SPEED Is The Great Neutralizer! REFRAIN From These Common Pitfalls

[@joshwrightpiano]

If every student applied this advice, I KNOW that efficiency and the rate of improvement would increase. I've seen my students (and my younger self!) fall into this trap so many times, and when you avoid it, you'll improve much more quickly. I hope you all have a great week of practicing!

[@Peter-tz6rx]

Fantastic information. I definitely fall into the camp of impatience and wanting to accelerate before the necessary 7 levels are established. And, this lesson appears to apply to many (all?) other disciplines/pursuits too.

[@MusicOnlineUK]

Excellent video Josh, I always get my students to get ALL the details at a slow speed first. Your analogy of the clay relates to my theory that muscle memory is developed slowly. If you learn a piece too fast without the details, the muscle memory is already set WITHOUT those details. Then, if at speed you try to change an articulation or fingering, it completely throws your "muscle memory" off

[@MrVatov]

For beginners: 1st: Notes, Rhythm, Pedal, Articulation (accents, staccatos, slurs) 2nd: Voicing (bringing your melody over the accompaniment), Dynamics (shaping, phrasing), Rubato (pushing and pulling of time) 3rd: Tempo (up gradually once all of the above are in place)

[@PeterHontaru]

I clicked on this video so fast it did not even had a chance to fully upload! The checklist was so useful that I’ve written it on a post it note at the time and placed it on the wall on front of my piano. Thank you for this video as well - very useful addition to the checklist!

[@shortfingerpianist6175]

Same here. Watching the video I thought "that's a shame I don't have a board in front of piano to put this 7 steps on it" :) Very usefull piece of advice. When one tries to play fast from the beginning, it is very tempting to slide over some difficult places because in the fast tempo they doesn't seem to stand out that much.

[@joshwrightpiano]

Glad you both enjoyed it! Have a great week!!

[@fansofst.maximustheconfess8226]

Yes, indeed!

[@Stemma3]

"La velocidad viene sola" (Speed appears by itself) is what my teacher says. Damn, he is right.

[@dudeonthepiano9762]

This is so true!!! When I began my journey towards learning the Piano I was psychotic about being able to play something, anything decently and I rushed getting the pieces up to tempo and paid the price dearly. What brought me back to reality is that I had to endure a 'Walk-of-Shame' off stage at a Piano Recital that students were participating in. Not only was I ill prepared for performing the Beginner piece, I totally convinced myself that I was ready to play it because I could play it in the comfort of my home. Needless to say, the 3 minutes I spent onstage attempting to get past the first two measures felt like an eternity. It was one of the most difficult, but humbling lessons I learned in my journey so far. Now I get a great deal of satisfaction playing very slowly and mastering the dynamics and touch. It's amazing what you hear when you slow it down and focus on the details. It really brings the music to life and it makes it so much easier to play it at the correct tempo (or even your own twist of the tempo) once the piece is perfected at a very slow tempo. Thanks Josh!!!

[@thijs1081]

Thx for the tips josh!! I always speed up my tempo way to early.. I should be more patient 👌🏻

[@joshwrightpiano]

Lkkr Nootje haha it’s tempting for us all!!

[@johnschlesinger2009]

Absolutely right. With articulation one has to be careful: what is possible at a slow tempo might be impossible if the eventual tempo is a great deal faster. Two memories come to mind: a friend of Rachmaninoff was listening to the Master working, and it took him a while to work out what was being played. He realised that it was Chopin's Op 25/6 (the thirds), but was being pkayed at one sixteenth note per second! The other is that Cherkassky said that he practiced four hours a day, pianissimo, at half speed, by the clock: if he missed ten minutes one day, he would work four hours ten minutes the next. It sure worked for him!!

[@volen5868]

I’m loving all of these uploads recently

[@joshwrightpiano]

Volen Ivanov Thanks Volen! Have a nice day my friend

[@tammyj2858]

I have watched many videos over the years from you.....This is by far the best one for putting a piece of music together from beginning to end.

[@bach-ingmadeline7410]

Josh this has to be one of the most valuable and encouraging tutorials of yours I have ever seen. I love that you got so much value across in just seven minutes where some people on YT take up 30 minutes of MY time (if I let them) with waffle. I never thought of it this way before. And that really slow is absolutely ok for as long as it takes, Thank you so much. God bless and have a wonderful week.

[@margaretmccullough7282]

Josh, I listen and relisten to your videos and find them to be like a Harry Potter book - I get more out of them each time! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and talent. I am trying to unlearn my habit of playing mechanically and find your advice extremely helpful. Thank you!!!

[@cyba9774]

Advice from Franz Liszt how to tackle a new piece: "Liszt's lessons usually lasted two hours; frequently, to illustrate his explanations more clearly, he read some passage from a favorite author, pointing out the connection between music and literature. He outlined a method of tackling a new piece, recommending a student to read it through slowly about five times: the first and second times for accuracy of notes and rhythmic values; the third time paying attention to the dynamics, indicated or implied, as well as details of articulation, accentuation, and the like (he wanted the bass and treble studied separately, seeking how to nuance each); the fourth time looking for points of imitation or hidden themes in the inner parts; the fifth time deciding on the correct speed, and planning accelerandos and ritardandos where suitable. He did not require every piece to be finished to perfection as long as the mood was understood, and he encouraged his students to read a lot of music and broaden their experience." It's from an excerpt from Hilda Gervers' book "Liszt as a pedagogue". It can be found on Lisztomania with 8 pages - the quote I mentioned is on page 3. Thought I'd post that here and there because I remembered that at some time, wrote it down, knew that'd come from Liszt and improved drastically in my sightreading, but I didn't find the passage again until now. It pretty much lines up with the things you also mentioned. Thanks for the great videos, Josh - they really help a lot.

[@SerenityMusicStudio]

Wonderful video! The two words I say to my students most of all: “Slow Practice!”

[@philtanics1082]

There is a lot of truth too this and it is very good advice. Ive always been a metronome Nazi and there are plenty of pieces I went and learned all the up to tempo with a metronome just to have problems with the phrasing and articulation I wanted out of it trying to get it performance ready. Making these changes afterwards has taken far longer than it should have if I just had learned it the way I wanted it to sound in the first place.

[@kevinn6996]

This is awesome! I'm learning maple leaf rag and I'm playing with a metronome at 75 and figure once the piece is in my hands FIRST then I'll add articulation. Now I realize it's the last thing I should be working on. Thanks Dr. Wright!

[@janeladney]

I really really enjoy your videos Josh! The sculpting Clay analogy is particularly useful. your unscripted style is really fun to listen to. Particularly because my boys are gone now so I finally have time to re-learn piano. I really enjoy your pro practice lesson on Chopin nocturne Op. 9 #2

[@pejmanaflaki3869]

Josh, this is one of your best videos! Thank you

[@Puttecleo]

I just started on Chopin's Ballade 1. I am looking forward to applying your advice on this wonderful piece. Thank you for your generosity. God bless you

[@joshwrightpiano]

Puttecleo my favorite piece of all time :)

[@TheSunshinedreamer1]

Congratulations! May I ask, what pieces/technique studies are prerequisites to this one?

[@Puttecleo]

Karen Loader Dear Karen. I would definitely recommend looking at Chopin's other pieces:1. Raindrop prelude, 2. nocturne in c#m post.hum, 3. practice chromatic scales and parallel exercises and study the chords of the piece, major and minor. You might want to have a look at Liszt's Liebestraum and Debussy's Clair de Lune. Analysing the piece is so important. Forget about speed ☺. I hope my advice is useful. Have a great day 😄

[@jamien.5528]

Thank you, great advice!

[@joshwrightpiano]

Anytime. Have a great week!

[@AnnaKhomichkoPianist]

Great video, I’ll seriously send it to some of my students right now! :) it’s sometimes extremely difficult to convince adult beginners not to play “in tempo” from the beginning and to understand that any piece basically can be played in different tempos and it’s still gonna be the same piece

[@joshwrightpiano]

Anna Khomichko Pianist thanks Anna! I think students THINK they’re going slower than they actually are haha

[@AnnaKhomichkoPianist]

Josh Wright that’s true!

[@rgriffith6476]

I definitely learn notes with pedaling, and some voicing... But most of that comes with the tempo I think, especially with harder compositions. I am absolutely terrible with sight reading. I cannot play anything without studying it for a bit-but once I can play it, its memorized. Which is fortunate lol

[@chipetto21]

Great video, thank you! I am struggling exactly with these things, I want to get faster with the piece when I am not ready yet, so I repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

[@jjuuaannii1]

Awsome, Josh! Thank you very much

[@jamaaldavis6243]

I would argue that fingering is another concept to add, although you might have personally placed that under "notes". So many of my students trivialize fingering and I wish they wouldn't.

[@empoleon9711]

Step one, helps instantly with memory as you actively engage with individual notes and shapes

[@MrVatov]

@@empoleon9711 Totally. From my experience, I can add that finding convenient fingerings comes very easy once you've mastered your scales.

[@karlrovey]

When you start out with all fingerings provided, it's no wonder it takes a while to get students to write in their own fingering. Books should avoid providing fingering for students except when technical exercises require abnormal fingerings to develop specific techniques.

[@josephschepis7258]

Hello Josh: Thanks again for a very helpful learning video. The steps, the process to follow when learning a piece.

[@RolandHuettmann]

Absolutely agree with your lesson.

[@TheSunshinedreamer1]

Josh, Thank you so very much! I have learned this on my own, but even some youtube instructors say to concentrate only on one musical aspect at a time and so I figured I was doing everything all wrong. Therefore, to hear you teach this (the very same things that I have learned intrinsically just got rid of all the guilt that I have been carrying for doing things in this way that I had been led to believe is incorrect, but that now I know from this video that I have been doing them correctly all along. I really like the sculpting only pliable early on in the process analogy - it's terrefic and increases my understanding, makes so much sense, and I now have everything written down so now I am truly cognizant of exactly the way to practice. Also, I did not know what the effects of increasing tempo. Now, thanks to you Josh, I have learned something new! Josh why does tempo have this effect upon what we are playing on piano! Very deep thanks and appreciation:)

[@vipinbhat6971]

Hey Dr. Josh. I was wondering if you have ever played Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz. And if you have how long did it take you to learn it? And how long were you playing piano before you learned it? Many thanks for creating such great content!

[@tjbuege]

Great reminders, thank you!

[@yifanli4142]

Very useful way to get the practice valuable.The students will know HOW to control the details from what they have to express!!!THANKS~

[@joshwrightpiano]

Yifan Li thanks for your kindness Yifan!

[@yifanli4142]

Josh Wright 👍

[@musicfeedsoul]

That’s an excellent advice I could ever get... love you videos Josh..

[@KrisisWorld]

Thank you so much for this video!

[@jeffreyphoumyvong8159]

Omg thank you for this. I've been rushing through learning Ocean and Waterfall Etudes and even though its memorized my tempos are inconsistent with accuracy

[@williamhill2221]

For beginners rhythm and articulation and pedal and pedal. Fingertips dexterity touching skills training play presto tempo quaver note = 176 to 184 for excellent pianist not anyone can meet the requirements.

[@alokshreekoirala]

Thanks really appreciate it

[@joshwrightpiano]

Alok Koirala Thanks Alok!

[@sergiofmpiano]

Just watched the video of your recital in Ann Arbor where you performed Chopin's Ballade no 1. I loved your performance. In my view, you more than met the technical requirements. Your insightful interpretation was deeply felt and intelligent. I don't throw compliments around loosely. In a blindfold test, I'm not sure I could tell the difference between your version and those of Michelangeli or Lisitsa. God knows, I'm in no position to criticize Martha Argerich. However, I can't deny the feeling that, in the Ballade, she allowed her phenomenal technique to overwhelm the emotional aspect, at least in the version I heard.

[@maralagounari6193]

All this information is very enlightening..helps you keep your balance when struggling with all these concepts..!

[@victorverissimo6126]

Great video, Josh!! I´ve been learning a lot with you! My piano studies are becoming more and more efficient with your tips. :)

[@lukasmiller486]

Hello Josh! I've just mastered The Blessing of God in Solitude by Franz Liszt and the only part I'm really struggling with is making the right hand accompaniment sound soft and feathery in measures 1-42. While I have no trouble making the left hand melody notes heard, (what you called 'voicing') the accompaniment still sounds like plink, plank, plink, plank much of the time because of the long stretches. How can I lighten up the quality of the texture without missing any of the notes? Thanks again for all your videos. They have caused me to make more progress in four months than I have in four years.

[@jenniferbalespianostudio9120]

people have made fun of me for playing slowly, but i'm not changing, thanks !!

[@gregnarez]

Thanks for that

[@wordysmithsonism8767]

Great lesson!

[@fishchrome1332]

This video was so helpful! Thank you Josh!

[@jbertucci]

Why this hasn't more likes...

[@ucjakowalska3051]

Hey Josh, you recall young Krystian Zimerman

[@Lion_McLionhead]

So playing fast can make us more even.

[@mellowmade]

very good analogies he makes

[@chrisstabb3985]

Great video! Story of my life leave tempo to the end

[@danieltkach2330]

Hey Josh. I'm trying to watch the 10x webinar, but the video runs very poorly, and it interrupts randomly then it's starting all over. Could you upload it to KZbin?

[@templemu]

I have proved this point to myself over and over and over lol

[@craiver00]

*If you can play it slowly, you can play it quickly* -sacrilegious boi

[@adnls6926]

I wanted to say this too, but since two set has killed the game, i have to double check all comments for not duplicating it...

[@philtanics1082]

Geniuses are born, not created.

[@dominikclarke6545]

Twosetters unite

[@czeynerpianistproducercomp7155]

hello Josh I need help on how to play correctly the Etude 3 of Op.756 of Czerny especially the second sheet especially the rhythm of notes of 64 and Etude 15 of Op.365

[@EmmaShehLu]

Hi Josh

[@williamhill2221]

Anyone can slowly play. But anyone can't play virtuoso and presto tempo. That's reason why pianist is very difficult to become. Why pianist is very competative!

[@88tongued]

What about weight lifting and muscle fibres. Does going to the gym and gripping weights cause competing muscle fibers in the forearms that displace the kind you need for fast playing? Working out hurts performance?

[@mafool14]

What are the red marks on your piano? Are they to help students, viewers, or yourself?

[@bayomisimba6489]

Hi! Can I save a piece if I didn’t follow this concept? Or is it impossible, like shaping dry clay?

[@joshwrightpiano]

Stefanie Reddy oh yeah, you can always go back and rework things. Have a great week!

[@cjnadance7773]

"Slow is fast." 😊

[@RUT812]

One thing I do well is sight reading.

[@zakariahlafreniere1332]

Suit by Armani, shoes by Ferragamo, piano by Steinway, wigs by trump

[@Fair-to-Middling]

I've always wanted to ask, and maybe you have mentioned this before, but why do those two white keys on your piano look to have masking tape on them?

[@joshwrightpiano]

TeaTime it’s part of an early Beginner course I’m writing. It outlines the 61-key keyboard length that is being used in some of the Middle Eastern refugee camps that we are writing the curriculum for. Here’s a link if you’d like to check out the project: www.classy.org/campaign/rhythm-iraq/c152649

[@bach-ingmadeline7410]

Josh Wright lol and I thought the covering had chipped off the keys and the wood was showing and you were waiting for repair 😂🎹

[@Fair-to-Middling]

@@joshwrightpiano Oh, well, that's very interesting. Thanks for the info. I'll check out the link.

[@SherryXi222]

That’s a lot of words for “practice slowly” lol

[@bach-ingmadeline7410]

xirui222 I disagree. What Josh is doing here is telling us HOW to practice most effectively, the emphasis and order of placement on each stage of the practice and in fact to BREAK IT UP into seven/eight stages. This has probably been the most valuable and encouraging tutorial I have seen from anyone on YT. I will spend days just on fingering/refingering, looking at different fingerings online from more experienced people, trying those, going back to the original, no something still not gelling for me what do I need here etc etc. get the fingering right and natural for YOU and the rest will follow naturally. And I will add he did it seven minutes. Too many YT-ers are so full of the sound of their own voice. I want to play, mot spend 30 minutes for one nugget of info. Josh is great.

[@MrVatov]

@@bach-ingmadeline7410 Agree, my friend. It's all about making the most of your practice time by following tried and true methods. BTW check out Dr. John Mortensen's channel as well, it's all also jam-packed of no-bs tips.

[@bach-ingmadeline7410]

MrVatov I will, thank you Mr Vatov.

[@philtanics1082]

If you can play it slowly, you can play it quickly.

[@MrVatov]

@@philtanics1082 OK bro, we get it.

[@yorgosalonikios1122]

what is the piece of your intro?

[@samaritan29]

billy eillish - bury a friend

[@rachmaninow6606]

Hi, whats the Intro piece?

[@keyblademonkey12]

One thing that always worries me with playing too slowly for too long is I'm afraid I'll develop bad habits that will make playing at faster tempos impossible. For example, if I'm learning a fast passage and I spend weeks perfecting it slowly with voicing, dynamics, and articulation and the works BUT I also develop a hand motion that isn't an issue at slow tempos but is impossible to maintain at fast tempos, then suddenly I have to "unlearn" this bad hand motion. It's just like your analogy of trying to mold clay that's already been hardened. That said, I also understand that without mastering a passage slowly, I can't bring it up to tempo. I feel like this puts me in an awkward position for most difficult passages, because I'm caught trying to perfect it at a slow tempo while also trying to practice small chunks of it at a faster tempo just to prove to myself that my current strategy won't be impossible at a faster tempo. Do you have any advice for this?

[@eXTreemator]

I do, don't take those advices way to heart. I would combine both slow and fast practices.

[@jbertucci]

A whole new meaning for that old joke... "if you can play it slow, you can play it quickly". The important part is what "can" means.

[@davidlemming]

Good good

[@5hanx]

You're an amazing pianist and even better teacher. Do you have any more Chopin pieces you've played? I can't find them anywhere with the level that you play them at.

[@joshwrightpiano]

Shanko A I have quite a few ProPractice tutorials on Chopin pieces, with more on the way :)

[@timwhaley8810]

Middled aged guy..played tenor sax in high school. Always wanted to play piano and started on my own about 8 years ago. Loved moonlight Sonata, especially third movement. Memorized it all, been playing for 8 years, and still sounds bad!! Definitely the clay has hardened. Any advice?

[@EtoGmajor]

Tim Whaley leave it for a while. Like several months. Also, just leaving it entirely with the intention of never going back to it is something I’ve had to do. Forces you to find new music, which is better in the long run anyway.

[@joshwrightpiano]

Hi Tim - I have a ProPractice video coming out on this piece later this year :) For now, give it a little rest, then come back to it fresh, not too fast, and with good practice methods (I’ll outline those in the video). Have a great week!

[@timwhaley8810]

Thank you sir! I’ll look for it. I just hate to leave it alone because I have it memorized and I’ll forget it! I’ll contact you in your links. Wouldn’t mind getting some lessons...my kids play too

[@johanduplessis4281]

Dear Dr Josh, does memorization have any place in all of this?

[@AnnaKhomichkoPianist]

Johan du Plessis I would say, after you’ve completed the rest ;)

[@bach-ingmadeline7410]

Not when you're 67. 🙄

[@johanduplessis4281]

Bach-ing Madeline 😂😂😂

[@townnet]

Hi josh, note is base on what? Do you mean note memorization?

[@AnnaKhomichkoPianist]

townnet he meant just first playing the right notes, so basically learning the text :)

[@townnet]

@@AnnaKhomichkoPianist Got it, thank you Anna. :)

[@ykc4638]

Wow I am early

[@joandominguez1]

Too mucho words...where s piano.