Good question. Practicing each of the different white-black combinations gets us comfortable with the variations. Practicing the pattern in the shift-at-the-3rds sequence offers more of a technique "workout." Of course, with that longer sequence you will be duplication some of the white-black combinations, but this approach is more of an endurance builder. Remember to always stay relaxed, and if you feel any pain, especially any sharpness, STOP and rest. A little bit of "burn" in the muscles - the kind associated with any kind of workout - can be okay, but be mindful to stay as comfortable as possible when doing repetitive exercises. It should never feel painful though. Thanks for watching.

@@stevesnelling7615 Thanks so much. I started yesterday. I have noticed I can barely play the fourth finger on my right hand without activating the little finger! It's like it has a mind of its own. Actually annoying, that I don't have control of my own hands! I guess with practice I strenthen the muscles or whatnot that use the fourth finger, but this is a lot harder than it seems at first. Thanks for the guidance. I'll try and do it for 15 minutes every day for a month and see how I get on. I am learning Chopin's Nocturne, No 20, and the 35 notes in four beats at the end of the piece is impossible for me, so anything that can help me speed up and play accuratelty at the same time is really appreciated. Thanks again.

In the school of Pete Barbudi? Thanks for watching.

@@SteveSnelling Haha! Love that guy. I mean more that the "mechanism" of pressing the keys and speed all comes from wrists. My fingers are not so much playing a scale so much as "turned on" and "turned off" and my wrist is doing the mechanistic "playing of the key"

@@nanthilrodriguez yeah, that's more in the direction I've been exploring, along with focusing more on the weight of the arms as suspended from the shoulders. It's a surprisingly complex interaction, and yet feels so natural once acquired. Appreciate the interaction!

​@@stevesnelling7615 Same to you! The weight from the shoulders is the hardest thing for me to control. When I feel it, it works magic and I play much better, but I have such a hard time finding it and bringing it out on purpose. The only thing I find that helps is putting a finger to the bottom of the keybed and trying to feel the full weight of my arm in the bed of the key. But that too isn't consistent. I hope I can find the right frame of mind or feeling in my body to bring that out more consistently. But using wrist motion to press the keys was easier for me to discover that bodily connection. I just put my fingers in a 5 finger position in home position at middle C, and roll my wrist back and forth, fingers never leaving contact with the key surface, playing C D E F G F E D C D E F G... etc until each key press is distinct, separate and even. It feels like 95% wrist motion and 5% finger. Then I practice the major scale playing ascending from each note of the scale with the thumb C D E F G D E F G A E F G A B F G A B C ... Play the major scale with your thumb, and roll the next 5 notes from the wrist I don't know if any of what I just said makes any sense, but the best thing I can say is it feels like the keys are being pressed not by my fingers, but by the rotation of the wrist, and my fingers are super light and tension free as a result. It saves a lot of effort and tension at the end of a practice session by starting with these exercises, and calibrating the tension out of my playing before starting

Hmmm... "logical, acceptable, and consistent fingerings" - yes, absolutely. "Quiet wrist" as in a stable angle, is a bit situational, but for the most part is helpful as outlined in my video. Metronome practice can be counterproductive if used as a crutch though, and not as a guide-for instance, placing the click on too small a note value. I have some concerns about the practice of 4-octave scales and arps, if one doesn't allow the wrist some flexibility to accommodate the outer limits of the compass. And, honestly, how often do we need to play four-octave scales? A better use of our time, I feel, is to focus on maintaining a relaxed groove while changing directions. Consider playing up two, down one, up two, down one... and reverse the sequence descending. This is a more productive use of our time, and more applicable to real-time musical situations. Thanks for watching and for your comments.

Yeah, starting with simple foundational concepts like these makes the whole process go more smoothly. Glad you found it useful, and thanks for watching.

Thanks for your comment, Tom. I've been pondering how the concept of "relaxation" can apply to so many areas of our lives. Good luck with your tennis skills! And thanks for watching.

Hi Dane - the basic major chords - "triads" (for 3-note chords) - can be found by looking at the building blocks, or "intervals," in a consistent sequence. Starting from the "root" (letter name of the chord), the first interval up (to the right on the keyboard) is 2 whole steps (that's 4 half-steps); the next interval up is another 3 half-steps. Easy to see in C maj.: C-E-G. Every triad contains three letter name notes, and in this position (with the root on the bottom) the sequence skips one letter of the 7-notes in the western musical system: ABCDEFG. So for Cmaj, that's C-E-G; for Fmaj. it's F-A-C; for Gmaj. it's G-B-D. But what happens when we go outside those three chords? We have to keep the alternating letter names, and we do that using sharps or flats when necessary. So, Dmaj needs D-F#-A; Amaj. is A-C#-E; Bbmaj is Bb(flat)-D-F; and so on. Sometimes there are ALL the sharps or flats (never both though) in certain keys. The chords F#maj and Gbmaj. use the same keys on the piano (all black), but are spelled according to their context. Keeping the alternating letter name sequence, we get: F#maj.= F#-A#-C#, and Gbmaj. gives us Gb-Bb-Db. They are the same keys on the piano, but with different names, depending on how we use them. This is really only important when writing or reading notation-the important thing to keep in mind (fingers?) is the interval combinations. Hope this helps, and thanks for watching!

Cool! Remember, ez does it, stay relaxed. Best wishes for happy practice, and thanks for your comment.

Thanks. I've always thought "gnarly" applies to Prokofiev and the real knuckle-buster stuff - Rachmaninov, etc - but I appreciate the thought. This particular exercise is surprisingly challenging though. Let me know if you any questions or comments about your piano journey, and thanks for watching.

Thanks for your comment. The "bla, bla" is an essential component in fostering a connection with the material. For the important information to be received, the viewer must first be receptive, so something must have clicked for you with my chatter, which allowed you to be open to glean the useful content. I've noticed even in myself a level of impatience with extended explanations in many youtube videos-especially the repetitive verbosity employed so obviously to extend the viewing time - thereby earning more money for the posters. I'll take your comment into consideration, but in practice, I enjoy a more conversational approach. Hope this was helpful, and thanks for watching.

I'm glad you find it useful. Thanks for the sub' - i've been in recovery from a seizure, so have been away from posting lately, but I've got several thing "in the tank." Thank you for watching!

@@Dharmajazz I'm so glad you're feeling & doing better. My goodness though🌹

Thanks. I'm grateful my fingers and sense of time/pitch still work! Life lessons I suppose about patient acceptance. Feels like I'm on the mend. Appreciate the kind thoughts.

Thanks! It's a surprisingly simple concept, yet so powerful. And thanks for watching.

Thanks for the question, Robbie. The black-white combinations aren't that tough to memorize: it's always whole-step, whole-step, half-step, whole-step. (Whole-whole-half-whole.) If you haven't already got all twelve major scales in your fingers, that's something you'll want to tackle right away. If you don't yet read music, just remember the interval combinations are the same for all the major scales: W-W-H-W-W-W-H. Drop me a note on my website (dharmajazz.com) and I'll send you a fingering chart - or you can find one online. Thanks for watching!

Kudos on tackling the learning curve. I'm still learning new stuff myself. Stick with it! Please let me know if you have any questions about practice or technique and I'll see if I can be of assistance. Thanks for watching.

Thanks for the comment. Tauban was a master. This video is also just one of the aspects, but hopefully gets folks looking at the concepts of relaxation and isolation of muscle groups. Thanks for watching.

@@Dharmajazz Yes, Mrs Taubman’s work has been so important and as others have expressed, she was ‘a pioneer in piano pedagogy’. Yet it is important to note that relaxation on its own does not solve problems, and isolating body parts is never a good idea. Isolating any part of the playing unit (finger, hand and forearm) is highly likely to cause difficulty and potentially strain/pain.

@@Sitbon08 Point taken. This video is meant to convey the foundational concept of weeding out tension. Other, more integrative motions, are well-addressed in the many videos of Taubman and her followers. Appreciate the input.

Thank you for your comment. Most of these are concepts I've picked up from some of my teachers, I've just filtered them through my experience. Yes, I do teach private lessons, mostly on Zoom right now. I have a few in-person lessons here in the SF Bay area. Thanks for watching.

😁

Don't be hard on yourself-it's great you are open to new ideas. Think of the progress you'll be making using this simple concept. Good luck with your practice and thanks for watching.

Thank you so much :))

Megtiszteltetés számomra. Köszönöm, hogy megnézted a videót // It's my honor. Thanks for watching the video.

Tiszteletem..@@Dharmajazz

My pleasure. I have an Avant N-1. The best feature is the action-I'm fold it's modelled after one of the yamaha grands. It even has a vibrating feature that mimics a grand. It certainly feels "grand-ish" - but not quite the same. It's fun to practice on though, and especially if I'm working at night or if others are home. Thanks for the comment.

I suggest gaining finger control first with this exercise. Once you've made some progress-that is, can execute the exercise cleanly, in a relaxed and confident fashion-then you'll be ready to begin scale practice, using this same touch for starters. But, there are other basic skills to learn which can be more valuable to pick up before tackling scales. I highly recommend finding a qualified teacher in your area. Ask around, check with your local university/college music department or music stores for recommendations. A good teacher will help you avoid picking up bad habits that will actually impede progress. Good luck and have fun! Thanks for watching.

Yeah, clean is best-especially with Mozart. The texture is intentionally crystalline, almost transparent, so how you shape the release of each note is as important as the attack. Which sonata are you referring to? "Easy" is a malleable term with Mozart. There's a saying: Mozart is too easy for beginners, but too difficult for advanced players. A lot of subtlety often gets overlooked. Thanks for watching.

@@Dharmajazz I am referring to the first movement of K545 which incorporates some scales that need to be played "cleanly". Easy, no? 😊

@@meropale Yes, these opening bars of K545 are a perfect example of what the video addresses. I have a video in the works, but here's one already that has an effective approach: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m6iXgYiii6-ofcU

There's a great video on Rick Beato's channel, with Tim Pierce, in which Tim talks about muting strings-and a lot of other tips. ("Amateur mistakes Pro's Don't Make".) I dabble with electric bass, and this was really helpful to me on several levels. Thanks for watching!

Hi Andy, thanks for your comment. Start by getting fluent with this exercise/concept. Relaxation really is the key. There are a couple of hand position/motion aspects that help with speed. I'm putting a video together for those and will post as soon as possible. Happy practicing.

Glad you found the vid useful. Thanks for the support! I took your advice and here's a link to a new Dharmajazz Ko-Fi account. Thanks for watching. ko-fi.com/dharmajazz

Yeah, getting our fingers to hear/feel internals at the same time opens up so much for us as improvisers. Thanks for watching.

Thanks for the kind words. Wow, I realize it's been 4 years since my #365Challenge! Time to get back to posting. Thanks for watching.

That's what my guitar teacher friend says! He calls them "fly away fingers." That's before applying a relaxation exercise like the one in the video. Thanks for watching.

You're helping so many people who don't have formal teachers and saving our hands from pain later too! :) @@Dharmajazz

Dig! That's my kind of swing!! Thanks for watching.

Most welcome. So simple, yet such a powerful concept. Thanks for watching.

Nice! I'll vote for that analysis. Thanks for watching.

Actually, in my book, I emphasize recognizing chords SHAPES to strengthen the connection between our harmonic theory and tactile awareness. It's available at dharmajazz.com/aqaba. If you send me a DM with your email, I can send you a pdf of a one-sheet I have for a few very useful "jazz" chord voicings, and some common turnarounds. Thanks for watching.

Great to hear you are learning new music! Here's a tip I've been reminded of lately, and one I use with my students: never play wrong notes. It sounds too simple, but it is crucial. Remember, our brain and hands learn everything we play, and that includes mistakes. So, make NO mistakes. ZERO. It may require working in very short sections - maybe a couple beats, or one bar at a time, and very slowly if needed, but getting the correct finger-brain connections from the start is super important. Good luck with your practice, and thanks for watching.

Someone else recommended him to me-I'll have to check that out. Yeah, the relaxation approach is well-known among serious players. Thanks for watching!

You are most welcome! It is such a simple concept, yet so helpful to our whole technique. Thanks for watching.

Well, this exercise certainly will help limber up your fingers and wrists for the task. Good luck with the Liszt! Thanks for watching.

Thanks for sharing that. It's amazingly simple, but, as you've found, leads to immediate results. Thanks for watching!

I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's such a simple concept, but so helpful! Thanks for watching.

Glad you found it useful. It's such a simple concept, yet so effective in cleaning up our technique. Thanks for watching.

I'd say the obvious answer is to practice the left hand separately, slowly, giving focus to the relaxation as described in the video. Practicing the left hand alone gives us the chance to examine closely what's going on there and clean it up. Have you done Dohnanyi finger exercises? There are some great ones in the early sections for gaining control and independence. I recommend going slowly for a while to make sure you have the mechanics cleanly. Good luck! Thanks for watching.

Good luck! Slow and steady, one bar or phrase at a time and you'll get there. Thanks for watching.

@@Dharmajazz Thankyou. I've just mastered Bach's Prelude in C Major, but it's easy because it's repetitive, same pattern all the way through really. l'm working on Moonlight Sonata now. Keeps the mind sharp. 😊

Thanks - just workin' out some concepts. Thanks for watching.