Piano Masterclass on symmetrical inversion

Concert pianist and teacher Graham Fitch gives a lesson on symmetrical inversion. Try it! This lesson complements his full-length article inside Pianist magazine issue No 93 (Dec 2016/Jan 2017). The masterclass takes place on a Steinway Model D concert grand

[@Widiar0]

This tutorials are extremely helpful and insightful, but it really would help in classes like this to see the top view of the keys. Especially when talking about fingering, it would help hugely to see the keys, fingers and how the mirroring happened. I hope there is a chance to get some top views in the future too. Thank you for sharing, always a pleasure.

[@fingaz000]

Thank you for your comments. I will pass them on to our photographer and try and do something about this going forwards.

[@MegaPianogenius]

hi graham i've come across you on these videos after many years practicing and they are extremely helpful but a shame i didn;t know the techniques years ago [although i knew there were helpful shortcuts] i too love MAH's playing it's a marvellous gift he has [tremendous work as well] thanks very much

[@lizweekes8076]

Thanks Mr.🎉

[@philipbrown2225]

Exquisitely done. Thank you. I watched two other explanations before this video and I still didn't understand it. Now I do!

[@leonardnolan8856]

That is extraordinary

[@ephjaymusic]

Outstanding as always! Thank you!

[@ibunkatraining]

Thank you, Graham, that was very helpful. I have only been playing for 2 1/2 years and there comes a time when I feel I not only need to get the notes more or less right but strive to really know what I'm doing. Will try it out on Kempff's Sicillienne by Bach.

[@1980subrosa]

Thank you very much for posting this video! It complements your book (Practising the piano - Part 1, page 103) perfectly. I had many doubts which have been cleared out in this video.

[@Daniel_Ilyich]

A second camera above the keys would be wonderful for the demonstrations.

[@rach3master]

Nice shout out to Hamelin here.

[@Shunarjuna]

You should take a look at Vincent Persichetti's "Reflective Keyboard Studies", "Mirror Etudes", and "Little Mirror Book"

[@jarredgraffiti]

Graham, good suit game

[@Klaverskolen]

Great video!

[@lazAthletics]

Great!

[@thomasbeckett1245]

This would be fun with twinkle twinkle, pentatonic and diatonic

[@michaelthomheadley]

Is this exercise related to the "Serialism" concept in music? Do the tones generated have an actual harmonic relationship to each other?

[@JG_1998]

Serialism is not inherently atonal, however symmetrical inversion are almost always very dissonant, even though they aren't technically atonal usually. Most of the time inverted passages result in notes that have no conventional harmonic relationship. If there aren't many repeated tones, then often times a symmetrical inversion will sound like 12 tone music.

[@binksee]

Winter Wind Symmetrically inverted?

[@joshdahlin335]

ˈfasəˌnādiNG

[@albrechtbln]

Hummm. Mr. Hamelin is a brilliant pianist, no doubt about that. But I ask myself: What exactly is the benefit of this method? He says: The purpose is to train the left hand, which in his words is often "left in the dust". WHAT THE.... WHAT????? I think this is plain nonsense. There are TONS of piano literature out there where the left hand is doing the main work - most of Chopin's work actually, where the left hand is far more than a "simple accompanimental role". Another point which makes this technique useless is: What if you want to practice your left hand? What if you want to (or have to) study the "simple accompanimental" part, which in Chopin's, Beethoven's, Bach's or Mozart's cases is mostly anything else than "simple" - on the contrary, it's freakin' difficult! How do you practice those leaps and jumps, especially then they happen in the middle of the keyboard (which in most cases they do)?

[@SStone-dm7es]

Yes maybe but I think it’s more of a psychological benefit. The idea that both hands are ‘equal’ and ‘equally’ mastering a difficult passage is just another general practice method and engenders a confidence in the ‘weaker’ hand.