These 8 BARS teach you EVERYTHING about musicality

[@manuelcasarespiano]

Do you like "delayed voicing"? Or do you think it's too tacky? 🌶🔥 ⬇⬇

[@tamirlyn]

I'd say, do it if you have to. If it won't speak otherwise, then do it. Rachmaninov gives many spots where I'd say, you have to do it, to get the line to come through.

[@altoclef6688]

I used to hate it, now I like it, and I do much more "usual" rubati and tempo changes, depending on piece. Good video, btw.

[@daniellu8282]

Tone, Timing and Dynamics form a triangle.

[@rgferreira78]

@@manuelcasarespiano it must be subtle or just don't do it. I first discovered it listening to Zimerman's version of the first Ballade and I found it a bit too much for my taste. But that was long time ago and my taste evolved.

[@NelGabriel]

If you consider whether or not a given technique is tacky, I don’t think you’re in the right mind space to create music. The only question that matters is “is it pertinent in this situation?” But only as a subconscious question, arising naturally within the flow state. There is where you find musicality The muse tells you everything you need to know if you dare to let go and listen.

[@mengo4015]

Dang, thats one of the rare youtube piano advice videos ive watched entirely and truely found helpful, thanks a lot!

[@bogdanshevchenko]

Seriously excellent narrative and guidance. This is rare to find on YT.

[@jacksmith4145]

That was some of the most insightful analysis and instruction I've ever heard. Beautifully played as well. Thank you.

[@lisaschwarz-funke5176]

Your musical working reminds me of what my piano teacher taught me some decades ago. Thank you for summarizing it so clearly. ☺️

[@sevrjukov]

Absolutely fantastic lecture packed with useful advice and demonstrations!

[@rgarlinyc]

This is very insightful, and very, very helpful to my (continued) self-teaching on the piano. I look forward to more insight from you!Thank you kindly, [Roger]

[@VinayMusicCorner]

Honestly you are one of few people who make sensible piano videos on the internet. Fantastic brother, please keep it up

[@SpaghettiToaster]

Actually, I would say that the ambiguity of whether or not the alto voice is part of the melody or not is one of the aspects that makes this passage so complex and beautiful, and it's totally valid to play it either way. My personal favorite interpretations are the ones that really balance it on a knife's edge, just in the middle.

[@CanAlternateLostTape]

I’d say there’s no ambiguity. The voices are indicated in the score by the directions of the note stems. That shows you what Rachmaninov meant. It’s written as a melody in the top voice alone with the accompanying chords underneath as a second voice. As Manuel plays it here in the video.

[@SpaghettiToaster]

@@CanAlternateLostTape Rachmaninoff didn't play notation games like Godowsky or Alkan did, he wouldn't use funny-shaped note heads or four staves for a simple three-part texture. That doesn't mean that he didn't consciously compose the inner lines and that bringing them out isn't a valid interpretation.

[@CanAlternateLostTape]

@@SpaghettiToaster indicating voices with stem direction is standard notational practice, not funny games. Anyway of course one is free to bring out inner lines, but it’s not correct to say the alto voice chords are part of the melody.

[@musicplayfox9203]

Very intelligent and knowledgable explanations with depth. Absolutely amazing video.

[@coopergoff]

This is so helpful. An excellent video providing a clear explanation of the thought process behind developing many aspects of the musicality of a passage. I’m not even a pianist, but this is the best video on the topic I’ve seen. Well done.

[@enriquesanchez2001]

❤BRILLIANT explanation, Thank you, Manuel ♥

[@DoubleFovea]

This lesson was really helpful. I have learned a lot!❤ You are my bew Abo.

[@Redskies453]

I've only been playing two months. The voicing seems like magic. I'm playing with my feet in comparison.

[@halloola3636]

The most difficult thing to learn is not to move your fingers the right way but to develop that "inner ear" for several melodic lines at once. Compare it to listening to a choir and being able to really distinguish and identify all different voice sections...

[@stephenlikestools6846]

Oh and of course, I find your recommendations from this video most helpful. Thank you.

[@ergnoor3551]

Wise and with much love to music. Subscribed and learning.

[@bastiaanvanbeek]

It's interesting to hear the 2020 Lugansky version at 2:27 minutes of that video. He has quite a different approach.

[@pauljohnson6233]

Brilliantly covered, played, and explained.

[@mikebel74]

New subscriber. Sage advice. You’re gifted musically and as an educator. Thanks!

[@paulmitchell2916]

Well, I'm not young.. but the "want to show how beautiful every single note is" got me laughing at myself.

[@fintanoneill2493]

Very thoughtful insights. Thank you!

[@ΚωνσταντίνοςΧειρδάρης]

Great video, great analysis!

[@CarlosFischerFMA]

awesome class!

[@arseniykunin3423]

I absolutely love these parts of the first movement, such a heartfelt moment before cello comes along. To my taste though, most pianists tend to play it faster than it should sound^ It's has much more character and emotion when played slightly slower and\or with more of a pause betwheen phrases. Really great rocordings of this sonata are by Daniel Müller-Schott, Robert Kulek and another by Evgeny Svetlanov and Feodor Lusanov, I think ^)

[@nannalaz]

Thank you so much for your precious advice!

[@Cremulox]

really fabulous stuff

[@kristinajohansson5099]

Great lesson. Thank you.

[@rgferreira78]

Muy bien, Manu! Y mucho gusto con la selección y con los ejemplos ilustrativos.

[@connyk1131]

In the beginning I didn't understand why the teachers loved singing, I never heard any difference between 2 versions they demonstrated. Next, when I started learning jazz I was nearly shocked by the hard powerful , sometimes not "classically" beautiful sound of many jazz musicians. It was a completely different world for me, but meanwhile I prefer playing jazz and listening to classical music, but I confess I can't play classically because often I don't feel any emotion , I always listen to the music analytically.

[@alessandromarzico2703]

❤Great explanation❤

[@rufina758]

Love it!!!

[@katttttt]

Thank you!!

[@hanslevin]

terrific and musical teachings ❤

[@MakoDMusic]

SUPER UNDERRATED!!

[@JoeLinux2000]

Fantastic lesson. You could call it the Science of Musicality.

[@oscah_whisky]

TCHAIK 4 MENTIONED!!!🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥😤💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾

[@claudionervi]

Excelente, muy claro y muy bien explicado.

[@trippy127]

Super video

[@مهدیمرادی-ج9ج]

Interesting topic thank you

[@molybdaenmornell123hopp5]

I thought this was great but I have a few notes: 1:36 isn't that a bit reductionistic? I'm not sure everything I want to express is somehow vocal. Think stamping. Think dancing. What about heartbeats? Sure, you can sing to all those, but that doesn't make them the same thing. 1:54 What does it mean to say a rhythm "should come from what is written"?

[@BobJoeman]

As this video focuses on piano playing, singing your melodies is one of the easiest ways to develop an expressive, cantabile sensibility that you then transmute through your fingers. Of course, piano is a percussion instrument and melody is nothing without rhythm, which is what the second point contends with. My interpretation is that you should first play a piece as the composer put it down before you try altering rhythms or other elements, as that will establish an accepted baseline from which you can extrapolate and find your own interpretations. Manuel, I just found your work and am highly impressed and appreciative, wonderful playing and instruction!

[@manuelcasarespiano]

Exactly what @BobJoeman said 😄

[@molybdaenmornell123hopp5]

Thank you!

[@TerryThomas-v1c]

Beginners all play alike because they are learning muscle memory and have not yet learned primary technique. As the beginner progresses, his technique is no longer on display, but his personality begins to show, and this is where everyone sounds different.

[@rrotstein]

Madame Margaret Stedman Chaloff used to tell me, "We don't play with our hands; we play with our breath." But I never got it; I flunked out with her.

[@therealong]

*@rrotstein* And what happened afterward? You were disappointed and hated piano and music? 🤔 A lot of artists and music geniuses never acquired fame while they were living! 🤷🏻‍♂️ Actually it can be *said* in thousands of ways, with feelings, with passion, with your heart, your soul... but the best and only way is really to *_listen_* ( not only _"watching"_ ), and then *_imitating_* trying to *_reproduce_* what you heard of *_the music..._* Give it a try if you *_still_* play... 🙂

[@rrotstein]

@@therealong What an imagination you have! I gave up taking lessons from her. It didn't change my enthusiasm for piano and music, which has continued for 50 years afterwards. I LIKED her personally; she was very pleasant and friendly - never even asked me for a dollar! She had this henchman neighbor, Dr. Avram David, who tried to disabuse me of my own ideas, but I put him off right away. But her view of the world and mine were radically different (e.g., she maintained that one of her students had given a virgin birth).

[@therealong]

@@rrotstein Hahaha... you're a funny guy, and my imagination runs wild 'cuz I too have lived a while. Nice to hear you kept your enthusiasm alive -- I couldn't certainly know, but bad experiences with teachers may take away any student's self-esteem. I just browsed this Madame, and I will have to read more about her , 'cuz her name hasn't been in my piano vocabulary. Ambiguous Russian name some articles reported, but so far I found out she grew up in Wichita, KS, but later on she lived in Boston. Is this last place where you met her and had piano lessons? In regard to the mysterious "henchman neighbor", I've still not stumbled across his name... Furthermore, disabuse, worldviews, virgin births, Wow!, *_the plot thickens_* here, lol. The only one I know having had a virgin birth is the blessed Mother Mary, the mother of Jesus. Gotta go now, but keep in touch, I want to know more... TTYL

[@rrotstein]

@@therealong Dr. Avram David (not to be confused with American composer David Amram) was her next door neighbor on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston in 1975 when I knew her. Apparently he was mainly a trumpet player. My impression was that she would occasionally call him over to her apartment to “straighten out” any student who was recalcitrant to her own teachings. She mentioned to me once that one of her students was writing a book. She said that if she were to ever write a book, she would want it to be something wholly new, never envisioned before. I told her that I was reading such a book right then: “Sound and Symbol, Music and the External World”, by Victor Zuckerkandl. I was very enthusiastic about it. She had never heard of it. Ironically, apparently the author had once been a professor at Wellesley College, several miles away - where SHE had also once taught. Must have been two different time periods. She sure was surprised by that. I think you can find the book for free at annas-archive.org. So when I mentioned this book by Zuckerkandl, she called over Dr. David to find out about it. I hadn’t met him before. He inquisited me: was I a well-trained musician? No. Was I a scholar of music? No. Had I studied music theory? No. Well, then, he concluded, although my interest in this book was commendable, I couldn’t possibly be in a position to truly understand it. This was his considered judgment, even though he knew nothing about the book nor about me. I was mightily pissed off by this display of dumb arrogance. I said to Chaloff, “Either he leaves or I leave!”. She calmed the situation, and he left. So although I couldn’t see eye-to-eye with her about practically anything, I still liked her. She was very gracious. She was a blend of charming, effusive grande dame, hide-bound Christian right-winger, high-flown mystic, and fervent apostle/preacher. There were many pictures of Christ on her living-room walls. She was the mother of Serge Chaloff, who had attained fame in the 1940s and 1950s as a jazz saxophonist - baritone sax, I think. He died early from some kind of debilitating disease. I read later on that she had been disappointed that he had chosen to go into jazz instead of classical music. That was my brush with greatness. But it didn't rub off onto me.

[@rrotstein]

@@therealong Dr. Avram David (not to be confused with American composer David Amram) was her next door neighbor on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston in 1975 when I knew her. He was mainly a trumpet player. My impression was that she would occasionally call him over to her apartment to “straighten out” any student who was recalcitrant to her own teachings. She mentioned to me once that one of her students was writing a book. She said that if she were to ever write a book, she would want it to be something wholly new, never envisioned before. I told her that I was reading such a book right then: “Sound and Symbol, Music and the External World”, by Victor Zuckerkandl. I was very enthusiastic about it. She had never heard of it before. Ironically, apparently the author had once been a professor at Wellesley College, several miles away - where SHE had also once taught. Must have been two different time periods. She sure was surprised by that. I think you can find the book for free at annas-archive.org. So when I mentioned this book by Zuckerkandl, she called over Dr. David to find out about it. I hadn’t met him before. He inquisited me: was I a well-trained musician? No. Was I a scholar of music? No. Had I studied music theory? No. Well, then, he concluded, although my interest in this book was commendable, I couldn’t possibly be in a position to truly understand it. This was his considered judgment, even though he knew nothing about the book nor about me. I was mightily pissed off by this display of dumb arrogance. I angrily protested to Chaloff, “Either he leaves or I leave!”. She calmed the situation, and he left. So although I couldn’t see eye-to-eye with her about practically anything, I still liked her. She was very gracious. She was a blend of charming, effusive grande dame, hide-bound Christian right-winger, high-flown mystic, and fervent ideologue. There were many pictures of Christ on her living-room walls. She was the mother of Serge Chaloff, who attained fame in the 1940s and 1950s as a jazz saxophonist - baritone sax, I think. He died early from some kind of debilitating disease. I read later on that she had been disappointed that he had chosen to go into jazz instead of classical music. That was my brush with greatness. But it didn’t rub off on me.

[@guitarislife01]

Seriously, a lot of professional pianists need to acknowledge #2

[@babakesmaeelpour5732]

Which piece of Rachmaninoff is that?

[@inti7349]

Se agradece mucho los subtítulos en español Manuel, saludos!!

[@manuelcasarespiano]

Gracias a ti por verlo!!

[@Sujkhgfrwqqnvf]

En qué frecuencia está afinado tu piano? Me suena bastante alto, aunque no se si será cosa del video

[@manuelcasarespiano]

Gran oído! Está a 442 🙂

[@timsheffield7464]

Do you teach online? If so how do I proceed? I recently performed first movement of Rach 3 but I need a lot of help and your videos do that for me. Thank you

[@manuelcasarespiano]

You can find me on Discord (link in description) and send me a message over there 🙂

[@stephenlikestools6846]

If you get a chance, perhaps state the exact piece this is from and whose transcription. And a link to the sheet music download would be most welcome. Here or in your discord. Thank you.

[@manuelcasarespiano]

Rachmaninov - Cello Sonata in G minor, first movement (a few pages in). I just dropped a link in my Discord 👍

[@stephenlikestools6846]

Thank you, my friend.

[@garypippenger202]

OMG! if only this had been available when I started piano, trumpet and voice lessons and when I went to college as a music major--I coulda done it! Damn! Born too soon.

[@DolphinWithIgloo-fg3ow]

Elgar, enigma variations

[@raphljn738]

Too hard to do for a beginner but so good to listen to 👌

[@wardropper]

On the other hand, at some point, you have to jump in and TRY - and the sooner, the better. One thing I point out to many students, for example, is that ANYBODY can play fast on their very first day with the piano. The open secret is to start with only two notes. If you can play them almost simultaneously (which anybody can), then nobody will be able to beat you for speed. Then, over time, you move on to three notes. The point I am making is just that we shouldn’t put obstacles in our own path by telling ourselves, “That’s too hard”, or, “I’m only a beginner”. TRYING is something that is vastly underestimated. Day 5 always goes better than Day 1, but if you don’t do Day 1, then Day 5 never even arrives...

[@raphljn738]

@@wardropper I agree with the fact that we have to try to at least get better, but the fact that à beginner have to fous on other things that are more important than delayed voicing... Typically, im struggling to get the rythm one the sonate facile from mozart, rythm is more important than more advanced concept. But thank for ur answer 😁

[@mileshall9235]

Lance Armstrong...is that YOU?

[@Autumnmusica752]

Que obra toca exactamente?

[@manuelcasarespiano]

Rachmaninov Cello Sonata op.19, mov #1 🙂

[@Cinkstars]

New subscriber

[@spacevspitch4028]

Ok, I've never heard that Tchaikovsky symphony but I'm VERY familiar with the Rach 2 and that sounded like a direct rip from Rachmaninoff there 🫢

[@manuelcasarespiano]

Oh dude, you're in for a treat! Listen to the whole 4th movement. I probably listened to it over 200 times and the ending still gives me goosebumps every single time. Don't be shy with the volume, blast away 🔥 Tchaikovsky was Rachmaninov's biggest inspiration for everything he composed. Listen to Tchaikovsky's piano trio, and then to Rachmaninov's elegiaque trios too. Or the symphonies. It's all there. Great catch! ❤️

[@spacevspitch4028]

@manuelcasarespiano Thanks for the recommend! Do you have one specific performances that you always listen to or a few top favorites?

[@manuelcasarespiano]

@spacevspitch4028 Sinfónica de Galicia + Dima Slobodeniouk

[@spacevspitch4028]

@@manuelcasarespiano Thanks!

[@i.ehrenfest349]

I thought delayed voicing was called schmieren

[@thenetgamer2]

1:00 This is developing somatic awareness, no? I feel like this is a bad approach, largely because it uses voice as an intermediary to understanding the movements and nature of the instrument, I can see long term overuse of this crutch as potentially restrcting. Largely because this would create a transition layer internally, where it would look like musical intention → vocal conception → vocal production → translation to instrument, instead of musical intention → instrumentation. Ideally we should reach a state of extended body schema, where our brain has mapped our choice instrument to be akin to a part of our body. Long term, blind slow practice might be more beneficial for this aspect.

[@seheyt]

The trick is that the voice is a model that applies to all *other* human language and its concepts permeate most music styles. So it's a great additional source of inspiration and intuitive control. Of course, you can do without, but this presupposes a kind of experience or natural ability that usually has to be discovered first. Note, too, that this is precisely why everyone is always emphasizing that it's not about singing "well" or "beautifully". That would just replace the technical traps of one instrument with those of another. Consider it like a painter creating charcoal studies of their subjects for a while before committing: it's a method of sketching AND experiencing the motion instead of being distracted by subsidiary details

[@halloola3636]

Funny, how "voicing" here has a completely different meaning than in jazz.

[@marcelotai1055]

When *talking* Jazz i think it means the distribution of the notes that belong to chord *type* among the available octaves. Or the 'rendering' of the chord *symbol* without considering dynamics. In classic it is to give different intensities to particular notes of a chord.

[@halloola3636]

@@marcelotai1055 Well, thanks for explaining, I knew the meaning in jazz. I studied classical and jazz piano in Germany and as you can guess I wasn´t taught the whole terminology in English.

[@AhimSaah]

Manuel, great video but 1 important correction: the vast majority of people do not have the capacity to perform music in a musical way, that's a mythe circulating in the population. In the field of personlity psychology and psychometrics we now that the ability to play expressively correlates with the personality trait called 'Openness to experience' which is subdiveded into 'Intellect' and 'Aestetics'. The trait is normally distributed within the population meaning that around 65-70% of the people are 100% incapable of playing expresively. It is only people that are positioned above the 85 percentile on the trait of Openness to experience that can be artists of anykind. That's about 5% of the population. Furthermore, in order to be at least an intermediate player, you have to be very hard-working and diligent which ties into a personality trait of 'Conscientiousness'. Again the same story, you have to be within 85 percentile. You put those two together and you get 5% of 5%. So, 2-3 in a thousand people are musical. This has been known in the field for 40 years, nothing new.

[@thenetgamer2]

You make it sound like personality traits are set in stone.

[@AhimSaah]

@@thenetgamer2 no, they can shift during the life of someone but to a lesser extent. If you're not orderly at all you will never be very orderly, but you can improve, many times that means doing stuff you hate. I know it sounds devastating, nobody likes it, including myself. But science is sometimes not in line with our wishes.

[@thenetgamer2]

@AhimSaah Science isn't absolute, this isn't faith. Anything you're reading that claims itself as such, is a bunk science. What you're describing is at odds with sociology and psychology as a whole.

[@Sujkhgfrwqqnvf]

Por favor haz un video explicando cómo digitar el pasaje del 4º movimiento de esta sonata de semicorcheas en la derecha en el segundo tema (re# do la si sol do la si re# do la si fa# etc) tanto en exposicion como reexposicion es que es intocable jajajaj

[@manuelcasarespiano]

Vente al Discord! Aún no toqué nunca el cuarto mov pero podemos verlo juntos si quieres

[@wirelyre]

I use 1-4-2-3/5-4-2-3 (preferred) and 1-3-1-2/5-3-1-2 (when my fingers get stuck on the sides of the keys). The double stems are _very_ useful, they not only show a long melodic contour but also force the hand to stay stable within each 16th group. Consider holding the initial note of each group while the others are played. The second, third, and fourth note of each group can take a very light touch, barely interacting with the sustain pedal. For practice, you can play each group of four as a chord, to keep the hand stable; and combinations of 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th of each group of eight.

[@PeterFamiko-lw8ue]

Rachmaninov practize some pieces very slowly

[@TheHyGuy0o0]

So there’s levels to this shit 😂

[@chesterchub]

2:23 useless for actual music??

[@katttttt]

Yap - actual music should not be played the same all the way through - then it won't sound musicaly. Let's say if you play every Hanon note at the same dynamic etc, you might as well approach other sixthteeth notes the same as you did with Hanon.

[@syrinx114]

Yes, what he’s saying is that if you can play really fast notes but only at one dynamic or one style, you will not have any useful level of technique. To be musical requires the full range of skills.

[@ginabisaillon2894]

Sorry, too advanced for me.

[@gezaradai2958]

you talked 5 minutes, said nothing, bye!

[@alexanderteachernyc]

I had a different experience. After listening to the whole video, I went to the piano and played with a degree of musicality I had thought was beyond me. I’m excited to incorporate this teacher’s concepts into my own teaching and playing/singing.

[@gezaradai2958]

Rahmaninov had no taste, 3. rate, lemonade composer