Secrets of LEGATO - A Comprehensive Piano Lesson

[@thirzel]

“The legato is a skill that helps us to make our listeners forget the percussive nature of this instrument (the piano)” - wonderfully said!

[@silencedogood7297]

Terrific tutorial. I was a student of Bela Siki who taught many of these techniques. I was in a serious car accident that erased years of my memory. You have brought music back to life for me ! Thank you.

[@harbinguy1]

"Legato let us forget the percussion nature of the instrument(piano)". Brilliant!!!

[@robertkurzeja4349]

I found this tutorial very helpful. I’m classically trained clarinetist but primarily self taught pianist. I know what I what to hear but find it difficult to achieve on the piano at times so I found this information very useful in achieving various legato on piano. As always, thank you for sharing your knowledge!

[@yoyichen4470]

I just find this teacher and suddenly indulging in his teaching. I am a 67 year old and struggling wether or not to find a piano teacher. I prefer self-learn. So glad find this channel, it helps a lot.

[@allenracho1]

Now I know where they got this idea for John Wick in the movie. "He once demonstrated legato of the highest order... with a pencil. A f-'n pencil!" -On Denis "JW" Zhdanov Thank you, maestro, for this valuable lesson!

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

HA HA HA HA😂😂😂

[@sigar14]

Fantastic insights on the subtleties and nuances of piano playing, very well expressed for the audience. Great teacher . I so much recommend it.

[@averycutecat1852]

Thank you for the great tutorial! I encountered the concept of legato in beginner piano books, ear training exercises, music theory books several months ago, but I don't feel I know what it is/ how to play it until this video.

[@pianoweighttouchbrianking809]

I love the way you teach. What you say in words is exactly what your piano speaks back to the listener and at the same time it reflects your emotions in what you are playing. I look forward to watching more of your videos and I thank you so much. Brian King

[@kristinamusik7414]

Wow did you do this lesson for me? Lol. This came at exactly the right time for me. I think it's more important to play well than to strive for more and more advanced pieces. So I need this. You have packed in so much information so this I need to listen to several times and just one piece at a time. Every morning that I use my exercise bike I watch 15 - 20 min of your video. Thank you so much.

[@babawawayoyo]

This was amazing, thank you! I loved your analogy with film cuts. Genius. I subscribed, looking forward to more.

[@kaiparis1073]

Again a fantastic tutorial of the fundamental aspects of piano playing. Thank you very much Denis!

[@larisarassk8583]

Very helpful tutorial. Enjoyed it immensely THANK YOU

[@josantonioalcantara]

Great tutorial as usual. The subject is so difficult to talk about that no matter how many examples you covered, it’s not always clear where to apply the principles you talked about. The best examples for me are Beethoven and Chopin for instance. The first Beethoven sonata has a combined classical and slight romantic legatos styles that you have to be careful to choose the proper way to perform them in order to keep the character of the piece. The evolution of Beethoven can be seen through all his sonatas. You have already analyzed the character of the 14th and I find that very insightful. On the other hand, Chopin is not the average romantic. That’s one of the reasons why his music is so difficult to perform. His music is romantic enough that the pianist must avoid exaggerating it in order not to ruin it. You gave the perfect example with the ballade no 2, the average pianist would be tempted to do what you recommend not to. The saying “play Bach as you were playing Chopin while play Chopin as you were playing Bach” is no coincidence. It was comforting for me that you took two Chopin preludes as examples. I just finished memorizing the No 5 and I’m polishing the first 7 and the 16th for my repertoire. I wish you would have covered more Chopin preludes as examples not only because of my own interest but also because these great pieces of music cover mostly all the types of legato you need to cover in its basics.

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Thank you for a detailed feedback. Yes you’re absolutely right about Chopin. I am preparing the whole set of his preludes for a recital at the end of June, and plan to dedicate a few days for creating a detailed course on this Opus. This will be released however not earlier than in 5-6 weeks.

[@padoubleu]

Indeed very helpful and inspirational tutorial, looking forward to see you others videos. Thank for sharing!

[@kayyuyinghuang4603]

Best video on legato playing. Educational and interesting to watch. Thank you for the high quality tutorials.

[@alfonsomaribona]

Maestro Zhdanov, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. Everyone of your lessons are pure gold ❤

[@amadeocruz9196]

Your video is so much very informative specially on the technical aspect of the subject. Continue lecturing. Good job.

[@_samuelfrancis_]

This was SO informative for me! I am a self-taught pianist, who during the very beginning phase of my journey overlooked important techniques for some bizarre reason. I have recently got a teacher through my university, and he has been stressing the importance of shaping melodies, and correctly playing slurs. Yet I didn't even really know what was meant or required by that! Thank you for creating such a tremendous video, free of charge! I can't thank you enough Denis.

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

I’m happy you liked it!

[@Leon-xw3nv]

Best information and easily understood legato and phrasing tutorial! Thank you for giving this early intermediate student tools to improve her tone and quality!

[@susanyakobi7499]

Thank you for a very helpful and comprehensive tutorial. I shall bookmark it to have it as my permanent reference for the future

[@maykilJuicewa]

33:22. I love your illustration of cross dissolve explaining romantic legato.

[@AverageJoeDoh]

I'm working with a teacher to learn the "Russian" technique. I've been having trouble knowing when to play with the wrist up and when to play with the wrist down. So your description of playing with the wrist down when you are trying to make the sound more intense and up when you are trying to turn down the intensity was what I took away...from this particular listen. I plan to return to this tutorial several times to apply the other concepts you have imparted.

[@kapilyoutube]

What an unbelievable thesis so comprehensively summarized!! Thank you for your kindness!!

[@truekingvictory]

Thank you so much Maestro Zhdanov! You articulate your points so well, and you reinforce very well what my teacher keeps telling me, that you can't separate technique and musicality. I also deeply appreciate that you provide examples with repertoire of the highest level. I can only dream of playing Chopin Sonata 3 one day. Thank you also for the inspiration!

[@ehlrobbo]

This video is amazing; my teacher is starting to really emphasize the importance of getting legato "right", and your video has created a whole... emotion / connection... that I was personally striving for in my practice. Many thanks for creating this!

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Thanks for commenting, I am happy you found it helpful!

[@alzhang74]

This is an awesome video. I shared it with my friends. I will come back and re-watch this as I'm currently late beginner level, and some of things I still can't fully grasp. Appreciate your hardworking!

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Thank you for taking your time to share it🥰

[@mitchnew3037]

I’m addicted to this channel GOAT 🎉🎉

[@Peter-gk1fr]

Thank you! A very helpful tutorial. Thank God for people like you!

[@BenSadounJeremie]

You are excellent. As you recommend at 32´, I leave a comment because I have watched the whole video. Your analysis are exciting. Concerning the romantic legato, I also love Graham Fitch explanation saying that « the attack of the new sound is masked by the reminiscence of the previous one ». Ari Vardi explanations are also excellent and exciting. One more subscriber to your channel ! I was used to referring to Josh Wright channel so far. Now, I have one more with yours ! Thank you for your precious share ! 🙏

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Thanks for a great feedback!

[@rodrigogb6022]

Bravo. Tremendous insights/knowledge, put forward in a very clear way. Great work !

[@benedictdsilva3954]

Nice video Dennis...Legato and phrasing go together with dynamics..Thank you A few live lessons would be nice.. Or probably once we have 5 G

[@Sam_Saraguy]

A very helpful lesson. Thank you very much.

[@luctorres9161]

Hi Denis, again this is a great and awesome tutorial. Thanks a lot for sharing this. These days I'm working on the beautifull Fauré 4th nocturne and for sure this will help. Best, Luc

[@bettyrule33]

Very helpful information. Thank you for helping my play with more expression.

[@adamchaupiano]

Thank you for sharing so much knowledge🙏🏻🙏🏻 Amazing pianist and teacher

[@belle2369]

Thank you so much for your channel. All the content is gold. I am a piano conservatoire student, but technically I am behind, so your channel has been very helpful in me developing my piano technique.

[@thepianocornertpc]

Maestro..you have it all. Sound knowledge, excellent didactic skills, great musicianship and above all you have the instinct and intuition of a true pianist.Bravo!

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Thank you for commenting, and commenting so supportively!🤗🔥

[@mercedesvizueta5953]

thank you very much for this. i was intuitively searching for a lesson like this

[@tlamsp]

So many great tips in one video! I'll need to go back and re-watch and make written notes and study each one. Thanks so much for sharing.

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Thanks for supporting the video with a comment🙏 have fun with this tips😊

[@vickieechelli6302]

Hello Denis. How I wish my piano teacher all those years ago had the teaching skills to provide me with this knowledge and a good understanding of these skills. You inspire me to continue to play the piano and improve. Thank you so very much. I’m grateful for your instruction and thrilled to have found your channel.

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Thank you for your feedback, happy to help! Teachers like therapists, you just have to try several to find the one that suits you best! Keep up!👍

[@s.n.b5511]

Hi, Denis. You are talented pianist and have a gift in teaching. Awsome pedagogue you are!

[@audreyaviss2913]

i like the distinction between classical vs romantic legato!

[@jeffh5388]

You are so original. Very helpful information. Brilliant. Great videos. Thank you

[@rustyjames2010]

Very helpful information and enlightening!

[@anjinsanx44]

Watched wbole video Loved it....thank u 4 teaching those willing 2 learn

[@mariocarrion7807]

Excellent explanation of the legato and useful, Thanks

[@Ro8818.]

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experience. I am very grateful 🙏🙏🙏

[@ellenmcquilkin]

Excellent lesson! Slightly overlapping legato in Romantic music is what I am currently working on and it makes such a huge difference in Chopin Op. 25, No. 2. Thank you for providing this outstanding content.

[@Tautropfenoase]

Fantastic Lesson. I enjoy it a lot and learned so much. Thank you so much.🤗👌

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Thanks for commenting!😊

[@oam-soundengineering6772]

Incredibly good, was never taught in such detail during many years of lessons!

[@rozkvitae_UA]

Your open lessons contain so many information to work with... I was so hungry to this type of knowledge with examples and details Thanks

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Glad it was helpful!💛💙

[@homayousefzadeh3635]

Thank you so much for your precise and useful tutorial and information.I watch your videos many times

[@Scorpionthepianist]

Excellent and to the point tutorial. Bravo !!

[@EastsideGardening]

Enjoy your tutorials. Thanks so much for sharing!

[@lucjanocastro]

Thank you very much for the great class!

[@jeannekoh9544]

Thank you! This is very valuable to understand legato, phrasing, how to make long lines sing!

[@vanewfies]

Wonderful lesson indeed! A big thank you.

[@sgut1947]

Thank you Denis. This is a wonderful video, full of surprising insights.

[@djtomt]

This has answered so many questions for me. Thank you for this wonderful education!

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Glad it was helpful!

[@jeremystephenson5990]

Excellent tutorial, thank you so much

[@serwoolsley]

Thanks for sharing this very insightful lesson denis, i like a lot your musicality and how beautifully you play everything, but especially chopin, you are a blessing for my ears. I find your lessons generally pretty specific and i feel that thinking of these little adjustments is kinda too much for me to handle yet, when would you say it's time to start implementing this way of handling the various beats with the different way of legato? With every piece i learn as soon as i can play them well or for a beginner would you say it's better to focus on other things?

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

The second part of the lesson is rather for advanced players. Different types of legato, various functions of slurs - feel free to disregard that information for now, you’ll get back to it when hopefully will get to pieces of that level. The plasticity of motions and phrasing tips from the first half of the lesson is how I was basically taught from the very beginning. My first music teacher was constantly holding my tiny hand, trying to shape it, and trying to implement a certain culture of phrasing, as well as a smoothness of motion into my playing from the lesson 1. I am doing the same thing. When a new student comes, one of my primarily task is to coordinate their motions and discipline their ears so that even the simplest piece would sound beautifully and feel comfortable.

[@eyaldn]

Thank you for an interesting and helpful lesson. I thought about chopin op10 no 3 etude to good for demonstrating tough legatos. The upper vioce in the first theme, the decending tritons and maybe more.

[@cjanebell]

I love all your tutorials. I learn lots...my teacher has suggested many of these things, but not How to do them! You are a wonderful teacher, Denis!

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Thank you so much!

[@ScruffyTubbles]

Denis. Thanks, is all I can say for me and all on here. This is very useful. Particularly in respect of flexibility of the wrist.

[@goldie5788]

Great video, Dear Denise 👏👏 Please make a video with you playing and singing the notes Pam Pam and Ta Dam... That's so sweet of you 🙂

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

I am tadaming in every video

[@goldie5788]

@@DenZhdanovPianist we want full length video too 🤣🤣

[@TheBmontalto]

I really like watching your videos while commuting to work. It helps me make productive use of otherwise wasted time. Of course, I will not remember everything by the time I get back home to practice the piano, but some things are remembered! However I had no idea just how much thought had to be given to playing a simple measure! This would make playing a line of 4 measures a 40 minute challenge. At my level of experience, I don't suppose I should be incorporating all these techniques in playing the songs from my "teach yourself" piano book series right? It would take too much time to make any progress... Maybe it should only be done to the few select pieces (max 5) that I really like in the book? Does this analysis of how to play get faster with time and experience? In your case, when you have to study a piece, it's a couple of pages long with hundreds of measures... And your video only spoke about legato... It must take you close to a year for studying just one composition!

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Of course now I rather simply go through the score recognizing these patterns and progressions instantly, and spontaneously fountaining with artistic ideas on how to play it. But please keep in mind that this is a result of 20 years of professional training with average of 4-5 hours practicing/learning a day with best available teachers in 4 different countries.

[@friendlynoise]

Such a great video about such an interesting subject! Love it!!

[@mitchnew3037]

This is wonderful, thank you, sir!! 👍

[@peacetouch]

감사합니다.

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Thank you for your support!😊

[@careljeromecornelisfredrik5252]

Your videos are great, thanks for sharing your great work. God bless you.

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Thank you for commenting!

[@jennychyeo3016]

An excellent teacher, bringing out the salient musical elements and explaining them. An educational and interesting lesson. Thank you.

[@tuongvyhoangnhat860]

thank you so much for this!

[@cbolanda]

Thank you, Maestro.

[@leonardodelyrarodrigues3752]

7:00 na verdade, por estar no tempo forte, a terminação da frase é masculima onde a última nota deve ser tocada forte, no começo pós tético que é o caso deve ser tocado suavemente com você fez, 7:30 já neste caso está correto pois a nota mais aguda está no tempo fraco que é a terminação de frase feminina onde é mais suave. 21:51 tem um velho muito brabo de 98 anos que aconselha tocar essa melodia com o pulso descendo. Basicamente é uma aula de fraseologia e não legato, isso abrange o legato, mas tbm dinâmica de inflexão/natural e a estrutural.

[@liliaaquino7378]

Fantastic !! Still I don’t understand why you don’t have more followers? You post such good quality videos which by the way help me a lot , really appreciate it

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Thank you so much! I am happy you find it helpful!😊

[@anjinsanx44]

I like his way of explaining n Teaching....

[@daemperador123]

Thank you for this!

[@professorakos]

Great topic to talk about, very helpfull to many of us. May i ask which tablet do you use for music score?

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

IPad 12,9’

[@farideabbaspour661]

Very helpful❤

[@hershsangani9302]

Great video, thanks!

[@hershsangani9302]

I just had a question, I am a beginner, age 32, and I seem to get middle back pain from sitting playing the piano after an hour or so. Do you have any recommendations for helping with that?

[@sage4nowty129]

You have an interesting approach to teaching piano.

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

I bet I do!🐣

[@ST52655]

Could you cover the various staccato techniques? Thanks

[@mlml5338]

Excellent!

[@inspiration4482]

Million thanks! I appreciate it 👍🏻 31:12

[@MichaelClark-zc7ht]

It seems that the overall trend here is to offset the inherent verticallity of music (which occurs by the nature of strong/weak beats naturally alternating in a forward trajectory) by simply under-emphasizing the strong beats. In other words, on notes/beats that have an inherent "arrival" to them, you actually underemphasize those arrival moments. This feels very Russian to me.

[@metamorphosis811]

Hello Denis, You are awesome! You let me know a lots playing piano. Could you tell me from 10:24 to 10:35 duration, what is the song of it? I love it ❤ Thank you

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Beethoven op 31 no 2 3rd movement!

[@metamorphosis811]

Thank you Denis!!! You let me know how to recognize amateur and professional playing as well, cool!

[@billligon4005]

Hello: Can you explain The Neapolitan chords and the Tristan Chords, what are they why do they exist, and WHY, WHY, WHY when they are played out of context they do not make sense and sound ordinary? Please show examples? Thanks

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

You answered your question - it’s all about a context.

[@cecelialawshe-6531]

So many things to think about 😇

[@feta1821]

the cuts are too good on 33:35

[@CyrusandAurelius]

This is super. Can you create one for pedal theory. It is hard to find online.

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

I have two extensive videos on pedaling here, look into tutorials playlist

[@CyrusandAurelius]

@@DenZhdanovPianist 🙏thank you

[@CyrusandAurelius]

@@DenZhdanovPianist I have now found them! Thank you so much also I found your video My piano blog behind the scenes. That's great! My son and I love non technical videos 😁

[@bzeliotis]

7:48 I don't understand why you try to avoid all impulses. When you speak don't you acentuate certain syllables or words, depending on what you want to say? In 4/4 the first and 3rd beat as you know are supposed to be stronger, so why are you taking the accents out of these important beats?

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Because this is exactly the reason people sound amateurish. Music is organized by motifs not beats.

[@bzeliotis]

@@DenZhdanovPianist I politely disagree. One can phrase across many bars, but the rhythm (the accents in the pulse) are at the heart of any music. Otherwise there would be no reason for having barlines, would there?Also, playing musically is to me about expressing the inner rhythm of a piece. That's what gets the audience tapping their feet without knowing why.

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Speaking about accents in your speech, You mark THOSE syllables, which have the biggest importance for the MEANing of the phrase. Try reading this sentence marking any other syllables than caps-locked, and you’ll see what I mean.

[@bzeliotis]

@@DenZhdanovPianist I agree with that. i AGREE with that. i agree with THAT!

[@scottweaverphotovideo]

I'm surprised how little finger pedaling Horowitz and Michelangeli do with their Scarlatti. They use the pedal and ignore using the fingers. Since I am huge fans and deeply respect them it confuses me because I thought I should smoothly sustain and connect notes and chords in Baroque keyboard music without relying on pedal. Example: Scarlatti K27 in b minor by Michelangeli

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

I don’t think they care about your concerns😂 But if seriously there are just people who care how it is made and people who care how it sounds. I wish people would fight only over such nonsense.

[@scottweaverphotovideo]

@@DenZhdanovPianist of course. But with my own practice it takes effort to play with true legato... and then I see the greats just using the pedal! 😅

[@6uitarbot]

Thanks

[@chriscatapano1788]

Wonderful Tutorial

[@ernestdesalvo3142]

!

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Thank you Ernest💙💙💙

[@noiseofdark4744]

sir,i have to need your legato staff.. please sir help

[@etudeando]

First off achieving a good legato what it needs is a good instrument.

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Not really. You can have a bad instrument and still provide a good legato. It needs a fine ear control and a good piano playing technique optimization, but it’s absolutely doable.

[@etudeando]

@@DenZhdanovPianist I do really think so. A good legato technique will not be well developed on a NON hammered response action keyboard. In case player is not having an acoustic piano. Most ppl underrate how important is the instrument according what level you might want to get to.

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

@@etudeando Oh so you actually meant an acoustic instrument saying "a good instrument" ;P Actually advanced e-piano models do allow such work, although I agree that most of acoustic instruments (except of badly maintained ones) open up just a different scale of possible nuances in comparison to those e-pianos that I have ever tried.

[@etudeando]

@@DenZhdanovPianist xD I think that you should realize that almost 48k followers actually don't have an acoustic pianos and most of them an "e-piano that I have ever tried" lol .

[@surfinia2]

@@etudeando I'm a non proffessional piano player. I have an acoustic upright and a really new e-piano and although the digital piano seems easier to play, I can assure you I prefer the old upright because of the challenge in getting a better, rounded sound for every note in every piece. They're two worlds apart in my humble opinion. If you don't believe this, just hear some Mrs Marchenko's students on youtube giving recitals from home during lockdown and using old, even out of tune pianos but make them sound so fine and elegant to your esrs that it almost look impossible. This is why good technique can mostly surpass piano quality ( except if the piano is in very bad shape, of course)

[@roadguide123]

did you lose weight? excellent video..by the way

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

This is what my grandma asks everytime she sees me for the last 20 years

[@roadguide123]

@@DenZhdanovPianist lol

[@matt566]

Idk man you say youre making it smooth but i hear impulse on every single key @5:00+

[@deyhimmohaddes1220]

Fantastic and educational. too much talking instead of playing. This is piano playing not rhetoric. Very tiring/boring. sorry for the criticism but i have to tell the truth.

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

At that point I didn’t yet understand how massive is the population’s degradation. But I am getting better in giving pills without explaining how they work, because who cares lol