A lesson on Octave Technique: Chopin VS Liszt

[@brumamatinal]

you are the best teacher I ever had..., greetings from Uruguay

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Thank you! 😃

[@thepianocornertpc]

You're absolutely right about the sometimes "dangerous" advice given by the guys from tonebase.

[@lalahohoable]

I 100% agree with you!

[@MusicLover-oe3ig]

This is absolutely the best tutorial of the OCTAVE playing video, having smaller hands make playing it even more difficult. It is so inspiring to see a pro at work!! Thank you so much!!!

[@antoniovisioli4460]

Veramente fantastico! Grazie!

[@lorenzomorgoni524]

tricky octaves can be found in the second "Trockne Blumen" variation (Schubert), not so difficult like Liszt's but nevertheless demanding also the sixth variation in this set has complicated, repeated leaps oh and of course some passages in the Wanderer Fantasie very interesting explanation of this technique :)

[@thepianocornertpc]

In this video, we see a combination of Safanov's principle(octave and chords hidden in the hand till the very last moment when the hand opens in the gravity fall ) and Liszt's "Dead Hand" or Main Morte" technique. My teacher, 60 years ago was a student from Arthur De Greef who himself studied with Liszt. I still use the same approach, but I incorporate the forearm rotation as advocated by D. Taubman as well. No fatigue, outstanding accuracy and absolute control of tonal nuance and sonority. Maestro Zhdanov is a very knowledgeable pianist. To me,the best on KZbin.

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Thank you for a great piece of information and a kind feedback!😊

[@thepianocornertpc]

@@DenZhdanovPianist You deserve the best praise Maestro.

[@francoisecot4857]

Bonjour un grand merci. Vos cours sont vraiment formidable. Votre approche technique des gestes pianistique est claire ce qui offre une efficace et plaisante pratique de mon travail chaque jour.

[@davidepirillo592]

Thanks a lot, Davide from Rome 👍🏻

[@aga1nst]

Fast octaves are very hard for me, I've been trying to play them with the wrist, thinking that it's the right way, but i have this constant pain in my hand that lasts for a few days after practicing. I finally know why. Thanks a lot, i love your channel and your courses, they've helped me a ton!

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Thank you, and I hope you’ll now be able to develop a way to play without pain!

[@Lore_Piano]

Yes !! Thanks sir, that was what i needed now, i was just starting the Op.25 n.10. This free lessons are gold for me, keep up with this amazing videos. Now I'll practice with your methods 🤍 Good luck for your next works !

[@bobbygadourymusic5476]

Great tips, inspiring. Thank you!

[@worrellrobinson4332]

Congrats, well done Denis, great advice and tips for octave playing keep up the great work kind regards Mr W Robinson.

[@jakezepeda1267]

9:30 Perfect. I've been trying to learn a song with some triplet burts, but I am struggling greatly due to my hand size and general inexperience. I've been doing this "ricochet" just because it works the same for kick drums, but wasnt sure if it was "wrong" or would lead to unnecessary strain. For some reason information on playing bursts of notes is very hard to find.

[@TM-456ii]

"You shut off the electricity in your fingers..." kzbin.info/www/bejne/gobHgYR8Z8Som5Y I've never heard anyone use this analogy, ever. This is brilliant.

[@verity9000]

Thanks! You are extremely generous.

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Thank you for your support!😊🔥🙏

[@Toydota]

🤑

[@marekziarno1223]

AMAZING video. THANKS A LOT! ❤️❤️

[@theoooms7277]

I like your teaching a lot!

[@homayousefzadeh3635]

Hi,thanks so much for your perfect tips.I didnt understand at the end of the video ,what you meant by accented middle notes as you said in your opinion ,in the bar five D,B,f#.(first page,No.22).thanks a lot.

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Hi, thanks! Please provide a timecode, I’ll look into it

[@Piano_improvisations]

Idk I dont really like forearm action because after some minutes the forearm sometimes feel heavy if you played some pieces before that. I recommend and a book of liszt practice techniques Said by practicing you should variate between high and low wrist action so you just use your wrist. Thats also what concert pianist are doing modt of the time

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Concert pianists? So who am I in your opinion? 😂 It’s not about just the forearm action, it’s about coordinating motions of the whole arm, please watch the video attentively. If your forearms feel heavy, you have inefficient technique.

[@Piano_improvisations]

@@DenZhdanovPianist i dont know you xD i didnt know you are one lol

[@Piano_improvisations]

@@DenZhdanovPianist ik that its ineffective when the forearm feels heavy. But it doesnt since I am only using my wrist

[@Piano_improvisations]

@@DenZhdanovPianist when I started the video you said it so I commented and thought that you are gonna tell people to only play with their forearm. I think that you misunderstood me and I misunderstood you

[@homamellersh8446]

Sorry denis, the only comment I can leave is that I enjoyed watching your finger work although I am not at the level of playing Chopin 😢 .

[@michaelharvey702]

Bravo for this explanation! Do you think this is also the answer to anyone wanting to play octaves like Grynyuk or would you say there are other contributing factors to how he can play such fast octaves?

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

This method will help everyone to improve. But everyone has their limits, and the biggest limitation in piano playing is not even talent, but a late start (anything after 13 y.o.), and a lack of a proper training/instruction.

[@safarygirl]

Many thanks ❤

[@michaelleslie2663]

BRILLIANT!!!!

[@athom508]

I suspect that also applies to the Scriabing Prelude Op 11 No 18?

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

These are very universal tips, they would work nearly with every octave spot.

[@stefaniacartapiano]

I broke my hand with this Rhapsody when I was 15 lol. That's so much needed!

[@stefaniacartapiano]

I have a super tiny hand and I was using my wrist, doesn't help. my extensor wasn't impressed with my technique lol Never dared to try the Rhapsody again

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Oops😞

[@JG_1998]

Would you say that being in good physical shape makes playing octaves easier? I've noticed since I started lifting weights playing in general has become much easier, octaves in particular feel less taxing.

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Could be, at least for “larger” technique types like chords and octaves. However, I know from some people that extensive training might also work the other way - building larger muscles seems to discriminate smaller ones needed for finger dexterity. However I don’t know if these subjective observations are scientifically proved.

[@disinformationworld9378]

If you are playing octaves with clenched arms you are doing them wrong.

[@ananthd4797]

@@DenZhdanovPianist I have heard that strength training might increase slow twitch muscles (slow but powerful) over fast twitch (more dexterity). But I am no expert.

[@crazyRyoga]

Hi, maybe it's a silly question, but what finger is better to focus on when playing octaves? The thumb or the pink?

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Depends. For people with small hands the thumb generally. When making leaps also the thumb. With large hands, comfortable positions, and necessity to voice the upper voice - the pinky, but it must be really stable (watch my video about the 5th finger).

[@crazyRyoga]

@@DenZhdanovPianist Thank you! I'll check it!

[@vincentedelmond5404]

Chopin is making music Liszt is making hanonlike exercises

[@1389Chopin]

3 key steps to playing octaves 1. Drop hand 2. Release tension 3. Don't have small hands Palm size and finger length make a huge difference - with a small hand it is impossible to play octaves relaxed because you have to stretch your hand out to reach Imagine your tenth is a small handed person's octave - now what is the technique to play tenths?

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Yes it’s a natural obstacle which is difficult to overcome. But there are still some things to try kzbin.info/www/bejne/eYi5aIGufb5-mcU

[@rinztv3603]

Do you have online lesson ?

[@segalanicolas5608]

He has a link in the description

[@bryanryan4504]

Tonebase has so many narrow minded views and their guest teachers proclaim a lot of blanket generalized statements (or tonebase edits it that way) that can confuse and direct learning students into directions that may be forced bc it doesnt really work for specifically that student.