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Tips For Pianists

~ Great Tips from Professional Pianists

Tips For Pianists

Author Archives: TGmusic

Do Blind Pianists Have An Advantage?

12 Friday Aug 2011

Posted by TGmusic in Uncategorized

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“We do not play with our eyes. We play with our touch, ears, and imagination”.

(Franz Liszt, virtuoso pianist – who was not blind!)

Below are some jazz and pop pianists that made it big.

  • Art Tatum: Arguably the greatest jazz pianist ever was almost completely blind.
  • Ray Charles: Pop singer and pianist who became blind as a young child.
  • George Shearing: Jazz pianist who developed the so called “Shearing Sound”.
  • Stevie Wonder: Few know what a great jazz pianist Stevie actually is, because he is most famous for his brilliant songs and singing.
  • And there are many more brilliant blind pianists.

The fact that there are famous blind pianists could lead us to conclude that our eyes are unnecessary when it comes to playing the piano. Tothis point, it is well documented that blind people have a very well developed memory for acoustic events, a skill they are forced to develop in order to compensate for their missing eye sight, of course.

Before we jump to any conclusions though, lets do a little experiment. Have you ever played the piano with your eyes closed? If not you should try it right now. Sit down at the piano and close your eyes. Think of a song you know well and try to play it. When you are done write down everything you noticed about this experience. Here are some suggestions of things you may ask yourself:

  • How did it make me feel?
  • What was different from “playing with my eyes open”?
  • Did the keys feel differently?
  • Did your hands “look” for the leys?
  • Have you been focusing more on playing than usually?
  • Did the piano sound differently?
  • Did you make more mistakes?
  • Which kind of passages where especially difficult to play?

I find playing with eyes closed to be an amazingly eye-opening exercise which helps me sharpen my awareness of how I am sitting, the distance between the keys, the feel of the keys, the sound, and other things I usually don’t pay much attention to. It also seems to increase my focus on the music, because there is no visual distraction that can get in the way, and all I have is my ears and memory to guide my hands.

Here is an idea

Maybe we should always play as if we were blind. Why would we actually want to use our eyes unless we are sight reading music? Admittedly, being able to see the keys may give us a higher sense of security, especially when our hands have to travel great distances. However, considering that Art Tatum apparently never missed a key, even when his hand jumped over 3 octavesat lightning speed, the eyes don’t seem to be as important in playing the piano after all.

Have you ever noticed that famous concert pianist perform the most difficult music without actually looking at their hands or the keyboard? Instead, their eyes are often closed or directed up towards the sealing. I always wondered why they do this. Some pianists recommend not to watch the fingers and keys unless it is absolutely necessary. You may think that watching the keys, hands and fingers gives you more security, but it is just the opposite. It can actually interfere with our “autopilot” which is called motor memory to the point where the pianist ends up loosing its place in the music.

Bottom line

As pianists we benefit more from a well trained ear, memory, touch and musical imagination, than good eye sight.

So let’s all close our eyes and make some beautiful music!

5 Dangerous Myths About Practicing

14 Thursday Jul 2011

Posted by TGmusic in On Practicing

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PRACTICING IS GOOD — AS LONG AS YOU DO IT RIGHT

There are many dangerous myths and misconceptions about practicing piano out there. In this article I want to cover five of the most harmful ones. Abandon those practices at all cost, not only because it will save you valuable practice time, but most of all, because it will help you prevent injury and reduce frustration.

MYTH 1: SIT ABSOLUTELY STILL AND UPRIGHT WHILE PRACTICING THE PIANO

Keith playing the piano
Keith Jarrett playing the piano

Have you ever sat on a chair completely motionless for about five minutes? If you did, you probably noticed that your back and neck started hurting and just about every muscle in your body became tenser by the second. You probably couldn’t wait to move your body into a different position, right? This is because sitting absolutely still requires the skill to sit perfectly balanced and relaxed which is an art that should be reserved for yoga sessions and other guided meditational exercise programs.
When playing the piano, however, sitting absolutely still goes completely against the physiology of our bodies not only causing it unnecessary muscle tension but also making it more difficult to play altogether. After all, it isn’t just our fingers that are engaged when we play the piano; in fact, almost every muscle in our body plays a vital part in the sound production, assuming that we use our playing apparatus correctly.  For optimal results we must allow our entire playing apparatus to move freely, which is also the key to ergonomic piano playing. For example, leaning into the keys, or to the left and right of the keyboard is sometimes necessary to execute certain passages that would otherwise put unnecessary strain on our hands and fingers.

The photo shows Keith Jarrett during a live performance. Jarrett is a classically trained piano virtuoso who made himself a name with his famous improvised solo piano concert in Cologne, Germany. It is one of the most sold records in history. Jarrett is especially known for his extroverted performances. Not only does he move his body in the most extreme ways to the point where he is dancing rather than sitting, but he also makes strange sounds with his voice that drive every sound engineer crazy. His music, however, is just brilliant. If you have never heard of him I highly recommend that you check him out. The reason I bring up Jarrett is because he is a good example of someone who doesn’t sit still and upright as promoted by many piano instructors. I am not suggesting that we all should move exactly like Jarrett; however, I do think that letting our bodies move more freely has a positive effect on our performance.

Tip 1: Aim for a well balanced sitting posture but avoid sitting absolutely still when playing the piano; instead, allow for your body to move naturally.

MYTH 2: THE MORE TIME WE SPEND PRACTICING, THE BETTER

This myth can be very dangerous. What if you are tired, frustrated, or maybe even in pain? Should you still keep going just to meet your self-imposed schedule? Of course not. Instead follow this rule: the more time you spend practicing in a focused, relaxed, and productive manner, the better.
You are better off putting quality over quantity when it comes to practicing.

TIP 2: Making the best out of your valuable practice time should always take precedence over the amount of time you spend practicing.

MYTH 3: NO PAIN, NO GAIN

It can’t be overstated how dangerous this myth is when it is taken literally.
Certainly, you never want to reach the point when you play with pain. It is the one thing you must avoid at all costs. Long-term injuries have ended the careers of many very talented pianists. Let’s change this myth to NO SACRIFICE, NO GAIN instead. Although it doesn’t rhyme, this rule makes a lot more sense and doesn’t harm your body.

TIP 3: We must never practice when we experience strong physical discomfort or pain. 

MYTH 4: REPEATING A DIFFICULT PASSAGE AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE IS THE BEST WAY TO LEARN IT

Many students get into the habit of playing the same passage over and over again. Yes, repetition is a necessary part of practicing, however, you must be careful not to overdo it!

Tip 4:  How to use repetition properly

  • Only repeat a passage after you have worked out the correct fingering and placement of the hand and fingers along with any other technique-related issues.
  • Start slow and increase the speed gradually, but only after you are able to perform the passage without mistakes a few times in a row at the slower tempo.
  • You must stay focused when you repeat a passage. Avoid mindless repetition.
  • Reduce the number of repetitions when the passage is technically demanding and could lead to injury.
  • Immediately stop repeating a passage when pain sets in.

MYTH 5: YOU SHOULD TRY TO FIND A PIANO FOR YOUR PRACTICE SESSIONS THAT HAS A VERY HEAVY ACTION

One of the unavoidable circumstances pianists have to live with is that they rarely get a chance to perform on the same piano that they practice on. Every piano has a different action, sound, and resistance. This does not mean, however, that you should practice on a piano that has an especially heavy action. Instead, try to find a practice piano that gives you decent control and has a moderate key weight. Playing the piano has nothing to do with lifting weights. Of course, you don’t want to practice on a piano that doesn’t give you any resistance at all either. You won’t be able to shape a phrase, play dynamic passages with confidence, or use the bounce of the keys to your advantage (one of the many problems you will encounter when practicing on a digital piano, for example).


Tip 5: Your practice piano should be similar to one you would like to perform on.

Please contact me with any questions or suggestions. 

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