Chopsticks Challenge - 13 Levels of difficulty in 3 minutes | Piano Tutorial

I hope you'll enjoy my auto-duel on a theme of Chopsticks! Consider the gauntlet thrown... ;)
I invite anyone so inclined to post a response to this open Chopsticks Challenge. I'm thinking of establishing a prize for best video response. Ideas?
I upload videos every Tuesday and Friday
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[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

Last night I decided to have an old-fashioned piano duel, on a theme of Chopsticks. With no one but myself, and my toy poodle Cocoa onlooking, I improvised a series of variations on Chopsticks - the first piece I ever learned on piano - with each variation significantly harder than the last. I ended up too much material, so I spliced some of my favorite bits into 13 levels of difficulty, from total beginner to 4th degree black belt. Then I gave Cocoa a shot (see end credits...). If people like it, maybe I'll post an extended version, or Round Two :)

[@dog9yearsago122]

Hey that’s me

[@lornaanderson185]

What fun! You are truly the maestro and can make something of so little...You are absolutely miraculous!!!!

[@themencedor]

W

[@azizgharbi9012]

1:46 Right hand : may I pass sir? Left hand: of course

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

Lol...! didn't happen quite so nonchalantly the first many times (ie multiple head-on collisions)

[@azizgharbi9012]

@@ZenandtheArtofPiano btw you are doing a very very good work Keep the good work genius

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

@@azizgharbi9012 I answer to dolt more readily than genius, but thank you! I hope you and your witticisms will stick around ;)

[@azizgharbi9012]

@@ZenandtheArtofPiano of course You can't miss a channel when you find a good one ;)

[@lunevo6172]

After attempting Level 1, I ended up with something similar to 2:50.

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

HA! I would have liked to see that ;)

[@Alexuhhh]

Great work,my grand grand grand nephew,even I can't do that sh** Lots of love,seriously☺️☺️☺️☺️💜💜💜

[@pineapplewhatever5906]

Yes you can!

[@noobmaster-gc2nd]

Pineapple Whatever but he can’t now really.

[@pineapplewhatever5906]

True lol I meant when he was alive.

[@RomanCourier]

Liszt, you’re a humble guy 😅😅

[@franzliszt4883]

You can easily

[@Funguypiano]

HOLY CRAP THIS IS EPIC

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

Thanks, Funguypiano!! I actually had you in mind for part of it, the way you infuse such free-flowing, fearless joy into your sound.

[@naweladamou]

YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@andyfox6943]

literally best thing on KZbin right here. THE NOODLER!

[@Kassiapiano]

You are so amazing! 💪 Thanks for your video:)

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

thank you, Kassia! Chopsticks - with two fingers - was my introduction to piano... I'm really enjoying getting to know your playing. Would you ever be up for a real-world two-piano concert, somewhere, somehow? I'd love to do La Valse, maybe a Rachmaninoff 2-piano suite together :)

[@nicolasnobis9141]

At the end when your dog was playing I thought it was a gopher or hamster and you where bashing his head on the keyboard and I was like is someone going to call animal abuse!!! Haha then I realized it was a dog

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

oh no! No worries, no animals where harmed in the shooting of this video ;) Cocoa seems to love the piano... she almost always comes and lies down next to it whenever I play.

[@nicolasnobis9141]

Zen and the Art of Piano huh that’s strange my dog and another dog I met would both lay below my bench or next to it when I was playing moonlight sonata. What type of dog is cocoa bc the ones that’s laid down we’re both shitzus.

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

@@nicolasnobis9141 lol... mine's a toy poodle

[@band4lyfe]

Level 1: ooo cool ez Level 5: that’s a good challenge! Level 9: ... Level 13: nah

[@JinnieJMusic]

Wow!! Such a creative work!! I love this arrangement, especially the tsunami style. It's really interesting. I'm looking forward to Round 2. Thanks for sharing your fantastic work!

[@lorenzodavidsartormaurino413]

This is going in my favourites list.

[@loganm2924]

Favourites ‘Liszt’?

[@lorenzodavidsartormaurino413]

@@loganm2924 You're right, i'm taking it bach.

[@TheFlamingPiano]

Crazy! I don't get the Tom and Jerry reference, and noodler seems like an interesting style for arrangements, I think I could do until level 10/11, with some trouble with level 12

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

Thank you!! Tom & Jerry is the cat & mouse chase over the keyboard, lh = cat, rh mouse...

[@NoisyVibes]

how can u do 10 but not 12? makes no sense to me

[@ifmondayhadaface9490]

NoisyVibes The chords are larger, and the fast chords rather than a consistent scale, are fast and short bursts. The difficulty of playing chord increases 2 fold when the amount of notes in the chord doubles.

[@lorenzodavidsartormaurino413]

This time i gotta say the effects are astonishingly good. The performance is perfect also.

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

Thank you! You're feedback is helping me find a visual style that works.

[@albertkang6321]

I was so lucky to found your channel... Thanks for all the musics that u posted. It literally cleared my ears!

[@ryuk5191]

1:48 got some mr rogers vibes

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

Ha! I don't know if I hear it, but now I've got it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood in my ears...

[@meetalg]

Wow! Coolest levelup piano vid ever, thank you!!!

[@Funguypiano]

2:46 IM HAVING OCD

[@nicolasnobis9141]

Funguypiano lol

[@michaelamuchyova]

the noodler was the funiest name of a dificulty ive seen and heard for this you deserve a like and a sub an oh and the bell too for sure

[@nicolasnobis9141]

I was promised this video and then it came 😃

[@jtszabo1691]

To quote Wacko Warner: “Chopsticks and chopsticks and chopsticks and chopsticks and chopsticks and chopsticks and chopsticks chop chop!!

[@bhooshanpandit1344]

Amazing visuals

[@lilxsweetz]

That was such a fun video with fun titles! And oh my goodness what an adorable ending!

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

I love seeing Nahre Sol's little puppy in some of her videos. Cocoa always seems to gravitate to the piano when I play, so I thought I'd give her a debut...

[@sarahmyers3100]

Bravo!!! That was amazing! I dream of being an 1/8 as that piece!

[@nicolasnobis9141]

Round 2!!! How can it get crazier

[@RAJKUMAR-if6io]

I played it with you , absolutely worth it 👍

[@awabawa3244]

I’m happy this video exists

[@rize118]

Listening to this work again felt so nostalgic. I guess I should check the "typeset edition" again and see some notation errors!

[@lalanini4486]

how do you build up the finger technology like that? have to practice many pieces so practice and practice simple pieces? Do you play so good! This is Amazaing

[@yluobyu]

you know when to stop if the whole piano is having a earthquake 1:55

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

since I recorded this, I installed a ceiling camera. But tripods make it real...

[@comradewaffles4577]

This was awesome! The dog part seems the hardest.

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

Thank you! You mean the dog paddling just before the end or the actual pooch part?

[@comradewaffles4577]

Pooch. What makes it really difficult is that i have no pets!

[@vittorioandoliny3]

I am impressed

[@madelineeeee3693]

I looked this up. AND I DO NOT REGRET IT

[@diamondboi3349]

The god of piano is playing his fine tunes...

[@IEEMAZ_Convoluted_14.2.8.5]

Who wrote the real chopsticks?

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

What level are you???

[@anythingfortheday6806]

I would probably stop at 8 or 9 but I could probably manage 11. EDIT : nice reference to paganini etude no 6 at 1:47 . Maybe a hint for future video.

[@nicolasnobis9141]

Zen and the Art of Piano with a LOT of practice 11 at a bit slower tempo

[@andyfox6943]

lvl 3 with practice and both hands, lvl 1 w/baby

[@JoyWeidner]

Solid lvl 5 here. Used to be 6, but haven't had a keyboard to practice on in decades.

[@TheJedo]

I love the last 6 notes

[@amv_schwepperr3792]

From Basic to Masterpiece to "Buncha-Nonsense".

[@derekstevens8340]

I love it 😍

[@yfzhou8074]

Now play it backwards and turn black keys into white keys.

[@schubertjorg7428]

Ich bin tief beeindruckt angesichts dieser geballten Virtuosität.

[@caiogiuliocesareottavianoa798]

Lol the doggo at the end

[@naweladamou]

how long did this take u to learn but anyway its gooooood hi

[@davisatdavis1]

1:47 the right hand reminds me of the 1838 unrevised Paganini/Liszt Etude No. 4. Was that what you were going for?

[@EsperantistoVolulo]

As of Level 11, it seems like it's not the problem of the difficulty... Are your hands even okay after playing those crazy glissandi?

[@raymondsteen5316]

BRAVO 👏👏👏👏👏

[@pineapplewhatever5906]

Was the "tsunami style" a reference to Tsunami from wings of fire?

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

no... just an intense wave

[@MrTardoss]

I'd say that i'm level 9 xD I know i can reach lvl 10 but i have to practice a way more

[@loganm2924]

I’d probably be an 8 or 9 too. How long have you played piano for?

[@vrushalipunde5419]

@@loganm2924 he's playing piano since an year. I asked him on discord.

[@saarthifonseka4999]

Excellent

[@kaihagemann9928]

Could you try doing your own cover of the epic Star Wars music "Duel of Fates" ? Nice Videos by the way, hope you will get big by Time!

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

Thank you! I love Star Wars music. In Duel of Fates, the orchestra is so full and layered with so many unique driving rhythmic patterns, I'm not sure if I could effectively reduce it to piano but let me take a look.

[@kaihagemann9928]

@@ZenandtheArtofPiano you could get some inspiration by the cover of sheet music boss, he did a pretty nice Cover. And i think it is REALLY good that you answer to every comment under your videos.

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

@@kaihagemann9928 update, I actually finished the sheet music for a 2-piano, 4 hand arrangement of this and did a trial recording of it about a month ago. Somehow it wasn't having the effect I wanted, but I may come back and rework it, or turn it into a 2-handed version...

[@n3ed2pee]

Rousseau would be proud

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

Thanks! Rousseau sets the standard...

[@arnoldosanmigueldeabaco5537]

Chopsticks without chopsticks

[@arohimittal3050]

that was amazing :D

[@CYNsmok]

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏bravo

[@izeas54321]

Some asian kid: aight, done the warm up.

[@tehanienfield9215]

my jaw was dropped 99.999999999999999% of the video

[@juicedelemon]

easy! this is all level 1 to me!

[@DavenRL_8]

0:55 0:43

[@gpa0033]

fantástico !!!!

[@ral8ph]

Is there sheet music to this?

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

There's a link to sheet music posted in one of the comments to this video that comes very, very close to this.

[@loganm2924]

Oops, this is the fourth time I accidentally watched this video when browsing YT...

[@GabsARV]

More like 13 variations of Chopsticks.

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

I thought about calling it that... but challenge evokes the duel, one upmanship

[@GabsARV]

@@ZenandtheArtofPiano True :P

[@pianoforteyt]

I played the original of this on my channel too!!! 😁

[@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji]

Why not compile these as a piece and call it, "Variations on a theme of Chopsticks!?"

[@jannis11]

nAiCE

[@WomanSlayer69420]

level 14: Marasy8 version

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

thanks - that's a new channel to me

[@chloefan1]

Ngl, I can't even gliss that fast without all my fingernails falling off.

[@lonelycarii5231]

Him: plays this difficult song in 3 minutes Me: plays twinkle twinkle little star 5 days later.... Me: Am I done playing this ???

[@Beaks-gw2iz]

You play the piano.

[@sharonmccormack19]

Level 13: Simply Piano after 1 week

[@connerfirkins5759]

1:50 wow this reminds me of mr rogers

[@Beaks-gw2iz]

Du spielst das klavier

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

Danke sehr! I'm going to take that as a compliment.

[@TruenoD12]

😎😎

[@niekesselbrugge1132]

if you were to play each level consecutively, it would sound like a Paganini piece.

[@NBUU1]

0:55

[@bloemundude]

You forgot the stage where you simply hurl live grenades at the piano.

[@pineapplewhatever5906]

Sheet music please

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

I'll check in with the fellow youtuber who'd offered to put together sheet music. Glad to see there's interest :)

[@pineapplewhatever5906]

Any response?

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

@@pineapplewhatever5906 he said he'd do it again, but I didn't hear back again since... I'm a bit too overcommitted to do it myself at present. Sorry for the continued delay, and thanks for your interest in it.

[@pineapplewhatever5906]

It's okay lol

[@pineapplewhatever5906]

Update: I think I can transcribe levels 1, though 7, and 10. Level 9 with some difficulty (telling which notes are intentional and which are mistakes). The weird harmony keeps me from transcribing levels 8 and 12, it's too hard to tell where the "endpoints" of the glissandos lie in level 11, and I don't know WHAT is going on in level 13.

[@avalon5821]

less invisible to the algorithm gods you’ll become

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

I'll take that as my Yoda fix for the day

[@avalon5821]

Zen and the Art of Piano LOL i was just commenting because that helps get it into folks’ recommendations.

[@arnoldosanmigueldeabaco5537]

HR2 be like

[@slepslep9368]

'I play chopsticks'

[@hooyoo9940]

2:34 owww

[@Dragoon_Kenji27]

Insnity was FUNNY

[@skyfire299]

This is literally an earthquake scale, 9 and 10 the piano was shaking so hard. Dog is best tho

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

Lol... I've since loaded the piano down with 100lbs. of piano and orchestral scores, which reduces the shaking in fortissimo+ somewhat but the earthquake is still passing through the floor and up through the otherwise solid tripod... I need to ultimately figure out a better set-up...

[@absmusicchannel-lorica5199]

😘✌️🤩💯🙏

[@daminci]

LEVEL 14: FRANZ LISZT

[@rosegabineteh]

WHAT THE HOW

[@rosegabineteh]

EPICAL

[@daveleadbeater7652]

The Eddy Duchin version: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bGK2lmqDp7Clprs

[@charlieemily998]

When your keyboard is wayy too smol-

[@BowBow168A]

a sample for NiziU

[@Random22]

Ling Ling can play all of these at the same time.

[@deadiseasy7891]

2:40 thats how I play my piano

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

I actually bruised one of my fingers practicing or recording that, a first for me, I think...

[@teodorb.p.composer]

I can play level 12!

[@a2kvarnstrom80]

i like how his skin colour is gray

[@thecaynuck4694]

Final Level: Road to arthritis

[@eddiehawn1538]

I got to level 6 lol

[@warriocoins]

My hand small

[@pineapplewhatever5906]

I could probably do level 13 more easily than level 12. I'm terrible at glissando.

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

Lol, these glissandos are especially tricky because they're so fast and loud. It's not to hard to actually draw blood if you're not careful. The trick I think for glissandi is to find just the right angle, hold the fingertip firm (perhaps with support from another finger), stay on the fingernail and not the cuticle, and stay shallow in the key if possible.

[@physicsisawesome696]

And someone said chopsticks is easy

[@eduardosimoes5877]

5

[@veinyhand9177]

I prefer the number 7

[@frvl]

А всё вместе в стиле Амлена

[@ZenandtheArtofPiano]

??? my Russian is embarrassingly close to zero so I turned to google translate, which gave me words that still left an enigma... "And all together in the style of Amlen" -- what?

[@travmaysapıgı]

I’m level 1 xd