Piano Techniques: How to Play Trills on the Piano? - Practicing Trills

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I've had quite a few people recently asking me for tips on how to play trills. It's no easy task - or is it? This video and article will provide a few tips and techniques you can use to help master trills.
The first thing to do is make sure you play your trills with minimal arm weight. If you've watched some of my other technique videos you know that I emphasize arm weight as a very big component in tone production -- especially when it comes to slower melodies. The challenge with trills is playing lightly, almost floating your hand above the keys to allow the notes to flow with minimal effort.
The next thing in playing trills is keeping your fingers very close to the keys. Trills are played so fast that there is not a lot of time for movement, so it's best to keep your fingers very close to the keys -- so close you remain in contact with the keys!
Another thing is to make sure your fingers are rounded. It's nearly impossible to play fast with outstretched fingers; keeping them rounded will help improve speed dramatically allowing more than just one joint to execute the trill. These are some of the most important aspects when it comes to hand position.
However, there is something fundamental about approaching trills. Even if it sounds like just a bunch of notes, you need to figure out exactly how many notes you are playing as if it's written out. Learn trills like you would learn any other fast passage in your music working with the metronome increasing one notch at a time as you gain confidence.
Another big question is how to know how many notes to play in a trill. One valuable technique that I use frequently is to play just one note of the trill. For example, if you are playing a trill and starting on the upper note, just play that upper note. You will get an idea of how fast you can play the trill by only playing one note of the trill first, either the top note or the bottom note - whichever one you are starting the trill on.
This brings up an important subject in trills, what note does it start on? This could really be a subject for an entirely separate video but I am going to provide some basic information here. As trills are written, you will usually start on the auxiliary (the note above the written note of the trill; the next note in the scale of that key). For example, if you have a piece in C major and you have a D trill, you would start on E.
Can you start a trill on the note written? For example, if it's written as a D can you start on a D and move up to E? Yes; it depends on the context. There are different schools of thought on this but generally I would say a trill is basically a long appoggiatura (a non-chord tone resolving into the harmony). So starting on the auxiliary generally makes musical sense. However, in different period styles and in shorter trills, use your judgement as to what sounds best and what you can execute with confidence.
The last thing I want to address with trills is one of the biggest challenges; how to end them! If you don't know exactly where you are it can be difficult to end them smoothly. The good news is there is a great practice technique for this.
I always like to play the trill right up to the point before it ends; and then stop in a relaxed manner over the keys. Keep doing that until you have a good grasp on where you will be right before the last notes of the trill. Keep playing that passage over and over and eventually add the last notes of the trill. But don't play them right away; pause in a relaxed manner before you play the last notes. At first, make the pause as long as you need it; eventually make the duration of the pause smaller and smaller; until the pause is imperceptible to the listener but guides the ending of the trill for you!
Thanks again for watching and reading. I enjoy bringing these videos to you and am planning more of them for you. So please, send in any questions or suggestions to me, Robert Estrin: [e-mail] [phone]

[@CalebKeeneNZ]

Much needed for Chopin Nocturne in C sharp minor..

[@edgarnza9620]

Hahaha me too bro

[@myacash1]

Luca H. Nouža lmao I'm here because of that song to

[@junbin3950]

Same

[@danitigre232]

Caleb Keene yes bro

[@daviddixon4885]

@@danitigre232 that's.....why I'm here ahahah

[@elmahjoubbouboul8292]

Chopin trills are just so perfect

[@Mr850man]

The fact that he play the intro and the outro makes it 20x times better

[@remotegod255]

25 years trained classical pianist here, still improved my trills a lot by watching this video :) beautiful playing, by the way

[@sonnykeyes4594]

And now he's a TRILL-ionaire!

[@anavatsayan6548]

Amazing

[@hopesonmakokha5217]

Hahaha

[@pinecone425]

U

[@ajojosreference3085]

no

[@ashwinning11]

Dad joke

[@Azgal0r]

Trills are easy because if you can do it slowly you can do it quickly

[@emeraldfraser5223]

Azgal0r I know you’re referencing twoset but for once that’s not the case 😅 you have to practice specifically to do trills

[@tomspray5961]

Sacrilege

[@okbutjikook]

I know this is a joke but like I can’t even play trills slowly...

[@Gamma_Radiation]

AmAzInG technique strategy

[@cakebitch321]

Twoset haunts me everywhere

[@2liter8]

In the movie The Pianist (Chopin Nocturne in C sharp minor) the camera very slowly moves from the keyboard up to the face of Adrian Brody-so you can see that it's him playing. But he does the trills so well. Then he comments on how he learned the piano for this movie and how it made him grow as a person. I just can't believe he could learn so well in the time it took to put the movie together.

[@ellawolfgang1903]

Thanks, I needed this for Chopin Nocturne in E flat minor, op.9 no. 2

[@philipquither3514]

Never mind trills his shirts the best 😂

[@mechiguer]

Thank you for this video, very useful since i'm learning Nocturne in C sharp Minor :)

[@owenwilliams1222]

m echiguer I'm learning that piece, too. Still having difficulty on the trills, however. Maybe I just need to practice more? Idk

[@djmelodix6868]

Me too

[@paigea5359]

Same

[@micaaaiam]

m echiguer i came here for the same reason!

[@redalert374]

Hey that's what I came to this video for!!! Nocturne in C sharp minor seems easy but actually is difficult

[@sabs8741]

Came for the trills, stayed for the personable teacher 👍

[@habiate]

This is what teaching music is all about. Thanks Robert, for getting to the point and explaining trills so well. Wonderful video.

[@ThatOneGuy-ki5mm]

Thank you, the song that I was having trouble with was the sonata in c major, and the exact part you were talking about was the part I was struggling on. Thank you so much!

[@tayamichel969]

Mozart loves his trills

[@dorisgao4089]

I’m so so agreed🙄️ dead

[@elmeirlioness6329]

Also Lizst

[@frankpan2905]

Yes, but not me, it annoys me so much

[@frankpan2905]

Yah yeet

[@frankpan2905]

At least I can play he trill🤨

[@chanelw9408]

I was going to give up on the trills until I watched your video. Thank you!!

[@sharonhesse8867]

Awesome video! Well presented, easy to understand, practical demonstrations, compact and concise! Thank you SO much!

[@saleenapiano]

wow -- this explanation is really clear! sometimes i can play a whole piece except for one problem -- ending those darn trills. and if you like playing classical and baroque pieces, you're in big trouble. i just applied this method to the three trills in a bach sinfonia (#2-Cm) and it works! i was always insecure about ending the trills; now i finally have an idea how to do so gracefully. there's room for improvement but it's a promising start. thank you, robert!

[@perioddotcom8125]

I'm a beginner pianist and practising the trills on sonatina op 36 no1 2nd movement, and this is my first time to encounter the trills thanks for the techniques it made the trills simple and much easier to learn!!.

[@knoxbrown2550]

Extremely helpful sir. Thank you for your positive energy and helpful technique!

[@edward_grabczewski]

This was a really helpful video for my son (and me!). Many thanks Robert!

[@Hello-pl2qe]

That shirt gave me the trills

[@plumayray2656]

Aahhhaa

[@Boomer04888]

Thanks so much! Been having trouble nailing the trills in Rhapsody in Blue, this helped a lot!

[@xqin74]

I am learning trill tonight. Thank you for teaching me this concept.

[@edent4470]

i was trying to learn how to do trills and the song that he gave us an example of, the Sonata, is the song that i am actually learning right now, what a coincidence 😂

[@Chris-qk4ic]

It's a PIECE!!!!!

[@deweichen1793]

Thanks so much for the tips! Helped me a lot in learning the 1st mvt of the Pathétique :)

[@kabuwanqin9]

I'm also practicing sonata in c major now. Thx for the lesson!! ☺️ I've learnt smth 😃

[@i.l.l.l.l.]

Practicing Scarlatti and this was enormously helpful. Thanks!

[@wolfy136]

he looks like an old mr beast

[@harryadey]

@oof poop Robert *looks offended*

[@CC-tt5vf]

and a young andrew lloyd webber

[@katelynzheng2620]

Thats just rude bro

[@JohnnySinsHD]

He looks like luke skywalker

[@martinborgonia9743]

Both genuine KZbinrs!

[@AndyArtworks]

This is a great video and helped me alot! Thank you so much!

[@serjordan13]

Thanks for using the exact piece I needed help on as your example :)

[@susanbickel9965]

Thank you! I'm in a level 6 stuff and, no one, ever taught me to trill! And that Mozart piece is what I'm working on, as well as the Adagio from Beethoven. Phew.

[@daviddavis2983]

This video is great! I'm no pianist at all... I wanted to play John Field's first sonata (E flat), I downloaded the score off the web, I was very confused because the record I had started with a bundle of notes, I couldn't see them on the score ... then I noticed it said "tr" above the first note :) Doh! :) A trill! But I was really struggling to know exactly what notes to play and when. This video really helped.

[@gspotjazz]

I've seen your dad play a few times; these were memorable experiences for me. Your mom was a teacher of mine in public school, mostly as a substitute teacher as I remember it. I grew up in Plainview and studied with the other great pianist in the area Avraham Sternklar. Small world.

[@bawb2345]

Thank you!! This helped so much

[@adelaide1982kr]

I really love your videos. I learn everyday from your videos. Thank you!

[@domberta7825]

Such a wonderful teacher!

[@mkim7830]

thank you for the super helpful tips!

[@tropicvibe]

Thank you, you're a very good and nice teacher......

[@melvindwayne]

Your videos are great. Thank you

[@jeffh5388]

Thank you. Soooo helpful.

[@glovergoshawk]

This is so helpful!!! Thank you!!!

[@steviejd5803]

Thanks Robert, I learn so much from your excellent teaching style. I'm still a beginner, my life ambition is to play the aria from The Goldberg Variations. I'm giving myself 5 years. Sounds a long time but I'm going to do it. Thanks again.

[@ruthpine-apple9860]

Hey how is your piano playing going? Are you at the level youd hoped yet?(I realise it hasn't been 5 years yet)

[@ganyu6521]

This is gonna be a trilling experience!

[@clayboren6714]

super pleasant personality, enjoyed the video. great info.

[@jordanmyo2]

Really great,love it.

[@mymusicscore]

I playing Bach's courante in C minor ,and i am practicing the trill starting with the uper note,my teacher told me it was a mistake,but in the fist page of the book this is exactly what they write .Thank you for making it more clear for me!

[@HamsterAtDawn]

Great explanation, thanks.

[@rahulradhakrishnan2841]

Nice video! Since I'm a Pianist this video helped me a lot on the song " Turkish March'' which includes a lot of trills

[@SeeYeen1998]

thanks very much!!! i really get to learn a lot by watching this video~ :)

[@Jesus-zr8ch]

Fantastic tutorial, thanks!!

[@LivingPianosVideos]

Glad this is helpful for you!

[@GerardvanR]

From now I know it! Thank you!

[@JefoneChiu]

Trills can be the hardest skills to master especially if you are also trying to play the main notes at the same time. Even sometime you have to trills with the fourth and the fifth fingers (not the ideal fingers for trilling) while your other three fingers are trying to hold a long note. As seen in HR 12 's Stretta Vivace, the Lassen section of HR 2. Also, it is very easy to forget to play the trills, as I done that a lot of time when I first had a go at HR 12 Allegreto Giocoso intro section.

[@hjabbour]

Thanks, very useful tips

[@MCYUTELAT]

Thank you, great tip on trills!

[@hoodedtissue6644]

THE BUTTERFLY CLICKING! OMG

[@astridpardew]

You are an excellent teacher. Thank you.

[@LivingPianosVideos]

Thank you. I was very fortunate to come from a musical family. I studied piano with my father, Morton Estrin who was a phenomenal concert pianist and teacher. My sister also studied with my father and is also a pianist and teacher. We each assisted my father with his teaching while still in high school before going away to music conservatory. We each continue the tradition. We have children who are also musicians!

[@brentaudi9354]

Happy Trill's to you! Great video.

[@davedahan]

Good advice. I will try for moonlight part 3,

[@Mocha2009ful]

THANKS! Sigh,sigh --because when I play trills, I feel like I am a runaway train, never sure when I would stop!! Very good advice!

[@TheHeavyModd]

Currently learning to play Bach's first Invention in C major. Not only is it super difficult for me to learn the polyphonic rhythm of the song, it's also riddled with quick trills. I feel like I'm wrecking my fingers because I'm not doing it lightly enough -- my technique is too heavy and clumsy. I want to be able to do it with less weight to make it more graceful for both the fingers and the ears. I also want to learn to play quicker trills, so that I can turn my current, three-note trill (two 1/64 notes + 1/16 with a dot [= 1/8 long trill]) to a four-note trill (three 1/64 notes + 1/16 with a 1/64 attached to it [=1/8 long trill]). It's of course both about dexterity of the fingers and the technique I use, but I'm getting there, I think. Sorry in advance for not knowing how to translate notes to English text/numbers in a more understandable way. Doesn't help that English isn't my first language so my music theory terminology might be totally wrong

[@katelynzheng2620]

Tysm for the vid!

[@vitopiano]

Thumbs up, This is definitely a quality material... I really like it... explains the problem well... :)

[@lizweekes8076]

Thanks Robert 🎉

[@JedidiahCheng]

you look like Mark Hamill

[@PurpleNurpleTurtle]

HAHA at least I'm not the only one that noticed.

[@LewisHerd]

+Jedidiah C dude i was gonna say that, he even sounds like him

[@KingOfKingz819]

+Jedidiah C I was gonna comment this but it's already the top comment lol

[@anavatsayan6548]

Lol it's so weird that the top comment only has 7 likes

[@DaveA441]

I was like he looks like some one and you got it

[@misterjaroslav6859]

Hard to repeat. I need to listen again :) Thanks!

[@captainfalcon8615]

excellent teacher

[@trumble-dj5md]

Thank you so much!

[@rosevee1943]

Thanks for helping.

[@eduardomeza7279]

This is a great video

[@LivingPianosVideos]

Thank you - glad it helps you!

[@clkvlk]

Inspiring teacher

[@spluff]

THANKYOU SO MUCH!!! :D

[@naterobinson5860]

I love ur teaching

[@elizabethsalick978]

Much needed for the g sharp minor etude by chopin

[@fenrys_baskerville]

Pls help me I can't combine left and right hand parts when it comes to trill, I'm losing measure and can't concentrate on left hand's play (almost can't hear it). I really need to learn it any advice you can give is good (sorry for bad english)

[@stoonybridge]

Thank you!

[@marksletters]

Thank you…. A good vid !!!

[@chengyanslc]

Always loved your videos.. Off to practice K545 lol.

[@rros0511]

The trill is gone.

[@KalpaHettiarachchi]

Wonderful

[@hyonsukseifert1447]

Thank You!

[@redify9758]

Needed that for Moonlight Sonata 3rd movement. That second trill really hurts.

[@wotan10950]

One trick I might add: keep your (2nd & 3rd) fingers on the tips of the keys. You get a faster response and use less finger pressure. As a rule of thumb (uh, bad pun), I was taught to trill on the primary for music from the Romantic Era forward, on the upper from the Classical Era backward.

[@surr3al756]

This is actually good advice. Exactly how I trill! 👍

[@MiScusi69]

Thanks so much!

[@kaveyalt]

I'm a creeper Minecraft grim reaper Blowin up blocks like el qeaeda

[@Anthony-db7ou]

Who else thought of calculus and infinitesimals when he explained the limiting process for reducing the gap between the trill and resolution? Lmao, great video btw, thank you! Trying to learn a nocturne and realized I couldn’t trill 😅

[@gracedimeo2605]

Hiya, Really useful! Amazing, thank you! Just wondered - back to the issue of which note to start the trill on.....I've read that the general rule IS to start on the auxiliary, but I've heard for playing Chopin it's normally on the main note? Is that right?

[@PIANO_LAB]

Forearm rotation is absolutely essential when playing trills.

[@Gamma_Radiation]

This comment helped me!

[@travisdt]

thanks. i am working on k545 so this help a lot

[@travisdt]

i just realize i come back to video after 8 years, still struggling with K545....

[@zr01d]

Soooooooooooo awesome

[@WalyB01]

Thanks!

[@krishnaswainpiano4129]

Thanks! I am playing Mozart 16 sonata and couldn’t get the trill right.

[@livb6945]

Wow, good lesson, exactly what I was looking for. All information, no fuss 😊

[@dans.8198]

Great video. I am... trilled !

[@nikolt2000]

LOL I needed to learn trills exactly for the mozart sonata

[@luableah7615]

ikr

[@jeff-gf9ts]

I assume k545?

[@aaronfonseca6031]

Ryan k545 for me :)

[@nabilarachmasari7288]

me too!

[@mayajunor-sheppard2715]

nikolt2000 i have to learn it for mozart concierto

[@Notmehimorthem]

How to play trills over swing eights. Since swing eigths are like a triplet with the first two triplets tied, they do not fall on the beat.

[@alexanderringler5747]

How funny... I looked this video because of the sonata you are demonstrating on :-D thanks

[@JBattlePants]

Great teacher! Thank you for this video

[@properjob]

Very interesting, thank you. I come from the unsophisticated world of learning blues piano, where the advice on trills appears to be rather different. But this is still very useful nonetheless.

[@yingjiejanetzh7597]

awesome

[@Dirkovic80]

a really great video thank you very much for your videos you are such a sympathic person. did you ever play BWV 906 or BWV 893 (fugues first page)? its the use of hardest trills i ever seen so far, and i still dont know if i play them correctly (the hesitation thing the player got, that your talking about always makes me feel that it sounds unstable^) i would be glad to receive an answer or get some tips from you, especially for the fugue of bwv 893 and another question: did you ever see a person which could play trills with his 4th and 5th fingers ? i mean fast and stable trills xD best wishes to you and please keep on doing your funny and usefull videos

[@imce8027]

i’m currently learning bach’s two part invention no 4. it’s in 3/8 and i’m struggling to pair the trills with the triplets 16th notes. any tips?