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You have way too much tension in your hands and I can hear that tension even without looking at the video. You need to relax that 5th finger.
To me the general level is too loud. If you were playing on a real piano the neighbours would be knocking at your door. Besides lowering the overall dynamics the left hand should be much softer than the right. It is too loud right now.
The right hand is too choppy and not cantabile enough. For example, at 3:23 in the first video you are accenting every note and it doesn't sound good.
The scale runs are notated as small grace notes and should be played very lightly with a feather touch.
Sorry for being critical but it doesn't sound too good and I don't think it will sound good until you can play much more relaxed.
I listened to your first recording. This is very good for someone who is self taught. I guess my first question is why you don't take piano lessons? With a good teacher you would learn more quickly and a good performance would be even better. Are you using a fingered edition? Much of the time your fingering seemed fine but there were some spots where it seemed very awkward(the section around 1:33 -2:00) and not something a more experienced pianist would usually choose. Do you listen to performances by the great pianists of pieces you are learning?
These are not easy pieces, Kudos for learning everything yourself!
The most common challenges for self-taught pianist are techniques such as using of arm weight, wrist circle and hand rotation. Try to relax your hands, you should not feel much tension while playing, otherwise, you will never play up to speed and produce beautiful tones and articulations. Also your dynamic range will be limited.
Another common misconception is that piano is played only with fingers. Your fingers actually do not have much muscle, what devise your hand movement is Ligament and tendons, through your arm and connecting with your shoulders. One important concept is to leverage arm weight to play more at ease.
I suggest that you try some Hanon exercises, they are really good for building up techniques I mentioned. Here are a few videos may help you.
Last edited by scientistplayspian; 09/19/2109:59 AM.
[quote=scientistplayspian]These are not easy pieces, Kudos for learning everything yourself!
The most common challenges for self-taught pianist are techniques such as using of arm weight, wrist circle and hand rotation. Try to relax your hands, you should not feel much tension while playing, otherwise, you will never play up to speed and produce beautiful tones and articulations. Also your dynamic range will be limited.
Another common misconception is that piano is played only with fingers. Your fingers actually do not have much muscle, what devise your hand movement is Ligament and tendons, through your arm and connecting with your shoulders. One important concept is to leverage arm weight to play more at ease.
I suggest that you try some Hanon exercises, they are really good for building up techniques I mentioned. Here are a few videos may help you. [/ End of original post
Reply by dogperson While these tutorials are well done, I do not consider them a good substitute for in-person lessons or an online program that lets you submit videos for review snd comment. In order to eliminate tension you need feedback
Last edited by dogperson; 09/19/2110:18 AM. Reason: Clarity
There is so much tension that is visible in your hands, that I found I could not watch the videos. Musically, you have much to learn about balance, dynamics, voicing and phrasing. These are techniques that are extremely difficult to acquire without the guidance of a good teacher.
I have to agree there is no substitution for in-person class. However, for many people in-person is simply too much a luxury. The concept still could be learned through careful study and examination how other people play.
Many great pianists curl the fifth finger when it's not playing. Horowitz does it all the time.
yes, i know. Also Seymour Bernstein whom i highly admire, does it.
But in this case i'm not just talking about the curling but the pinkie movements in general. At least to me it just looks, well how can i describe it....? Very special? Very different? When i was a very little kid i once had this dream where a witch stuck her long curled bony finger through the door's keyhole probing and fumbling with it through my room... Maybe it reminds me of that dream...
There is so much tension that is visible in your hands, that I found I could not watch the videos.,
watching the little finger/pinkie in the right hand literally gives me the creeps...
Many great pianists curl the fifth finger when it's not playing. Horowitz does it all the time.
Don’t You need to look at the entire hand before you decide whether the pinkie position is a habit or tension? The OP is extremely tense
That video is extremely interesting and I tend to agree with him that the curled 5th finger introduces unnecessary awkwardness or tension. At least it does when I put my finger in that position. OTOH if one watches the close up videos so easily available on YT, a surprisingly high percentage of the great pianists curl the 5th finger so I don't know if it can really be considered a technical error. Of course, one could argue that the great pianists had great technique despite having this "flaw".
Mortensen also theorizes that the 5th finger curl is caused by moving the third finger not straight down when playing a note but also towards the player while moving it down. He says this approach is wrong but I have heard very good teachers discuss this possibility with students and read about it in the advanced book simply called "Pianism". Whether this alternative approach to pressing the key straight down is good, I don't know.
Must....not....stare.....at...it. I've never seen a RH 5th finger in that curled up position. Grab my strong hand?
It does look creepy, and there is obviously something wrong there. OP I presume you're aware? From your playing I'm going to take a wild guess that you're one of those who pick pieces to learn, as opposed to following a book / course / lessons... That's not how you learn to play piano, and that's probably your enemy right there. Stop trying to learn fancy pieces and start at the beginning. But you know better right?
Besides lowering the overall dynamics the left hand should be much softer than the right. It is too loud right now.
