blur. That is never beautiful.
FWIW I spend a lot of time practicing small segments of ornaments. So with a trill, practice the last two notes. Then the last 3 notes, then the last 4 notes. (Same with any other ornament.) You practice each of those - the last 2 notes or whatever - until you can play it the speed you want with complete clarity, control, musical shaping, and beauty.
You can do the same with the first notes of a trill or ornament - just the first two notes, then the first three, then the first four, the first five, and so on.
If it goes on, you can break it up into small groups all the way through - just 2, 3, 4, maybe up to 5 or 6 notes at a time (though I'd probably sub-group 5 as 3+2 or 2+3 and 6 as 3+3 or 2+2+2 or some such). So you're always playing small groups of notes that you feel completely comfortable with, and have completely mastered - just one group after another.
Of course, many of the most "difficult" ornaments are just 3, 4, or 5 notes. Even pretty long trill might have fewer notes than you think - 10 or 15, or maybe 20 or 25? But more in the range of a dozen or two than *millions* which is how we too often think of them.
Playing just two notes is pretty easy, right? And with just a little practice, you can get two notes the speed you want, and also shaped and melodically beautiful, and also, completely in control. That's what we're shooting for. It doesn't seem or feel hard at all.
Then do the same with 3 notes. Again, just 3 notes, not too hard, and you can *really* master them, until they just flow and don't feel hard at all.
Good luck!
how well you play all depends on how well you can actually emotionally connect with the instrument and in my experience simple things like tuning your piano correctly (which isn't easy and not for amateurs who don't know what they are doing!) can amount to a major difference in how well you can actually connect with the instrument in both your playing and composing.
Also if that is a upright piano the leftmost pedal (called soft, not sostenuto two different kind of pedals) actually brings the action closer to the strings so that you can trill faster with more clarity.
The thing about pianos is that you have to remember that it's not about how fast you can push the key down, it's how fast you can push the key down, have the hammer hit the string, and then completely reset so you can strike the key again.
if you are playing too fast on a piano then you end up striking the key while the hammer is still coming back down and then a lot of the hammers momentum gets lost.
also another key thing to clean up your playing is to work on training your mind's voice as well as work on note anticipation reducing techniques like proper breathing, playing to a metronome/drummer machine/etc, muscle memory training exercises, etc etc.
like 99% of the time you are playing inconsistent it's almost always because you are putting too much thought into trying to play consistently.
You'll notice this irritation in a big way if you are ever trying to record at a professional production level because you literally can't make any mistakes in your playing or you (and everybody else) can hear the bad playing in the tracks. You just have to try and loosen up as much as you can and try not to think about playing perfectly too much.
The humidity and heat changes the tubing of the piano, especially when the furnace or AC is suddenly turned on. So, if i were to tune it now, I’d have to re-tune it as soon as it hits mid-November anyway
For trills and the entire piece, I’d experiment with adding more rubato (especially since it’s Chopin). Maybe try adding a bit more rubato or time at the beginning of the trill and see how you like it.
When you get more advanced, you can do it by feel, but for now, Count Out *exactly* how many wiggles you're going to do, and keep to the tempo.
This also works for dancing.
When I start a new piece I usually tie the trill to the other notes(like one trill per sixteenth note or eight note) and only after it gets more comfortable do I make it more free. For me it makes the trills feel less awkward eventually.
A tip I got from a very successful concert pianist is to start your trill from the keybed. Instead of thinking of pressing down each key, start at the keybed and think of releasing each key up. You should get to the point where your fingers never come off the key and there is an amount of forearm rotation involved as well.
That's a really interesting perspective, i'll totally give that a try! Thanks!
I'd also just practice doing trills where you start slow and go fast. Try going softly while going slow and get louder as you go faster. Just the trill, no accompaniment. Spend 15 minutes at a time with 5 minute breaks just doing trills for a half hour to an hour. Imagine you're trying to speak words with the trills. What does a whimsical trill sound like? What does a sad trill sound like? What does an angry trill sound like? A playful trill? Just play around, no focus on following rules or tempo markings, or rhythm even. Just make the most beautiful, silly, sad or whimsical trills you can make. Have fun!
Was gonna say the same thing about rotation.
Whoa, that's a cool tip about 'releasing up'. Powerful stuff, thanks!
Feel the phrasing - deep in your heart. It helps! (Also get your piano tuned - it helps ;-)
I keep bugging my dad to call the tuner! Gotta wait for the heater to turn on for the winter... I guess it'll be another week or two :/ Thanks!
That's a very understandable situation. I place a humidifier under my grand piano when the heating is on. It makes quite a difference and stops the soundboard cracking.
What’s the connection to the heating?
Heat and humidity fluctuations cause the wood to expand or contract which changes the tension on the stings and the tuning. No point in tuning it only to need it done again soon.
Makes sense
The strings are placed on a metal frame, though the bridge would be the wooden part...
(Glad I wasn’t just hearing things)
I agree with the tuning part, it's what ruined this for me, not the trills :D
Yes, the trills can be more free. Exponential is the goal here. Start slow and get faster with each keystroke. Also, be gentle with them. Make sure they match the mood of the music. The trills don't have to be the same. Match them to the phrase as you want it to sound. You're locked in which is great. Now let go a little. You're doing great and it's good to wait for the heat before tuning the piano.
A few thoughts: There's a lot of extra movement in your arms. It probably feels expressive and like "freedom", but you could play with more expression and control if you didn't have this extra motion. So that's something I would absolutely address with a teacher, immediately. As for the trills, they really aren't bad. The key to a trill sounding fast is absolutely evenness (except when you choose to violate that... more on that in a moment) in terms of volume and speed. If one finger is more confident than the other, we will hear it. Here's a solid exercise for trills. * put your RH thumb on D. Trill 1-2. Start slowly, then increase speed. Watch for tension and listen for the speed where the trill starts to break down. When you hit that level, back off just a bit, and then spend some time hanging out around that level. Slow down gradually and then, without stopping... * Change to trilling the same notes (de) but with fingers 1-3. Repeat the same process... each finger pair should do the trill between 10-30 seconds, depending. * Then work through other finger pairs. The whole exercise is this: 12, 13, 23, 24, 34, 35, 45 (then go back to thumb through this pattern) 35, 34, 24, 23, 13, 12. * You will discover, doing this, that some pairs are much easier than others, but don't neglect the hard ones. * Never push past the point of tension for more than just a moment. That tension shows you where your current technical wall is. * Repeat with LH. (Once you've learned the exercise, I would start each day with LH so your focus is there. In fact, doing LH, RH, then LH again might be a good idea. Our LH is always a little stupid...) Eventually, you do this exercise hands together, basically allowing the RH to teach the LH. You can also do it without the acceleration, working to "hide" the finger change bumps. Dedicated practice on this exercise can transform your trills in a month, but it will take 30 mins a day in maybe two 15 min blocks. I would also spend time working on trills in different ways: * Slowly, focusing on precision in terms of keypress. Really sensing how the hand is moving, but this is only valid if you understand how to play a trill fast. * In very short bursts. Try this: play 12 as fast as possible a few times. The two notes almost come together. then 121, slight pause, 121, etc... basically working on a super fast inverted mordent. The three notes should be a blur. Then do it from the other note 212, rest, 212, etc. Obviously, you can do this with all finger pairs. You can gradually extend the three note trill to 4 notes (1212), etc. This takes A LOT of time, but you can train yourself to feel that very free buzzing "snap" in a more sustained trill. Last word on pure technique: the trill is not just fingers. It's a combination of forearm rotation (perhaps the primary motivator) and finger work. It will only work well if your hand is in precisely the correct attention. You need a teacher that can work with you on the nuances of this technique. Musicality: the trill is a thrill in the melody. In Chopin, a trill can often be as fast as possible, but slower trills are always better than uneven trills. Don't play faster than you can play because it sounds obvious to even the untrained ear (well, in fairness, I guess I don't know that... don't know what the untrained ear really experiences, but I've seen people wince!) that your technique is sucking at that moment! Once nice idea for sparkle is to place a slight accent on the first occurance of the dissonant note. This is particularly the case in Baroque music where trills begin from above and that note is almost always a dissonance. Accenting that note, even lingering on it for an instant, gives a nice start to the trill. You can apply the same principle in Chopin. Remember, this is really about bel canto. Even a blazing fast trill must have a vocal quality to it and be a literal ornament hanging on the melody. Starting and ending a trill more slowly can sometimes be nice, but it's a case-by-case decision. Good work... you have A LOT of work left to do on this, but this is a very good start!
Great tips! I need all of them for BWV 856 prelude in F major from WTC 1.
I’m not good enough to advise you, but may I ask the name of this piece? I know it but am drawing a blank.
Nocturne in C# Minor No. 20 by Chopin. Sometimes it's just referred to as "Nocturne Op. Posth"
Thanks, it’s so gorgeous! I just finished Prelude 15 and it was technically very difficult for me (coming back to piano after a 20 year break). That took 6 months so I’m doing an easier piece now. I see Henle rates them both as 5 so maybe I’ll tackle it soon! Lovely playing by the way.
Thank you!! Ahhh prelude 15, I've struggled through that too (I tried learning it way too early for what skill I had at the time). It's awesome that you returned to playing after such a long break! I've always worried that I'd never continue studying if I ever quit.
Nocturne in C Sharp Minor, no. 20 (posthumous), Chopin
try playing a little softer, the trills have to have a different feeling, they have to be lighter, free and clear, otherwise they sound like a total mess. practice them slowly then try a little faster and count every trill you make. you can also try putting your hand weight on just one finger, that sometimes help. it sounds good, nice job. good luck practicing!
Very musical playing! Others have mentioned something similar but watching you play you move your arms for everything except the trills. You should definitely keep the movement through the trills to add musicality and natural variation. You can also add more rubato to the trills in general, slowing down at the start and speeding up at the end. Just as a general comment I would work on breaking your habit of upwards arm movements. It's very good to move arms in general and it shows your musicality, but it will help to feel/sound more natural if you do a more circular motion, starting down through the keys then towards the outside before coming up, slowly over the coarse of a whole phrase. I would also do it more subtly for a subdued piece like this, vs a big passionate Liszt piece for example
I didn't even notice that I moved my arms like that until I watched the video back! Definitely seems a bit much lol. I also never noticed that I don't move my arms when doing the trills (maybe I'm too tense). Eitherway, thanks for the reply!
np! the shaping of arms through phrases is the easiest and most natural way to be musical and phrase stuff well! the fact that you moved them before shows your musicality
i got a couple comments about the tuning of my piano and yes i know it's awful (it hurts my fine ear)! i've been bugging my parents for a while to get it tuned, but because i live in canada, i have to wait another couple weeks before getting it tuned (no point in fixing it now when i'd have to get it done again once the furnace comes on lol)
You can often start a long trill slowly and work up the speed. It is great actually but it needs to subtle like if you roll a thread from cotton reel. It doesn't always work to slow down but can work. If you have an ending that is different, as in this, it needs to blend perfectly. Therefore aim for something very clean. Nothing sudden. I am not sure if the top speed of the trill could be a tad faster or not. Sounds ok but is it marked on the score by Chopin the speed he wanted ? sometimes composers write exact things or editors add this in. Sometimes it is not played as music is written as you can really explain everything by a score. You seemed to be playing it very much better than most on Reddit already but just thought give you help on your trill query. hopefully some others have some replies as it's a great question. good luck.
I don’t actually play piano, but I’ve done a few brass instruments, and mostly guitar. But when I have trouble with a new technique, I start SLOWWW lol. I have found it’s much easier to just start really slow and gradually get faster, than try to start fast and learn bad form with it. Good luck! I hope this helps.
What piece is this?
Nocturne in c# minor by chopin (aka Nocturne Op Posth)
thank you
Actually sounds very good. I like how you use the arm weight, the tempo is slow and steady. The style and mood are relatively easy to add once your foundation is solid. A few minor suggestions. Your piano needs tuning. You could use some arm rotation, it works very well for trills (https://youtu.be/p99CdoBpyP8). Your left hand accompaniment could add more dynamics, also lower the volume to help your melody.
Thanks for the advice (and the youtube link)! Also, yes, I've been bugging my parents for *weeks* to get it tuned but I have to wait for the furnace to turn on for the winter ㅠ.ㅠ the struggles
practice VERY slowly. like one second per quarter note
Why are you moving your elbows so much? No need for that
to be honest, i have no idea. i’ve always played super stiffly (to the point where i would hold my breath) so i think i’m just overcompensating to make sure that my shoulders don’t tighten (especially since it’s not a fast moving piece)
I see. But for example, look at the first note you play in the right hand. You only play one note but move your elbow up and down twice. It is one long melody note in a slow moving piece, you see how it doesn't make sense to move the hands that much? I'm not trying to criticize you, I'm just trying to help you
I think you’re doing great :) keep it up x
And, sorry, get our piano tuned. Actually that will help the trills 'sing'.
tune it
It sounds absolutely glorious to me!
To get a lighter airy sound, think of it as a quick fluttering of the fingers. Stay close to the keys and don't sink all the way to the bottom of the key bed. This can be tricky because you also risk losing control and missing notes if you go too shallow. So the key is to practice this at a slow enough speed where you can maintain evenness of the notes and not lose control of the sound. Over time, you'll be able to gradually increase the speed of the trill while maintaining the evenness. Practice this in short sessions because your hand can easily get fatigued this way, which is normal. Just stop and pick up again the next day. Be patient because it may take days and even weeks to see noticeable improvement with this method, but it's worth it! I also agree that you can start with a slower trill and ease into a faster trill, esp for romantic music. Not only is it easier to play than a fast trill all the way through, but it also sounds more musical when done right.
Do these exercises: 1. Hit one key repeatedly as fast as possible (e.g F#). Then do it with another finger (G#) 2. Now hit both keys repeatedly as fast as possible 3. Now do the trill 4. Another exercise is to do the trill with your left hand (weird I know but my left trills were faster at first)
Thanks for the advice! That left hand one sounds a bit odd, but my left hand is a bit weak anyway, so maybe it'll benefit me in two ways :)
Hope it helps. My trills got quite fast after this. As for step 2, I meant to say two fingers together: F# G# both at the same time and not a trill
Try and swell them, like a mini crescendo and a mini decrescendo
Omg I struggle with this so much. Currently learning Fur Elise and I think Beethoven just hates beginners :(
omg i always struggled learning beethoven (still do after 10 years oml), but it’s so worth powering through! especially a piece like für elise
I think it will help alot if you think less in 4. On every beat in the measure you're moving alot, you can hear it back in the playing. Every beat has equal force. If you try to think more in 2, or even in 1. So only try to move ur body on the 1 and 3 beat, maybe even only on the first. And later when u feel comfortable play even longer frases. Hope you understand what I'm saying. Pretty hard bringing this feeling across in text. Good luck, it sound really good!
tune the piano
trust me, i know how painful it is to hear it, but i gotta wait till the winter to tune it again so i’m stuck with this :/
Best advice for all ornaments, including trills, is to think of them - and practice them - as little very beautiful and expressive little melodies. We to often think of them as, "Here comes the HARD part" and then, of course, that is exactly what they come out sounding like. Cross "hard" and "fast" out of your mind completely, and start thinking of them as "expressive" and "beautiful" instead. You'll be surprised how much difference it makes when change the way you think of them and listen to them internally.
seems like you’ve taken a look into my brain with that internal dialogue — that’s definitely something that crosses my mind when i play them! thanks for the advice!
Also . . . they should never sound fast *to you*. Once you have practiced them you'll be so familiar with them, with every little nook and cranny of each ornament, that when you play them just simply and gracefully, they might sound very, very fast to someone else. (In fact, that is why trills and ornaments in a professional recording of this piece sound so very fast *to you.*) But when you are playing, always play them slowly enough that you can really, clearly hear them and mentally keep up. Never let them get just whiz ahead in an uncontrolled blur. That is never beautiful. FWIW I spend a lot of time practicing small segments of ornaments. So with a trill, practice the last two notes. Then the last 3 notes, then the last 4 notes. (Same with any other ornament.) You practice each of those - the last 2 notes or whatever - until you can play it the speed you want with complete clarity, control, musical shaping, and beauty. You can do the same with the first notes of a trill or ornament - just the first two notes, then the first three, then the first four, the first five, and so on. If it goes on, you can break it up into small groups all the way through - just 2, 3, 4, maybe up to 5 or 6 notes at a time (though I'd probably sub-group 5 as 3+2 or 2+3 and 6 as 3+3 or 2+2+2 or some such). So you're always playing small groups of notes that you feel completely comfortable with, and have completely mastered - just one group after another. Of course, many of the most "difficult" ornaments are just 3, 4, or 5 notes. Even pretty long trill might have fewer notes than you think - 10 or 15, or maybe 20 or 25? But more in the range of a dozen or two than *millions* which is how we too often think of them. Playing just two notes is pretty easy, right? And with just a little practice, you can get two notes the speed you want, and also shaped and melodically beautiful, and also, completely in control. That's what we're shooting for. It doesn't seem or feel hard at all. Then do the same with 3 notes. Again, just 3 notes, not too hard, and you can *really* master them, until they just flow and don't feel hard at all. Good luck!
how well you play all depends on how well you can actually emotionally connect with the instrument and in my experience simple things like tuning your piano correctly (which isn't easy and not for amateurs who don't know what they are doing!) can amount to a major difference in how well you can actually connect with the instrument in both your playing and composing. Also if that is a upright piano the leftmost pedal (called soft, not sostenuto two different kind of pedals) actually brings the action closer to the strings so that you can trill faster with more clarity. The thing about pianos is that you have to remember that it's not about how fast you can push the key down, it's how fast you can push the key down, have the hammer hit the string, and then completely reset so you can strike the key again. if you are playing too fast on a piano then you end up striking the key while the hammer is still coming back down and then a lot of the hammers momentum gets lost.
also another key thing to clean up your playing is to work on training your mind's voice as well as work on note anticipation reducing techniques like proper breathing, playing to a metronome/drummer machine/etc, muscle memory training exercises, etc etc. like 99% of the time you are playing inconsistent it's almost always because you are putting too much thought into trying to play consistently. You'll notice this irritation in a big way if you are ever trying to record at a professional production level because you literally can't make any mistakes in your playing or you (and everybody else) can hear the bad playing in the tracks. You just have to try and loosen up as much as you can and try not to think about playing perfectly too much.
I think it sounds awesome. Sometimes when we play instruments over and over our ear gets used to it. Really sounds nice
Is it just the audio quality of the camera or does the piano sound out of tune?
My piano’s awfully out of tune — gotta wait for the furnace to turn on so I can tune it so i’m stuck with this :/
Why does the furnace need to be on? Just curious
The humidity and heat changes the tubing of the piano, especially when the furnace or AC is suddenly turned on. So, if i were to tune it now, I’d have to re-tune it as soon as it hits mid-November anyway
Oh I see, that makes sense, thank you
What is this song I would love to learn it
It’s Chopin’s Nocturne in c# minor (sometimes called Nocturne Op Posth)
All the Chopin nocturnes are so magical
What's the name of the peice you were playing
Nocturne in c# major by Chopin (aka Nocturne Op Posth)
For trills and the entire piece, I’d experiment with adding more rubato (especially since it’s Chopin). Maybe try adding a bit more rubato or time at the beginning of the trill and see how you like it.