Piano Forum

Piano Board => Student's Corner => Topic started by: Brandon_Natelli on March 24, 2004, 11:42:35 PM

Title: Hand dependance
Post by: Brandon_Natelli on March 24, 2004, 11:42:35 PM
A couple of things.  I am a begining mostly self taught.  My primary instrument is the trombone.

Is it better to learn a musical line as each hand being independant?  Or to merge the two, having both hands right with eachother.  For example, playing a simple melody like Mary Had a Little Lamb.  The left hand has a simple repeating line that slightly varies.  While the right hand has the melody.  Show the melody and accompanyment be thought of and played as two seperate entities or should they be merged to form one piece of thought.

I am aware that in playing the music they should fall perfectly with eachother, but should you think of it as a left hand and a right hand or as both hands doing work?
Title: Re: Hand dependance
Post by: bernhard on March 25, 2004, 01:45:57 AM
You must distinguish two different aspects of learning the piano (by the way this is a false, but very useful generalisation):

1.      You master technique by working on separate hands.

2.      You master co-ordination by working with hands together after you mastered the technique with HS.

Whatever difficulty you found when working HS, HT will be 37 times more difficult.

Your aim is to play so that your hands are independent and yet co-ordinated. How do you do that?

Have a look at the thread below. Somewhere in the middle of it I have described one (out of many) possibilities.

https://www.pianoforum.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=stud;action=display;num=1067980504

Best wishes,
Bernhard.
Title: Re: Hand dependance
Post by: NoCreamNoSugar on March 25, 2004, 04:57:05 AM
I started with a teacher for four months last february and am currently without (due to finances... but she's a good teacher). Her explanation to this was to learn the hands separately and then together. And from my experience over 13 months, this is true. When you start to combine, do it really really slowly and accurately. Gradually speed it up. But never sacrifice accuracy for speed.

john
Title: Re: Hand dependance
Post by: comme_le_vent on March 25, 2004, 07:02:42 PM
good advice

i am self-taught , and i have absolutely no problem with finger independence - but HAND independence is alot more difficult - even some concert pianists have problems with is - lief ove andsnes(spelling?) , while on tv, had a problem playing the left hand alone while demonstrating some things about rach 3, he obviously ingrained it so much into his brain with hands together, that he couldnt seperate them.
Title: Re: Hand dependance
Post by: Daevren on March 25, 2004, 07:27:24 PM
Every musician has to 'reprogram' his or her brain.