Jazer, I am 71 years old, took lesson for 2 years when I started 5th grade. A couple of years ago I decided to start back. I certainly am no Jazer, but I do feel I have the right things to continue making improvements. You are my favorite You Tube piano instructor (no flattery you really are) and have been a tremendous help to me,thank you much. While my practice is consistent I always get an extra boost to go to my piano room and put in extra practice after watching your presentations, you inspire me. WHAT I THINK THAT YOU DO WELL: 1. You have a humble presence about you. 2. The ideas you present are always fresh and useful. 3. Your presentation style is well done, using bullet points in a succinct and useful manner. 4. You really do know how to play the piano well; some on You Tube are not that good at teaching and seemed to lack playing and training skills. 5. You have a genuine interest in teaching students; that comes across though you are far from me (I live in Alabama) in Australia. I HAVE ONE REQUEST: Could you do a mini concert or anything just to hear you play. I think the audience would love to hear your musical talent.
Awww, thank you so much Morris for the kind words. I am deeply touched and grateful. That is a great suggestion! Let me ponder on that and see what I can come up with. Watch out for it in my future videos. You know what? You are an inspiration and you rock! 🤓
Hi Morris, I too am a late-learner. I'll soon be 65 and started lessons 2 years ago. You hit the nail on the head, Jazer is a great teacher and he reminds me a lot of my teacher.. just really love what they do and really want you to succeed. Keep up the great work.. this is a great hobby for us.
Thank you for this good advices. I got a fiths one: Enjoy any piece even if it is meant to be played much faster. Get the harmonies, melody and rythm instead of frustration by speed. Most pieces of our great composers are still interesting and beautiful played slowlier. This is for amateurs. For a professional that may not count. Anyway even a professional would first carefully read the notes, check the hand sets left and right, try slowly and so on, understand the piece a.s.o but may be frustated if not fast enough at the end.
A lot of American students aren't familiar with William Mason from Boston who studied with Liszt. He found that incremental increase of tempo was counterproductive and recommended playing a piece through at double tempo as soon as possible to find any fingering combinations that didn't work at high speed. You pretty much have to have a piece committed to memory to do this unless you are an exceptional sight reader. My own experience is to first write out the piece in quarter notes, then eighth notes (and if the piece is primarily 16ths you just do 8ths and 16ths.) I do this in MuseScore. Then I learn the piece at a very slow Rachmaninoff learning tempo which is about 29 bpm for me. I do this to memorize the tune, analyzing the chord tones, singing solfege, etc. Then, after I have the piece memorized, I play at 60 bpm in quarter notes, then 60 bpm in 8th notes, then 90 bpm in 8th notes. At this point I know if the fingering works or not, so I drop back down to 60 bpm 8th notes and correct the fingering. Now since I have doubled my speed by playing in 8th notes I increase the tempo the next day to 90 bpm for 1/4 and 1/8th notes and 120 bpm 1/8th notes to again test fingering and to push myself. Then drop back to 90 bpm for 8th notes. If I can play it clearly with good articulation and expression, I increase the speed by 1/3 again the next day. I've only just discovered this Method, but it has been pretty remarkable. When you drop the tempo back down after playing at high speed it feels ridiculously slow, but you have actually doubled your speed in one day. I am not a professional though, and I do not want to lead any one astray. So, it's a fallback method for when nothing else seems to work. Cheers!
Only when I have found your channel I have started to practice slowly and hands separately. It's a little boring to play slowly but it really works! Now I can play very fast and clear advanced note sheets! So thank you for your videos! Keep it up! ;)
By the way I also tried to play Moonlight Sonata 3rd movement earlier but I gave up because I skipped slow practice and it was very hard. So I think to come back for that beautiful and challenging composition again but using your tips.
On the subject of piano exercises, I realize they will vary greatly depending on one's skill level. So sometime could you do a video of what we should be doing at each level?
Yes!!! Moonlight Sonata 3rd movement. The one piece I am so desperately trying to learn at the moment. You rock Jazzer, with all that you share not just this. You pack so much in a short amount of time and more importantly, it’s concise, understandable and to the point. You’re very much appreciated. Thank you
Hi Jazer. I don't like sycophancy (and here it's not) but I wanted to tell you that I started the piano a little over a year ago and that your videos help me a lot, like the one this. It's clear, it's precise, it's concrete, and the videos aren't too long. Bravo to you, and especially thank you!
I practice in slow motion, certainly. And, in order to make it less tedious, I will alter the rhythm of the piece, once I have the basics mastered. I find that helps, when playing the piece as written. I also practice sight-reading (simple pieces) at the correct speed, but that's another matter altogether, of course.
I am a total beginner and practice sloooooow. First looking for patterns in the music, then a few bars of my left hand, same bars with my right hand, not worrying about timing but just finding the keys. Then slowly starting to play with both hands counting out load, then with the metronome and then trying to put things like staccato, piano, forte and that kind of stuff into place. Then turning up the speed. Something like that. I started just racing through songs and exercises but was inspired by my calm lovely boyfriend’s approach and I like it. I find that about 10 minutes of concentrated practice on a piece is my max in one go, because after that my brain literally crashes and I can’t find the notes, can’t read the notes, get confused. After 10 minutes of that frustration, I seem to get back on track. But never as well as the first 10 minutes. So I rotate now, with songs I know well or exercises. And then return to the piece I am learning after the (musical) break. Stopping a few seconds after I played the piece once and then repeat seems to work also. Think it has something to do with not overstimulation my brain and to let it process what just happened. Something like that…😋 Thank you so much for your video’s. Learning a lot! And they are fun to watch and keep it real…
This was a great video once again Jazer. I'm glad you mentioned hands separate practice and the additional processing your brain needs to do in order to put them together. I've certainly found that being sure of each part separately before attempting to put them together really helps - especially when combined, the parts rely on a lot of hand independence. It allows you to focus purely on the coordination between the parts, rather than learning the parts themselves on top. Like most pianists I'm also guilty of speeding up way too early, and I usually find I have the tendency to do this once everything clicks and I have that 'Aha' moment, where my brain suddenly gets it. Then I seem to jump from slow to fast tempo in a big leap, rather than spending more time in the intermediate tempos. One problem I have encountered with trying to speed up pieces is coming across bottlenecks in my playing. Conventional wisdom says you should start slowly and gradually speed up. In most cases this seems to work, but I've found there are rare exceptions when certain techniques need to be practiced at faster speeds, so trying to speed up the technique you use at a slower tempo doesn't work. I'm not really sure how to tackle these, as often you may not know you are using incorrect technique until you attempt to speed it up and realise the technique you were using won't work at that tempo.
When is it time to move on in practice if sections can’t yet be played at full speed, even after some time? Only when they can be played at full speed?
Excellent advice of which I have to keep reminding myself to do. I tend to not want to practice hands separate but notice that my playing is better with both hands afterwards.
Always helpful! I always look to you for help between lessons with my teacher. I am a "returnee" to the piano at age 73, and loving it. So grateful for not just the wisdom and experience you share, but also the clarity with which you provide the information. Than you!
Yes indeed! I practise new songs with hands separately in slow speed too! After getting the notes correct then I'll combine with both hands and increase speed. It's good to know that you practice with slow speed too. ☺️🙆🏻♀️
Thank you Jazer for these videos. It is reassuring to hear that an accomplished pianist like yourself practices slowly and with hands separately. Keep up the good content!
As a student I took 10 years of piano lessons and played level 8 recital pieces my Senior year of high school. Of course, I was able to practice 3-5 hours daily and had no other responsibilities. Those pieces took me the entire school term to learn and memorize. After graduation I no longer had the time and freedom to dedicate to piano and I had never learned how to play without a written score. Now returning to piano after nearly 40 years I find most enjoyment in playing easy-intermediate pieces that I can sight read quickly and am focused more on learning improvisation and ear training. My current goal is learning the melody of jazz standards and memorizing at least one a month. Then learning the chord progressions and improvisation. I may be much older but still eager to learn and improve.
Thank you for your lessons teacher. I just started learning how to play 2 weeks and with your tips I can now play the Minuet in G a little bit. Really appreciate your contents. Help me climb out of dark depression days.
Thank you so much for this! As an early-intermediate pianist who struggles with playing fast, I have found your lessons very helpful. You've gained a new subscriber! Also, fantastic performance of Beethoven's Sonata in C# Minor, mvt. 3 :)
Jazer, I just watched this video a second time. I need the repetition to pound into my head that slow practice is essential. My progress is slow but it is always slower when I rush the speeding up process. Thanks so much for your sound advice.
Love this. I practice slowly, basically because I’m still learning, but also it seems to help with my understanding of the piece, almost like muscle memory for that piece.
Beethoven, third movement of the Moonlight Sonata. I didn't have the sound turned up on my phone at first, but I guessed right from watching your hands!
Can’t wait to show this video to my son! Maybe you’ll be the first to get through to him to slow down!! We are in an area that has very few quality piano teachers, I am so grateful to have found your channel! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and talent.
@@jazerleepiano Hello. Im learning piano for 5 years now, im a student and i want to manage time as much as possible with maximizing the progress. I've realized that slow practice helps a ton throughout the years and im starting to watch ur videos for tips and its really helpful so thank you :). I wanted to ask about the science of this what i like to call "breaking a piece" like when i play a piece fast and after some time it breaks when u cant play it on a fast tempo without it just being chaos with wrong notes and broken tempo so of course i avoid that. In the video u were talking about accuracy alot so does this mean if i practice fast and accurate is it mostly fine? And since i should always come back to slow practicing im curious how much like should i play 3 times slow and 1 times fast or what ratio. Or how should i make it more fun. Sorry for commenting on an old video and i have some grammatical errors probably but please answer if u can, if not i understand since u cant answer the comment of every single person. uh also sorry for making a whole essay
@@ran5284 Lemme answer a few of your questions. When you asked if you can practice fast and somewhat accurate, is it mostly fine? As a teacher I would say no. I recommend starting slow, practicing until you get it perfect, then you practice fast. This would train you to become a better pianist and build good muscle memory for flawless playing. Hope this helps. 🤓
Thanks! My teacher was complaining how I play too slowly. She thought I didn't know the right speed/tempo but really I was just not ready to speed it up yet hahaha.
I think the reason I hesitate to practice hands separately is because I finally reached the point where I can do them together and I want to keep that skill strong. In the back of my mind I think going back to playing hands separately would be regressing and the skill would weaken. But I am going to put your tip into my practice routine when I'm preparing a song to do a video and see if that helps.
Jazer thanks. You are wise beyond your years. I am returning to piano in my retirement since being a teenager. I have played horns since I was 7 years old though and I remember what bandmasters and teachers told me, “ never practice speed, speed will come automatically when you have your part in your head and you can play almost without thinking and that comes with practice practice practice “
Great video! Makes a lot of sense and applies just as well to many other skills or sports. Focused and deliberate practice of the *correct* motions is key. Curious if you might have any tips for how to improve the feel for where each key/note is and avoid constantly looking down to find my place?
I so totally agree with you on this 😃I have experimented all of it. When I try to increase the speed with out getting the clarity it sounds awful. So I decided to work on the accuracy part before increasing the speed. I seem to enjoy slow practicing as I can feel each note, their connection and the pauses.
I've used your "practice slow" method, and it works really well at learning things quickly. Nov 30 - got my first piano Dec 1 - started learning Chopins Prelude Op28 No6 (and how to read music) Jan 1 - recorded myself on the day i learned the final note of that piece, set a goal that on Feb 1 I will record again after practicing the song 500 times Jan 7 - started learning notes for Chopin Prelude Op28 No4 Jan 13 - have 4 of 6 measures learned and able to play if i sight read to help queue chord changes (easier piece, but getting better at piano too)
100% agree with you, Jazer! When you practice slowly, you forget slowly. AND! You naturally remember the music without having to intentionally memorize the music. How good it that?
Metronomes here can be important because they are like your co-pilot in the Baha 1,000. They pace you, they slow you down at the start so that you can go faster near the end.
Your videos are very good. I am a teacher myself (of law) and I play piano (I play for 40 years, and play 1/10th as good as you, unfortunately). Practically, none of them taught me a practising routine as you just did or corrected my bad techique. Good teachers are so rare. All your videos I have seen so far are very encouraging and motivating. Have you had some pedagogical training or are you just a natural? ;-) You really do a very good job! Thanks so much for your input!
Absolutely agree! I'm a speedster in therapy; ha! I just played Scars in Heaven, and while it was TWO minutes longer than the arrangement called for, the clarity was stunning! Great tips! Thank you always!
I am a piano beginner starting in my 30s and all you say is very true. I don't understand people who jump to playing their pieces at normal speed right away or doing it too quickly. The more one spends playing it slowly the greater the final result will be.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Jazer. Every one of your videos is better than the one before! I am just going into a two or three -hour practice session, and it will be far better now that I have listened to this video than if I had not listened to it! I love you, Man!!
Hi Jazer. I find your videos very informative and great. Your a very good teacher and player. I was wondering if you could give me some advice. I'm 63 years old. I've been playing piano on and off since I was 12. I also played Trumpet all through school. The problem is I haven't played until now for the last 25 years. I'm so rusty. I don't know which of your practices to start first. Do I do all of them a little each day. Can I throw in a song I want to learn. This is holding me back. I don't practice because I don't want to start bad techniques. The first piece I wanted to learn is Clare De Lune. My wife and family passed away 7 years ago. I really want to do this for myself. Can you help me? Thank you for your time.
I've started practising everyday now, instead of a few hours here and there and it has made a huge difference already. The practise a section 7 times correctly has been a very valuable tip too. Thank you. This idea is also great, to try to practise a bit faster everyday but with the correct notes and clarity. Thank you. I'm actually STILL working on the Moonlight Sonata 3rd Movement, I'm slowly getting faster everyday, but I have to stop and slow down when my fingers start playing the odd wrong note. Muscle memory, muscle memory! I love the 3rd movement of Moonlight Sonata!
I do all of what you are saying, plus I also skip notes in certain fast passages and add them back through practice. For example, consider a set of fast 16th notes, I will concentrate on keeping the rhythm between both hands but instead of all the 16ths I'll play every other. This helps to keep the flow going so I start to feel how the flow of the music should go. Then, I add the skipped notes back following your tips here. This also works especially well (for me at least) on single line instruments like the trombone. I had a difficult run to play so I skipped each note whilst maintaining tempo. That helped to lock in the feel. Then, I was in a much better position to add the rest back in.
I am 69, back to piano after a 55-year break! Back then we had no way of recording ourselves - no such thing as“devices” that allowed for instant playback. I keep forgetting Thank you for this suggestion!!
If i have a beautiful sound keyboard i would love to learn more with the help of you mr. My keyboard was cheap and now , so keys are damaged, ans it cannot be played anymore. By the way, more powers to your channel and keep teaching and giving some tips.
Your videos helped me a lot. When you get a chance, could you please talk about how to practice Octave for beginners? For instance, in the piece, Mariage d'amour? Many thanks.
Hi Jazer, love your content, it has helped me a lot self-studying. I have a question, which maybe could inspire a video in itself: I have a keyboard with weighted keys and one electronic pedal to sustain notes. At the moment, I find myself mostly holding down the pedal continuously, which sounds better than not using it at all, but also leads to notes lasting longer than they should. I recently sat down in front of a real piano with 2 or 3 pedals, and started using the right one only to notice that the sustain effect was so strong (compared to what I was used to with the keyboard) that my inability to adequately use the pedal became abundantly clear. Could you give some tips or an introduction to how to learn to use the pedals? It feels like this is almost like a third hand I will have to learn to use and coordinate with the rest that is going on... :)
Pretty sure he already has an entire video dedicated to how to use the pedals. I know for one that i was using the sustain pedal incorrectly so i've been working on fixing that as well. A lot harder than i thought it would be. Best of luck to you!
This strategy probably makes more sense if you have a teacher to give you direct feedback, especially with difficult fast passages. I take it apart either one beat at time or one hand-shape at a time and work on clarity and evenness, as well as focus on the quickness and lightness of touch. This includes micro movements (like rotation) and larger motions (like jumps) that keep the hand supple as it passes through each part. As each individual chunk improves I add the first note of the next small bit to the group to get either the rhythmic gesture or the transition to the next hand-shape. I usually find that after having worked through each small bite with quick and correct motions that I can begin to chain them together, although generally at a slower tempo to preserve the accuracy. I’ve found it invaluable to have a teacher look at what’s happening in each small bit to ensure that the motions I’m using really are the most efficient.
Hand seperately is usefull to verify if you have the right fingering but I feel that playing hands together gives me a better tempo especially with quaver, doted quavers where the top and bottom are answering each other.
I just memorized the first half of Bach Prelude #1 in C Major. I’m Working on my speed and clarity. But definitely clarity comes first. Thanks for the inspiration.
Nice one master Pls can u tell me how many keys are on the keyboards all together both sharp and flat minor and major This things give me a lot of issues today.I will be glad if u can list them all for me
One thing I like to do is have one or two playthroughs at full tempo to really highlight what needs the most work and really isolate that part slowly specifically
These tips are very good Clarity of.notes is important and5 practising separate hands. My music teacher told me so many years ago when i took.lessons i have a good ear and play popular music at home and have friends who play jazz and their runs sound muddy if the are played carelessly and too fast.
Thank you for the great piano tips. Thanks to your wise advice, I use this process every time. While practicing when things get a little muddy, then I change to something else and find out that the next day after a good nights sleep, (another one of your suggestions) that the notes comes out even easier through finger memory or muscle memory. I’ve had the opposite problem while using Piano Marvel. They start off playing the songs so slow that I make more mistakes because it’s way too slow. Your the best, Jazer!
This was really helpful. I keep making the mistake to play fast at the expense of clarity. And I'm always disappointed when it ends up sounding muddy, imprecise and rushed. I'll take greater care in the future to only speed up if I can keep the accuracy.
Hi Jazer, love your vids, they’ve been really helpful. If ever, could you do a video on progressing from a beginner level pianist to an intermediate and how one can track/define that progress? Thanks
Someone once said: "If you can play it slowly, you can play it quickly"...
Haha
The message of this video is more "if you practice slow and clear, you will eventually play quickly". Or "if you practice 40 hours slow and clear,…".
Amen
Amazing advice for people who practice 40 hours a day
My teacher always said "if you cannot play it slowly, you cannot play it quickly"
Jazer, I am 71 years old, took lesson for 2 years when I started 5th grade. A couple of years ago I decided to start back. I certainly am no Jazer, but I do feel I have the right things to continue making improvements.
You are my favorite You Tube piano instructor (no flattery you really are) and have been a tremendous help to me,thank you much. While my practice is consistent I always get an extra boost to go to my piano room and put in extra practice after watching your presentations, you inspire me.
WHAT I THINK THAT YOU DO WELL:
1. You have a humble presence about you. 2. The ideas you present are always fresh and useful. 3. Your presentation style is well done, using bullet points in a succinct and useful manner. 4. You really do know how to play the piano well; some on You Tube are not that good at teaching and seemed to lack playing and training skills. 5. You have a genuine interest in teaching students; that comes across though you are far from me (I live in Alabama) in Australia.
I HAVE ONE REQUEST: Could you do a mini concert or anything just to hear you play. I think the audience would love to hear your musical talent.
Awww, thank you so much Morris for the kind words. I am deeply touched and grateful. That is a great suggestion! Let me ponder on that and see what I can come up with. Watch out for it in my future videos. You know what? You are an inspiration and you rock! 🤓
Hi Morris, I too am a late-learner. I'll soon be 65 and started lessons 2 years ago. You hit the nail on the head, Jazer is a great teacher and he reminds me a lot of my teacher.. just really love what they do and really want you to succeed. Keep up the great work.. this is a great hobby for us.
What a Human beings right here! Love all of this!
Thank you for this good advices. I got a fiths one: Enjoy any piece even if it is meant to be played much faster. Get the harmonies, melody and rythm instead of frustration by speed. Most pieces of our great composers are still interesting and beautiful played slowlier. This is for amateurs. For a professional that may not count. Anyway even a professional would first carefully read the notes, check the hand sets left and right, try slowly and so on, understand the piece a.s.o but may be frustated if not fast enough at the end.
Great advice I really needed this!
This guy is a genius in the way he puts across the skills needed to improve
A lot of American students aren't familiar with William Mason from Boston who studied with Liszt. He found that incremental increase of tempo was counterproductive and recommended playing a piece through at double tempo as soon as possible to find any fingering combinations that didn't work at high speed. You pretty much have to have a piece committed to memory to do this unless you are an exceptional sight reader.
My own experience is to first write out the piece in quarter notes, then eighth notes (and if the piece is primarily 16ths you just do 8ths and 16ths.) I do this in MuseScore. Then I learn the piece at a very slow Rachmaninoff learning tempo which is about 29 bpm for me. I do this to memorize the tune, analyzing the chord tones, singing solfege, etc. Then, after I have the piece memorized, I play at 60 bpm in quarter notes, then 60 bpm in 8th notes, then 90 bpm in 8th notes. At this point I know if the fingering works or not, so I drop back down to 60 bpm 8th notes and correct the fingering. Now since I have doubled my speed by playing in 8th notes I increase the tempo the next day to 90 bpm for 1/4 and 1/8th notes and 120 bpm 1/8th notes to again test fingering and to push myself. Then drop back to 90 bpm for 8th notes. If I can play it clearly with good articulation and expression, I increase the speed by 1/3 again the next day.
I've only just discovered this Method, but it has been pretty remarkable. When you drop the tempo back down after playing at high speed it feels ridiculously slow, but you have actually doubled your speed in one day.
I am not a professional though, and I do not want to lead any one astray. So, it's a fallback method for when nothing else seems to work. Cheers!
Only when I have found your channel I have started to practice slowly and hands separately. It's a little boring to play slowly but it really works! Now I can play very fast and clear advanced note sheets! So thank you for your videos! Keep it up! ;)
By the way I also tried to play Moonlight Sonata 3rd movement earlier but I gave up because I skipped slow practice and it was very hard. So I think to come back for that beautiful and challenging composition again but using your tips.
On the subject of piano exercises, I realize they will vary greatly depending on one's skill level. So sometime could you do a video of what we should be doing at each level?
Yes!!! Moonlight Sonata 3rd movement.
The one piece I am so desperately trying to learn at the moment.
You rock Jazzer, with all that you share not just this.
You pack so much in a short amount of time and more importantly, it’s concise, understandable and to the point.
You’re very much appreciated.
Thank you
Hi Jazer. I don't like sycophancy (and here it's not) but I wanted to tell you that I started the piano a little over a year ago and that your videos help me a lot, like the one this. It's clear, it's precise, it's concrete, and the videos aren't too long. Bravo to you, and especially thank you!
Do you usually practice your piece at full speed or slowly? Let us know :)
🕘 Timestamps
0:00 Intro
3:15 Tip 1
4:05 Tip 2
5:03 Tip 3
5:22 Tip 4
I often practice/warm up faster to challenge me so the real performance is easier. At least theoretically. 🤓😂🎹🎼
I practice in slow motion, certainly.
And, in order to make it less tedious, I will alter the rhythm of the piece, once I have the basics mastered. I find that helps, when playing the piece as written.
I also practice sight-reading (simple pieces) at the correct speed, but that's another matter altogether, of course.
I am a total beginner and practice sloooooow. First looking for patterns in the music, then a few bars of my left hand, same bars with my right hand, not worrying about timing but just finding the keys. Then slowly starting to play with both hands counting out load, then with the metronome and then trying to put things like staccato, piano, forte and that kind of stuff into place. Then turning up the speed. Something like that. I started just racing through songs and exercises but was inspired by my calm lovely boyfriend’s approach and I like it. I find that about 10 minutes of concentrated practice on a piece is my max in one go, because after that my brain literally crashes and I can’t find the notes, can’t read the notes, get confused. After 10 minutes of that frustration, I seem to get back on track. But never as well as the first 10 minutes. So I rotate now, with songs I know well or exercises. And then return to the piece I am learning after the (musical) break. Stopping a few seconds after I played the piece once and then repeat seems to work also. Think it has something to do with not overstimulation my brain and to let it process what just happened. Something like that…😋 Thank you so much for your video’s. Learning a lot! And they are fun to watch and keep it real…
This was a great video once again Jazer. I'm glad you mentioned hands separate practice and the additional processing your brain needs to do in order to put them together. I've certainly found that being sure of each part separately before attempting to put them together really helps - especially when combined, the parts rely on a lot of hand independence. It allows you to focus purely on the coordination between the parts, rather than learning the parts themselves on top. Like most pianists I'm also guilty of speeding up way too early, and I usually find I have the tendency to do this once everything clicks and I have that 'Aha' moment, where my brain suddenly gets it. Then I seem to jump from slow to fast tempo in a big leap, rather than spending more time in the intermediate tempos. One problem I have encountered with trying to speed up pieces is coming across bottlenecks in my playing. Conventional wisdom says you should start slowly and gradually speed up. In most cases this seems to work, but I've found there are rare exceptions when certain techniques need to be practiced at faster speeds, so trying to speed up the technique you use at a slower tempo doesn't work. I'm not really sure how to tackle these, as often you may not know you are using incorrect technique until you attempt to speed it up and realise the technique you were using won't work at that tempo.
When is it time to move on in practice if sections can’t yet be played at full speed, even after some time? Only when they can be played at full speed?
Excellent advice of which I have to keep reminding myself to do. I tend to not want to practice hands separate but notice that my playing is better with both hands afterwards.
Always helpful! I always look to you for help between lessons with my teacher. I am a "returnee" to the piano at age 73, and loving it. So grateful for not just the wisdom and experience you share, but also the clarity with which you provide the information. Than you!
Yes indeed! I practise new songs with hands separately in slow speed too! After getting the notes correct then I'll combine with both hands and increase speed. It's good to know that you practice with slow speed too. ☺️🙆🏻♀️
Thank you Jazer for these videos. It is reassuring to hear that an accomplished pianist like yourself practices slowly and with hands separately. Keep up the good content!
As a student I took 10 years of piano lessons and played level 8 recital pieces my Senior year of high school. Of course, I was able to practice 3-5 hours daily and had no other responsibilities. Those pieces took me the entire school term to learn and memorize. After graduation I no longer had the time and freedom to dedicate to piano and I had never learned how to play without a written score. Now returning to piano after nearly 40 years I find most enjoyment in playing easy-intermediate pieces that I can sight read quickly and am focused more on learning improvisation and ear training. My current goal is learning the melody of jazz standards and memorizing at least one a month. Then learning the chord progressions and improvisation. I may be much older but still eager to learn and improve.
Yes! I gradually increase my speed and if it’s sloppy or muddy I slow it down again and go faster each day. Great advice!!
Thank you for your lessons teacher. I just started learning how to play 2 weeks and with your tips I can now play the Minuet in G a little bit. Really appreciate your contents. Help me climb out of dark depression days.
Thank you so much for this! As an early-intermediate pianist who struggles with playing fast, I have found your lessons very helpful. You've gained a new subscriber!
Also, fantastic performance of Beethoven's Sonata in C# Minor, mvt. 3 :)
Just a beginner at 63 you are inspiring thank you for your videos.
Jazer, I just watched this video a second time. I need the repetition to pound into my head that slow practice is essential. My progress is slow but it is always slower when I rush the speeding up process.
Thanks so much for your sound advice.
Great lesson. Now im gonna change my practice. And its more fun to play slowly!
Love this. I practice slowly, basically because I’m still learning, but also it seems to help with my understanding of the piece, almost like muscle memory for that piece.
definitely - you’re spot on! Slow practice is essential. And also the post it method ;)
There is no question that you know what you're talking about; a big help to me from an excellent teacher. Many thanks.
Beethoven, third movement of the Moonlight Sonata. I didn't have the sound turned up on my phone at first, but I guessed right from watching your hands!
Great job, good eyes! 🤓
Can’t wait to show this video to my son! Maybe you’ll be the first to get through to him to slow down!! We are in an area that has very few quality piano teachers, I am so grateful to have found your channel! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and talent.
Tell him that I said he has to slow down before he can speed up. 🤓
@@jazerleepiano Hello. Im learning piano for 5 years now, im a student and i want to manage time as much as possible with maximizing the progress. I've realized that slow practice helps a ton throughout the years and im starting to watch ur videos for tips and its really helpful so thank you :). I wanted to ask about the science of this what i like to call "breaking a piece" like when i play a piece fast and after some time it breaks when u cant play it on a fast tempo without it just being chaos with wrong notes and broken tempo so of course i avoid that.
In the video u were talking about accuracy alot so does this mean if i practice fast and accurate is it mostly fine? And since i should always come back to slow practicing im curious how much like should i play 3 times slow and 1 times fast or what ratio. Or how should i make it more fun. Sorry for commenting on an old video and i have some grammatical errors probably but please answer if u can, if not i understand since u cant answer the comment of every single person. uh also sorry for making a whole essay
@@ran5284 Lemme answer a few of your questions. When you asked if you can practice fast and somewhat accurate, is it mostly fine? As a teacher I would say no. I recommend starting slow, practicing until you get it perfect, then you practice fast. This would train you to become a better pianist and build good muscle memory for flawless playing. Hope this helps. 🤓
@@jazerleepiano Thanks!
Thanks! My teacher was complaining how I play too slowly. She thought I didn't know the right speed/tempo but really I was just not ready to speed it up yet hahaha.
I appreciate your instructions so much!!!!!!!!! they really help me improve myself.
Agree. Perfect practise makes perfect. Thank you for your profound advice.
Can you address playing dynamics and the roles of the pedals (on organ specifically)? Thanks for your lessons and your practical approach to playing.😊
I actually talked about them on this video - czcams.com/video/WMSCd1pAA-g/video.html
@@jazerleepiano thank you so much😊
I think the reason I hesitate to practice hands separately is because I finally reached the point where I can do them together and I want to keep that skill strong. In the back of my mind I think going back to playing hands separately would be regressing and the skill would weaken. But I am going to put your tip into my practice routine when I'm preparing a song to do a video and see if that helps.
Jazer thanks. You are wise beyond your years. I am returning to piano in my retirement since being a teenager. I have played horns since I was 7 years old though and I remember what bandmasters and teachers told me, “ never practice speed, speed will come automatically when you have your part in your head and you can play almost without thinking and that comes with practice practice practice “
This is what I tell my students all the time! Speed is only a BYPRODUCT of doing something consistently correctly.
Accurate, I love it. Excellent job, many thanks!
Amazing as always, Maestro Jazer....we are very grateful for your useful advices. Thank you very much, un abrazo from La Palma.
Great video! Makes a lot of sense and applies just as well to many other skills or sports. Focused and deliberate practice of the *correct* motions is key.
Curious if you might have any tips for how to improve the feel for where each key/note is and avoid constantly looking down to find my place?
I so totally agree with you on this 😃I have experimented all of it. When I try to increase the speed with out getting the clarity it sounds awful. So I decided to work on the accuracy part before increasing the speed. I seem to enjoy slow practicing as I can feel each note, their connection and the pauses.
I've used your "practice slow" method, and it works really well at learning things quickly.
Nov 30 - got my first piano
Dec 1 - started learning Chopins Prelude Op28 No6 (and how to read music)
Jan 1 - recorded myself on the day i learned the final note of that piece, set a goal that on Feb 1 I will record again after practicing the song 500 times
Jan 7 - started learning notes for Chopin Prelude Op28 No4
Jan 13 - have 4 of 6 measures learned and able to play if i sight read to help queue chord changes (easier piece, but getting better at piano too)
Great job, GnarlyKicks! 🤓
Great advice , thank you. I need to slow down more and perfect each hand individually. Excellent teacher
The essence of Jazer’s message here has been described elsewhere-by Graham Fitch among others- as the “three S’s: slow, separate, sections.
100% agree with you, Jazer! When you practice slowly, you forget slowly. AND! You naturally remember the music without having to intentionally memorize the music. How good it that?
Metronomes here can be important because they are like your co-pilot in the Baha 1,000. They pace you, they slow you down at the start so that you can go faster near the end.
Fully agree. Thanks for advising all important tips. It helps me a lot by doing slow practice.
“Practice doesn’t make perfect. PERFECT PRACTICE makes perfect.”
-My old band director, Mr. Jones
Your videos are very good. I am a teacher myself (of law) and I play piano (I play for 40 years, and play 1/10th as good as you, unfortunately). Practically, none of them taught me a practising routine as you just did or corrected my bad techique. Good teachers are so rare. All your videos I have seen so far are very encouraging and motivating. Have you had some pedagogical training or are you just a natural? ;-) You really do a very good job! Thanks so much for your input!
moonshine sonata third movement, perfect showoff piece! 😁
Thanks for the reminder to play slowly and clearly.
Thank you so much Jazer !!!!
There is so much great advice here... For a beginner your channel is pure gold! Thank you so much for that!
Thank you for the valuable advice!
Great advice! Thanks! "More slow practice than fast practice."
1. Focus practice on the section from slow to fast, then move to other section.
2. Practice whole piece from slow to fast.
Which one is better?
I would go with number 1. 🤓
Thank you so much for your videos! You are just great!!!!😁🤗
Absolutely agree! I'm a speedster in therapy; ha! I just played Scars in Heaven, and while it was TWO minutes longer than the arrangement called for, the clarity was stunning! Great tips! Thank you always!
I am a piano beginner starting in my 30s and all you say is very true. I don't understand people who jump to playing their pieces at normal speed right away or doing it too quickly. The more one spends playing it slowly the greater the final result will be.
Once again, great advice for a faster improvement on our piano practice...
Thanks again, Jazer !!!Greetings from Argentina !
Hi, I totally agree with all these comments and try to do this everyday. Some bars are more challenging than others though! Thank you very much.
Thank you... I needed to be reminded of this for some pieces I'm learning. Awesome advice. I love learning without looking as a way to improve too.
Jazeeeer, you're an angel❤
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Jazer. Every one of your videos is better than the one before! I am just going into a two or three -hour practice session, and it will be far better now that I have listened to this video than if I had not listened to it! I love you, Man!!
Hi Jazer. I find your videos very informative and great. Your a very good teacher and player. I was wondering if you could give me some advice.
I'm 63 years old. I've been playing piano on and off since I was 12. I also played Trumpet all through school. The problem is I haven't played until now for the last 25 years. I'm so rusty. I don't know which of your practices to start first. Do I do all of them a little each day. Can I throw in a song I want to learn. This is holding me back. I don't practice because I don't want to start bad techniques. The first piece I wanted to learn is Clare De Lune. My wife and family passed away 7 years ago. I really want to do this for myself. Can you help me?
Thank you for your time.
Thank you Jazer.
I've started practising everyday now, instead of a few hours here and there and it has made a huge difference already. The practise a section 7 times correctly has been a very valuable tip too. Thank you. This idea is also great, to try to practise a bit faster everyday but with the correct notes and clarity. Thank you. I'm actually STILL working on the Moonlight Sonata 3rd Movement, I'm slowly getting faster everyday, but I have to stop and slow down when my fingers start playing the odd wrong note. Muscle memory, muscle memory! I love the 3rd movement of Moonlight Sonata!
Great tips. My teacher actually told me the same things!
I do all of what you are saying, plus I also skip notes in certain fast passages and add them back through practice. For example, consider a set of fast 16th notes, I will concentrate on keeping the rhythm between both hands but instead of all the 16ths I'll play every other. This helps to keep the flow going so I start to feel how the flow of the music should go. Then, I add the skipped notes back following your tips here. This also works especially well (for me at least) on single line instruments like the trombone. I had a difficult run to play so I skipped each note whilst maintaining tempo. That helped to lock in the feel. Then, I was in a much better position to add the rest back in.
I am 69, back to piano after a 55-year break! Back then we had no way of recording ourselves - no such thing as“devices” that allowed for instant playback. I keep forgetting Thank you for this suggestion!!
Glad you took it up again after that long break. 🤓
If i have a beautiful sound keyboard i would love to learn more with the help of you mr.
My keyboard was cheap and now , so keys are damaged, ans it cannot be played anymore. By the way, more powers to your channel and keep teaching and giving some tips.
Absolutely agree, I've improved SO much and learn pieces a lot faster if I do mostly slow practice. Great advice, as always, thanks!
Hi Jazer Lee, could you do a cover of movie themes, for example how to train your dragon I find the music absolutely beautiful
Fantastic! Thank you!
Thank you so much for your valuable tips on piano playing. You are a great tutor.
Moonlight Sonata 3rd Movement
Absolutely agree with your advice. Really appreciated!
Your videos helped me a lot. When you get a chance, could you please talk about how to practice Octave for beginners? For instance, in the piece, Mariage d'amour? Many thanks.
Hi Jazer, love your content, it has helped me a lot self-studying. I have a question, which maybe could inspire a video in itself: I have a keyboard with weighted keys and one electronic pedal to sustain notes. At the moment, I find myself mostly holding down the pedal continuously, which sounds better than not using it at all, but also leads to notes lasting longer than they should. I recently sat down in front of a real piano with 2 or 3 pedals, and started using the right one only to notice that the sustain effect was so strong (compared to what I was used to with the keyboard) that my inability to adequately use the pedal became abundantly clear. Could you give some tips or an introduction to how to learn to use the pedals? It feels like this is almost like a third hand I will have to learn to use and coordinate with the rest that is going on... :)
Pretty sure he already has an entire video dedicated to how to use the pedals. I know for one that i was using the sustain pedal incorrectly so i've been working on fixing that as well. A lot harder than i thought it would be. Best of luck to you!
Here's the link to what drjimmy73 mentioned
czcams.com/video/lzbgr6H3BE0/video.html
This strategy probably makes more sense if you have a teacher to give you direct feedback, especially with difficult fast passages. I take it apart either one beat at time or one hand-shape at a time and work on clarity and evenness, as well as focus on the quickness and lightness of touch. This includes micro movements (like rotation) and larger motions (like jumps) that keep the hand supple as it passes through each part. As each individual chunk improves I add the first note of the next small bit to the group to get either the rhythmic gesture or the transition to the next hand-shape. I usually find that after having worked through each small bite with quick and correct motions that I can begin to chain them together, although generally at a slower tempo to preserve the accuracy. I’ve found it invaluable to have a teacher look at what’s happening in each small bit to ensure that the motions I’m using really are the most efficient.
im actually learning this exact piece at the moment, thanks for the tips
Thanks again 👍
Hi Jazer. I'm a beginner and your advice has helped me to improve in my practicing. Thanks a lot.
this is such a great lesson. thanks so much and learned a lot.
Hand seperately is usefull to verify if you have the right fingering but I feel that playing hands together gives me a better tempo especially with quaver, doted quavers where the top and bottom are answering each other.
It makes absolute total sense. Thanks
Great advice sir....
Bump for the algorithm. Your videos are great.
Thanks, mate! 🤓
These tips can be applied to any instrument. Wonderful video!
Niice. Been practicing I see! Bumped up the BPMs a bit lol!
Thank you Jazer, good advice as always.👏
Great tips as always. Thank you.
I just memorized the first half of Bach Prelude #1 in C Major. I’m Working on my speed and clarity. But definitely clarity comes first. Thanks for the inspiration.
Beautiful piece. :) Just happens to be on my mind as well as I just did this! czcams.com/video/8iPDVIXBE2Q/video.html
Nice one master
Pls can u tell me how many keys are on the keyboards all together both sharp and flat minor and major
This things give me a lot of issues today.I will be glad if u can list them all for me
great video as always, Jazer. Thank you!
Piece Played In this Video - Moonlight sonata Movement 3
Composer - Ludwig Van Beethoven
One thing I like to do is have one or two playthroughs at full tempo to really highlight what needs the most work and really isolate that part slowly specifically
Love your helpful videos! I don't think I'll ever be able to play as fast as you do, so I'm not worried about playing too slowly. 🤣
These tips are very good
Clarity of.notes is important and5 practising separate hands. My music teacher told me so many years ago when i took.lessons i have a good ear and play popular music at home and have friends who play jazz and their runs sound muddy if the are played carelessly and too fast.
Thank you for the great piano tips. Thanks to your wise advice, I use this process every time. While practicing when things get a little muddy, then I change to something else and find out that the next day after a good nights sleep, (another one of your suggestions) that the notes comes out even easier through finger memory or muscle memory. I’ve had the opposite problem while using Piano Marvel. They start off playing the songs so slow that I make more mistakes because it’s way too slow. Your the best, Jazer!
I noticed the same thing with Piano Marvel. Sometimes I have to increase the speed a bit using the bpm control at the bottom of the screen.
This was really helpful. I keep making the mistake to play fast at the expense of clarity. And I'm always disappointed when it ends up sounding muddy, imprecise and rushed. I'll take greater care in the future to only speed up if I can keep the accuracy.
Good stuff!!
*If you can play it slowly, you can play it quickly*
thank you
Very helpful. Thank you!
Hi Jazer, love your vids, they’ve been really helpful. If ever, could you do a video on progressing from a beginner level pianist to an intermediate and how one can track/define that progress? Thanks
Let me add this to the list. 🤓