How to Play the Piano WITHOUT Looking Down: Try these Tips! 🎹☺️

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Watch next: Deep dive into playing the piano without looking down: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r2S0iJVmdtqffdU

[@andreasmaier5361]

I am a 66 year old beginner. Playing the piano since about 3 years. Playing without looking down is similar to my typewriter lessons I had 50 years ago. My teacher that time told us: do not look down while typing the letters. I suppose this is comparable to piano playing not looking down. BUT learning the typewriter is more easy than learning the piano :-) Best regards from Germany!

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Agreed that there are real similarities between touch typing and playing the piano. If you get really good at one it can positively affect the other! All the best!

[@libertycowboy2495]

Same here...but best regards from Texas 😊

[@evergreen7213]

English is my second language, so I like to point out out the grammatical error that I had to learn to correct. The correct way is either “ much easier “ or “ is easier “. It’s not more easier “. It’s because the word easy has two syllables not three syllables such as “ beautiful “. Our commonly shared interest is we love playing piano and thus we watched the same episode here”

[@theUrbanJoe]

I like your “can do” approach to teaching music/piano. Thinking of it as a practical, doable, learnable skill helps to make it far less daunting. Taking the time to map each octave from the center from memory is excellent practice! Very akin to learning fingering on any other instrument. So practical & helpful.

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Thank you!!

[@ritalipa6306]

Excellent not many teachers would not discuss this. You sre amazing

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Thanks so much - glad you found it helpful!

[@andrewshehtanian7336]

I taught myself to touch type when I was 11 years old. It was slow, painful, and full of mistakes at first. Perseverance and practice really paid off, and now I don't need to think about it! Back to square one but for the piano!

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Great story! Thanks for sharing! You got this!

[@anaislas1163]

Thank you so much! I always have problems when I sit; and the anxiety doesn't help. I need to stop looking down. Great tips!

[@ajotech]

Like touch typing, love that, so true.

[@hippophile]

Here's two extra things I learned from not looking down so much (in Rachmaninov's prelude Op23#6 where there are quite a few jumps and strange hand positions for chords). 1) Even if you end up looking at the jump later for more security, practising without looking sometimes means the hand goes to at least ALMOST the right position before you look, and you only need a glance to check it is exactly right. Later you probably won't need to look at all! (e.g. RH at beginning of bar 14 in the Rach). 2) When changing the hand shape in a blind jump, working out which finger(s) to focus on in the jump helps. End of bar 13 in the right hand in the Rach, I was missing a very short jump when I was thinking of the bottom and top notes. Those notes go up a minor third, but because of the wrist twist the hand really only go up about one. But the middle finger goes up a semitone as expected. So focusing on that finger in the jump makes it easy.

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Great tips! I love reading the insights you are gaining from practicing not looking down. Keep it up! 🥳

[@godspianist]

❤❤❤❤❤ Thanks so much for this tips I also play the Organ and I'm sure this helps with pedaling activities without looking at my feet

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

You're very welcome! It could definitely apply to organ as well! Best of luck! 👏🏻

[@BandClarinet3]

I have the opposite problem. I would say I am a low intermediate player who can read piano music well and who has a piano teacher, I generally don't look down at my hands when I am learning something relatively new, however when I selected my 3 min piano recital piece, I practiced it daily for almost 2 months to get all the parts to the point I memorized it. At that point I stopped reading the music and started solely looking at my hands. though I still make occasional mistakes when practicing. I can play the piece with my eyes closed and still make occasional mistakes. I'm aiming for 99% perfection and confident enough to play at the recital (which didn't go as well as expected since I played it from memory even with the music infront of me) I think I need to get back to actually reading the music, which I'm out of the habit of reading the music since the song is so familiar now. Any advice or insight that I might be missing for someone who has memorized the music and no longer reads the music in front of them? I've seen both of your looking at hands videos. Though I should mention I begin to zone out or have other thoughts when I practice /performing.

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Thanks for your comment! It's totally fine to look at your hands once the music is learned and memorized - this video is more for people who are learning the music and need to look back and forth between the music and their hands to find the notes. It sounds like you can navigate the keyboard by feel. Good work! Even after the music is learned, it's always a good idea to go back and look at the score, to double check that you're following the composer's markings (articulations, dynamics, phrasing, etc). If you have a difficult time looking at the score once the music is memorized, I suggest reading the score away from the keyboard once a day as your performance approaches, and try to hear the music in your head. This type of mental practice is a good way to prepare for performances. Good luck!

[@noowayist]

I was about to post a similar comment. I'm usually able to memorize music pretty quickly, which allows me to look down at the keys as much as I need to. But I guess I can try to flip it and memorize the key spaces so that I can look at the music. It doesn't hurt to develop a new skill!

[@user-mr3tt6vd3e]

Hi , I've been playing on and off for many many years and have never really achieved a good standard despite having three different teachers over the years. None of them EVER taught me to play without looking down in other words touch playing. It was a nightmare keeping losing where I was on the music. Since watching your channel I've made great progress especially with regards to not looking down I'm really strict with this as for me this is definitely the way forward and I get so much more pleasure from playing now..as I feel so much more confident thank you so much for the brilliant tutorials... Mike

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Thank you so much for your comment! It is very gratifying to hear that these tutorials have been helpful to you, and I'm so happy to hear that you're progressing at developing your touch playing - it can really be a game changer! Best of luck in your continued development, enjoyment, and progress at the piano! 😊🎹

[@stephenvinson6474]

I studied with someone once who'd done many workshops with Guy Maier and studied with him. She developed a system for teaching piano...Piano Pedagogy...at the University of Texas in the 1940's. She allowed me to audit one of her level entry courses in which she gave us an overview of her approach. It was her last year before her retirement. Her name was Prof. Verna Harder. She gave us a title of a small book of many question and answers by Guy Maier who was on the staff at the Etude Magazine from the late 1930's thru 1940's His wife, Lois Maier, published it after his death. In it he addresses the issue of playing without looking at your hands. He called one of his approaches...,"blind flying"....this is discussed in the book.. "A Piano Teacher's Companion" I thought you might like to look at it sometime. I enjoyed his sense of humor in his writing. Ms Harder delighted in teaching anyone ..any age.,who truly wanted to study piano....one of her students was 95 years old. Funny Mr Maier did a similar thing that you did to cover the pupil's hands...

[@leonwhitesell4849]

Ms. Harder was a close friend of one of my friends who had also taken many workshops with Guy Maier. I also played in one of Dr. Maier’s workshops in Bristol VA at the Intermont College. I am 85 years young and still follow his advice and concepts. That book you mentioned is The Piano Teacher’s Companion, published by Belwin Mills ( when I bought it years ago)_Maier was an inspired dynamo!

[@stephenvinson6474]

@@leonwhitesell4849 Thank you for remembering and writing your reply. I am 75 years young now:) I appreciate Dr. Boyd's work and try to follow her here on KZbin. I'm not sure how many musician-pianists know of Guy Maier's work these days. Sad to say the two technique books he wrote with Herbert Bradshaw, "Thinking Fingers" are not in print anymore. I refer to them daily, I know of no other Octave exercises that do as much quickly as the ones in book one. When you look at Kullak's book on octaves you can see how Guy Maier used some of those as a basis. Maier's personality is alive and kicking in The Piano Teacher's Companion.

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Thank you for the recommendation and for sharing your experiences! She was definitely a remarkable pedagogue who influenced many. It's affirming to hear she also encouraged her students to not look down by using similar methods! 😊

[@SH_mss9]

Just yesterday I discovered your channel. Thank you so much for your wonderful free information.

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Yay! Welcome! I'm glad you're here! 😄

[@helen4384]

So helpful, thank you! I'm 50 years after my last piano lesson, starting to try to recoup the expertise of years of early playing. But now I have more motivation and less time (before it's too late)! I realized that I need better strategies than previous following teacher's instructions. These videos are a treasure. If I can again play the easier Chopin waltzes with some amount of ease, I will have achieved a major objective. This technique will make a difference.

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Wonderful! Thanks for your comment - good luck!

[@FrankBozak]

Music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Most of my adult life was spent as a US Navy musician. Sax and flute were my main instruments. I graduated with honors from Berklee with a degree in film scoring. Musician's Dystonia ended my career. Over the last few months I have been having some success overcoming the dystonia on the piano. Your videos have been extremely helpful. Dystonia more often appears in players who are more kinesthetic in their approach to performing. Being one who used the musical energy around me to improvise and perform, my ears were the last to develop. I have been using the no look approach by ear and not feel. I play one note and hear the nest before I play it, then with out looking I play the note that I am hearing, nIt is getting easier. Your video on fingering tips has helped me as well.As a sixty six year old with musical knowledge trying to make the jump from using the piano as a tool, to using it as my main instrument, the old reliable John Thompson books were a turn off at first. I go between some of the Thompson books, the first two volumes of the microcosmos books, some Berklee methods and a recently discovered that Oscar Peterson published a book for young pianists.

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Thank you for sharing your experiences and your perspective! I'm glad that, despite your challenges and hardships, you've still been able to experience piano as a source of joy, learning how to adapt and overcome these challenges and still remain disciplined and dedicated to piano. Bravo! 👏🏻

[@jean-xavierbardant1082]

This has always been a problem to me. I can (more or less) memorize and play moderately complex pieces but I can't sight-read efficiently. The worst thing is that if I memorized something wrong I play the mistake over and over without ever seeing the mistake since I don't read the score. For the last two years I did a lot of technical exercices, especially arpeggios and left hand chords, stride-style. It does help but it really takes time.

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

That is understandable, thank you for sharing! It sounds like you've found some helpful habits that are working for you! It really does take time, and I hope you can have patience for yourself in the process! Here are a couple videos that might be useful to you: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r2S0iJVmdtqffdU kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqi7hIiwYpqBras kzbin.info/www/bejne/npKmoYSsgpt1m8k kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5-tlGehn7Bga7c

[@lizweekes8076]

Thanks Kate 🎉

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

You’re welcome!! 😊

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

You’re welcome 😊

[@anttt7993]

I wonder how much of "not looking" is related to total spacial/proprioceptive awareness of the keys vs. relative awareness of the keys. The indicator would be the ability to sit (at a consistent spot) and find any note without a reference note. Can you provide some insight into this? Are you able to sit down without a reference position (besides your body seated in front of the same key) and find any chord, no matter how high or low?

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

I think there is a mixture of both - personally I find notes up and down the keyboard related to where I sit at the piano (in the center) but there is also the kinesthetic awareness of the geography of the keyboard (i.e., the pattern of the keys). If I sit in front of the middle of the keyboard with my hands in my lap and then, with eyes closed, raise my right hand to the keyboard to find, say, a B Major triad in 1st inversion 2 octaves above middle C, I move the hand to the correct general area of the keyboard and I "see" the shape of the chord in my head. I know what the chord will feel like in my hand, and then use my fingers to find the exact keys that create shape of the chord, by using the black keys as reference points. But there isn't really the need to play that way - we certainly can use our eyes to get oriented on the keys and then feel the patterns of notes on the keyboard and use them as reference points. When you have a very large leap, you can glance down to make sure you go to the right place. What this video addresses is the habit many pianists develop, when playing the piano, of looking at their music and then constantly looking down at the keyboard to check their hand, resulting in looking up and down - back and forth between the hands and the music.

[@charlesrose7212]

Great ideas. Thanks! 😊

[@hippophile]

Just thought I'd say, after watching this, even though I learn pieces off by heart I DO look down a bit less in new pieces. In fact I found that I could play some fioriture in Chopin better (well I think so) with my eyes closed, something I never would have done before! So, thanks!

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Wonderful!

[@michaelezekiel3506]

Thanks for your excellent explanation in all matters of playing the piano. It helps me in so many ways.

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

You're very welcome!

[@allanmcleod9104]

I’ve used a barber’ apron to cover my keyboard, I tie it around my neck and fold the apron and place it in the fallboard as I close it. It covers the whole keyboard and it makes me totally dependent on feeling my way around. It gets a little warm under the apron, but I use it to warm up anyway.

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

This is a great idea!! Would also work with a cooking apron, I bet! 👩‍🍳

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

@zur13l13 Wow - that's cool! I just looked them up and it looks like that could work great. Thanks for sharing!

[@RolandHuettmann]

For me it is the other way around. I always focused on the scores and rarely looked down. I had to learn looking down. But the best is, as you tell us, to close the eyes and consciously be playing with a sense of space, musical expression, score and envisioning the next passage to be played. I do that.

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Great!!

[@user-gp4hq7bi3k]

As usual very thorough tips. Thank you very much.

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Thanks for your comment! Glad to help!

[@kiralighto2573]

pls video to how to read sheet music efficiently and what skills are needed to read fluently . Great content as always Prof

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Thanks for your suggestion! I am planning on creating a video about sightreading that will address some of that. There is an called Note Quest that is a note-reading app that also has progressive sight reading exercises - you might want to check it out!

[@TheTmackey]

Dear Prof: just an awesome lesson and I'm so grateful that you continue to beat this drum. I've been using the tips from your last one and am improving. I've often wondered about middle c! Should we center on our belly button? Just wondering: do your college students have issues with looking down? Thank you so much!

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Tom, so glad to hear you're improving at this! Yes, some of my college students have issues with looking down a lot. Yes, center around your belly button. (Or nose!) Happy practicing!

[@humorherald]

Oh, the frustration of searching for a video of "How to Play the Piano WITHOUT looking Down" only to get to videos that spend time telling me why it's a good idea. I know it's a good idea. That's why I'm looking!!!

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Time stamps are in the description. Start at 3:26

[@rogerborras607]

Incredible info. Thank you.

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Glad it was helpful!

[@hippophile]

I tried this not looking at my hands to try it out with, first of all, the Moonlight Sonata 1st movement (mostly pretty easy, probably a good one to start with) then the prelude from Bach's first Partita which I also know by heart (I haven't tried it with the Gigue though!!). Two things I learned: 1) even octave jumps and (with helpful fingering) 9ths and 10ths seem to be intuitively correct, at least in pieces I know, which surprised me. But bigger jumps I just don't do each one often enough I guess - 11ths and 12ths I just miss - in fact I am not even sure what the jump is sometimes! 2) Some of the small jumps I got wrong were exactly the places tyhat occasionally trip me up when I am playing it. There is a lesson in that somewhere, though I haven't figured it out yet... I'd like to ask, though: can you really play something like Chopin's A flat major prelude (#17) without looking at your hands at all?! That ff passage from bar 35 or the A flat "castle bells" at the end?

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Thanks for your comment! Fascinating to hear what you learned by experimenting! In answer to your question about the Chopin, I do look when there are big jumps. One purpose of developing the ability to not look down is to be able to look at a point of your choosing (for example, the bass notes) and have your hands be okay in the upper registers (or wherever you're not looking) without having to visually monitor them.

[@hippophile]

@@ThePianoProfKateBoyd Yes. To an extent I must have been doing that a bit already or I couldn't play (for example) the Chopin. I think I figured out the lesson from my weak bits of Bach being in the same place as errors when I wasn't looking down: I was relying on VISUAL clues (patterns): so probably I was sometimes putting my eyes in the wrong place and stumbling (e.g. when concentrating on the musicality). Now I can try learning the section by feel/ear, bypassing the eyes, and we'll see if that sorts it! :-) Being entirely self-taught, I have learned to work most things out for myself, but these online tips are really useful for improving the mechanics and filling in some gaps! Thanks a lot!! Oh, and I am also beginning to see another reason why playing Bach is so good for you! (I am am sure you can work out the relevance to the topic!)

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

@@hippophile I hope this has been working for you! I agree: Bach is SO helpful for improving finger and hand independence, and also for improving the ability to feel the topography of the keyboard.

[@hippophile]

@@ThePianoProfKateBoyd Pieces I already know by heart I can play some bits without looking, but I feel I need to concentrate on the "feel" a lot instead of the hand or keyboard cues, at least for now, so I don't yet get to concentrate a lot more on the music. But it is nice to be free of staring down! On the other hand, new pieces may be benefiting: I learned Chopin prelude #21 in B flat in the last month, and there is one passage (bars 33-38 if you are interested) where I really feel good about feeling the jumps in the right hand, so I don't have to worry about looking at both hands alternately; it would make faster play easier too...

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

​@@hippophile Glad to hear about your progress! I agree that it's often easier to establish new habits on new pieces than to practice them into old pieces, due to the enduring power of muscle memory.

[@jcappo152]

I am 60 and my piano teacher when I was about 8 put a board above the keys of her piano to prevent me from looking at the keys. When I took typing in HS the keys were blacked out.

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Sounds like you've been trained well! 😊

[@yobabybubba]

Very helpful. Thank you.

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Besura_moto]

Super useful video. Respect from Bharat. ❤

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Glad to hear it. Thanks for your comment!!

[@bunguini]

Hi Prof I'm self taught and have many bad habits, only just learning about correct technique! What's your opinion on looking down to check and correct hand shape/movement? Thanks

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Thanks for watching! Glad my videos are helping you in your technique! Looking down to check hand shape and movement is fine; the habit to avoid is looking back and forth between music and your hands to find the notes, rather than teaching your fingers to feel the keys. Instead of looking down at your hands to check hand shape, consider using a mirror or using your phone to record a few seconds of you playing for feedback. A good teacher can help you progress by giving you direct feedback. Have you looked for a teacher where you live locally? Even having a lesson once a month can help. Good luck, and happy practicing! 🎹

[@alexgoriatchenkov]

Thank you Kate for recommendations. Today will starting to (at. least) try this tips. Promise. Marry Christmas. 11:13 How come you watching keys Here ? Where's board Teacher?

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

😂 I'm looking down there b/c chromatic scale fingering in contrary motion (especially at the extremes of the keyboard) is something I rarely do, and I needed to look at my hands to avoid making mistakes. One point of clarification: the purpose of learning to play without looking down is not so that you never look at your hands; it's to learn how to read your music without looking back and forth at your hands. Good luck with your practicing, and thanks for your good wishes!! Merry Christmas to you, too! 🎄

[@nstrisower]

these videos are criminally underrated. i get so much out of them, i can't thank you enough for these!

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Awww, thanks! Glad you are getting so much out of them. Be sure to share with others! 😊🙏🎹🎉

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

PS are there any topics you’d specifically like to see me cover?

[@bernardmolan2976]

I have one more tip: Be brave. Because in a way, literary it is kind of scary.

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

It definitely can be scary at first! But I hope you can have grace for yourself along the way! You can do it! 😊👏🏻

[@Frank-in-NY]

Hey Professor...Appreciate the tip on not looking down. Logical, I like that. I'll have to check out your other videos. I just purchased a new Digital Piano, that I initially thought the Key Action was a bit lighter than what I've been playing for the last 20 years. I'm finding just the opposite, so I have to build strength. I'm also having issues with my fingers sliding on the black keys, like my attack is off. Weird and frustrating. Thanks again, every bit helps!

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Good luck with the new keyboard! 🎹

[@manuelalfredoacosta4200]

Very good

[@humorherald]

Some of the tips conflict with others I've been given about practicing...for instance, practicing slowly enough that you're not making errors. Practice makes permanent is conflicting with "Use your ears, you'll hear the wrong note, correct it after you hear it." Overall, thanks for the tips.

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Yes, I can understand your point. It seems that this advice contradicts itself. Here's my take: Yes, slow practice is essential and you don't want to "practice in" wrong notes as you're playing a piece. Avoid sloppy practice and make sure you are playing slowly enough to process what you are playing and learn efficiently. However, don't become so overly cautious of EVER making a mistake that you only play slowly and recoil at every mistake. I find that it's helpful to think of a mistake as useful feedback - if you make a mistake and pay attention to the reason the mistake happened, you can make a modification to address it. My rule of thumb is that if I make a mistake more than once, I need to go slower or simplify in another way by isolating the spot or looking at one hand at a time. The book "The Perfect Wrong Note" gets at this idea beautifully. Here's my summary and overview of the book - hope this helps you as you continue to think about this idea: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bGfPq6uiYpyMrLc

[@humorherald]

@@ThePianoProfKateBoyd Thank you. This clarifies it for me!

[@ROBERT-ml7ml]

There is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING wrong with looking down at the keyboard. Some of the best VIRTUOSO PIANISTS in the world look down. Ling ling, Khatja, valentina, vladamir h., list goes on!

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

I completely agree - nothing wrong with looking down at your hands. This video is for people constantly look back and forth between the music and their hands because they can't feel their place on the keyboard, to help them be able to read music without having to look at their hands all the time.

[@mphomatlou3923]

Thank you. New subscriber here.

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Welcome aboard! I hope you find helpful tips here. Happy practicing! 🎹

[@Customsoftwarebyprestoninc]

Are you always supposed to sit at the center of the piano regardless of the song you are playing?

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Yes - I recommend sitting at the center of the piano and leaning to the right or the left as you play higher or lower.

[@dagmarintreble]

I prefer to sit in front of d, because then everything is symmetrical.

[@Eminemhimself]

hrearing piano from dark room is scary 😂

[@WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot9]

It starts at 3:26

[@odjobnibblelob3650]

When you went up and down chromatically you were looking at the keyboard constantly 😊

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

😂 😂Thanks for pointing that out. That's why I practice every day, just like you! 🎹🥳

[@keith4230]

The typewriter analogy isn’t that pertinent since you don’t shift hands around on a typewriter, and you use the same finger for a particular letter every time. I’ve been using the Paul Harris sight reading book 1 and I don’t know how you can sight read if you don’t know where the keys are. I’ve augmented that with trying to find notes without looking. This will take time.

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Thanks for your observation! It's true that the hands move around the piano whereas they are more still over a typewriter keyboard, but one similarity is that the hands move from one position to the next. Multiple notes are played from one hand position before moving to the next hand position. So, when you are learning to sight read, at first the exercises will be in a single hand position where you won't be required to move your hand (for example, using blocked chords and 5-finger patterns), and then gradually you'll start to be able to shift to new hand positions. Learning to feel what hand position you're in and shift from one hand position to another without having to look down at your hands to find the new position is invaluable to increasing sight reading facility. Good luck!