Hanon-Faber Gesture 1 - The Swoop | In-Depth Walkthrough and Practice

[@janverherstraeten5770]

Finally a very good explanation on how to play correctly without the risk of getting hurt. Thanks very much, helped a lot. Greetings from Belgium

[@BedlingtonGroomer]

This is the first time I've ever had the "Swoop" explained! I've always seen it when watching good pianists play, but never knew *how* to achieve such grace and fluidity when playing. Thank you SO much for your detailed explanations, and especially to be able to see your hands/wrists/arms move from so many different camera angles while you demonstrate. Looks like I'm going to be buying a new exercise book immediately!😀

[@PianistAcademy1]

I’m so glad this was helpful and hopefully will continue to be!!

[@envyyouu]

This was a really great video and deserves a thank you, its hard to find this type of clear information for beginners on piano techniques as most of these videos cover more advanced movements. Do you have plans to cover the other gestures mentioned in the book and its other exercises.

[@PianistAcademy1]

Thanks so much for the Super Thanks, envyyouu! I really appreciate it! I will definitely be covering the rest of the gestures and many of the exercises as well.

[@cutiejumps4088]

@@PianistAcademy1this video is amazing. Thank you for posting!

[@louisebailey3342]

Thank you Charles. Your explanations were simple and clear….the sign of an incredible teacher. I am always impressed with how fluid your piano movements and those of other professionals appear so free and your hands appear to float over the keys. If only…..I could just release that tension 😊. I am incorporating this technique immediately.

[@PianistAcademy1]

Thanks, Louise! I hope this video is a great accompaniment for your lessons. I was a good 5 to 8 years into my own lessons before comments about my playing (from non musicians) changed from, "wow that looked so hard!" to "wow that sounds cool but you made it look so easy!" ... it just takes time and dedication!

[@iantang2866]

None of my teachers ever mentioned these crucial elements. Thank you!

[@PianistAcademy1]

My pleasure! Thanks for watching!

[@ami2846]

Appreciate your focus on playing comfortably and efficiently.🙏♥️

[@PianistAcademy1]

Thanks, Ami! And thanks for watching!

[@Jburt571]

Finally someone willing to state that the fingers don't have muscles when talking about Hanon. Even Faber talked about having finger muscles in the intro video to this book. Finger strength exercises are generally a one-way ticket to tendinitis.

[@PianistAcademy1]

You know it! Thanks for the comment!

[@giovannipepe5945]

Hello there. My question is..why don't you have 250k followers. This is simply my absolute favourite presentation of piano techniques. Excellent stuff 👏. PS the HanonFaber book should be arriving today or tomorrow. 🙂

[@PianistAcademy1]

Giovanni! Thanks so much for diving into so much of the content here, and thank you for the Super! If you have time, I do a livestream every two weeks here on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month at 10am Mountain Time USA. And let me know if you have specific questions about something that you don't find here. I'd be happy to at least cover it in a stream OR even make a dedicated video about it. I hope the new Hanon-Faber treats you well :-)

[@kaankaral]

Thanks!

[@ITPoshLady1999]

thank you for this!!

[@PianistAcademy1]

My pleasure! Thanks for watching!

[@MissMiesy]

Thank you so much for this lesson and also other teaching videos!

[@mattwallis1893]

Another great video, thanks!

[@PianistAcademy1]

Thanks, Matt! I hope the explanation is helpful!

[@gerryarmstrong5654]

Thank you for this, a fantastic video for a self learner like myself. Invaluable!!

[@PianistAcademy1]

My pleasure, Gerry! Thanks for watching!

[@MissMiesy]

Can you please make lesson videos on counting notes with different time signatures on different tempos?

[@kaankaral]

Charles Thank you for this great Video. this will help me alo ton the way.

[@jamesjewell7247]

Great instructional video thanks Charles! Having reached a plateau in my playing, I’m having to learn proper technique hence find this kind of tuition invaluable (I’ll never understand why none of my piano teachers taught me technique when I was growing up!). Thanks again for recommending the exercise book 🙏

[@PianistAcademy1]

Great, James! Yes, there seems to be an excessive focus on making music “fun” for kids, even more today than 20 years ago, and at the expense of all technique. It’s all in a quest to keep kids in music longer, but what kept me involved wasn’t that it was “fun” but that it was challenging. I felt like I actually achieved something when I finished a piece, not just a “good job” and pat on the back.

[@jamesjewell7247]

Gosh! I would have thought piano technique would be better embedded in tuition these days though clearly it isn’t! And yes, it’s all about the challenge of pushing yourself to be the best you can be (my overall philosophy in life!). Looking forward to the next vid 🙂

[@PianistAcademy1]

@@jamesjewell7247 I actually think it's getting less and less embedded in lessons as playing well is less important than "trying." There are also an INCREDIBLE number of teachers who have little to no formal higher education in piano pedagogy that end up teaching the vast majority of beginner students, and lots and lots of bad habits are formed that the teachers simply aren't aware of. Having accepted many in-person students from other teachers that come with very basic technical problems, and also seeing some really horrible/detrimental teaching advice given around social media, are two of the driving factors behind my starting this channel in the first place. Oh and add to that the influx of piano students that are now learning solely by app, where literally NO attention is given to technique... They might be able to learn some chords and play some tunes, but they will never progress further... and not by their own fault!

[@jamesjewell7247]

@@PianistAcademy1 That’s definitely concerning when you consider poor technique can lead to injury. The plateau I talked about above is pain I intermittently get on the underside of my right wrist after playing which can sometimes prevent me from playing for a week or so thereafter, so case in point! I should have attempted to learn virtuosic technique before trying to play virtuosic pieces! Really appreciate your insightful replies.

[@PianistAcademy1]

@@jamesjewell7247 That type of pain is very concerning, especially seeing the duration it keeps you away. It is ever accompanied by numbness or tingling? Have you ever gone to a doctor about it?

[@christopherzimmer]

Charles- hi! Wow wow wow! Thank you so so so much for this phenomenal video! I got the new Hanon-Faber edition because I wanted to make sure I was incorporating the “new age” of technique/biomechanical approaches- and Randall Faber deserves all the credit in the world. However even with the QR-linked video snippets, I just found myself losing interest. The magic of your video is that you explain the “why” *and* you show the “how” in three dimensional space- and then you actually take the time to play in the different tempos so we can “graduate” with you! You really are making a difference! And BTW your answer to “Ser” below was very insightful! 😊

[@PianistAcademy1]

Thank you so much, Christopher! It's comments like yours here that really keep me going in creating more content like this. I really, really, REALLY appreciate hearing this from you.

[@christopherzimmer]

@@PianistAcademy1 You are truly very welcome! I have set an aspirational goal for myself of learning your arrangement of “Bring Him Home” before the end of the year. 🫣 I really can’t emphasize enough how recording the different tempos (tempi) is truly a gift to students. I know it’s time consuming for you. But just to reassure you of it’s impact: it was a video in which another content provider recorded the first movement of the Pathétique sonata at four tempos (probably about 10 yrs old but I just saw it last year) that catalyzed my re-interest in piano. I think there is something very very very motivating to students to see that the pros use this technique and “this is how to do it”. …because it can seem so tedious to go through this discipline. But having someone lead you (hold your hand) and graduate you through the speeds makes all the difference. Obviously it’s not practical for everything but as a teaching resource I think it’s invaluable. 😊

[@PianistAcademy1]

@@christopherzimmer As you work on Bring Him Home, I hope you'll consider sending in a video clip of your practice or a performance of it to be on one of my livestream Masterclasses! I'd love an opportunity to give you some direct feedback on how things are going, and I think it would also be fun for others to hear the arrangement as well :-)

[@jowr2000]

In Taubman technique, the “under shape”. Edna Golandsky pointed out that the “shaping” is not initiated by the wrist. Any movement at the wrist is the result of the arm getting a little higher or lower. I must’ve been flopping around the keyboard! 😆😆 Maybe after the Hanon-Faber series you could post a vid where you analyze some passages showing how the under and over shapes as well as the in and outs apply. Looking forward to the next vid. 👍

[@PianistAcademy1]

Jose, thanks again for the super thanks and for the wonderful comment! You are going to be an invaluable resource in the comments section on this channel because of your close work with Ms. Golandsky! I will ALWAYS appreciate hearing about your interactions with her. My primary pre-college teacher taught me Taubman technique, but even he didn't have the first-hand experience you have. Very true that the motion of the wrist circle actually begins in the elbow and with lateral movement from the shoulder. I love the idea about looking through some repertoire for sections where these motions are very obviously applicable!

[@bonjovi1612]

Can’t thank you enough for these videos. 👍

[@PianistAcademy1]

Thanks for watching! It’s great to hear that they are helpful!!

[@Prengle]

After dredging through countless videos on the subject of wrist motion, FINALLY, I have found one that's actually good. No, great! Hell, I'm not even using this book (though I think I will now) and this was perfectly clear and more than followable. Thank you!

[@PianistAcademy1]

My pleasure, Daniela! I'm glad this helped you!

[@carlfromvienna]

Thanks for sharing this!

[@PianistAcademy1]

Carl, thanks so much for the Super! I'm glad this is helpful for you and I hope you also find the other videos in this series when you're ready to tackle the next pages!

[@CaptainCaveman782]

Thanks. Great video. I'm just slighty confused on one aspect. Where exactly is the lowest point of wrist? Is it after you drop (or fall as you mention) on the thumb and 2-5 start to rise as you follow through? The arro

[@PianistAcademy1]

Great question, Johnny! I feel the lowest point of the wrist as during the transition from the 2nd finger to the 3rd finger. So we "fall" in, but leave some vertical movement left to happen as we play the 2nd finger. Then after the 2nd finger is played, the movement begins to form the other/upward half of the lower semi-circle. I hope that helps!

[@CaptainCaveman782]

@@PianistAcademy1 many thanks! I initially thought the arrow shown in the book was a geometrical representational path of the wrist movement. Perhaps a if it was rotated anticlockwise 30 / 40 degs or so it might be closer to it (although I note the lateral movement)

[@PianistAcademy1]

@@CaptainCaveman782 Yeah, I agree. I would've liked to see the curved arrow follow the end of the downward arrow a bit... so we still have a straight drop, but then we could graphically see the motion continues down for a short time, rather than what it looks like (which is down, up, down, up LOL!)

[@JonComyn]

Alright, I found the new swish and flick. 😅 "Fall and swoop"

[@PianistAcademy1]

Love it!

[@giovannipepe5945]

Merci !

[@747Aerophilia]

Thank you for the videos! When I play the swoop with my left hand, I notice that my pinky (5. finger) lifts up, like it is preparing to hammer down with full force, just before my 4. finger is playing. This also happens with my right pinky, but it is much less dramatic. Is this ok, or should I try to fix that somehow?

[@PianistAcademy1]

We should always be trying to use the fingers from a point of relaxation in the finger and tendon controlling it. A lift of 5 is very common in a lot of pianists hands, but you’re right in that we should be working to learn to relax it: Lifting 5 also puts strain on 4. The 4th and 5th fingers share a single tendon in the forearm so if you flex with one (4) and lift with 5, you’re actually using a single tendon in opposing directions which causes tension in both which will produce weaker strikes than what the mechanism is capable of and potentially cause tendon issues with a lot of use. I advocate for learning how to play directly down, starting with all fingers resting on the key surface. Only the finger that plays is allowed to move. All other fingers stay relaxed and at rest on the key surface. This usually needs to begin very slowly and softly, but eventually works its way into our entire technique, making us far more efficient players!

[@serwoolsley]

thanks for all the effort you put into the videos, they are always a great help, watching the video slowed i noticed that while you play a note, the other fingers are not resting on the keyboard but they are in the air, as someone who has struggled with not lifting the fingers while playing, i often worry that if i'm playing and my other fingers are not resting on the keyboard that is a technique mistake, but here it seems it's okay to do it, of course it's very little but still present, how do i know when it's okay and when it's a mistake?

[@PianistAcademy1]

Thanks for watching and the comment, Ser! There's another commenter who is regular on here, aBachwardsfellow, who is a big proponent of the "close touch" technique and I believe he usually cites Leschetizsky as the pedagogue that developed this. "Close touch" in this sense means allowing all fingers to always be in contact with the keys, while only the finger intended to play will get activated. I do see value in the idea and sometimes may prescribe practice in this sense if I have a student with too much tension and holding in the forearm (which translates into fingers held too high or too flat). I don't see the approach as helpful from getting from intermediate playing to advanced and virtuosic playing because, in my experience, the body doesn't work or coordinate the same way at high speeds and at high dynamics. The final product that you observe in my own technique is a combination of a couple different schools of thought that I have arrived at that works well for my own body. To try and answer your question as best I can: Lifting of the finger is very often a sign of increased tension in the forearm which is working the mechanism against itself. The degree of the lift and the time the lift occurs are important to consider. In my opinion, fingers that lift the middle knuckle higher than the largest knuckle are going to be an issue. Less of a lift, especially if released appropriately, is ok AND, I was taught by Serge Babayan, can actually help articulation and is a part of the "activation" of the finger itself. To demonstrate on your own hand, try to lift your second finger just a centimeter off the key, with the proper and natural curl of the finger. Then try to lift the finger by the tip of the finger, extending it straight, to the height of your large knuckle. The latter introduces FAR more tension than the former and greatly inhibits playing, while the former can allow for 2x or 3x the dynamic than just a downward keypress will allow. It's a delicate balance. The cue that there's too much lift happening is that burning sensation in the forearm. That same sensation will also be caused by fingers that are constantly being held too high or too tightly curled. Another aspect of my own technique which makes the distance of the finger to the key appear even larger, is that I'm always incorporating rotation into my playing. When the 5th finger plays, the hand is rotated toward it, which automatically creates a larger distance from 1 and 2 to the keyboard than prior. I'd encourage you to shoot a vid to submit for one of our live Q&A sessions. I'd be able to much more accurately help you out if I could see exactly where the lift is happening, for how long, and how it's being released.

[@serwoolsley]

@@PianistAcademy1 charles you always write these complete aswers thank you so much for your time, When i started playing i used to have this problem and apart from the depressed finger, the other ones were very high, and yes it gave me that burning sensation in the forearm, my teacher corrected me with some technique exercises in order to try and never lift the other fingers but not right at the beginning so let's say i had to restart from zero, now i have ptsd about that lmao so i'm always worried that it could be too much elevation, if i have time i'll try to send a video so you can see if it's still an issue or not.

[@PianistAcademy1]

@@serwoolsley Great! I got your email and will look forward to watching what you sent over!

[@Vasioth]

Just had a quick wee question, when you're starting this impulse from the wrist/elbow and in and out movement from the shoulders (if I'm wrong about that description let me know) are you actively striking the keys with the fingers from the knuckle joint or at speed is the weight of the arm assisting in the depression of the keys rather than actively striking the keys? I know the 5th finger gets this treatment due to the high arching position of the wrist, but I just wanted to confirm if this happens also for every other finger or if using arm weight is OK for the other fingers? My last question was how are you striking with the thumb? Does the thumb basically stay neutral as the arm assists or are you using a slight vertical impulse from the knuckle? Thanks.

[@PianistAcademy1]

Great questions, Vasioth! Yes, we should always be keeping 'active' fingers and continuing to strike from the large knuckle down. Once in a while I get a student that simply can't find how to use arm weight and/or larger parts of the mechanism, so I start them with a few weeks of purely arm weight transfer exercises. However, in truth, arm weight transfer alone will barely activate a note. If you are incorporating these gestures with a technique that isn't too "bound up" and tense, then yes, continue to have active fingers. Think of words like spark, energy, attack, active, alive, when thinking about what the fingers should be doing. They work in tandem with the weight of the arm to provide the most natural and 'easy' method of playing a note. The thumb is another great question. Yes, there is an activation from a slight vertical impulse at the main thumb knuckle. I also incorporate a very slight bit of rotation from the elbow that helps to throw the thumb into the key. Rotation is something that this book covers a bit further on, but just like these gestures, once built into your technique it will become a part of things without your even being aware of it.