Playing Piano at Fast Tempos Without the Struggle - Outlining

[@dennismalone6303]

As a fellow Sophia Rosoff student of many years, I know she would have loved your video and how you always kept the emotional rhythm of Chopin’s Etude at the forefront!

[@davidgerber9317]

Top-notch, conservatory level instruction. I just discovered your videos a couple of weeks, ago, and I have loved every bit of it. You are a huge asset for the serious amateur pianist. Thanks!

[@JeremySiskind]

Nice! Thanks, David. I’m glad you’re enjoying the videos!

[@twinturbohenry]

Brilliant!!!! This video blew my mind. Completely insane talent from Jeremy. Can't get enough from him. So helpful.!!!!

[@CharlesAustin]

So rich !! Ideas, that are going to take time to absorb.. stunning beautiful stuff !! Gratitude: ongoing !!

[@theiromusic5766]

ok, this lesson is so DENSE that points out MUSIC ITSELF - in a certain way. Possibly the best musical-ity "outlining" content I've ever seen - and I've seen a lot. This deserves a full transcription. I feel like Jeremy himself is not really perfectly conscious (maybe on purpose...) of how DEEP is the knowledge involved here (muscles divisions, internal tempo, the concept of reharmonization conceived ORIZONTALLY in a fully-functional way......) Please, let's give some prize to this man..... Also, I'm a classical pianist, and it took me years to find somebody that was able not only to involve this kind of 'feeling structures' in their playing, but also able to actually intellectually outline them and teach it. I'm definitely buying the book..... Hi from italy T

[@bettyennin6335]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@JeremySiskind]

Thanks for checking it out, Betty! I hope these techniques are useful for you!

[@riczi.j]

What a great piece of advice! I'm a classically trained pianist, and while both playing slowly and outlining were always a part of my practice routine, I've never really thought about using "bigger muscles" to play the outline and using fingers to play the notes in between. Now, as you pointed this out, it seems so obvious and intuitive and will definitely help to improve my playing. Actually, I will probably buy your book when I have more time to practice On a side note, I don't think I can agree that playing slowly leads to "fragmentation" of melody and thinking about single notes rather than whole phrase. In my case, it's the opposite - I would sometimes spend hours playing a difficult fragment at very slow tempo, while still trying to maintain a sense of phrase. I think that, after some practice, this is a very reasonable way to practice good phrasing. On the other hand, what works for me might not necessarily work for others.

[@JeremySiskind]

Very thoughtful comment, Ryszard! I'm glad that the video was useful for you. I think playing slowly is definitely part of the process of learning any piece, but I think it's also true that the way we hear a piece necessarily changes whether we're playing it at 50 bpm or 200 bpm. But good for you for focusing on maintaining a sense of phrase while practicing at a slow tempo. I think you're absolutely right that different techniques work in different ways for different pianists.

[@antoniosanchezmoyano6393]

Incredible!!!! I just bought your book.Fantastic pianist and fantastic educator. Thanks so much for your teachings from Spain.

[@JeremySiskind]

My pleasure! Thanks, Antonio!

[@BMarPiano]

Wonderful lesson!

[@JeremySiskind]

Thank, Brenda! I miss you, friend!

[@juneaftn]

This is truly amazing.

[@JeremySiskind]

Thanks, June! I hope you enjoy playing around with this technique. It’s one of my favorites.

[@tempgig]

Excellent lesson! Thank you!

[@JeremySiskind]

Thanks for watching, Harvey!

[@8629369]

Looking forward to this. Hopefully will help with Donna Lee, etc.

[@JeremySiskind]

I hope so! I've got another video idea for Donna Lee, lol!

[@ContemplativePianist]

Such helpful instruction! I love your teaching videos! And this is a beautiful Chopin piece to demonstrate. Thank you Jeremy!

[@JeremySiskind]

Thanks so much! I'm glad you're enjoying. I'm planning to keep them coming! :)

[@BMarPiano]

Excellent advice - so on point!

[@JeremySiskind]

I’m so glad!

[@futurists7076]

This video in particular is absolutely essential I think, and shows one very original way for practicing the fast tempo. It's jus would be really nice to have that in French! Please! 🙂

[@JeremySiskind]

I don’t know that I’ll have a French translation any time soon…unless you want to volunteer to make one?

[@tutempoacademiamusical]

Impressive concepts, well expressed and masterfully demonstrated. Thank you!

[@JeremySiskind]

Thanks so much for watching!

[@leoxvimusic]

Great and wise advice sir! Merci, very helpful for practice routine🎉❤

[@p1anosteve]

This is great advice for any musician and any kind of music I think. But what impresses and fascinates me most about this particular video is process of improvisation you ultimately develop towards the end. It would be interesting to hear what you are thinking during this process both aurally and technically to help understand what seems a spontaneous process.

[@JeremySiskind]

Cool! Stay tuned - a couple of other folks have made similar requests. It's hard to do, but I'm going to think about how I can best do it. It's one of those things like speaking a language...you don't think while you're doing it, but there's lots of grammar that you're not necessarily conscious of...

[@cabijista1]

Well now… that was interesting. I’ve been playing since I was 5, I’m in my 30s now and it’s not often I come across a completely new concept that I’ve never heard of before. This is completely new to me. I’m going to try it with rhythm changes cause I still struggle to make all the changes on an uptempo rhythm tune. Cheers!

[@JeremySiskind]

I'm honored. That's so cool. Have fun exploring with it - it is a different and very useful way to explore!

[@pianotubeleonbricht9635]

Thanks so Much! Really helps. I have a video suggestion: Could you explain what goes inside your head while improvising? IE: You take a standard like Girl from Ipanema and Create a solo in the video and explain what techniques you used and what was going through your head! Bye

[@JeremySiskind]

I’ll see what I can come up with for next week. :)

[@pianotubeleonbricht9635]

Thanks Jeremy!

[@theoooms7277]

very interesting! A few years ago I was working on an up tempo arrangement of "Cherokee", focusing and feeling beat one instead of all four beats to lighten up and it really works great. thank you so much for this tutorial! Can you elaborate a bit on what kind of articulation you use in playing faster lines? (I practice a lot of scales at the moment, using legato as well finger staccato).

[@JeremySiskind]

For me, notes eighth or faster are generally played legato in jazz, although it varies from pianist to pianist. Chick Corea plays super staccato and finger-y, for instance. I'd recommend just paying attention to the pianists who you like the most and trying to replicate their sound.

[@theoooms7277]

@@JeremySiskind thanks for you advice!

[@Bsharp88]

Great lesson Jeremy. Question: What do you suggest about fingering when outlining a classical piece. Sticking with the “eventual” fingering can make the outline awkward to play in a flow.

[@JeremySiskind]

Great question! I think it’s more important to train your ear and your big muscles than to get fingering right from the beginning. I think you can fudge the fingering at first for the outline and focus on the fingering later.

[@nopalitosms]

Great info, thank you Jeremy! Some advice about to develop a strong piano technique?

[@JeremySiskind]

Hi Marios. Wow, where to begin! :) The very short story is that, for me, scales, repertoire, and a really good teacher are the magic formula. Another piece of general advice is that you should make sure to use more than just your fingers when playing the piano. Wrists, elbows, upper arms, rotation, and torso movement should all play a role - playing the piano should be a full-bodied experience. This doesn't mean be tense - you have to manage to feel control while staying "relaxed" (at the very least, not tight)And, lastly, your ear will tell you if you're doing a good job. Always be engaged aurally when you're playing - listening for the kind of sound you're creating, rhythmic/dynamic evenness, and balance. I think that even if you don't intend to become a classical pianist, studying classical music is the best way to achieve a really refined and varied piano technique.

[@nopalitosms]

@@JeremySiskind Thank you Jeremy for your reply. All your videos are great and all info you share here is invaluable. I´m really impressed with your skills to reharmonize tunes, your amazing creativity, technique and of course your great musical sense, please continue sharing your thoughts with your audience, actually I´m buying your book. Thank you very much.

[@JeremySiskind]

@@nopalitosms wow, you’re very very kind! Feel free to let me know if there’s a subject you’d like me to address in a video. I’ll get around to it eventually! :)