More piano hand independence exercises

[@cherylgalster9245]

He's genuinely very explicit while instructing and does not talk down to anyone___no matter what level one may be at. From experience as a learner, believe he is stating useful and truthful facts. I love using classical music to practice hand coordination. Lately, practice is essentially trying to recover from a very serious traumatic brain injury (TBI).

[@BillHilton]

+Cheryl Galster Thanks for the kind words, Cheryl - fascinating to hear that playing the piano can be part of the recovery process following an injury like that. I hope it's going well!

[@BillHilton]

Hi Monika! Thanks - I like to introduce a little variety! I think you've rather hit the nail on the head when you say you're the only one making this remark. If lots of people were saying it, I certainly would change the way I do things, but as most people seem happy it makes sense to continue the way I am. All the same, I'm very grateful to you for continuing to watch and taking the time to comment :)

[@BillHilton]

Thanks for saying so! In many ways, you're one of the core audiences I'm aiming at (i.e., existing piano knowledge, but wants to branch out) so it's good to know you're finding it useful.

[@Markpianist1]

Practice tip on the RH broken chord with scale in the left. Break it up into two sections. CDEFGABC then DEFGABC. The latter is against the tide, great excercise!

[@GregoryDCT]

that's very true. a quick nap or a good nights rest is a vital part of learning. happens so many times with me. sometimes things don't seem to go well, but when i wake up the next day, suddenly i'm able to do the thing i was struggling with the night before. it's nice to surprise ourselves all the time lol

[@WyattWalkerWear]

4:34 Sneaking into the video, I see!

[@iannahayes9597]

I've been playing piano for almost two years and I never took lessons before so I don't read sheet music and I learned how to play by ear so improvising is my thing so this is helping me soooo much with my left hand independence thank you!!!!

[@BillHilton]

+Ianna hayes No problem! I'd really encourage you to learn to read music, though - it opens up a massive range of possibilities, and it's not that difficult. One of these days I'm going to get round to producing a basic piano course that teaches people how to read. So watch this space...!

[@BillHilton]

Thanks very much for buying the book, Mark! You're dead right that this kind of thing really makes a difference, and Hannon has always been a superb resource. There are (I believe) various updated editions for things like boogie-woogie and blues - so anyone who's reading and interested in some intense exercises might like to have a google around...

[@theseopeneyes]

Thanks for these tips! I started to play the piano/Organ in a blues band one year ago. Since two weeks I´ve been practising the Moonlight-Sonata via Synthesia, because I have poor note-reading skills( I had only two years Keyboard-Lessons). It´s good to know that studying classical music is the right way. That encourages me to go further. Independence is so hard to achieve, but with these tips I have new "food" for my fingers and my brain :)

[@evitago]

I agree, i think this is not just you, but very true with regards to how our brains work. Also, if you look at what your hands are doing in each case, they will be doing different things in similar motion, but exactly the same in contrary motion. What is similar in similar motion is the notes, the motion is different.

[@MarkPeters]

Thanks so much for the videos , I've also got your book and found that you tend to lead to a very musical style of practice. For independance I've pulled out my old Hannon and often do something like broken 10th's, an Alberti bass, octaves (like Tull's Locomotive Breath's intro) or even simple stride while doing one of the exercises in the other hand, enhance that by switching rhythms (half notes\quarter notes\ 16th etc.). It helps for soloing and independence.

[@cFyugThCzvAqYaGmxRgfCKTuvHMEjQ]

Thanks for the video! I started playing the piano when I was 10, taking proper lessons, and I just quit this spring at the age of 17. I felt like it was just a chore practicing and I just wanted to have fun and learn new stuff and pick up improvisation and jazz skills. Thanks for telling me that all that well tempered piano by Bach I played wasn't for nothing!

[@BillHilton]

Cool, thank you very much! I'm glad you like the tutorials, and I hope the book is useful :)

[@otisskopik1400]

great vidoe. also an exercise I like is the chromatic scale in different intervals and contrary motion

[@anthonydiaz3386]

I almost nailed fingers independence in general. I prefer to call it fingers independence rather than hand independence. You reach a point where your brain's halves feel it. For example, I got a problem with staccato fingering independence. Legatto not a problem anymore because it makes your fingers flow like water so you can easily feel the independence. When your fingers jump in staccato, it was my worst nightmare. But the key is always play everything SLOW. That's really the MAGIC key.

[@BillHilton]

No worries - glad it's useful!

[@DrWoodsciman]

Hey Bill, once again great video, I have to say though, thanks for the nod to us beginners!! Will defiantly be using these exercises as hand independence is a real problem at the moment, thanks again'

[@BillHilton]

...However, it's worth remembering what I say in this tutorial - ultimately, whatever strategy you use, it's always going to have to incorporate an element of brute force. The brain learns this kind of fine motor skill by repetition, so repetition is what you have to give it. You can save yourself a LOT of time by using the focussed approach I've just described, though.

[@olleyollet]

exactly what i was looking for! Thank you so much!

[@PhilipDunn]

Interesting stuff for me, a beginner. I think the opposing scales are easier because you are crossing your fingers at the same time. Parallel is more difficult for me because the crossings are not at the same time. Alternating notes in parallel scales I found difficult and useful. That is, play lower hand note then upper hand an octave up.

[@localpm]

Exactly what I need for Jazz as well.Thanks Bill ur a star.

[@BillHilton]

Absolutely. "Challenge your brain" is a great way of putting it - I may borrow that ;)

[@BillHilton]

Yep, good one actually - good thinking, and thanks!

[@BillHilton]

That's quite an interesting idea for a tutorial actually, Jonatan - I'll add it to the list. In summary, though, a good strategy is to focus right down on the hard sections and play over and over. When I say "section", I mean the smaller the better - a single chord change, half a bar, a single run of 3-4 notes. Forget the rest and practice that until you've nailed it. Then do another section, and another. Gradually, they'll *all* get easier... (cont...)

[@richardpwillan]

Hi Bill. So glad to have come across your channel. For me this is def the best piano channel on YT so thank you! So just been going along with this video, and I actually found the rhythms pretty straightforward, but the video highlighted a couple of things I have real trouble with. First one is making jumps accurately, like here when u change position with the left hand. The second one is moving chords in inversions fluidly. I practice inversions frequently, just going 1st 2nd 3rd up and down the keyboard, but if I'm using a progression I have to kind of switch them around in my head and this is very clunky to the say the least. I wondered if you might be able to cover these topics in future? Many thanks, Richard

[@BillHilton]

Hi Richard - thanks for the kind words! It's always good to hear when people are finding my stuff useful. Re: your questions, I probably will do more tutorials on both topics in the near future, because a lot of people seem to have trouble with them. For now, you might find my Train Your Piano Brain series useful, especially the third tutorial, on mapping the piano keyboard. That should help a bit with jumping. Re: inversions, I've been meaning to make another TYPB, so I might do it on exactly that topic. Anyhow, here's the playlist link - let me know how you get on... kzbin.info/aero/PLpOuhygfD7QnKq5P3mf7TiofvItxhuM2i

[@richardpwillan]

Thanks Bill. I'll get cracking with these. and looking forward to the upcoming one on inversions

[@thundxrbuddy9532]

Thanks,this video has helped me a lot

[@andreasmaier5361]

Very, very helpfull video! Many thanks!

[@BillHilton]

You're welcome Andreas!

[@lawrencetaylor4101]

Merci for this. I've seen a classical trained pianist who talked about contrary motion for their scales from C to E, but then then using similar motion. Why not try it in every key?

[@IndependentGeorge76]

Good stuff - I play along to music probably more than I should, rather than focused drills like this. Sure I wd benefit more traditional practice, but I just love putting my iPod in shuffle and trying play along. Problem is James booker keeps coming on and I'm to awestruck to play ;)

[@sebbef]

Is there a reason why some difficult patterns can be easy for one but having trouble with other more simple? For an example I can do some difficult hand independent moves but I have issues with the one at 5:00, the right hand alone gives me a struggle. I can do 1:04 with both fair enough.

[@BillHilton]

It's pretty much the same for everyone to be honest. I've just been practising a piece (Brahms' Intermezzo in E major, op.116, if you're interested) that sounds like it should be pretty easy but is actually ferociously difficult. Apparently simple stuff can really be confounded by tricky timing, or just by asking your hands to coordinate in a way that isn't _quite_ what your brain expects it to be. So rest assured that you're not alone, and keep practising - it'll come!

[@sebbef]

Bill Hilton Thank you, that's comforting to hear! I'll keep on the struggle then knowing it's normal hehe.

[@chvyrdr96]

So funny i found this video. I was looking for a video that could help me improve playing with both hands. This is just what i needed.

[@momogris6159]

Thanks for sharing!, so well explained it. Very useful.

[@adammullins3535]

Thanks

[@RollingHousesUK]

forgive me if this is steeped in ignorance (I only had piano lessons briefly at age 11, 19 years ago now), but what you demonstrate as similar motion I would actually say is both hands doing different thing, and I find very difficult. What you call contrary motion I find easy as pie because both hands are mirroring each-other. Maybe thats' just me, but for some reason I find it difficult to play the same scale in sam direction with both hands at the same time. I guess I just need more practice.

[@silentsky6175]

I just need to get my hands to play the goddamned different parts 😂

[@Toppitmanilikeit]

Thanks Bill. Very helpful and interesting as always! Mike H..... Keep up the good work!

[@EdduGaming]

hey i really like your videos. could you maybe do a video on bebop improvisation?

[@guybickle5311]

This is really good advice! Thanks.

[@isnieseptiyanurbani552]

It helps alot!! Thanks

[@MokaAkashiya270600]

There's a guy with a youtube channel called Marasy8. I've watched a lot of his videos, but I don't know if he has that "complete independance" that you speak of. Could you see if tat's what I'm aiming for? And I recognized the Yellow Submarine tune, I think it was. Kinda nostalgic for me.

[@rafamigayt]

Great video, Bill. It helped my understand what's my main limitation and where I should put more work into. Maybe it's a little unsusual [or maybe not] but I have no problem playing scales in contrary motion [also have no problem with the 12 bar blues pattern from the previous video], but to play a scale in similar motion... it's as smooth as me reading cyrlic -- letter by letter. 8^) Now, I didn't know that until I saw this video.

[@otisskopik1400]

bach two voice inventions are probably the best way to develop hand independence

[@Sketch12ful]

Try playing different keys in different hands, maybe even starting on the third scale degree and running it from there

[@MyDreamside]

thanks for both videos, they are very useful, i like boogie woogie stuff at the moment and i find a big trouble. i love 50's rock n roll but i dont know where to begin, i'll try these independence hands first and then i'll see. Do you suggest any video of yours? about rock n roll piano

[@BillHilton]

+MyDreamside No problem! I'd suggest having a look at the playlist of blues piano tutorials - most rock'n'roll piano is basically just speeded-up blues, after all. Certainly those tutorials will help you get to grips with the key ideas.

[@ozianotarigan606]

thanks for helping,and 05:06 is very tricky

[@LeavesLullaby]

That's funny, some of those exercises I also found myself ^^.. I like the challenge like the 2 different scales in different hands exercise. Need to do them a lot more! I need to create the hand independence for playing walking bass (jazz) piano.. where walking bass in left hand and right hand lines are being improvised at the same time... man that's hard!!;) The biggest trap is hand memory, you have to challenge your brain and keep changing exercises. Fortunately there are a lot of scales ;)

[@LeavesLullaby]

Adding; Playing triplets against eights also nice exercise :)

[@Tw1stedLemons]

Thank you for the tips. I find your videos very helpful.

[@KhairulAmirin]

whats the song at 7:38 ?

[@BillHilton]

It's "When The Saints Go Marching In" - a traditional American spiritual.

[@Ballackin96]

You are awesome,thank you :)

[@ximpoxunxo3703]

hey have any books you recommend I buy to wean my hands and be proficient

[@jasper007s5]

thank you. I think. some very difficult stuff there

[@kamakirinoko]

This is the closest anyone has come to addressing my dilemma-namely, syncopating even a simple bass line in the left hand with chords in the right. Imagine if you will, the opening bass line to "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" (yes, I know they stole it from Horace Silver). Okay, now keep repeating the simple bass phrase, and then play a simple chord in the right hand, except just play the beat-1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4-it's incredibly difficult! Let alone do some comping samba chords on top. Is that a good way to try to develop independence in the left hand? Bear in mind I'm not trying to be Dave Brubeck here. But otherwise, great stuff!

[@BillHilton]

Thanks - glad it was useful for you! Hand independence is a bit of a nightmare, to be honest, and it's something that most pianists, barring the truly brilliant, have to contend with throughout their playing lives. After 35 of years of playing, my left hand still isn't as biddable as my right. So the first thing to say is that I think you have the right approach in not trying to be Dave Brubeck (at least, not right away: there's nothing wrong with aspiration, even if it's pretty distant...). The second thing to say is that consistent practice of a range of different music is probably the single thing that helps most. In particular - and this is dull but true - the kind of traditional piano curriculum that most people experience in lessons is very good at developing independence. Playing endless Bach two-part inventions can get wearing after a while, but it'll hellishly good at developing independence. So (assuming you can read score) working on a few basic classics could really help. Also, have you seen my Train Your Piano Brain series? There's some stuff in there that could help: kzbin.info/aero/PLpOuhygfD7QnKq5P3mf7TiofvItxhuM2i

[@RkMrn101]

Hi ben I have had a problem with my left hand for quite a long time which is weird because I'm left handed... The thing is that whenever i play fast scales with my left hand, my fifth and fourth finger seem to always smudge yet my right is completely fine And also after a while my left forearm gets tired and starts to hurt yet my right forearm doesn't hurt At all Can u please help me with a way to fix this? Thanks By the way thanks for your ind exercises they were pretty good :D

[@samdragon3333]

Hi i am sam and i am also left handed and i now the same problem so the answer is to too more exercises with only the left hand that the ring and the little finger become "locker" i don t know the english word but these exercises are very helpful before you start to play: simple chords, up- and downplaying and after a few minutes per day its more an more finer and easyer to play and you ll see you can play the right hand better to the left hand

[@maxovervoorde5330]

haha, at first the scaling exercise, the similair motion from left to right is harder for me than moving my hand off of eachother. And at the scaling only with the left hand, i have trouble with my right hand doing that 'easy' tune :P i'll keep trying but i guess my brains work differently than others...

[@BillHilton]

Some brains certainly do, but most can manage this kind of thing in the end :) Have a look at my Train Your Piano Brain series - I've only done posted one tutorial in it so far (next one due first half of October) but it's designed to address exactly this kind of problem.

[@maxovervoorde5330]

aha, i watched the first video, and it's really interresting. Not a surprise i'm having a hard time doing the second exercise of level 1, but i'll keep trying. Keep up the good work!

[@spicecrop]

Good lesson but I wish you would slow down on the fingerings so I could see what you are doing.

[@andreww5574]

***** Learn the scales elsewhere then return, maybe. I get what you're saying though..

[@margaretkhor4772]

Andrew W b

[@guillotinedeath]

Amazing lesson just subbed

[@shyland20]

good video

[@BillHilton]

Awesome! We definitely need more neuroscience on the channel. I'm off for a snooze...

[@lewisbirkett4428]

Also how do you move up and down the piano so fast and always hit the right notes

[@samdragon3333]

Look at the notes before you move your hand to the notes and look a bit longer to it as your fingers got the right notes than it become easyer ;)

[@DemetriusFuller]

Great lesson - thank you! To be clear - this IS NOT voice of the Geiko gecko?

[@jeremy3591]

Demetrius Fuller teaching you to play piano and saving you 15% or more on car insurance. WHAT CAN'T HE DOOO?!!

[@lewisbirkett4428]

Song 9:20?

[@kintsugi382]

It's Bach's

[@lewisbirkett4428]

Blue Sky Nanodayo thanks

[@johncowburn4444]

I can play classical music but don't find that it helps with playing boogie woogie?

[@BillHilton]

It probably won't with such a distinctive sound as boogie, John - the left hand patterns in boogie in particular demand an attack that's almost completely unlike anything you'll find in the classical piano canon (apart maybe from the second movement of Beethoven 32 and various bits of twentieth century stuff....)

[@bragmore]

Hi Bill, as usual great stuff. But I'd really love to get to know how to practice this but playing notes in the left inbetween the right hand. I'm practicing this song right now: /watch?v=zh-sDB9BWDU fairly easy, but the right hand together with the left hand (getting the left hand to play that pattern and TIME it between the left hand is really hard). Any advice on this? I'd really need some help! Thanks alot.

[@ChrisR3tro]

Well, actually new neural circuits happen over night, especially if you get a good nights sleep. Although not over one night, I'll give you that :)

[@nbase2652]

A little more rhythmic exercise should work out pretty well, too. Playing a bass line with your left hand and stab a chord at a certain timing, eg. at 2, 3+ and at 4+, while counting 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + ....

[@Mirceabogdanstanciu]

mkay

[@fernandosalazarserantes8785]

this Not definitely NOT hands independende. this just synchronisation. which is the big trick most composers used in their work. Look for REAL ABSOLUTE independence of both hands. Thanks.

[@rowenh8982]

Try don't stop belevi'n

[@BrandonMcBadass]

:) ur name reminds me of Bill Clinton lol

[@coolesturlever]

Wow, I can play at least 25% better now xD