Which Is Best for Learning Technique? | Repertoire Vs. Exercises

I often see comments on social media about how exercises are useless and that all technique can be learned while studying the great repertoire. This may in fact be true, but it also opens the door to a host of other problems. I intend to settle the argument once and for all with this video, using an example from Mozart's C Major Sonata, K. 545!
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Charles Szczepanek is an international prize-winning pianist, has collaborated with GRAMMY Award winners, and has taught music for over 20 years to everyone from his next-door neighbor to finalists on NBC's America's Got Talent. Through Pianist Academy, he now brings that wealth of knowledge to you: the beginner, the intermediate, the professional, or the fellow music teacher.
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
00:15 - What IS Technique?
01:52 - Mozart K 545, M 5-12
02:34 - The Technical Demands of This Passage
03:09 - Using This Passage to Teach Technique
04:25 - IMPORTANT!
05:24 - Back to the Passage
05:47 - How Long Will This Process Take WITHIN REP
06:10 - Learning Technique OUTSIDE REP
08:11 - Applying This Principle Further
09:29 - Disclaimer.

[@aBachwardsfellow]

" .... all technique can be learned while studying the great repertoire." And a mountain of sand can be removed using a teaspoon ...

[@PianistAcademy1]

This is a GREAT analogy. Yes, it’s possible. But the effort is extreme and the task can be made far easier with the right tools and the right preparation. Each mountain might need a slightly different approach to move it most efficiently, but if your only tool is a teaspoon, every mountain will be a monumental task.

[@aBachwardsfellow]

@@PianistAcademy1 Buzzacticly! Hope you're having a great Christmas with family!

[@PianistAcademy1]

@@aBachwardsfellowjust finished baking and decorating cookies with fam, yes! Hope you are as well!

[@aBachwardsfellow]

@@PianistAcademy1 Definitely! -- making the cheese ball recipe now -- then the fruit salad

[@karensullivan6545]

Wow! Your channel is just what I am looking for. After 5 years of lessons as a child, I’m playing the piano again at age 76. In months I am improving my technique. Now I am motivated to learn scales. I would rather skip technique and just play my old favorites. But I need help with even doing that. I think your channel is great.

[@PianistAcademy1]

Thanks so much, Karen! Best wishes for your continued piano journey, and I hope to see you around the channel again!

[@catherineb3841]

13 years of lessons, I am 72, and I hope that you and my teacher are right 😂 because that is how I have been learning , scales and arpeggios every day ! It is a slow process , I mean before one feels the benefits, but it is coming. As an old starter, I knew I lacked dexterity and I believed the scales and arpeggios would help, which they probably have done. I am not an advanced player but I will soon be unbeatable on scales, arpeggios and chord cadences 😉

[@JoeLinux2000]

What if you put the same number of hours into William Gillock?

[@PianistAcademy1]

That’s great! Your teachers next job is to show you exactly how that work applies to the pieces you work on.

[@PianistAcademy1]

Gillock is lovely stuff and wonderful to learn phrasing and musicality, which is absolutely necessary as well!

[@catherineb3841]

I also play pieces of course and, in fact, several Gillock’s ones this past year.

[@sergiobravo252]

Yes. Gillock is great. I love his Sarabande. What is your favorite?

[@PetulaGuimaraes]

I really appreciate you talk about elements of excellence. It's ok that folks just want to have the pleasure of playing for themselves, imperfectly. Some of us, however, really want to play at elevated level, using very highly developed skills, even though it's hard. The importance of solid foundations, although unsexy, cannot be overstated.

[@PianistAcademy1]

You nailed it!

[@stephenscottbrewer5184]

Thank you as always, Charles! Happy Holidays!

[@PianistAcademy1]

Thanks for watching, Stephen!

[@bonjovi1612]

Hi Charles, thanks for a wonderful video. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family.

[@vivacepianostudio]

Awesome video advice! I start my students on technique from the very first lesson. Then it’s not such a big deal as their “warm ups” become an ingrained habit. So by the time they need a particular skill to use in a piece, they already know how and can focus on the musicality easier. (Scales and chords of course but also hand independence: one hand legato while the other staccato or one loud while the other soft, legato 3rds, Alberti bass etc) But sometimes I get “transfer” students who have trouble understanding the value in this preparation mentality. So I will be sending them your wonderful video explanation! Thank you!! Also like how you explained transferring conscious mind to subconscious. The Japanese music educator Dr. S. Suzuki espoused this precept many years ago but I’m amazed at how many of my colleagues don’t understand this.

[@PianistAcademy1]

Thanks for watching and also for referring any of your new transfer students here to help explain our shared perspectives! I also begin technique right in the first lesson. It was always a part of my weekly lessons when I was studying all the way up until my undergrad program… even prepping for auditions, my teacher and I would spend 10 minutes drilling scales and arpeggios in a variety of ways and at high speed before covering anything else. When you’ve lived the benefits of such practice and work you can really understand just how important it is for earlier students to build this habit.

[@bethanywakim6175]

I had many years of lessons shuffling from teacher to teacher before I landed with one that really focused on good technique… that first year was absolutely brutal! I had so many bad habits to unlearn, and then only had two years with her before I graduated... no more lessons after that. She got me on the right track, but I really wish I’d got to the nitty gritty of scales and arpeggios early on - I still have so much trouble with evenness. And Mozart exposes every deficiency, lol. As far as repertoire developing technique, Bach inventions and fugues have been the most helpful, as the fingering has to be so exact and there is really nowhere to hide. Now my trouble is finding time to practice… “Focused Charles” Memoji 😂 Merry Christmas to you and your family!

[@aBachwardsfellow]

Oh how I miss those days in school when 1 hour per day of practice per credit hour was required to be logged onto a practice sheet and honor-pledged just to get a C! Three hours per day for my major instrument (organ), two hours for my minor (piano), and one hour per day for ensemble/accompanying. Six to eight hours per day was the norm -- wouldn't I love to have that kind of time to practice now in "real" life :-)

[@bethanywakim6175]

@@aBachwardsfellow I was a math major and my piano lessons stopped at the end of high school unfortunately! I did work as an accompanist at college, so at least that kept me in practice somewhat.

[@aBachwardsfellow]

​@@bethanywakim6175 -- a math major who enjoys Bach! Not surprisiing -- Bach is both logical and beautiful -- one of my favorites (as you may guess from my name ... ;-) Scales and arpeggios will still be helpful -- but sometimes it takes a bit of serious "digging in". I'm somehwhat returning after a career in IT and am finding that between being out of it for so long -- plus a few aging factors -- has set be back closer to square one than I wish. However I am finding that falling back to the approaches I used when I was first learning are working -- albeit slowly. My biggest challenge seems to be centering the fingers over black keys after a thumb cross-over. I've seen a bit of progress on that by focusing on scales in D-flat major, F-sharp major, and B major. I worked on D-flat at tempos of MM = 60 for quarter notes, and using various rhythm patterns for about 30 hours over a period of a week or so, and things have improved. The humorous thing was that I could no longer play C major. So there's evidence that there is still some residual brain activity going on up there. You may enjoy some of the Bach Partitas, French suites, and English suites -- some of his later works which are some of the most developed and lovely.

[@PianistAcademy1]

Yes! This is exactly what I’m talking about, and your experience also seems to align with a few friends of my own who did degrees in music but were far behind, technically, in their first year. One friend in particular, even after playing their audition with a Prelude and Fugue, a large classical Sonata, an Etude, and more… they were put on a “therapeutic treatment” of very very simple drop and release exercises because the tension they carried to the piano was crazy extreme. All rep was taken away, even scales were taken away, until the mind could be re-written with a different approach to simple key depression.

[@aBachwardsfellow]

​@@PianistAcademy1 that was exactly my case -- I essentially was emulating Glenn Gould (I was working on the Bach Partitas and his was the only recording available at the time). I was the one who requested to study with a prof who taught the piano majors (I was an organ major) because I could see how he played and wanted to play that way. He graciously accepted me and very kindly said at our first lesson (I was a college sophomore) " ... I've heard you play -- you have a good talent and sense of artistry, and you work really hard. Now all we need to do is teach you how to play one note right." :-) He then put me through a therapeutic treatment of those very very simple drop and release exercises (Leschetizky), one finger at a time, and once I began to catch on, I refused to ever play any other way -- and still do! My culminating performance from studying with him at the end of the year (8 months) was Debussey's Danse (Tarantelle Styrienne) -- I would never have been able to play that previously.

[@FingersKungfu]

Classical piano is all about applying techniques to execute the passages in the right way. You’re not learning this or that pieces, the process is to acquire the techniques to play them. Without having appropriate technical level, learning a new piece is not really a progress. Bach didn’t let his students play anything until they acquired enough dexterity in both hands. He composed those little preludes as a compromise (so that students had some real music to amuse themselves). In short, you need to develop your techniques through etudes books like Hanon and Czerny while building repertoire at the same time.

[@AntoineVideoLibrary]

Very interesting topic. I've tried both ways, and my conclusion is that it depends on the individual's level and the consistency of piano practice. An exercise does not need to be very repetitive if you add articulations and dynamics, and struggling with a few bars of a piece can end up sounding mechanical. So, I say, practice according to the challenge you have at the present moment.

[@serwoolsley]

Wow an idepth video about this topic and it's not even christmast! Amazing thanks charles

[@PianistAcademy1]

Haha you bet! Merry Christmas!

[@recitationofthequranrecita9793]

I have a question, why my teacher always tells me “lift your finger 2000000 meters up so you can play fast.”why, I hate this, why professional pianist won’t do it and they do the wrist thing (sorry for bad English)

[@PianistAcademy1]

Almost always, any lifting of the finger results in the hand and tendons controlling the fingers fighting against themselves. There are occasionally professional pianists who make that technique work, but many of them also suffer injuries because of it. A preparatory motion is always necessary, which is why the argument for “lift” happened in the first place. My philosophy is to make the preparatory motion as efficient, small, and healthy as possible (usually more with wrist than finger) to allow the actual motion we play with (down) to work as best and as predictably as possible. The faster you need to play, the more all motion needs to be minimized and made more efficient. But there’s also the question of finger engagement to consider. A teacher might ask for more lift simply to try and engage the fingers more on the downward motion. We can’t replace finger engagement with wrist movement, they both need to work in conjunction with one another, but even so, I tend to teach engagement without lift as much as possible.

[@RhodesyYT]

Martha Argerich used repetoire for technique she never did any of those practice methods apparently

[@PianistAcademy1]

She can also learn music without ever touching the piano at all. How many other people on earth have that ability? She’s amazing! But probably not a great example of how 99.9% of humans learn.

[@RhodesyYT]

@PianistAcademy1 also how's ur Christmas going charles I just finished a variation on we wish you a merry Christmas i transposed it to my favorite key guess what that is (its something flat major)

[@PianistAcademy1]

I’m on the road right now actually! (Stopped for lunch) the holiday will be lovely with family. And I’d guess… Ab Maj!

[@RhodesyYT]

@PianistAcademy1 so close D flat its such a comfortable key

[@LLifts3598]

​@@RhodesyYT Db Major is my FAVORITE key. It has such a sweet sound to it, and fits so nicely under the fingers. It's also a really good key for singing (tenor here lol)

Sometimes I think it's worth learning piano just to have the opportunity to say "Repertoire" in conversation.

[@PianistAcademy1]

Love it!

[@JoeLinux2000]

A better title and accompanying video content would be: "What techniques are best for developing genuinely musical performance skills?" Some questions and topics might be, "What does technique mean?" What is the difference between technique and musicianship? Is Technique simply the mastery of high velocity scales, or is it a solid rhythmic feel, convincing phrasing and dynamics, pedaling, sight reading, Improvisation, imaginative and clever arranging, memorization, ability to play by ear, good choice of repertoire, proper balance of the harmonic content? What exercises teach these things? How do you learn to became a musician, and not simply a technician. If you have a good ear, do you simply parrot what you hear or do you exhibit originality and creativity? How do you play outside the box without excessive and repugnant dissonance? When is dissonance appropriate, and when does it become noise? When is it appropriate to simplify or augment? To what extent is it helpful to be around talented musicians other than just a single teacher? What abilites should you look for in a teacher? What is the best use of your time? What type of exercise actually develops musicianship? What are realistic musical goals? Is there an exercise book that defines them?

[@PianistAcademy1]

This is all good, but it isn’t appropriate for a “video.” It’s a decade’s worth of video content… hundreds of hours of video lessons… a 300-500 page book. And, all of those will still fall short because: every student will need a different response from the teacher and need to follow a different path. Part of the reason I started this channel is because there’s such a massive amount of knowledge to discuss and uncover, it’s almost limitless. You literally can’t run out of ideas, even over a lifetime.

[@aBachwardsfellow]

So -- you make some good points, but there are, of course, benefits and necessities for both. Where "technic" -- in terms of common basic technic, such as scales, arpeggios, chords, octaves, double thirds and sixths, etc. etc. -- overlap with the repertoire, of course they are beneficial. And, as you say, some repertoire -- such as etudes, etc. -- are specifically written to advance certain technical aspects. But then there comes that repertoire which has unique elements which go beyond what anyone would construct as a technical exercise, and for which -- as you say -- one must contrive to build one's own approach to mastering -- from conscious to subconscious. It is the latter to which I think the proponents of "reprtoire" are referring -- and I think it's a valid argument at that point.

[@PianistAcademy1]

Do you have any examples in the standard rep canon that come to mind for you? There are of course very unique challenges in some modern compositions that typical exercises do little to nothing to prepare one for, but often a pianist won’t play those until their standard technical skills are highly advanced already. Even if I think about the Liszt Sonata, a great deal of the technical challenges still come back to scales and arpeggios, but sometimes in octaves, sometimes mixed, many times needing 5 for cross over 1, etc. For example, on around the 3rd page, there are two pages of octaves in both hands. Those octaves outline triads in various inversions. The speed and accuracy you need to play that page well is extraordinary, but if we’d build our own “exercises” out of playing triads and inversions in octaves over the span of many keys, we’d make great progress, while also not needing to necessarily think about the speed, direction, overarching phrase etc of the actual passage.

[@aBachwardsfellow]

​@@PianistAcademy1 I don't have many specific pieces in mind -- it's ones such as you mentioned, which, while they certainly include scalewise and chordal/arpeggiated segments, also have those eccentric passages, and are, as you said, considerably more advanced pieces. I think an advanced pianist who may be contemplating playing such pieces would intuituvely begin to develop and incorporate exercises which would be preparatory for as well as useful during their study. And I think that is what the proponents of learning the technic within the repertoire have in mind. It's not only useful, it's inescapable - 🙂

[@aBachwardsfellow]

Speaking of scales -- I've hit on a new (to me at least) invented "burst" grouping that I'm finding helpful. Using C major as an example: 1st note (C) = accented 1/4 note followed by two 16th-note triplets ( D - E - F G - A - B -- with and/or without accents on the first of each triplet) and landing on the next octave (tonic - C) -- continuing up and down for 4 octaves. So - ascending (RH fingering written above): 1 2-3-1 2-3-4 1 2-3-1 2-3-4 1 C D-E-F G-A-B C D-E-F G-A-B C etc. 1 and 2 - - & - - 1 and 2 - - & - - 1 Descending (RH fingering written above): 5 4-3-2 1-3-2 1 4-3-2 1-3-2 1 C B-A-G F-E-D C B-A-G F-E-D C etc. 1 and 2 - - & - - 1 and 2 - - & - - 1 Where it becomes interesting is, always using the correct scale fingering, start the first note on each of the other scale degrees. For example, starting on the 2nd scale degree (D), the accented 1/4 note is D, followed by two 16th-note triplets ( E - F - G A - B - C ) and landing on the D. But at the top (4th octave) do NOT break the triplet -- so that you end up landing on B as the descending 1/ 4 note. So - ascending -- showing the top 2 octaves and turn-around (RH fingering written above): 2 3-1-2 3-4-1 2 3-1-2 3-4-5 4 D E-F-G A-B-C D E-F-G A-B-C B 1 and 2 - - & - - 1 and 2 - - & - - 1 And at the bottom, likewise do not break the triplet; turn around on C and land on D as the accented 1/4 note, ready to ascend again: Descending -- showing the bottom 2 octaves and turn-around (RH fingering written above): 4 3-2-1 3-2-1 4 3-2-1 3-2-1 2 B A-G-F E-D-C B A-G-F E-D-C D 1 and 2 - - & - - 1 and 2 - - & - - 1 Continue starting on each scale degree; always use the correct scale fingering, and turn around on the top and bottom tonic (C in this example.) without breaking the triplet -- regardless of how it falls. So - in C: - starting on scale degree 1 (C): descending 1/4 note = 1 (C) - starting on scale degree 2 (D): descending 1/4 note = 7 (B) - starting on scale degree 3 (E); descending 1/4 note = 6 (A) - starting on scale degree 4 (F); descending 1/4 note = 5 (G) - starting on scale degree 5 (G); descending 1/4 note = 4 (F) - starting on scale degree 6 (A); descending 1/4 note = 3 (E) - starting on scale degree 7 (B); descending 1/4 note = 2 (D) The same pattern of scale degrees obtain in each key. This has been helpful in my "restorative" journey -- attempting to regain a long-lost level of proficiency -- by forcing the patterns in the conscious to further cement (re-cement, re-awaken) the patterns in the sub-conscious. I'd be interested in whether this is a pattern you've used, and whether or not you see much benefit in it. I think it's more likely to be useful in the earlier stages of learning a scale, as it's a bit choppy for the final stages. Would love to hear your thoughts.

[@PianistAcademy1]

Very interesting! I have not used distributions like this in standalone scale practice, although I could argue that some of the ways I've come up with for rhythmic groups of scalar passages in rep would be very similar, but all dependent on the passage. To my cursory examination of this process, I think the biggest benefit gained will be more independence of execution of each finger that gets a pause. By working through every combination, you'll in essence build that increased independence and control for every finger used in the process. I'd typically reserve this type of pausing for working for very fast tempi where the hand has difficulty in remaining loose through the passage. I'd personally employ this practice technique starting with tempi around Q = 125 and going up from there, but I could see it useful for the top tempo range of any student, wherever that happens to be. As far as the usefulness for starting on all of those different pitches, this would be one area where I'd argue to learn it within rep. If the hand knows the basic pattern, we simply need to adapt it to a passage in question. That passage may or may not be an exact scale, so if we are going to need to slightly adapt it anyway, then lets just practice starting in the middle of the scale where it's asked in the particular piece. By the time you've played significant rep, you'll be able to start a scale on any pitch anyway... but the reverse may not always hold true due to those little compositional differences between a scalar passage and a pure scale. My two cents!

[@aBachwardsfellow]

​@@PianistAcademy1 great feedback -- thanks! What I'm finding it useful for is forcing through the crossovers in different combinations -- getting the different handshapes accurately. As I mentioned, I'm in a serious remedial mode of trying to re-acquire a level of technical facility after 40-some years in the IT profession (60-hour+ weeks, during which the greatest challenge was finding consistent time *and* having mental capacity to profitably practice) typically resulting in one practice session on Sundays - 2 - 4 hours on piano (the first 2 or so being "re-hab") , and another 2 - 3 hours on the organ (4 - 7 hours a week as compared with the 20-some hours per week I used to practice before IT). Now retired, I'm just now approaching 8 - 12 hours a week -- wanting to get back closer to the 20-hour weeks if possible. But, of course, now that I'm actually trying to regain and advance things, (as opposed to playing on "leftover" technic for the past 20 years or so), I'm encountering the reality of my current technical state -- a combination of a severe lack of consistent practice, plus some aging factors. Bottom line -- I'm having some difficulty getting fingers to find the hand shape and center over the keys (especially black keys) after crossinig over the thumbs. I'm currently working at Q = 60 - 80 and struggling to find accuracy with relaxation. It's getting better, but it's quite a ways off from the Q = 144 I did in college ...

[@TonyZ492]

Dude you’re totally right!

[@zeroossi5967]

viedo on how to read sheet music for people who alredy know intervalls .... etc

[@JoeLinux2000]

Notice this highly interesting demonstration of "scale technique": kzbin.info/www/bejne/rZqVq5SZoNCIqJI How many people have you met that say they took some number of years of piano lessons, yet can't play a note?

[@aBachwardsfellow]

An interesting approach. I find my students do just fine learning a few major and minor scales and arpeggios up through B (five sharps) and E-flat (three flats). typically once those are established, taking on the remaining keys is just a matter of time. I'm not so sure I understand the benefits of learning a the first 5 notes of G-flat major, A-sharp minor or F-sharp minor -- especially starting with the thumbs and 5th fingers. That is just something that will have to be unlearned. It's an interesting concept, but not one that I see as parrticularly beneficial or advantageous (except for the people selling them ... ). My students learn the 7 root position triads -- broken and blocked -- in the key of C -- hands together, and the C major scale 1 octave, each hand alone in the first lesson, and we build from there. However -- sadly, and all too often -- there are those who have studied with "teachers" who teach ... differently, I suppose is the word ...

[@JoeLinux2000]

A piece requiring significant technique. One performance live, another virtual: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fGTQh5VshZ2Gfdk kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXSXpZd-nZiMpck

[@JoeLinux2000]

People should read "The Art of Piano Playing A Scientific Approach. By George Kochevitsky." The best practice is actual performance in front of an audience. The goal is to play musically and in a fashion that actually reaches an audience. I get the feeling that Charles never actually read Kochevitskyy's book which goes into this subject in great detail. It would be interesting to know what Yuja Wang has to say on this subject. She has a massive repertoire under her fingers. Chopin was told by one teacher that he didn't have enough technique and needed to take at least two years of lessons from this critic who no one now remembers. Not many audiences are interested in hearing a concert of exercises. I'm a huge fan of "Cateen". He transcends technique. Jermey Denk has a lot of technique, but I find his playing hard to listen to. It's kind of like listening to machine gun fire. He's very machine like and his repertoire seems somewhat limited. I like Charles's arrangements. They are very well crafted.

[@PianistAcademy1]

I’ve read that book, cover to cover, more than once 😁 great book and I usually cite him as well as Neuhaus as two of my favorite pedagogues. If you aren’t a prodigy where technique simply falls into the hands without much thought or attention, I really stand behind my point here that its a bad idea to only learn it from within rep. Kochevitsky and Neuhaus both point out that any playing within repertoire should always be musical, from the earliest all the way through levels of advancement. That kind of focus on only what the ear is hearing is only possible if the mind truly doesn’t have to think about what the hands are doing consciously. Hence, if the hands need to be “automatic” and rep always needs to be musical, then there is no choice but to work technique without rep present. Choosing to work technique only within rep will very likely leave your rep unmusical and also leave your technique underdeveloped. To me, there’s no win in that situation, unless you aren’t ever going to perform for anyone but yourself at home.

[@JoeLinux2000]

You could spend a lot of time learning this technical repertorie, but I don't know why: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqSQqXmHp9tpg80

[@Vasioth]

​@sparrowhawk8590 this isn't just his stance though, many famous piano pedagogues also state that learning technique through repertoire can be detrimental to expression as it can create a mechanical approach to playing said repertoire. Neuhaus avoided teaching this way for this exact reason. And no offense, but if you are completely self teaching yourself advanced repertoire without the aide of a teacher I will say with 100 percent guarantee right now that it will suck compared to a concert pianist if you are going by professional standards. Having an in person teacher is crucial to learning fine piano technique.

[@PianistAcademy1]

@sparrowhawk8590 I am sorry to hear this, and I didn’t intend and would never intend to insult anyone who plays or is studying in any capacity. I assume that the great majority of people who watch my content here choose to do so because they’d like to learn to be better pianists. Every video I make is from that perspective and every in-person lesson I teach is from that perspective. There’s a time and place to enjoy music, especially as an adult learner and even as younger learners who might pursue degrees in music and professional work. There’s also a time and place for all of those same people to do some “nitty gritty” work and get our hands dirty with the difficult stuff. The extent to which you choose to take the advice I offer is up to you, and there’s no judgement from me personally. But yes, to a viewer who might be 18 and watching, applying for a degree in music, what I say in this video would be *crucial* to their success both in school and beyond, *if* they choose to take it. And for any self-taught pianists, I’d think that this presentation would be especially eye-opening because it invariably points out the importance of focused technical work, which would probably never come up without a teacher present. As Vasioth points out, this really isn’t a perspective that is solely my own, nor did I create it. Vasioth cites Neuhaus perfectly, although I wish they were more kind in their response to you. All of that technical work doesn’t need to be monotonous. All my private students work on these things, even the ones who seriously resist at the beginning and are only playing for enjoyment, and they all learn that there are dozens to hundreds of ways to keep technical work from being boring and they begin to learn the multiple benefits of doing it (technique, theory, analysis, composition, etc) in just a few weeks. I am sorry to have hurt your feelings. I truly have enjoyed hearing your playing and giving my thoughts on it.

[@aBachwardsfellow]

@@PianistAcademy1 I like to try to make technic studies as musical as possible ...

[@andrelemos2106]

My 2 cents, we must do both. I like practice tecnique first, becasue is easier to focus. After i like to study by repertoire.

[@PianistAcademy1]

Sounds like we are in agreement! Thanks for watching!

[@JoeLinux2000]

The Kochevitsky approach is to create your own exercises from the difficulties and snags encountered in actual repertoire. He never suggest ignoring exercises entirely. It's more a question of creating exercises as needed. His idea is to train the brain, not simply finger strength. It's an expedient approach working on the material you actually need to learn. It's very worthwhile, but you have to be capable of comprehending the approach. He points out it's the difference between a gymnast and a weight lifter. Lifting weights alone does not turn you into a gymnast.

[@PianistAcademy1]

Now this I completely agree with! I don’t think my video really states anything different!

[@aBachwardsfellow]

​@@JoeLinux2000 This makes sense to a degree, but there is also a great deal of overlap between "standard" technical exercises (scales, arpeggios, chords, etc.) and much repertoire. So utilizing the "standard" exercises *before* they are "needed" has some of the payoffs that proponents of technical studies tout. Not meaning to be trite or sound pedantic, but if one never plays a scale until one encounters a scale as a " ... difficulty and snag in actual repertoire" creates the scenario Charles demonstrated with the Mozart. On the other hand, no one is disagreeing on the need to " ... create your own exercises from the difficulties and snags encountered in actual repertoire" when those are encountered and not supported by other/previous technical studies. It really does come down to a practical assessment of the need for and benefits of both.

[@aBachwardsfellow]

Repertoire is just chunks of technic all strung together. Technic is just chunks of repertoire split apart. Exercises practiced uselessly are useless. ;-) M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S !!

[@backtoschool1611]

My techniquevis not too good. Most teachers don't want to teach technique

[@PianistAcademy1]

I think many teachers simply don’t know how to properly teach technique so it just gets avoided in lessons. But a great teacher will understand the link between the physical and the musical and know the steps to take to create that link for each of their students.

[@cablenelsonbabygrandpiano842]

Very nice and beautiful 😍 🤩 👌 ❤️

[@MathieuPrevot]

This is too reducing. Technique you are talking about is body technique. But there is also mind technique (including proprioception, motion control motion learning, etc) and emotional technique, and three together are (general) technique. Chopin's études are specific, they do not develop any challenge one can meet. Left hand is underdeveloped; no tremolo, no jumps (as in Liszt), no polyrythms, no poly tempi (Ligeti's 6th ricercata, Reich's Piano phase for 1 pianist), limited polyphony (eg., BWV1080, Petrouchka, etc), limited speed (cf., Liszt), limited sound palette (cf. études Debussy, Gaspard de la nuit), no orchestral sound (cf Liszt, Stravinsky)

[@PianistAcademy1]

Everything you say here is true! In the professional circles I associate with, we generally wouldn't call the rest of what you list "technique" but rather ear training and artistry... and because of that, that's usually how I refer to the various processes involved in exceptional music creation. About the etudes, yes you are also correct, but this video is meant to mostly serve the intermediate to early advanced player... years away from ever approaching a Chopin etude, let alone Ligeti etc. Bach is fairly easy to execute, not so easy to interpret or perform well. Liszt is, in my opinion, far easier to execute than Chopin. And I always look for orchestral sounds from all of the great composers' writing. But of all of that rep you mention... Chopin Etudes are usually tackled by 1% or fewer of all students of piano in the world. Ligeti, Stravinsky, Liszt, Gaspard, are an even smaller fraction of pianists... probably only 1% of the 1%. I hope you can understand that I can't make a video that communicates effectively to the earlier levels and also speaks about things that the most highly accomplished would also find interesting. I have to choose! In any case, I believe you are 100% correct in your comment, and thanks for taking the time to watch!

[@Johannes_Brahms65]

Suffering from adhd I have not been able to practice technique without it being part of musical expression. Czerny is so boring! If only Chopin had composed etudes a little less difficult…

[@PianistAcademy1]

I hear you! Have you checked out the etudes by Burgmuller, Op 100 and Op 109? Also, Czerny's 8-measure exercises Op 821 are way more musical than so many of his other sets.

[@Johannes_Brahms65]

@@PianistAcademy1 where were you 45 years ago? I was expected to study Czerny, scales and broken chords. Anyway, I did become a piano teacher and love to feed my students Burgmüller and, moreover, Heller! But technique doesn't compensate for lack of musical hearing. It's a trap!

[@PianistAcademy1]

@@Johannes_Brahms65 100% agree!