Chopin's technique advice is really worth reading. Some other things he said: -the 2nd finger is the axis of your hand; if you can position that properly, the rest will follow. -if you're struggling to play a passage legato, practise playing it staccato first. -(a more mundane point) there's no point hoping that endless repetition will help you learn a passage. Play it fewer times, but with focus.
@@barbarasmith6005 It's true he disliked excessive practice and advised focusing on quality over quantity of practice. I'm not sure if he recommended a precise maximum of hours.
On the one hand, yes, C is hard to play. On the other hand: Beginners are very very bad at sight-reading. Every transposition makes it harder to play. What I like to do is teach beginners C but also very simple stuff with the black keys, like the blues c minor, the beginning of "I don't like Mondays" or the odd Flohwalzer..
Been self taught since 2011, can't read a lick of sheet music. Fuck that, I'm not here to do math equations 😆 I usually just look up actual note letters or play by ear. I learned the beginning part of fur Elise by watching someone on CZcams play it, then remembering the notes
@@g0stn0te It’s kinda like learning to read (say a different language) by listening to someone say aurally. I think that once you “read” music by getting what each letter means (like how you read a book) you’ll have a whole different comprehension of the music you learn. Nothing wrong with playing by ear though! There’s a lot of freedom in learning how to play stuff that sounds good without reading music!
@@nathanwilson723 yeah I bet it makes you look at music in a different way. When I said math equation, that's literally what sheet music looks like to me, and I've always been terrible at math lol. So I think because of this, I steered clear of it and just learned how I could
You are so right. Sharps and flats are only intimidating because they aren't learned early in the game. I discovered the advantages of starting a circle of fifths on B major a few months ago but hadn't realized that the black keys could be blocked. Thanks for the excellent tutorial!
Absolutely, thanks for watching! I really enjoyed your "An Aggregate of Last Moments." Nice work, also looking forward to hearing what you have to say about "Art vs Entertainment." I'll be watching when I have a moment :-) I think you'd enjoy my performance and composition channel, if you'd consider checking it out: czcams.com/channels/NyudV9J5FEfC3xAbR4L3xg.html
This was fascinating. It seems so sensible, I’m surprised this hasn’t become the norm in introducing scales to piano students. But I suppose it shows how certain practices (e.g., “begin by learning the C major scale”) become so ingrained that we don’t ask, “Is there a better way?” This video suggests that asking that question is often appropriate. Thank you for posting it.
Very interesting. Thank you. I spent such a long time practicing C in two or more octaves and often couldn't see where I was up to. I read, somewhere, that it is best to learn the parallel minor scales, rather than the relative minors, so I did that. My teacher didn't like it. I continued without a teacher. After a year, or so, of neglecting scales, I have started again and shall follow your advice from this video. The black keys are so much fun. I've spent many hours just improvising and enjoying the piano, but am now really starting to tackle sight reading by using randomly generated, short pieces. I have added at least one hour of this to my daily regiment and the progress is slow, but sure. This is a great video and I'm going to start watching your others. Thanks again.
Thanks, I'm glad you found this helpful! I might add that I always use harmonic minor scales, not natural minors. Natural minor is nearly exactly the same as practicing Major counterparts, while harmonic minors are more of their own thing!
Wow, I've actually never heard of this until now! Makes perfect sense in the way you explain it so well. I wonder if people tend to learn in C because reading it is easier on sheet music? Have you known this for a while or did you encounter Chopin's approach sometime later during your training, and have you encountered other teachers doing the same?
Good to see you here! Yes, I do think that the access to books of music, and the high use of following the prescribed "lesson book" formula to teaching piano, has led to ONLY teaching C position first. Yes, I do think that C is easier to read on paper, and I also use C most often when introducing any bits of theory to students, from the simplest I and V chords, to complex Roman Numeral Analysis. But if today's pianist had equal parts of the lesson devoted to printed music and also to ear training, I think B and other keys could be introduced right away. Remember that improvisation was a huge, and normal, thing for classical pianists of Chopin's day. Chopin himself was a master improviser. That kind of playing relies a lot on feel plus the understanding of theory, not necessarily any skills gained by reading the score. I didn't learn this material myself until I was in my Masters program for Piano. I know a handful of really top teachers that work this way, but I'd say they only make up 5% of the total number of teachers I know. Usually they are university professors who have some community students or pianists holding a DMA in pedagogy that have their own studios.
Awesome, thanks for sharing the info and your insights. Yes, I have encountered many pianists who feel comfortable reading sheet music, yet struggle to improvise, as that is a whole different skill set. I didn't start playing by ear until 5 or so years into taking lessons as a child (I was taught the classical way, learning the C scale first as expected). Was very difficult to improvise at first, but like any skill it can be learned and improved over time!
@@ImagoPiano Definitely! I didn't have any "lessons" in composition or improv... actually ever in my entire life. Everything I've learned in that area has been self taught, stemming mainly from being asked to play pop music at a young age, and also being a church pianist from the time I was 12, and learning to harmonize out of the hymnal where you don't even get the chord changes on the sheet!
@@PianistAcademy1 Of course, if the piano were isomorphic, like Jankó, then none of this would have mattered… In this Prelude 24 example, the pianist glissed C major because he couldn’t play it as fast as the other keys: m.czcams.com/video/eGSzH5qbkbc/video.html
@@PianistAcademy1 Of course, if the piano were isomorphic, like Jankó, then none of this would have mattered… In this Prelude 24 example, the pianist glissed C major because he couldn’t play it as fast as the other keys: m.czcams.com/video/eGSzH5qbkbc/video.html
A couple of things: I have read that Moszkowski had all his students learn to play all the major and minor scales with the C major fingering and I just now noticed that it's the same as the B major fingering: 1,2,3, 1,2,3,4. Second, violinists go through the same thing. I had read in an article quoting Mai Bang (who studied with Leopold Auer) "We start off teaching students to play in first position and it's the hardest position to play in. I don't know why we do it." Yet in Louis Spohr's autobiography he relates that he learned to play "G# accord" his first lesson. Ab enharmonic, but with not only All the Sharps but a double sharp as well: Fx. So, the leading tone is an open G string (F double sharp) and the tonic just a half step away. How cool is that? Yet in his book, he starts off with the C major scale. Why? I think teachers wouldn't buy it otherwise. Teachers teach what is easiest for them. And publishers, well they won't publish a non-seller. Also, J.S. Bach had his students doing 6 months of 5 finger exercises in each of the positions, Yet. in his book "The True Art of Playing the Keyboard" C. P. E. Bach starts off with the C major scale and gives 3 different fingerings for each hand. He must have had his fill of 5 finger exercises from his father. Chopin on the other hand seems to be going Back to Old Bach and teaching Position first. With the positions you've given for the Left and Right Hand you can explore every mathematical combination of fingers/notes and start to develop Independence which is something Hummel did in his book. Sorry to sound like a know it all but actually the reverse is quite true. I never received proper instruction, so I've had to do a lot of digging on my own and am only now learning my positions first, then Progressions, then scales and arpeggios. Thanks for your insight. You're the first person I know of to even talk about this.
There is a whole school of thought behind the ability to be able to use any fingering for any passage, both from baroque composers as well as contemporaries. I'm not a big fan of it myself as I think it only really applies to the most elite musicians. Yes, it can open up more tonal possibilities and also make the hand more 'supple' in the sense that it's not locked in to one thing in particular. BUT, even early advanced pianists need structure, much more structure than these methods apply. And I do think you are right about the publishing bit of your post. C does have merit on paper as the easiest key to learn notation and theory in. Even I use C to teach all early theory to my students. Since the books are so exclusively in C, it must be covered, but it doesn't have to be in the first couple lessons. Plus, I like incorporating ear training very early on as well so when we have to shift to read very beginning music in C, I continue to use ear training in B so it doesn't fall by the wayside.
I think it's amazing how many teachers *don't* know this! Even if reading the notes on the page for B Major is too difficult right at the beginning, just start with the keys of the piano. Even that will inevitably spark the student's interest in the black keys and, before you know it, they'll be playing things in the 'difficult' keys *years* before they would if they followed the lesson books only!
@@PianistAcademy1 but someone might argue learning C first , gets the scale without the helpful landmarks out of the way first and that the most ergonomically easiest scale B is not necessarily the best to learned first. Suppose there was a thorough analysis of every key so that each was definitively ranked from easiest to hardest to play. Then a separate list for most popular keys of classical piano music another for pop another for jazz another for gospel another for High Scholl band music Would any of that matter or would it be best to only use the ergonomic list? Also from a pedological perspective, I'm not sure about this, is it best to proceed learning new things in a strict sequential order from easiest to hardest or is it useful sometimes to skip ahead to a difficult piece once in a while? Then at the same time the student is learning to read sheet music, sometimes starting on C and then progressively adding sharps and flats. Should that be ignored entirely and only go by an ergonomic order of keys? If so then we switch to another instrument and the ergonomic order is entirely different. Does it matter as per beginner students playing in groups learning keys in a sequence determined ergonomically for each instrument?
@@sat1241 The thing that learning B, Db, Gb, etc first is accomplishing is helping to prevent beginner students from forming bad physical habits, hand/wrist postures, etc which are much more difficult to correct years later (when these keys are more often introduced). A very good teacher can guide a student through C right away, but many many teachers don’t pay attention to the details of the hand with beginners. The focus ends up being solely on getting to play music as soon as possible. These students might find some enjoyment in that, but they end up being more likely to have problems in 2 or 3 years, and subsequently more likely to quit playing because of needing to break habits that have then been formed over hundreds of hours of incorrect practice. The most difficult key to play in will be different for every pianist AND every genre. Another trouble with learning C to “overcome” the lack of landmarks, is that its not just scale landmarks that aren’t present, but there’s no development of learning how to navigate what I call the ‘topology’ of the keyboard. Usually G gets presented next… again almost no development toward seeing and feeling the full keyboard… then D Major, and there’s a tiny bit of this starting. And don’t get me started on learning ‘positions.’ Many times, students get “stuck” in the position they are first taught and have a huge amount of trouble moving the hands. My very first lesson with a student, they learn an octave scale for each hand, hands separately of course. But there’s none of this 5 fingers only and in C only. I’ve found that it holds students back. And like I present in the video, if the attitude of the teacher is that this is just the normal development of things, the student will accept that and not question. I do always begin teaching theory in C, but my first day of theory I also present Roman numeral analysis right off the bat, introducing words like Tonic, Dominant, and Subdominant, (I, V, VI chords). Even with my 6 year old beginners, they bring their notebook in, get those words, and learn them right away, outside of the context of music first. This is usually 1 to 3 years prior to when they learn about it following lesson book formats. It’s not difficult for the young brain either… they simply absorb it and think it’s normal. Adult beginners are a bit more difficult, but they usually have so many questions and want to know so much of the “how” that we need to cross this bridge earlier than their minds really might want it.
Yeah, I never got up to the stage in lessons of learning all of the scales formally, but I feel like F minor for example is really nice to play. Much harder to get lost than C major or A minor. 100% agree with this logic.
Sir, I am taking one year of private piano lessons, and am in a graduate program as well. You, sir, I am adding to my education. I am a beginner piano player, and am struggling with Hannon exercises 1 and 2 (at the moment). My teacher is showing me a lot, and it's amazing. The biggest thing he has said so far is for me to focus NOT on speed, but the feelings, and correct fingerings for each exercise. Using the elbow and wrist only, going slow, then add fast note, to slow note, and vice versa, is helping. Thank you for your video, the B-Major scale DOES feels pretty easy!
Great stuff, Trevor! I'd suggest to also check out the "Healthy Hanon" video I posted this Monday! I talk about very similar things as what you mention here!
Thank you thank you thank you ! Hallelujah ! I have never understood why the scale of C was considered a good place to start. It's the scale I least enjoy playing and the one I'm most likely to lose track of my fingering positions. My hand shape and size just loves B major - easy peasy lemon squeezy 😅. Also I find that starting on C major sets a presidence in one's mind that using black notes is somehow moving towards areas of difficulties. Thanks for the vid 👍
This is excellent and fits well with my piano learning. I'm learning how to be more in touch with the keyboard, so I don't get lost. Although I have not been playing the B Major scale or songs in B, my piano teacher pointed out, early on, how blind piano players play using the black keys because it helps them figure out where they are on the keyboard. Even when playing in C, if you are aware of the black keys and feel them with your fingers, you can determine where you are without looking. I'm definitely going to use this going forward. I liked your presentation style, as well.
@@PianistAcademy1 Of course, if the piano were isomorphic, like Jankó, then none of this would have mattered… In this Prelude 24 example, the pianist glissed C major because he couldn’t play it as fast as the other keys: m.czcams.com/video/eGSzH5qbkbc/video.html
Charles, this is so great! Just started teaching kids and can now can simply explain why black keys are there :) Many lesson ideas from your video thank you!! - Chris
Omg. Thanks for confirming what I’ve suspected all along. I’m a mid-level amateur pianist who recently began ‘coaching’ my young child’s private piano lessons. I’m having frustration with the teacher’s dogmatic C-major ‘sheet-music typist’ mechanical approach which is quite common. Quite recently, against my wife’s wish, I recommended tutor to teach my kid ‘minute waltz’ in Db major, as I deem it to be easier to play. My wife and tutor’s concern is basically the sheet music has five flats and therefore ‘too difficult and ‘unconventional’. Now I know I’m not in the wrong. Thanks!
Great! Just be aware that the impression given to a child about "difficultly" in many cases has more to do with what is difficult than what is not. If the teacher is expressing that it's "too difficult" in front of your child, it may be more difficult to convince the child that it actually is fine to work on!
@@PianistAcademy1 Absolutely true. Piano teachers for small children typically cater to mom’s expectations. And usually non-pianist moms just want to see them go through C or G major Czerny practice pieces. If a piece has more than two flats or sharps, they treat it like R movie - “off limit, that’s for grown ups!” God forbid 5 flats Minute waltz! I had to inject myself into my child’s lessons because I saw my first grader losing interest in piano playing. The tutoring is mostly focused on sheet music reading and mindless ‘finger power’ exercises, sucking the joy out of playing. Selection of five-flat Minute waltz was intentional as it kind of forces kid’s focus out of sheet music and put focus back on the hands on keyboard, so that player can discover the patterns of structure of a piece visually. My son enjoys it and already understood Db major scale. Also told him it’s the same as having seven sharps (C# major) and visually explained the concept by showing what happens if you raise all white keys (C major) by halftones. He’s now experimenting building major scale starting with arbitrary key.
i always liked b major because it was easier to me my piano teacher was really excited about that at one point he said everyone finds those difficult, bu also other scales with black keys i thought were easier.
@@PianistAcademy1 I'm 2 years into adult piano, and B major, E major and A major are the ones that feel really satisfying to play, two octaves, hands together. C major is only less satisfying because I conquered it a long time ago.
When I first taught myself piano, my breakthrough was that the black keys are an F# Pentatonic( I played Clarinet in high school, so I knew a little about music). I spent a long time just playing around on the black keys before I even added in the notes B and F. After I got comfortable I added in other keys as time went on. To this day, C Major is the most difficult key for me to play in. Now I understand Chopin's brilliance. Makes perfect sense to me.
Hm, this is the exact reason I always choose E major - the hand sits very naturally on the keys! It's very close to what we see in the second half of B major. Really great advice by Chopin. It is rare that a very good musician is also a very good teacher.
My ‘go to’ key on keyboard is Ab major or Db major. Either one you get to have tonic/dominant/subdominant all falling on blacks, which helps left hand a lot. Eb major is the same but you have only three blacks there.
I like this approach, as a teacher and someone who learned as a kid in middle school who no one ever told me things were supposed to be hard I find kids will think whatever grownups think is hard hard and not want to do it but if you don’t let on about it being difficult they keep trying till they get it and a lot of times it’s actually the easier path like using a 2-3 fingering on brass instruments. Being a trombone player, ignore my CZcams name, my C scale was Bb so the first two scales I learned first were Bb and Eb and having developed a thing for flats when I started playing piano in a more serious way the scale I started with was the Gb/F# major pentatonic scale, it’s nothing but all the black keys and no matter how you put them together they sound good. It’s a great place to start when you want to play making things up as you go. Add c and f and it’s just like you said with the b scale but the finger that starts it is the pointer and it’s the other two white keys between the black ones that he talks about here for b. Basically the grouping of black keys with one of the white keys in between is easy and great. It’s loads of fun for just sitting and playing
When I was a teenager taking piano lessons, I always found that I could easily play the major scales of B, E, F# and C#, but I had a hard time playing the other major scales like C, F and G. My piano teacher used to scold me and say that if I couldn't play the C Major scale well, I would never be a good pianist. Years later, I read about Chopin teaching that the B Major scale was actually the easiest scale to learn and play, and I understood that I was actually going the right way.
Wow - this matches my discoveries - I did start with C and only realized it was kind of harder because the way it was all so tight compared to other keys that stretch the hand via black keys....I found my favorite was B major for exactly what you describe - it fits my hand and plays so comfortably! The more black keys the better!! The challenging part for me with B though is the left hand cross going back...that thumb has a solid gap to traverse so it comes in hitting harder than I want it to and I struggle to make it sound even with the other key strokes (especially playing it fast).
Totally, Aaron. The B Major left hand scale does present a few extra challenges. I almost always find my left hand struggling to "keep up" speed, articulation, etc with the right hand, even with lots of practice. One "hack" I discovered is allowing the my brain to follow the left hand, not the right... or in other words, make the left hand the 'leader' and the right hand the follower. That thought has solved so many lh/rh problems for me!
@@PianistAcademy1 I think I do that too - left is slightly slower, so it makes the pace for the right. I noticed even small things like a slight nail edge on my thumb also can factor maybe. It is as if the harder part of the thumb by the nail is hitting the key rather than the meaty "sweet spot" in the center top of the finger tip (due to the angle it arrives). Also Chopin is one of my favorite!. I have been reading his biography and his character sure fits with what you describe (he was kind of non-conformist I think).
@@aarontaylor8574 Yes, I keep my thumb nails very very very short haha. I never have a problem with the nail hitting, but I have quite a lot of pad exposed on the side of my thumbs! I'd be super distracted by any nails hitting the keys!
I've been playing for 6 months and I've been focusing on a different key each day. Initial progress was probably slower but I'm really starting to develop good finger coordination. Plus, C major (or A minor) can be a little like being lost in a snowstorm - everything is white and there's nothing to provide orientation. A few black keys is helpful.
This is interesting. I always tell new folks that the key to the entire piano is the major scale (reason being that every other scale can be defined using it as your base) but I had never considered “which” major scale should be learned first in regards to physical playability. Very sound advice.
A quick point: couldn't any mode be considered the base from which all other scales are defined? With that said, you are of course totally right, the white keys are c-major for a reason. Back before the piano was even invented, music was all about church and the western christian churches liked the Ionian mode in the key of C. The greeks had originally liked the key of A, which is why they chose to call the base tone A, but the western christian churches turned to prefer the key of C in the Ionian mode of 7 notes C-B. Then as music progressed apart from the church, we needed 5 more notes to play in other keys. You might know all this, I just wanted to point out that this preference for the Ionian mode (major scale) was chosen by the church hundreds of years ago. And while the piano hasn't changed, our preference for Ionian hasn't either, even though we can easily play the other 6 modes. I really just want to point out that Ionian has no sensible non-arbitrary preference. The only mode that seems to make more sense than another as a starting place might be dorian (WHWWWHW). Notice the Dorian's symmetry; it's the only mode with such symmetry. Furthermore, if you make a list of the notes/intervals that all modes play in a given key, you'll see some notes like the tritone only occur in Lydian and Locrian, while other notes like the perfect fourth or fifth occur in 6 of 7 modes. Dorian is made up of these most common and harmonious notes. Of course, you might want a little dissonance and play in lydian or ionian(major) or aeolian (minor), but dorian might make the most sense to use as a base. Mixolydian is equal to dorian but with an augmented 3rd. Ionian is equal to dorian but with an augmented 3rd and 7th. Lydian is equal to dorian but with an augmented 3rd, augmented 4th, and augmented 7th. Aeolian is equal to dorian but with a diminished 6th. Phrygian is equal to dorian but with a diminished 6th and 2nd. Locrian is equal to dorian but with a diminished 6th, diminished 5th, and diminished 2nd. In that way, if we use integer notation, the chromatic scale based on dorian might look like this: 0 - Root 1 - Phrygian II 2 - II 3 - III 4 - Mixolydian IV 5 - IV 6 - Tritone (Lydian IV, Locrian V) 7 - V 8 - Aeolian VI 9 - VI 10 - VII 11 - Ionian VII 12 - Octave The symmetry is clear and only so in dorian. You can see the similarity between Phrygian and Ionian. Mixolydian and Aeolian. Lydian and Locrian. II and VII. III and VI. IV, tritone, and V.
@@JackBlackNinja Oh absolutely. We could even go further in that it's only Western music that is defined by the modes you describe. Scales and even relative pitch are completely different in different parts of the world. I've done quite a bit of study of early church modes and am fluent in reading "Square" notation that chant was written in, but, being mainly a classical pianist, learning (to play) anything other than Ionian and Aeolian was/is never a thing at any level. (Maybe it should be...) Of course I know the theory behind the rest of the modes and occasionally teach it to students interested in composition or getting started in jazz, but hardly ever apply them myself unless I'm looking for a specific sound in a composition I'm writing. I actually never applied them outside of theory class for a good 4 to 5 years after* I finished my Masters in piano and even now only think about them for a few minutes a month, if that. Despite the simplicity of pop music, there's more and more of it being influenced by Dorian and Mixolydian these days. Also interesting that you reference all of the modes against Ionian... I switch between Ionian and Aeolian references depending on the mode. ie, I reference Dorian against Aeolian, but Mixolydian against Ionian.
@@PianistAcademy1 very interesting and thanks for this reply!! Yeah I often wonder if we are way too boxed in with our 12-TET, C Ionian-centered view. But I wanted to ask what you meant by the last bit about me referencing against Ionian. I can’t see where I was referencing all modes against Ionian, my point was that Ionian seems to be what most people reference modes against, but I reference all modes against Dorian because it seems to be the best argument for a non-arbitrary reference. It also happens to be the only mode with symmetry. I don’t know if that’s just chance or if that also has to do with why it makes the best argument for the base reference.
@@JackBlackNinja Definitely! Sorry, I meant that it was interesting that you reference everything against Dorian, not against Major or Minor. In my own head, I think of Dorian as "minor with a sharp 6" and Mixolydian as "Major with a flat 7" ... Lydian as "Major with a sharp 4" etc etc. It seems much more difficult to think of everything referenced against Dorian, at least in my head haha. Plus, I think other than Locrian, everything only has one altered tone in this case.
Damn this makes so much sense, I'm a self taught beginner and the key signature I use the most is d sharp major, because the pieces I've been learning use it like clair de lune, I'm so used to it that I noodle in that key whenever I'm on a piano, but sometimes I try doing the same thing in c major but I always get lost and it just sounds so unmusical, this video really explains well why that's the case, although I know most of the fault is due to my lack of practising scales, I'll be sure to practice b major more often, however I'm curious what the next scales chopin teaches his students, is it in a specific order?
Awesome lesson. So insightful. I've been putting off learning scales beyond C for the longest time because they seemed so intimidating and hard to learn. Today I will learn B Major scale. Thank you!
@@PianistAcademy1 after watching your video I went to my piano and learned B Major scale in 5 minutes; each hand individually and together and smoothly. This video is an epiphany for me (not exaggerating) taking my playing to the next level, no longer intimidated to learn scales in the black keys. I just need to figure out the diatonic chords of B Major.
@@richard135b7 That is so great to hear! Do you already know the order of Major and minor chords following a Major scale? Ie, kind of the Roman numerals that go with each scale degree?
@@PianistAcademy1 yes I do: I ii iii IV V vi vii° . I just need to practice playing them on B scale then on to the other scales with black keys. No longer scared of them. Thanks to you!
I've been saying beginners should start on B major for years, and I am not a pianist. I am glad my advice has a basis in fingering concerns to, for taking the fear out of black keys, and flats and sharps was my concern. As a beginner 50 years ago I never managed to overcome it. I am glad Chopin thinks so too.
Hi Charles: Why I never teach Hanon. (I've been teaching for almost 34 years.) I started playing when I was 8, by 28 I had chronic tendonitis, both arms, from freakin' 4 hours a day of practice (which included Hanon) of jazz chords and classical, then by 35 crippled with carpal tunnel in both hands and carpal, ulnar, and radial tunnel syndrome in my right arm, forcing me to wear a custom-made splint for 6 months so I could not play with my right hand (learned a couple cool LH pieces). I searched for a teacher to retrain how to play without injury and was so fortunate to find Barbara Lister-Sink and her course for injured musicians. I learned, for the FIRST TIME in my life, in one week, about posture, arm weight, loose wrist, etc. Physical technique as you state so well is so important, critical! imperative! to a life of playing. Anyway, many students over the years, young ones, have said, "Miss Julie, we played black keys in the beginning, why aren't we playing them now?" (first lesson books, which I do use, introduce then drop as you know). It wasn't until a physicist, in his 70s, came in for lessons and said "I can play all the scales and Hanon." (Inside me: deep sigh.) and his technique, physically, was, well, not good, well, it wasn't until one day after a year or so of lessons, that he had discovered that the black notes are guideposts (or "landmarks") and make things easier for playing (but for him harder for reading). Duh. Later I learned about Chopin teaching B major first and the first hand position in B major to teach starting on the E (RH) (Although I didn't realize it was that, I thought it was E major 5 finger position-A nat. not A#). I will now do this RELIGIOUSLY as I am big on learning to play with injury-preventive technique that I learned many years ago from Ms. Lister-Sink. I have my adult students (who have the bad physical habits, no fault of their own, they are just older students) stand with their arms at their sides, then sit on the bench and lift their arms naturally and they see their hands in their natural, as you so perfectly show, hand position: rounded. I will now show them (and the young students) B major, right off the bat, then Db and Gb. But, here's my question: what do you do when they learn these scales but absolutely panic looking at what B and Db and Gb look like on the page? The key signatures? how do you gently incorporate those into this teaching? And what scales are next after these three? backwards through the flats? Thank you for this! I am so inspired!!
Thank you for sharing your story and your question!! I also teach that method of finding the “relaxed” hand position from standing and then transferring it to the keyboard. I had an injury, bordering on tendonitis, when I was 17, just one month prior to taking auditions for undergrad programs. Working through that really changed my perspective on what technique is about. I typically continue to do ear training and playing by ear in the keys with lots of accidentals during early sheet music study of C and G. Once they have seen one sharp, I don’t hesitate to throw them B Major on paper pretty soon after. Typically I’ll write out little 8 bar “tunes” (original) that are very simple and only explore a few of the keys at a time. Then I can write stuff that’s exactly the level the student needs, and also modify the difficulty/purpose on a weekly basis depending on their progression. I also have plenty of patience with them as they work through it, and lots of positive talk.
Well Hanon is meant to be played in all 24 keys and furthermore, at some point all scales are played in C Major fingering though obviously these are not recommendations for beginners. Hanon in C is great for beginners because there are no finger crossings in the first part of the book and it's actually good to learn a bit of Hanon before attempting any scales at all in my view.
@@oaklandsfarmschool8791 as long as they are playing with proper technique including no tension in the very beginning with the Hanon exercises--I let young students play them but only technically correctly, I've had plenty of transfers who do not.
I started with A for that exact reason. Followed by D and E. C is the most difficult for me. B was my nemesis for quite awhile. Missed it by THAT much!
I've always felt that pianos could have visual markers between the octaves of the C major scale, for the very reason you mentioned here: difficulty in seeing a "shape" for beginners first starting out. Guitars have "dots" to show frets 3, 5, 7, 9, 12 for this reason, and there's no reason pianos can't.
I've never really thought about it that way before. Usually the groups of black keys are used to teach the octave divisions, but I think the idea of a dot or another market to differentiate octaves is a really cool idea!
Chopin is amazing! He understood the piano better than arguably any composer before or after him. If you listen to recorded accounts of students who studied under him they all said very similar things… that he made the most complex things make complete sense because he understood it all so well.
I remember having this EXACT thought as I played a pentatonic on the black keys, which is another benefit, easy to remember the pentatonics if it applies well to your playing. (Root and all but the last black note for your first major pentatonic, all notes except the upper black notes of each cluster for the 2nd, and simply all black for the 3rd) As someone who started out writing harmony without thinking about a reference to a diatonic scale the way the keys' layout makes you, (And also no perfect-pitch) it's really jarring to me that the notes aren't spaced evenly the way the pitches actually are in equal temperament, I think wrapping my head around how shapes change as you transpose will always confuse the hell out of me. A half step off is basically the same thing to me, just slightly brighter or darker. This gets especially challenging when jumping across like 4 keys, or borrowing single notes like a minor 3rd on your 4 chord etc. Sometimes I wonder if a different layout would've been preferred for people like me, maybe just alternating black and white like a whole-tone would be less confusing while still allowing comfortable hand shapes? The shapes still kinda change if transposing by a half step or it's whole tones, but the changes are even and simple.
Yes, transposing on a piano is not easy at all. You are right that the feel and shape of each key and all of the functioning chords within the key is all different. I also wonder about a different layout, but would changing it make playing every else "traditional" that much more difficult or even maybe impossible?
@@PianistAcademy1 There's definitely downsides, and probably cases where big issues arise (Kinda like what you see between different instruments), and all that for a compromise too. Damnit hands, why can't you just be better? I think what I need is a controller that just reads my brain directly. I will definitely try to just focus on B major and it's modes for a good long while, though (Including blue notes etc.), I think it might help get me accustomed to the uneven keys without overwhelming me. I think it's a matter of breaking that insistence on an even layout once, then breaking my reliance on B major.
cool. i discovered on my own that Db was a really easy jam key (learned it from trying to learn claire de lune) then i started using Bb harmonic minor. the black keys make life way easier for me. the B maj and G# minor is the same deal, just use the "other set" of 2 white keys
@@PianistAcademy1 hi. Claire is still a little above my pay grade haha. BUT, i am practicing technique and also learning boogie woogie to gain better hand independence. i'll learn claire some day soon.
@@PianistAcademy1 I sat down at the piano yesterday and validated - yes!! this is the easiest scale by far. The fingers fall so naturally into place - you and Chopin are right after all ... lol!! Thanks again :b
50+ years ago I failed at learning piano. We had to take choir classes from 1st Primary to 2nd Secondary. After 3rd Primary, every teacher told me to move my lips and not make a sound. So my music education was not optimal. I used to joke that I was born with two left ears. One month ago I bought a piano....and love it. But for some reason I've been trying to learn every scale, even though everyone says to just do the top half of the circle of fifths. But now, thanks Piano Academy and Freddy Chopin. I'm going to open up my time and learn those scales. BTW I'm a retired Chiropractor with a major orthopedic problem with a shoulder. Because of that I had to modify my techniques decades ago, and learned the importance of the shoulder for the whole body. I've treated several pianists and musicians (as well as other people, LOL) who see the benefits of massaging the subscapularis muscle. I do not recommend seeing a chiropractor or osteopath that manipulates the shoulder, it's too delicate. Are you on twitter? I also have an exercise plan for the low back that takes 30 seconds to one minute a day.
I am on Twitter, but barely haha. You can find me at @CSzMusic ... It's amazing how important the entire body mechanism is to piano technique. Scales, once you learn the patterns, are really wonderful tools for quite a lot of different practice. While they may not be literally quoted in much repertoire, there's a huge number of pieces that come close to literal quotes. Even those that don't, there are a finite number of ways the fingers work in conjunction with each other in patterns of runs, and scales explore a great deal of those patterns.
A few methods for very young students do actually start with playing the black keys only. Apparently this is just to avoid note reading, because strangely, they all revert to playing in de middle C position with the first non-white notes only exercises.
I was really intimidated with learning how to improvise on the piano and really struggled with getting myself to do it until I started playing in C# major, for some reason everything sounds good in that key to me and it boosted by confidence to improvise so much.
This makes a lot of sense when I look at Chopin's pieces. Every time I try to learn his songs, I say out loud, “Is Chopin allergic to white keys?!” Thanks for this new perspective!
I was thinking the same thing that there are no dividers so jumps between octaves for example should be harder, but are they? Aren't the black keys still there as a reference point? Also, for big jumps, once you have the map in you head, it should actually be EASIER, cause you've got such big (wide) landing strips for your pinky hitting a bass note for example. Overall, I guess it depends on what you play as well, and as mentioned, hand size
When I was was a kid I only had access to an electronic organ that had all the C's missing, so I found all the keys, like B, were the only means to play and not encounter missing notes. They're comfortable to play.
Now all we need is to find Chopin's lost beginner piano primer in that five finger position, with #4 in contrary motion. The missing link in piano pedagogy.
Very nice approach, thank you. I started March 17th and I'm trying to learn the major scales. I do well with the white keys, but the enharmonic keys slow me down. I can construct them using the formula if I forget, but I nearly always forget what fingering to use - until I slowly figure it out. So what about memory?
Great! Congrats on starting to learn! Do you mean scales that begin on black keys as opposed to scales that begin on white keys? And are you forgetting the fingering, or the notes in general? Or both?
@@akshobiya7501 Yeah, those are tough to remember! First off, remember that the thumb should never play a black key, scales or music alike. There are of course exceptions, but this is a general rule. Black keys will also never start with the 5th finger in the left hand. So now, we only have 3 fingers left to pick from! The way to logically think through it is to remember which notes in the scale get a thumb, and then go backwards from there to start your first note. In Db Major, F is the first note to get a thumb in RH and it’s after a cross, so count backwards from there and you get a group of two black keys that should start with 2 in the RH. In the LH, F is also the first note to get a thumb. Count backwards across the group of 2 black keys and you’ll get to the 3rd finger. So in Db, RH starts with 2, LH starts with 3. I’d recommend combining that sort of thinking about it with a helpful printout of the scale you are working on with the fingering. The more you can get your mind involved in the practice, the better it’s going to remember. But we also don’t want the thinking process to take so long that we don’t remember where we started. So go back and forth, looking at the sheet with fingering, and then going through this mental process. As a professional, I don’t even have the fingering “memorized” persay… the look of the scales on the keyboard trigger my mind to see the groups of black keys, then the hand positions, then the starting fingers, all within less than a second. But ask me to quote a fingering off the top of my head for a scale… I wouldn’t be able to tell you without visualizing this process.
I think fundamentally you should teach two different scales right from the start. Preferably scales that require different hand motions. If people get used to one scale, it will create problems in the future. It doesn't matter if it's C or B, certain habits might get too ingrained. Having two scales to alternate will help eliminate that. It's just like how when working out, you can't just do the same routine over and over. You have to switch it up to maintain efficiency. I believe that mentally for students this would help too. When you can play one scale, it just means you practiced that scale a lot. You can do one thing on your given instrument. But when you can ply two scales, now you start to feel like a musician. Especially if you learn to alternate them freely.
Since the sharps provide some physiological relief to the hands, perhaps it would be interesting to "back out" (reduce sharps, add physiological challenge) instead of adding sharps (which is the usual approach). That is, start with B major, then go E major (1 less sharp), then A major ( 2 less sharps), then D major (3 less sharps), then G major (4 less sharps), then C major - no sharps ...
I've been self taught on piano since 2011. I learned first with Am. So basically c major. But eventually I branched out to C, C#, D#,F, F#, G#, A#. This got me to learn to swing my thumb. My landmarks are C and F.
Before learning "black" scales, I remember finding F the easiest scale to remember on the right hand, because it's easy to spot on the keyboard and it uses the same fingers twice (1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4), which is different from every other scale that starts on a white key (that uses 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5). That was a long time ago. Now I believe that pretty much every major scales that start on a white key are of equal difficulty. They all have characteristics that make them easy to remember and to play, it's only a matter of learning them.
Thanks for checking out multiple videos here! I hope to continue to see you around the comments or in my livestreams! I'll definitely share more about Chopin's methods in the future. I'm currently reading the complete "Chopin: Pianist and Teacher As Seen By His Pupils" book, and I'm sure there will be plenty of tidbits in there that I'll pop into videos here. In the meantime, have you seen the channel "The Chopin Method"? It's only a couple videos on the channel, but extremely well presented from an academic point of view.
@@PianistAcademy1 Hello! I definitely will continue to follow your channel. I started playing just a two weeks ago (mostly jazz on a Korg c-15s) but I love classical music and want to learn good technique. I'm familiar with Saavedra's videos. They are well made but, to be honest, a bit too slow, and I like your straightforward approach better. By the way, I tried practicing the B major scale and indeed it makes a lot of difference in both keeping a natural hand form and getting familiar with the keyboard layout.
@@antoniomaccagnan7200 Thanks! And congrats on starting your journey on the piano... Your life will forever be changed! I'm glad you found this video helpful, and I'll try to throw more of Chopin's thoughts in when I can!
We know a great deal about Chopin because of his students. This book is a fantastic compilation of writings of his students (and more) that give us an incredible glimpse into his life, his teaching, and his own thoughts about music: amzn.to/3Veo2a6
🆓 ➡ Want to learn how to accomplish more during your practice AND get some free sheet music?? ➡➡ bit.ly/FreePianistDownloads
Chopin's technique advice is really worth reading. Some other things he said:
-the 2nd finger is the axis of your hand; if you can position that properly, the rest will follow.
-if you're struggling to play a passage legato, practise playing it staccato first.
-(a more mundane point) there's no point hoping that endless repetition will help you learn a passage. Play it fewer times, but with focus.
Those are wonderful points to share! Thank you! A similar quote as your third comes to mind from Liszt: "Make haste slowly"
thanks!
Didn't Chopin also recommend not practicing more than two hours per day? The original advocate of deliberate practice.
@@barbarasmith6005 It's true he disliked excessive practice and advised focusing on quality over quantity of practice. I'm not sure if he recommended a precise maximum of hours.
are there any books teaching his technique specifically??? Or any books that teach this B major first stuff?
Thank goodness for CZcams to helping us piano teachers learn how to be better teachers!
Thank you, Amanda! I'm glad you found this helpful!
On the one hand, yes, C is hard to play. On the other hand: Beginners are very very bad at sight-reading. Every transposition makes it harder to play. What I like to do is teach beginners C but also very simple stuff with the black keys, like the blues c minor, the beginning of "I don't like Mondays" or the odd Flohwalzer..
I agree with this! Continue ear training and playing by ear in keys with more sharps and flats, but move over to C for stuff on paper.
Been self taught since 2011, can't read a lick of sheet music. Fuck that, I'm not here to do math equations 😆 I usually just look up actual note letters or play by ear. I learned the beginning part of fur Elise by watching someone on CZcams play it, then remembering the notes
@@g0stn0te It’s kinda like learning to read (say a different language) by listening to someone say aurally.
I think that once you “read” music by getting what each letter means (like how you read a book) you’ll have a whole different comprehension of the music you learn.
Nothing wrong with playing by ear though! There’s a lot of freedom in learning how to play stuff that sounds good without reading music!
@@g0stn0te Nice! Playing by ear is awesome and there's a lot you can learn that way!
@@nathanwilson723 yeah I bet it makes you look at music in a different way. When I said math equation, that's literally what sheet music looks like to me, and I've always been terrible at math lol. So I think because of this, I steered clear of it and just learned how I could
I just started taking piano lessons to learn theory and found this different perspective very insightful. Thanks for sharing Charles!
Awesome! Thanks for checking out the video, hope to continue to see you around the channel, and best wishes for your piano lessons!
Thank you very much Piano Academy. This was very insightful...especially learning from one my favourite composers...Chopin
Glad you like the video! I hope you'll stay tuned for more!!
You are so right. Sharps and flats are only intimidating because they aren't learned early in the game. I discovered the advantages of starting a circle of fifths on B major a few months ago but hadn't realized that the black keys could be blocked. Thanks for the excellent tutorial!
You are welcome! I'm glad this was helpful for you!
You're a delightful instructor. Thank you for being you in your lessons.
Thanks for watching! I'm glad you enjoyed this!
Fascinating, thank you for making me think about scales differently!
Absolutely, thanks for watching! I really enjoyed your "An Aggregate of Last Moments." Nice work, also looking forward to hearing what you have to say about "Art vs Entertainment." I'll be watching when I have a moment :-) I think you'd enjoy my performance and composition channel, if you'd consider checking it out: czcams.com/channels/NyudV9J5FEfC3xAbR4L3xg.html
Sincere and grateful thanks for posting this
You bet! Thanks for watching, pianoman!
Absolutely brilliant. Beginners can see the tone, tone, semltone et c. structure in a very clear way.
Thanks! I agree!
This was fascinating. It seems so sensible, I’m surprised this hasn’t become the norm in introducing scales to piano students. But I suppose it shows how certain practices (e.g., “begin by learning the C major scale”) become so ingrained that we don’t ask, “Is there a better way?” This video suggests that asking that question is often appropriate. Thank you for posting it.
Thanks, James! I always think questions are wonderful to ask, both as the student and as the teacher!
Very interesting. Thank you. I spent such a long time practicing C in two or more octaves and often couldn't see where I was up to. I read, somewhere, that it is best to learn the parallel minor scales, rather than the relative minors, so I did that. My teacher didn't like it. I continued without a teacher. After a year, or so, of neglecting scales, I have started again and shall follow your advice from this video. The black keys are so much fun. I've spent many hours just improvising and enjoying the piano, but am now really starting to tackle sight reading by using randomly generated, short pieces. I have added at least one hour of this to my daily regiment and the progress is slow, but sure. This is a great video and I'm going to start watching your others. Thanks again.
Thanks, I'm glad you found this helpful! I might add that I always use harmonic minor scales, not natural minors. Natural minor is nearly exactly the same as practicing Major counterparts, while harmonic minors are more of their own thing!
Wow, I've actually never heard of this until now! Makes perfect sense in the way you explain it so well. I wonder if people tend to learn in C because reading it is easier on sheet music? Have you known this for a while or did you encounter Chopin's approach sometime later during your training, and have you encountered other teachers doing the same?
Good to see you here! Yes, I do think that the access to books of music, and the high use of following the prescribed "lesson book" formula to teaching piano, has led to ONLY teaching C position first. Yes, I do think that C is easier to read on paper, and I also use C most often when introducing any bits of theory to students, from the simplest I and V chords, to complex Roman Numeral Analysis. But if today's pianist had equal parts of the lesson devoted to printed music and also to ear training, I think B and other keys could be introduced right away. Remember that improvisation was a huge, and normal, thing for classical pianists of Chopin's day. Chopin himself was a master improviser. That kind of playing relies a lot on feel plus the understanding of theory, not necessarily any skills gained by reading the score.
I didn't learn this material myself until I was in my Masters program for Piano. I know a handful of really top teachers that work this way, but I'd say they only make up 5% of the total number of teachers I know. Usually they are university professors who have some community students or pianists holding a DMA in pedagogy that have their own studios.
Awesome, thanks for sharing the info and your insights. Yes, I have encountered many pianists who feel comfortable reading sheet music, yet struggle to improvise, as that is a whole different skill set. I didn't start playing by ear until 5 or so years into taking lessons as a child (I was taught the classical way, learning the C scale first as expected). Was very difficult to improvise at first, but like any skill it can be learned and improved over time!
@@ImagoPiano Definitely! I didn't have any "lessons" in composition or improv... actually ever in my entire life. Everything I've learned in that area has been self taught, stemming mainly from being asked to play pop music at a young age, and also being a church pianist from the time I was 12, and learning to harmonize out of the hymnal where you don't even get the chord changes on the sheet!
@@PianistAcademy1 Of course, if the piano were isomorphic, like Jankó, then none of this would have mattered…
In this Prelude 24 example, the pianist glissed C major because he couldn’t play it as fast as the other keys: m.czcams.com/video/eGSzH5qbkbc/video.html
@@PianistAcademy1 Of course, if the piano were isomorphic, like Jankó, then none of this would have mattered…
In this Prelude 24 example, the pianist glissed C major because he couldn’t play it as fast as the other keys: m.czcams.com/video/eGSzH5qbkbc/video.html
Loved it Charles. Thank you. Makes perfect sense but didn’t happen for me when I started. Started with C major.
Thanks, Gillian!
very good approach. Heared from this, but here it is very well explained! 😊
Thanks! Glad you found it helpful!
A couple of things: I have read that Moszkowski had all his students learn to play all the major and minor scales with the C major fingering and I just now noticed that it's the same as the B major fingering: 1,2,3, 1,2,3,4. Second, violinists go through the same thing. I had read in an article quoting Mai Bang (who studied with Leopold Auer) "We start off teaching students to play in first position and it's the hardest position to play in. I don't know why we do it." Yet in Louis Spohr's autobiography he relates that he learned to play "G# accord" his first lesson. Ab enharmonic, but with not only All the Sharps but a double sharp as well: Fx. So, the leading tone is an open G string (F double sharp) and the tonic just a half step away. How cool is that? Yet in his book, he starts off with the C major scale. Why? I think teachers wouldn't buy it otherwise. Teachers teach what is easiest for them. And publishers, well they won't publish a non-seller.
Also, J.S. Bach had his students doing 6 months of 5 finger exercises in each of the positions, Yet. in his book "The True Art of Playing the Keyboard" C. P. E. Bach starts off with the C major scale and gives 3 different fingerings for each hand. He must have had his fill of 5 finger exercises from his father. Chopin on the other hand seems to be going Back to Old Bach and teaching Position first. With the positions you've given for the Left and Right Hand you can explore every mathematical combination of fingers/notes and start to develop Independence which is something Hummel did in his book. Sorry to sound like a know it all but actually the reverse is quite true. I never received proper instruction, so I've had to do a lot of digging on my own and am only now learning my positions first, then Progressions, then scales and arpeggios.
Thanks for your insight. You're the first person I know of to even talk about this.
There is a whole school of thought behind the ability to be able to use any fingering for any passage, both from baroque composers as well as contemporaries. I'm not a big fan of it myself as I think it only really applies to the most elite musicians. Yes, it can open up more tonal possibilities and also make the hand more 'supple' in the sense that it's not locked in to one thing in particular. BUT, even early advanced pianists need structure, much more structure than these methods apply.
And I do think you are right about the publishing bit of your post. C does have merit on paper as the easiest key to learn notation and theory in. Even I use C to teach all early theory to my students. Since the books are so exclusively in C, it must be covered, but it doesn't have to be in the first couple lessons. Plus, I like incorporating ear training very early on as well so when we have to shift to read very beginning music in C, I continue to use ear training in B so it doesn't fall by the wayside.
Your explanation of this approach is seriously comprehensible! thanks🖐
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed this!
Wow! So simple! Thank you
Thanks, Susan!
I could not agree more! B major is definitely the easiest scale to play. It's almost as if was made just to fit the human hand.
Totally!
Very fascinating! I learned now the very easy B Maj scale in seconds. Thanks!!!
Great to hear, I'm glad this helped!
WOW!!! This was an EXCELLENT LESSON!!! THANK YOU FOR SHARING!!!🙏🙏🙏
You're welcome! Thanks for watching!
This was actually really fascinating and makes so much sense! Chopin has always been my favourite composer:)
I think it's amazing how many teachers *don't* know this! Even if reading the notes on the page for B Major is too difficult right at the beginning, just start with the keys of the piano. Even that will inevitably spark the student's interest in the black keys and, before you know it, they'll be playing things in the 'difficult' keys *years* before they would if they followed the lesson books only!
@@PianistAcademy1 I've always called "B" the weirdo (diatonic piano chords/Guitar strings). It's not the outlier now. TYSM
@@robertakerman3570 Exactly! Glad you liked this one!
@@PianistAcademy1 but someone might argue learning C first , gets the scale without the helpful landmarks out of the way first and that the most ergonomically easiest scale B is not necessarily the best to learned first.
Suppose there was a thorough analysis of every key so that each was definitively ranked from easiest to hardest to play.
Then a separate list for most popular keys of classical piano music
another for pop
another for jazz
another for gospel
another for High Scholl band music
Would any of that matter or would it be best to only use the ergonomic list?
Also from a pedological perspective, I'm not sure about this, is it best to proceed learning new things in a strict sequential order from easiest to hardest or is it useful sometimes to skip ahead to a difficult piece once in a while?
Then at the same time the student is learning to read sheet music, sometimes starting on C and then progressively adding sharps and flats. Should that be ignored entirely and only go by an ergonomic order of keys?
If so then we switch to another instrument and the ergonomic order is entirely different.
Does it matter as per beginner students playing in groups learning keys in a sequence determined ergonomically for each instrument?
@@sat1241 The thing that learning B, Db, Gb, etc first is accomplishing is helping to prevent beginner students from forming bad physical habits, hand/wrist postures, etc which are much more difficult to correct years later (when these keys are more often introduced). A very good teacher can guide a student through C right away, but many many teachers don’t pay attention to the details of the hand with beginners. The focus ends up being solely on getting to play music as soon as possible. These students might find some enjoyment in that, but they end up being more likely to have problems in 2 or 3 years, and subsequently more likely to quit playing because of needing to break habits that have then been formed over hundreds of hours of incorrect practice.
The most difficult key to play in will be different for every pianist AND every genre. Another trouble with learning C to “overcome” the lack of landmarks, is that its not just scale landmarks that aren’t present, but there’s no development of learning how to navigate what I call the ‘topology’ of the keyboard. Usually G gets presented next… again almost no development toward seeing and feeling the full keyboard… then D Major, and there’s a tiny bit of this starting. And don’t get me started on learning ‘positions.’ Many times, students get “stuck” in the position they are first taught and have a huge amount of trouble moving the hands. My very first lesson with a student, they learn an octave scale for each hand, hands separately of course. But there’s none of this 5 fingers only and in C only. I’ve found that it holds students back. And like I present in the video, if the attitude of the teacher is that this is just the normal development of things, the student will accept that and not question.
I do always begin teaching theory in C, but my first day of theory I also present Roman numeral analysis right off the bat, introducing words like Tonic, Dominant, and Subdominant, (I, V, VI chords). Even with my 6 year old beginners, they bring their notebook in, get those words, and learn them right away, outside of the context of music first. This is usually 1 to 3 years prior to when they learn about it following lesson book formats. It’s not difficult for the young brain either… they simply absorb it and think it’s normal. Adult beginners are a bit more difficult, but they usually have so many questions and want to know so much of the “how” that we need to cross this bridge earlier than their minds really might want it.
Interesting. Your explanation makes it feel so easy to play.
Great! Thanks for watching!
Cool. I play guitar, but occasionally play a little keyboards. I like Chopin's insight and advice. When genius speaks, it's wise to listen. Thanks
I love that... when genius speaks, it's wise to listen. Beautiful phrase. Thanks for watching!
Very good point, and lots of nice things to look at too
Thanks!
Yeah, I never got up to the stage in lessons of learning all of the scales formally, but I feel like F minor for example is really nice to play. Much harder to get lost than C major or A minor. 100% agree with this logic.
Totally, thanks Alex!
Sir, I am taking one year of private piano lessons, and am in a graduate program as well. You, sir, I am adding to my education. I am a beginner piano player, and am struggling with Hannon exercises 1 and 2 (at the moment).
My teacher is showing me a lot, and it's amazing. The biggest thing he has said so far is for me to focus NOT on speed, but the feelings, and correct fingerings for each exercise.
Using the elbow and wrist only, going slow, then add fast note, to slow note, and vice versa, is helping.
Thank you for your video, the B-Major scale DOES feels pretty easy!
Great stuff, Trevor! I'd suggest to also check out the "Healthy Hanon" video I posted this Monday! I talk about very similar things as what you mention here!
Very interesting lesson! I enjoyed it tremendously!!
Thanks for checking it out, Jimmy!
Amazing - Thank You!!
You're welcome!!
Great and very important lesson, thank you very much.
You're welcome wise! Thanks for watching!
Thank you thank you thank you ! Hallelujah !
I have never understood why the scale of C was considered a good place to start. It's the scale I least enjoy playing and the one I'm most likely to lose track of my fingering positions. My hand shape and size just loves B major - easy peasy lemon squeezy 😅.
Also I find that starting on C major sets a presidence in one's mind that using black notes is somehow moving towards areas of difficulties.
Thanks for the vid 👍
I knew all this before, but you teach it really well. Well done.
Thank you! I'm glad you like the style of teaching and hope you'll continue to visit the channel as we explore more and more material!
This is excellent and fits well with my piano learning. I'm learning how to be more in touch with the keyboard, so I don't get lost. Although I have not been playing the B Major scale or songs in B, my piano teacher pointed out, early on, how blind piano players play using the black keys because it helps them figure out where they are on the keyboard. Even when playing in C, if you are aware of the black keys and feel them with your fingers, you can determine where you are without looking. I'm definitely going to use this going forward. I liked your presentation style, as well.
Thanks, I appreciate it! Glad to be of help!
@@PianistAcademy1 Of course, if the piano were isomorphic, like Jankó, then none of this would have mattered…
In this Prelude 24 example, the pianist glissed C major because he couldn’t play it as fast as the other keys: m.czcams.com/video/eGSzH5qbkbc/video.html
70 years ago my mum showed me Db, and I've never come across anyone doing this, until today. Thanks.
She was onto something great! Thanks for watching!
Great video! Subbed! 😊 I am trying to finally learn to play the piano to improve my music skills which is making electronic music.
Thanks, and awesome! I listen to quite a bit of electronic stuff throughout the day. Good luck with it!
Wow, this is super-helpful! Thanks for posting. Subbed! :)
Awesome, thanks Paul!
Thanks for the advice. I have difficulty with thumb crossing in C major.
You are welcome, Bruno! I hope it helps :-)
Charles, this is so great! Just started teaching kids and can now can simply explain why black keys are there :) Many lesson ideas from your video thank you!! - Chris
Absolutely, Chris! Thanks for watching and I'm glad it's helpful!
Omg. Thanks for confirming what I’ve suspected all along. I’m a mid-level amateur pianist who recently began ‘coaching’ my young child’s private piano lessons. I’m having frustration with the teacher’s dogmatic C-major ‘sheet-music typist’ mechanical approach which is quite common. Quite recently, against my wife’s wish, I recommended tutor to teach my kid ‘minute waltz’ in Db major, as I deem it to be easier to play. My wife and tutor’s concern is basically the sheet music has five flats and therefore ‘too difficult and ‘unconventional’. Now I know I’m not in the wrong. Thanks!
Great! Just be aware that the impression given to a child about "difficultly" in many cases has more to do with what is difficult than what is not. If the teacher is expressing that it's "too difficult" in front of your child, it may be more difficult to convince the child that it actually is fine to work on!
@@PianistAcademy1 Absolutely true. Piano teachers for small children typically cater to mom’s expectations. And usually non-pianist moms just want to see them go through C or G major Czerny practice pieces. If a piece has more than two flats or sharps, they treat it like R movie - “off limit, that’s for grown ups!” God forbid 5 flats Minute waltz!
I had to inject myself into my child’s lessons because I saw my first grader losing interest in piano playing. The tutoring is mostly focused on sheet music reading and mindless ‘finger power’ exercises, sucking the joy out of playing.
Selection of five-flat Minute waltz was intentional as it kind of forces kid’s focus out of sheet music and put focus back on the hands on keyboard, so that player can discover the patterns of structure of a piece visually. My son enjoys it and already understood Db major scale. Also told him it’s the same as having seven sharps (C# major) and visually explained the concept by showing what happens if you raise all white keys (C major) by halftones. He’s now experimenting building major scale starting with arbitrary key.
@@jisyang8781 That's great!
i always liked b major because it was easier to me my piano teacher was really excited about that at one point he said everyone finds those difficult, bu also other scales with black keys i thought were easier.
I’ve always thought the black key scales were easier as well!
@@PianistAcademy1 I'm 2 years into adult piano, and B major, E major and A major are the ones that feel really satisfying to play, two octaves, hands together. C major is only less satisfying because I conquered it a long time ago.
Amazing technique…many thanks 🙏
You're welcome, Midasty!
When I first taught myself piano, my breakthrough was that the black keys are an F# Pentatonic( I played Clarinet in high school, so I knew a little about music).
I spent a long time just playing around on the black keys before I even added in the notes B and F.
After I got comfortable I added in other keys as time went on.
To this day, C Major is the most difficult key for me to play in. Now I understand Chopin's brilliance. Makes perfect sense to me.
Thanks for sharing, Zak! Great idea you had all on your own!
Hm, this is the exact reason I always choose E major - the hand sits very naturally on the keys! It's very close to what we see in the second half of B major. Really great advice by Chopin. It is rare that a very good musician is also a very good teacher.
Yes! E Major can also be a great choice!
@@PianistAcademy1 My piano teacher says E, A, B just FEEL good, and I agree with her, too.
My ‘go to’ key on keyboard is Ab major or Db major. Either one you get to have tonic/dominant/subdominant all falling on blacks, which helps left hand a lot. Eb major is the same but you have only three blacks there.
I wish I could like this video more than once. best lesson and explanation on scales.
Thank you, Richie!
I like this approach, as a teacher and someone who learned as a kid in middle school who no one ever told me things were supposed to be hard I find kids will think whatever grownups think is hard hard and not want to do it but if you don’t let on about it being difficult they keep trying till they get it and a lot of times it’s actually the easier path like using a 2-3 fingering on brass instruments. Being a trombone player, ignore my CZcams name, my C scale was Bb so the first two scales I learned first were Bb and Eb and having developed a thing for flats when I started playing piano in a more serious way the scale I started with was the Gb/F# major pentatonic scale, it’s nothing but all the black keys and no matter how you put them together they sound good. It’s a great place to start when you want to play making things up as you go. Add c and f and it’s just like you said with the b scale but the finger that starts it is the pointer and it’s the other two white keys between the black ones that he talks about here for b. Basically the grouping of black keys with one of the white keys in between is easy and great. It’s loads of fun for just sitting and playing
Absolutely, Robert! I agree completely.
When I was a teenager taking piano lessons, I always found that I could easily play the major scales of B, E, F# and C#, but I had a hard time playing the other major scales like C, F and G.
My piano teacher used to scold me and say that if I couldn't play the C Major scale well, I would never be a good pianist.
Years later, I read about Chopin teaching that the B Major scale was actually the easiest scale to learn and play, and I understood that I was actually going the right way.
Wow - this matches my discoveries - I did start with C and only realized it was kind of harder because the way it was all so tight compared to other keys that stretch the hand via black keys....I found my favorite was B major for exactly what you describe - it fits my hand and plays so comfortably! The more black keys the better!!
The challenging part for me with B though is the left hand cross going back...that thumb has a solid gap to traverse so it comes in hitting harder than I want it to and I struggle to make it sound even with the other key strokes (especially playing it fast).
Totally, Aaron. The B Major left hand scale does present a few extra challenges. I almost always find my left hand struggling to "keep up" speed, articulation, etc with the right hand, even with lots of practice. One "hack" I discovered is allowing the my brain to follow the left hand, not the right... or in other words, make the left hand the 'leader' and the right hand the follower. That thought has solved so many lh/rh problems for me!
@@PianistAcademy1 I think I do that too - left is slightly slower, so it makes the pace for the right. I noticed even small things like a slight nail edge on my thumb also can factor maybe. It is as if the harder part of the thumb by the nail is hitting the key rather than the meaty "sweet spot" in the center top of the finger tip (due to the angle it arrives).
Also Chopin is one of my favorite!. I have been reading his biography and his character sure fits with what you describe (he was kind of non-conformist I think).
@@aarontaylor8574 Yes, I keep my thumb nails very very very short haha. I never have a problem with the nail hitting, but I have quite a lot of pad exposed on the side of my thumbs! I'd be super distracted by any nails hitting the keys!
my piano teacher taught me this but didn't go into it like this many many thanks
I'm glad it was interesting for you!
I've been playing for 6 months and I've been focusing on a different key each day. Initial progress was probably slower but I'm really starting to develop good finger coordination. Plus, C major (or A minor) can be a little like being lost in a snowstorm - everything is white and there's nothing to provide orientation. A few black keys is helpful.
Love this and your "snowstorm" analogy!
This is interesting. I always tell new folks that the key to the entire piano is the major scale (reason being that every other scale can be defined using it as your base) but I had never considered “which” major scale should be learned first in regards to physical playability. Very sound advice.
Glad you enjoyed this and found it helpful! Thanks for watching!
A quick point: couldn't any mode be considered the base from which all other scales are defined? With that said, you are of course totally right, the white keys are c-major for a reason. Back before the piano was even invented, music was all about church and the western christian churches liked the Ionian mode in the key of C. The greeks had originally liked the key of A, which is why they chose to call the base tone A, but the western christian churches turned to prefer the key of C in the Ionian mode of 7 notes C-B. Then as music progressed apart from the church, we needed 5 more notes to play in other keys. You might know all this, I just wanted to point out that this preference for the Ionian mode (major scale) was chosen by the church hundreds of years ago. And while the piano hasn't changed, our preference for Ionian hasn't either, even though we can easily play the other 6 modes.
I really just want to point out that Ionian has no sensible non-arbitrary preference. The only mode that seems to make more sense than another as a starting place might be dorian (WHWWWHW). Notice the Dorian's symmetry; it's the only mode with such symmetry. Furthermore, if you make a list of the notes/intervals that all modes play in a given key, you'll see some notes like the tritone only occur in Lydian and Locrian, while other notes like the perfect fourth or fifth occur in 6 of 7 modes. Dorian is made up of these most common and harmonious notes. Of course, you might want a little dissonance and play in lydian or ionian(major) or aeolian (minor), but dorian might make the most sense to use as a base.
Mixolydian is equal to dorian but with an augmented 3rd. Ionian is equal to dorian but with an augmented 3rd and 7th. Lydian is equal to dorian but with an augmented 3rd, augmented 4th, and augmented 7th.
Aeolian is equal to dorian but with a diminished 6th. Phrygian is equal to dorian but with a diminished 6th and 2nd. Locrian is equal to dorian but with a diminished 6th, diminished 5th, and diminished 2nd.
In that way, if we use integer notation, the chromatic scale based on dorian might look like this:
0 - Root
1 - Phrygian II
2 - II
3 - III
4 - Mixolydian IV
5 - IV
6 - Tritone (Lydian IV, Locrian V)
7 - V
8 - Aeolian VI
9 - VI
10 - VII
11 - Ionian VII
12 - Octave
The symmetry is clear and only so in dorian. You can see the similarity between Phrygian and Ionian. Mixolydian and Aeolian. Lydian and Locrian. II and VII. III and VI. IV, tritone, and V.
@@JackBlackNinja Oh absolutely. We could even go further in that it's only Western music that is defined by the modes you describe. Scales and even relative pitch are completely different in different parts of the world. I've done quite a bit of study of early church modes and am fluent in reading "Square" notation that chant was written in, but, being mainly a classical pianist, learning (to play) anything other than Ionian and Aeolian was/is never a thing at any level. (Maybe it should be...) Of course I know the theory behind the rest of the modes and occasionally teach it to students interested in composition or getting started in jazz, but hardly ever apply them myself unless I'm looking for a specific sound in a composition I'm writing. I actually never applied them outside of theory class for a good 4 to 5 years after* I finished my Masters in piano and even now only think about them for a few minutes a month, if that.
Despite the simplicity of pop music, there's more and more of it being influenced by Dorian and Mixolydian these days. Also interesting that you reference all of the modes against Ionian... I switch between Ionian and Aeolian references depending on the mode. ie, I reference Dorian against Aeolian, but Mixolydian against Ionian.
@@PianistAcademy1 very interesting and thanks for this reply!! Yeah I often wonder if we are way too boxed in with our 12-TET, C Ionian-centered view. But I wanted to ask what you meant by the last bit about me referencing against Ionian. I can’t see where I was referencing all modes against Ionian, my point was that Ionian seems to be what most people reference modes against, but I reference all modes against Dorian because it seems to be the best argument for a non-arbitrary reference. It also happens to be the only mode with symmetry. I don’t know if that’s just chance or if that also has to do with why it makes the best argument for the base reference.
@@JackBlackNinja Definitely! Sorry, I meant that it was interesting that you reference everything against Dorian, not against Major or Minor. In my own head, I think of Dorian as "minor with a sharp 6" and Mixolydian as "Major with a flat 7" ... Lydian as "Major with a sharp 4" etc etc. It seems much more difficult to think of everything referenced against Dorian, at least in my head haha. Plus, I think other than Locrian, everything only has one altered tone in this case.
Thank you!
You are welcome, Leiocera!
Thank you for that video. I've always thought B, Gb, and Db were the easiest scales to play. I'm looking forward to trying them out with my students.
Sounds great!
Damn this makes so much sense, I'm a self taught beginner and the key signature I use the most is d sharp major, because the pieces I've been learning use it like clair de lune, I'm so used to it that I noodle in that key whenever I'm on a piano, but sometimes I try doing the same thing in c major but I always get lost and it just sounds so unmusical, this video really explains well why that's the case, although I know most of the fault is due to my lack of practising scales, I'll be sure to practice b major more often, however I'm curious what the next scales chopin teaches his students, is it in a specific order?
He usually taught B Major, then Db Major (which is sounds like you're already familiar with from Clair de Lune), and then Gb Major.
Makes lots of sense!
Thanks for watching!!
Thank you
Wow amazing … I agree completely
Awesome! And thanks for watching!
Awesome lesson. So insightful. I've been putting off learning scales beyond C for the longest time because they seemed so intimidating and hard to learn. Today I will learn B Major scale. Thank you!
Great, Richard! Let us know how it goes!
@@PianistAcademy1 after watching your video I went to my piano and learned B Major scale in 5 minutes; each hand individually and together and smoothly. This video is an epiphany for me (not exaggerating) taking my playing to the next level, no longer intimidated to learn scales in the black keys. I just need to figure out the diatonic chords of B Major.
@@richard135b7 That is so great to hear! Do you already know the order of Major and minor chords following a Major scale? Ie, kind of the Roman numerals that go with each scale degree?
@@PianistAcademy1 yes I do: I ii iii IV V vi vii° . I just need to practice playing them on B scale then on to the other scales with black keys. No longer scared of them. Thanks to you!
@@richard135b7 Great!
Very nice ❤️ 👌 👍
This is great can you do some more of easy hand scales thanks if that what you call them
Easy scales! I'll put it on my list of topics to continue to cover! Thanks for the suggestion!
I've been saying beginners should start on B major for years, and I am not a pianist. I am glad my advice has a basis in fingering concerns to, for taking the fear out of black keys, and flats and sharps was my concern. As a beginner 50 years ago I never managed to overcome it. I am glad Chopin thinks so too.
Great, Larry! Glad to help confirm this for you!
Hi Charles: Why I never teach Hanon. (I've been teaching for almost 34 years.) I started playing when I was 8, by 28 I had chronic tendonitis, both arms, from freakin' 4 hours a day of practice (which included Hanon) of jazz chords and classical, then by 35 crippled with carpal tunnel in both hands and carpal, ulnar, and radial tunnel syndrome in my right arm, forcing me to wear a custom-made splint for 6 months so I could not play with my right hand (learned a couple cool LH pieces). I searched for a teacher to retrain how to play without injury and was so fortunate to find Barbara Lister-Sink and her course for injured musicians. I learned, for the FIRST TIME in my life, in one week, about posture, arm weight, loose wrist, etc. Physical technique as you state so well is so important, critical! imperative! to a life of playing. Anyway, many students over the years, young ones, have said, "Miss Julie, we played black keys in the beginning, why aren't we playing them now?" (first lesson books, which I do use, introduce then drop as you know). It wasn't until a physicist, in his 70s, came in for lessons and said "I can play all the scales and Hanon." (Inside me: deep sigh.) and his technique, physically, was, well, not good, well, it wasn't until one day after a year or so of lessons, that he had discovered that the black notes are guideposts (or "landmarks") and make things easier for playing (but for him harder for reading). Duh. Later I learned about Chopin teaching B major first and the first hand position in B major to teach starting on the E (RH) (Although I didn't realize it was that, I thought it was E major 5 finger position-A nat. not A#). I will now do this RELIGIOUSLY as I am big on learning to play with injury-preventive technique that I learned many years ago from Ms. Lister-Sink. I have my adult students (who have the bad physical habits, no fault of their own, they are just older students) stand with their arms at their sides, then sit on the bench and lift their arms naturally and they see their hands in their natural, as you so perfectly show, hand position: rounded. I will now show them (and the young students) B major, right off the bat, then Db and Gb. But, here's my question: what do you do when they learn these scales but absolutely panic looking at what B and Db and Gb look like on the page? The key signatures? how do you gently incorporate those into this teaching? And what scales are next after these three? backwards through the flats? Thank you for this! I am so inspired!!
Thank you for sharing your story and your question!! I also teach that method of finding the “relaxed” hand position from standing and then transferring it to the keyboard.
I had an injury, bordering on tendonitis, when I was 17, just one month prior to taking auditions for undergrad programs. Working through that really changed my perspective on what technique is about.
I typically continue to do ear training and playing by ear in the keys with lots of accidentals during early sheet music study of C and G. Once they have seen one sharp, I don’t hesitate to throw them B Major on paper pretty soon after. Typically I’ll write out little 8 bar “tunes” (original) that are very simple and only explore a few of the keys at a time. Then I can write stuff that’s exactly the level the student needs, and also modify the difficulty/purpose on a weekly basis depending on their progression. I also have plenty of patience with them as they work through it, and lots of positive talk.
Wow, thanks. Great ideas. As Stravinsky said, “I never borrow, I only steal.” I’ll be stealing these (sounds fun writing little tunes).
@@missjuliepiano absolutely!
Well Hanon is meant to be played in all 24 keys and furthermore, at some point all scales are played in C Major fingering though obviously these are not recommendations for beginners. Hanon in C is great for beginners because there are no finger crossings in the first part of the book and it's actually good to learn a bit of Hanon before attempting any scales at all in my view.
@@oaklandsfarmschool8791 as long as they are playing with proper technique including no tension in the very beginning with the Hanon exercises--I let young students play them but only technically correctly, I've had plenty of transfers who do not.
Nice information
Thanks, Dilip! Glad you found it interesting!
I started with A for that exact reason. Followed by D and E. C is the most difficult for me. B was my nemesis for quite awhile. Missed it by THAT much!
Interesting! What prompted you to start with A? Was it a teacher? A book? Your own discovery? I'd love to know!
@@PianistAcademy1 A is the first letter in the alphabet.
I've always felt that pianos could have visual markers between the octaves of the C major scale, for the very reason you mentioned here: difficulty in seeing a "shape" for beginners first starting out. Guitars have "dots" to show frets 3, 5, 7, 9, 12 for this reason, and there's no reason pianos can't.
I've never really thought about it that way before. Usually the groups of black keys are used to teach the octave divisions, but I think the idea of a dot or another market to differentiate octaves is a really cool idea!
Chopin is amazing! He understood the piano better than arguably any composer before or after him. If you listen to recorded accounts of students who studied under him they all said very similar things… that he made the most complex things make complete sense because he understood it all so well.
Totally!
Actually I like F# maj, your can mirror the movements of two hands by using Ab as the center axis, that's also inspired form Marc Andre Hamelin
I agree with this. Gb (same as F#) is another key also advocated by Chopin to cover right away!
Great video. I don't play piano but this seems well explained
Thank you! I'm glad you found it interesting even though you aren't a pianist!
Well, that is fascinating. I wish Chopin could have been my teacher 🤗🙌🏻
Haha, that makes 2 of us!
I remember having this EXACT thought as I played a pentatonic on the black keys, which is another benefit, easy to remember the pentatonics if it applies well to your playing. (Root and all but the last black note for your first major pentatonic, all notes except the upper black notes of each cluster for the 2nd, and simply all black for the 3rd)
As someone who started out writing harmony without thinking about a reference to a diatonic scale the way the keys' layout makes you, (And also no perfect-pitch) it's really jarring to me that the notes aren't spaced evenly the way the pitches actually are in equal temperament, I think wrapping my head around how shapes change as you transpose will always confuse the hell out of me. A half step off is basically the same thing to me, just slightly brighter or darker. This gets especially challenging when jumping across like 4 keys, or borrowing single notes like a minor 3rd on your 4 chord etc.
Sometimes I wonder if a different layout would've been preferred for people like me, maybe just alternating black and white like a whole-tone would be less confusing while still allowing comfortable hand shapes? The shapes still kinda change if transposing by a half step or it's whole tones, but the changes are even and simple.
Yes, transposing on a piano is not easy at all. You are right that the feel and shape of each key and all of the functioning chords within the key is all different. I also wonder about a different layout, but would changing it make playing every else "traditional" that much more difficult or even maybe impossible?
@@PianistAcademy1 There's definitely downsides, and probably cases where big issues arise (Kinda like what you see between different instruments), and all that for a compromise too. Damnit hands, why can't you just be better? I think what I need is a controller that just reads my brain directly.
I will definitely try to just focus on B major and it's modes for a good long while, though (Including blue notes etc.), I think it might help get me accustomed to the uneven keys without overwhelming me.
I think it's a matter of breaking that insistence on an even layout once, then breaking my reliance on B major.
cool. i discovered on my own that Db was a really easy jam key (learned it from trying to learn claire de lune) then i started using Bb harmonic minor. the black keys make life way easier for me. the B maj and G# minor is the same deal, just use the "other set" of 2 white keys
Totally! How was Claire de Lune for you?
@@PianistAcademy1 hi. Claire is still a little above my pay grade haha. BUT, i am practicing technique and also learning boogie woogie to gain better hand independence. i'll learn claire some day soon.
@@jjrusy7438 Nice! Just keep at it, you'll get there!
of COURSE!!!! Ugh... yes. Thanks for pointing this out!
No problem, thanks for watching, David!
@@PianistAcademy1 I sat down at the piano yesterday and validated - yes!! this is the easiest scale by far. The fingers fall so naturally into place - you and Chopin are right after all ... lol!! Thanks again :b
@@davidallyn1818 Yay! Love it!
Ace !
Brillaint
Thanks!
50+ years ago I failed at learning piano. We had to take choir classes from 1st Primary to 2nd Secondary. After 3rd Primary, every teacher told me to move my lips and not make a sound. So my music education was not optimal. I used to joke that I was born with two left ears. One month ago I bought a piano....and love it. But for some reason I've been trying to learn every scale, even though everyone says to just do the top half of the circle of fifths. But now, thanks Piano Academy and Freddy Chopin. I'm going to open up my time and learn those scales.
BTW I'm a retired Chiropractor with a major orthopedic problem with a shoulder. Because of that I had to modify my techniques decades ago, and learned the importance of the shoulder for the whole body. I've treated several pianists and musicians (as well as other people, LOL) who see the benefits of massaging the subscapularis muscle. I do not recommend seeing a chiropractor or osteopath that manipulates the shoulder, it's too delicate.
Are you on twitter? I also have an exercise plan for the low back that takes 30 seconds to one minute a day.
I am on Twitter, but barely haha. You can find me at @CSzMusic ... It's amazing how important the entire body mechanism is to piano technique. Scales, once you learn the patterns, are really wonderful tools for quite a lot of different practice. While they may not be literally quoted in much repertoire, there's a huge number of pieces that come close to literal quotes. Even those that don't, there are a finite number of ways the fingers work in conjunction with each other in patterns of runs, and scales explore a great deal of those patterns.
🤯 thankyou 👍
Of course, Ed! Glad this was helpful for you!
Great advice, thanks! Still trying to find black keys less intimudating after 40 yrs.
Haha, yup I understand!
תודה!
Thank you for watching, and thanks for the Super!
now I can practice my second scale .just that easy. thank you
You are welcome! I’m glad you found this helpful!
A few methods for very young students do actually start with playing the black keys only. Apparently this is just to avoid note reading, because strangely, they all revert to playing in de middle C position with the first non-white notes only exercises.
Yes! I had forgotten about that, but now that you mention it I do remember those methods.
I was really intimidated with learning how to improvise on the piano and really struggled with getting myself to do it until I started playing in C# major, for some reason everything sounds good in that key to me and it boosted by confidence to improvise so much.
Yup! C# = Db and that's another key that Chopin recommends right away! I love that key. Very warm sounding.
I am a self-taught pianist totally agree with you 100%
Awesome, thanks!
Wonderful tutorial! May I ask what video editing software you use?
Thanks, Raluca! I use DaVinci Resolve 😁
@@PianistAcademy1 It looks great!! Well done, this tutorial was amazing.
This makes a lot of sense when I look at Chopin's pieces. Every time I try to learn his songs, I say out loud, “Is Chopin allergic to white keys?!” Thanks for this new perspective!
My pleasure, thanks for watching!
Mind Open View, Thanks!!!
Thanks for watching! Glad you found it helpful!
Nice background music!
Haha, thanks Nick! I've gotten 3 complaints about it, so nice to hear it appealed to someone lol
@@PianistAcademy1 Some people find it hard to listen without prejudice, George Michael kindly asked us to do.
That's the same piano we have at work, which is uncanny, cause ours is super beat up and yours is beautiful! : D Great piano.
Haha, thanks David. I've had my piano for about 20 years and take care of her like she's a baby haha.
@@PianistAcademy1 Ha! Very insightful video, by the way. You've gained a sub!
@@daveloomis Awesome, thanks!
I was thinking the same thing that there are no dividers so jumps between octaves for example should be harder, but are they? Aren't the black keys still there as a reference point? Also, for big jumps, once you have the map in you head, it should actually be EASIER, cause you've got such big (wide) landing strips for your pinky hitting a bass note for example. Overall, I guess it depends on what you play as well, and as mentioned, hand size
Yeah, they should* still be there as a reference and the larger key surface you mention definitely makes a point!
You are smart 🧠 💡!
Haha, thanks Ross!
I’m teaching myself using the circle of 5th both major and their relative minors.
Sounds good, Daniel!
When I was was a kid I only had access to an electronic organ that had all the C's missing, so I found all the keys, like B, were the only means to play and not encounter missing notes. They're comfortable to play.
That's a great coincidence!
Now all we need is to find Chopin's lost beginner piano primer in that five finger position, with #4 in contrary motion. The missing link in piano pedagogy.
🤣
Very nice approach, thank you. I started March 17th and I'm trying to learn the major scales. I do well with the white keys, but the enharmonic keys slow me down. I can construct them using the formula if I forget, but I nearly always forget what fingering to use - until I slowly figure it out. So what about memory?
Great! Congrats on starting to learn! Do you mean scales that begin on black keys as opposed to scales that begin on white keys? And are you forgetting the fingering, or the notes in general? Or both?
@@PianistAcademy1 Thanks, yeah I mean scales starting on the black keys. I'm forgetting the fingering.
@@akshobiya7501 Yeah, those are tough to remember! First off, remember that the thumb should never play a black key, scales or music alike. There are of course exceptions, but this is a general rule. Black keys will also never start with the 5th finger in the left hand. So now, we only have 3 fingers left to pick from! The way to logically think through it is to remember which notes in the scale get a thumb, and then go backwards from there to start your first note. In Db Major, F is the first note to get a thumb in RH and it’s after a cross, so count backwards from there and you get a group of two black keys that should start with 2 in the RH. In the LH, F is also the first note to get a thumb. Count backwards across the group of 2 black keys and you’ll get to the 3rd finger. So in Db, RH starts with 2, LH starts with 3.
I’d recommend combining that sort of thinking about it with a helpful printout of the scale you are working on with the fingering. The more you can get your mind involved in the practice, the better it’s going to remember. But we also don’t want the thinking process to take so long that we don’t remember where we started. So go back and forth, looking at the sheet with fingering, and then going through this mental process. As a professional, I don’t even have the fingering “memorized” persay… the look of the scales on the keyboard trigger my mind to see the groups of black keys, then the hand positions, then the starting fingers, all within less than a second. But ask me to quote a fingering off the top of my head for a scale… I wouldn’t be able to tell you without visualizing this process.
@@PianistAcademy1 ok thank you. I will apply this instruction.
absolutely a valid point. B is for BEGINNERS!
Love it!!
@@PianistAcademy1 this was eye opening, thank you!
I think fundamentally you should teach two different scales right from the start. Preferably scales that require different hand motions. If people get used to one scale, it will create problems in the future. It doesn't matter if it's C or B, certain habits might get too ingrained. Having two scales to alternate will help eliminate that. It's just like how when working out, you can't just do the same routine over and over. You have to switch it up to maintain efficiency.
I believe that mentally for students this would help too. When you can play one scale, it just means you practiced that scale a lot. You can do one thing on your given instrument. But when you can ply two scales, now you start to feel like a musician. Especially if you learn to alternate them freely.
I agree with this!
Since the sharps provide some physiological relief to the hands, perhaps it would be interesting to "back out" (reduce sharps, add physiological challenge) instead of adding sharps (which is the usual approach). That is, start with B major, then go E major (1 less sharp), then A major ( 2 less sharps), then D major (3 less sharps), then G major (4 less sharps), then C major - no sharps ...
@@aBachwardsfellow Or even work in both directions. B Major, C Major, E Major, G Major, A Major, D Major
Interesting.
Thanks for watching, Julie!
I've been self taught on piano since 2011. I learned first with Am. So basically c major. But eventually I branched out to C, C#, D#,F, F#, G#, A#. This got me to learn to swing my thumb. My landmarks are C and F.
As long as you aren't lifting the wrist or swinging the arm to help the thumb out, then you're doing great!
@@PianistAcademy1 just tried it and I'm not! 😊👍
@@g0stn0te Great!
Before learning "black" scales, I remember finding F the easiest scale to remember on the right hand, because it's easy to spot on the keyboard and it uses the same fingers twice (1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4), which is different from every other scale that starts on a white key (that uses 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5). That was a long time ago. Now I believe that pretty much every major scales that start on a white key are of equal difficulty. They all have characteristics that make them easy to remember and to play, it's only a matter of learning them.
That's so interesting! I have always felt that F was the hardest scale to play. Just goes to show that all hands are a bit different!
Please make more videos based on Chopin's teaching technique.
Thanks for checking out multiple videos here! I hope to continue to see you around the comments or in my livestreams!
I'll definitely share more about Chopin's methods in the future. I'm currently reading the complete "Chopin: Pianist and Teacher As Seen By His Pupils" book, and I'm sure there will be plenty of tidbits in there that I'll pop into videos here. In the meantime, have you seen the channel "The Chopin Method"? It's only a couple videos on the channel, but extremely well presented from an academic point of view.
@@PianistAcademy1 Hello! I definitely will continue to follow your channel. I started playing just a two weeks ago (mostly jazz on a Korg c-15s) but I love classical music and want to learn good technique. I'm familiar with Saavedra's videos. They are well made but, to be honest, a bit too slow, and I like your straightforward approach better. By the way, I tried practicing the B major scale and indeed it makes a lot of difference in both keeping a natural hand form and getting familiar with the keyboard layout.
@@antoniomaccagnan7200 Thanks! And congrats on starting your journey on the piano... Your life will forever be changed! I'm glad you found this video helpful, and I'll try to throw more of Chopin's thoughts in when I can!
Hi. I Just found your channel. Happy Mother's Day 🙏
Happy Mother’s Day! Thanks for finding the channel, hope to continue to see you around, Kalika!
Can you please provide a reference name for Chopin teachings? Thank you
We know a great deal about Chopin because of his students. This book is a fantastic compilation of writings of his students (and more) that give us an incredible glimpse into his life, his teaching, and his own thoughts about music: amzn.to/3Veo2a6
@@PianistAcademy1 Thank you! I will read it!