How to play without getting tired in the fingers?

[carbe]

Hi everybody!
I'm practising Fantasie Impromptu by Chopin, and it has gone very well for so long.
I can play whole the song relatively quickly, and it feels like the technoqie is very well too...
But my problem is that my fingers doesn't has the strength to play whole the fast part. After about half the fast part, it becomes much harder to play and the technique starts to fade. This is a big problem, because I want to play whole the song with good technique, and I don't want to play the piece with pain in my fingers... it doesn't give a further sense.

What can I do to make my fingers stronger, and how to play whole the piece without pain in the fingers?

Best wishes
Carbe

[keyb0ardfweak]

I think someone need to play some Mozart or Scarlatti Sonatas.. 


Coincidently, my teacher told me today that I have to play, wether I like it or not, some Mozart variations she gave me (I had to buy the book..-.-")

And, she told me to curve my fingers as much as possible and only move my fingers without using pedal and having the equal sound in every note. THIS IS VERY DIFFICULT to do it 100% correctly.
In order to play faster and not getting tired, curve your fingers as much as possible. It is like a marathon runner, he wonn't be running with his foot 100% percent in the ground right?In piano, I usually not curve my fingers, but I see now that I need to in order to progress and gain strenght, speed and consistency.


It's like if you are in a gym, you won't be carrying 50kg when your limit is 30kg, for example. You start slowly. This happened to me with the same piece you play, the impromptu from Chopin.

Guess what??I cannot play that by now, I've made tons of mistakes that I need to erase, I have to forget that piece and tackle it when I am prepared and my fingers are stronger. You would also need to build up your resistance playing some Preludes and fugues of Bach or as I said, some Scarlatti sonatas.



Equality, consistency, patience, eveything comes with time

 

[omar_roy]

You may also have some unnecessary tension in your hands and arms causing premature fatigue.  Play the piece very slowly hands separately.  If you want to blow your brains out by the time you're finished playing the first bar, you're going slow enough.  Make sure there is absolutely no unnecessary tension in your arms and hands after playing each note.

It'll probably take a long time to go through the entire piece doing that, but it's worth it.  Gradually speed up and maintain the same feeling of relaxation.

Finger strength is important.  For the most part, however, being tension free is the most important aspect of being able to get through a long and difficult piece.

[ask_why]

and I don't want to play the piece with pain in my fingers... it doesn't give a further sense.

What can I do to make my fingers stronger, and how to play whole the piece without pain in the fingers?

Be very careful if you're starting to feel any pain in your fingers, hand injuries are a pretty serious risk.  Finger strength isn't something you should strive for because you would most likely injure a tendon long before you could ever develop "strong" fingers by playing piano.

You should always play with your hands and wrists feeling relaxed, and your arm/gravity should supply most of the force necessary for pressing the keys whenever possible.  Make sure you move your arms sufficiently so your fingers and wrists aren't twisting and straining frequently to reach notes.  Also, don't practice similar parts for too long in one sitting.

[carbe]

Hi again!
Thank you for all advices you've giving to me. I'll try everything, but I don't agree that the best thing to do is to not play the piece. It's impossible for me to play pieces which I don't like to play, and I really like to play this piece so I'll do my best to make my technique better.
I can't play the song in full tempo yet, but I can play it relatively quickly anyway, but it becomes a pain in the fingers after a while.
But I have an idea what the problem also can be... I don't think that my fingers are relaxed when I play this piece. I strain my fingers to hit the right note, and I think that's why it hurts after a while. Maybe it will be better when I've played the piece many times?

David

[ask_why]

But I have an idea what the problem also can be... I don't think that my fingers are relaxed when I play this piece. I strain my fingers to hit the right note, and I think that's why it hurts after a while. Maybe it will be better when I've played the piece many times?

David

No, if you practice it repeatedly with poor technique you will only hurt yourself more and solidify your bad habits.  Pain is almost always a sign of bad technique, so you should really work on that before attempting to play difficult pieces at full tempo.

Regardless of what you like or don't like, you won't be playing anything at all if you injure yourself. 

[carbe]

No, if you practice it repeatedly with poor technique you will only hurt yourself more and solidify your bad habits.  Pain is almost always a sign of bad technique, so you should really work on that before attempting to play difficult pieces at full tempo.

Regardless of what you like or don't like, you won't be playing anything at all if you injure yourself. 

I'm not sure it is bad technique, because I've done a lot of slow practising. It may be that I press the keys too hard. I will try other things tomorrow. And of course it's bad with pain, but I would't say that it hurts. It's just tough.
Hm, I'll have a performance with this piece in 20 december so I'll do what I can to practise as good as I can until then.

[stevebob]

My first reaction to the title of this thread was that one doesn’t need finger strength in the literal sense, but I’m aware that the term is frequently used as a synonym for coordination, control, stamina and dexterity in general.

I would be especially concerned about the symptom of pain in the fingers, as that’s not (as far as I know) a location where fatigue typically manifests itself.  One should be able to practice/play for hours on end without ever feeling discomfort in the fingers.

As a demonstration of these points, consider that just a generation ago many people earned a living by typing all day long.  A few decades earlier they did it on manual typewriters.  Finger “strength” wasn’t required, and I’m not aware of anybody experiencing pain, discomfort or fatigue in the fingers.

@carbe:  I would urge you to find a good teacher (or even another proficient pianist) who can evaluate your technique and diagnose what you might be doing wrong.  (The fast part of F-I isn’t long or especially taxing, after all; if you’re having the trouble you’ve described by the midpoint, that means you’re playing for barely a minute before the pain kicks in.)  It seems obvious that you need to change something you’re doing (even though you don’t presently know what that is); otherwise, I don’t foresee any improvement in the situation.

[carbe]

@carbe:  I would urge you to find a good teacher (or even another proficient pianist) who can evaluate your technique and diagnose what you might be doing wrong.  (The fast part of F-I isn’t long or especially taxing, after all; if you’re having the trouble you’ve described by the midpoint, that means you’re playing for barely a minute before the pain kicks in.)  It seems obvious that you need to change something you’re doing (even though you don’t presently know what that is); otherwise, I don’t foresee any improvement in the situation.

Well, I have a teacher in school. But it's not a classical pianist, but it doesn't matter I think? I'm also sure that I'm doing something wrong.
But if you haven't played piano for so long, then it must be hard to play this piece fast? It can't be a habit, too? It may even be that my fingers have to get used to play that fast?

[haydn1732]

Hi again!
Thank you for all advices you've giving to me. I'll try everything, but I don't agree that the best thing to do is to not play the piece. It's impossible for me to play pieces which I don't like to play, and I really like to play this piece so I'll do my best to make my technique better.
I can't play the song in full tempo yet, but I can play it relatively quickly anyway, but it becomes a pain in the fingers after a while.
But I have an idea what the problem also can be... I don't think that my fingers are relaxed when I play this piece. I strain my fingers to hit the right note, and I think that's why it hurts after a while. Maybe it will be better when I've played the piece many times?

David

Hi David, of course you can practice the Chopin Impromptu (and you should, with the 20th December in mind). There's a lot of different ways to practice a piece and at the same time develop your general technique. It sounds like you are using to much effort into playing, so here's a couple of suggestions for practicing:

A) While you're playing a passage very slow with either your left or right hand, see if you can focus your awareness on a specific body-part, e.g. your thumb, wrist, elbow or shoulder. Just feel how it feels in that particular body-part, and notice if something happens when going from note to note. For example, if you focus on your wrist, is it the same feeling regardless of which finger that is currently playing? Is the sensation in the wrist bigger or different when your finger reaches the keybed than directly after?

To keep focus and concentration, move to another body-part, shift your hand or change your passage.

B) Play the first note in a passage (one hand only). After playing it, try to hear the next tone with your inner ear as clearly as possible while focusing at the sensation in your finger-tip that is going to play that next tone. Try and imagine the sonority and pitch in that fingertip, imagine the fingertip is singing the note.

Then play the note, and continue the same way with the next note/fingertip. Also, try and feel the journey your fingertip has to travel from resting on the keys to reaching the bottom of the key as clear as possible. But do that while try and feel your whole arm at the same time.
--------------
This is quite demanding for your concentration, but can be very fruitful for you. Good luck!

[ask_why]

I'm not sure it is bad technique, because I've done a lot of slow practising. It may be that I press the keys too hard. I will try other things tomorrow. And of course it's bad with pain, but I would't say that it hurts. It's just tough.
Hm, I'll have a performance with this piece in 20 december so I'll do what I can to practise as good as I can until then.

Slow practice won't help unless you modify your technique though, and sometimes you need to play things at full tempo to discover the proper fingering/technique.  The more you practice with the painful technique, the harder it will be to fix it later on.

Anyone can play an eighth-note chromatic scale @ 60 tempo with only a single index finger, but if you try that scale with quadruplets at 120 it will be physically impossible.  That's the sort of trap you can fall into with slow practice, and it's why good teachers emphasize practicing sections hands-separately at full tempo before attempting them with hands together.

[carbe]

Hi David, of course you can practice the Chopin Impromptu (and you should, with the 20th December in mind). There's a lot of different ways to practice a piece and at the same time develop your general technique. It sounds like you are using to much effort into playing, so here's a couple of suggestions for practicing:

A) While you're playing a passage very slow with either your left or right hand, see if you can focus your awareness on a specific body-part, e.g. your thumb, wrist, elbow or shoulder. Just feel how it feels in that particular body-part, and notice if something happens when going from note to note. For example, if you focus on your wrist, is it the same feeling regardless of which finger that is currently playing? Is the sensation in the wrist bigger or different when your finger reaches the keybed than directly after?

To keep focus and concentration, move to another body-part, shift your hand or change your passage.

B) Play the first note in a passage (one hand only). After playing it, try to hear the next tone with your inner ear as clearly as possible while focusing at the sensation in your finger-tip that is going to play that next tone. Try and imagine the sonority and pitch in that fingertip, imagine the fingertip is singing the note.

Then play the note, and continue the same way with the next note/fingertip. Also, try and feel the journey your fingertip has to travel from resting on the keys to reaching the bottom of the key as clear as possible. But do that while try and feel your whole arm at the same time.
--------------
This is quite demanding for your concentration, but can be very fruitful for you. Good luck!

Hi! Thank you for your answer.
I have to try this. I hope it will help me through the Fantasie Impromptu.
I have read whole your post and I'll start test to practise like this tomorrow.

Ask_why:
I understand what you mean. But I can play a chromatic scale fast with good technique without pain after a while. It's just this piece the fingers starts to pain.

[rmbarbosa]

Did you say you play "too hard"? If you play too hard, then that is not good technique. Fingers arent made to play too hard. If you play hard, you cant play fast. In piano, "force" is achieved with your body - elbows, arms, chest..., not with your fingers. Let your hand fall into the keyboard as if the keyboard is not there. Let it fall as if it is "dead". Doing so, you`ll feel what is relaxation. In the other hand, a men with 100 kg and a 9 years age boy, doing this, will make exactly the same intensity of sound, because intensity depends on accelaration and fall accelaration is the same for 100 kg as for 20 kg, as you know. Perhaps your hands hurt precisely because you play hard with your fingers, not with your body.
rui

[birba]

If you want to really change your technique, it's going to take months of VERY slow practise because you have to radically change your whole physical approach to the keyboard.  I was very lucky to have been "indoctrinated" in the "weight" touch by a student of Breithaupt.  But no one told me anything about fingerwork.  Nothing.  They just assumed they would play by themselves.  When I came to Italy, I was fortunate to find the school of Vitale and for 4 months, all I did was play 4 and 5 finger excercises at a funeral march speed 5-6 hours a day.  Not that everyone is as dense as I was, but it's still going to take time for you to change your approach.

[carbe]

I think it is like you say, that I play to hard when I play fast, and that makes my fingers pain and bad technique...
I'll try to be relaxed in my fingers when I play...

If it's not better after doing that, I'll change my technique. But I will not do that until I know if it's just details I need to change.

Thank you!

[keyboardclass]

I was very lucky to have been "indoctrinated" in the "weight" touch by a student of Breithaupt. 

Wow!  That explains a lot.  Any stories/anecdotes?

[birba]

Oh, do I ever.  Just one for now.  When Busoni got engaged, he walked into his class on his hands and announced it to his pupils.  I can't even imagine that.   

[richard black]

Pianists' hands aren't anything special. I can play very fast, and/or very loud, for quite a long time, and play 'normally' (!) for many hours a day, and my hands are definitely no stronger or indeed more agile than other people's. For instance, I find it no easier undoing stiff nuts on a car I'm fixing than friends who don't play piano, and I can't twiddle my fingers faster than anyone. It's just that my brain has learned a few sequences of commands that can get me round the keyboard quite efficiently. A combination of luck (being born with a brain that's inclined to work that way) and application (years of practice).

[keyboardclass]

Oh, do I ever.  Just one for now.  When Busoni got engaged, he walked into his class on his hands and announced it to his pupils.  I can't even imagine that.  

I do this everyday:

I'm not sure what it does for my wrists!

[carbe]

Hi again everybody.
I've tried and tried a big part of this day.
And I've found out that it isn't really my fingers which hurts, it's rather my hand which become tired after a while. And when my hand become tired, it affect my fingers. I don't exacly know what to do right now, and I don't know how to change the technique to not become tired.
When the fingers are warmed up, I can play many fast pieces quite a long time, but it's just this piece (Fantasie Impromptu) which makes my hand really tired.
When I start playing it's often feels very good, but the more I play, the worse it gets.

I changed the thread subject to make my question correct.
David

[keyboardclass]

Can you video yourself doing an extract?

[birba]

I do this everyday:

I'm not sure what it does for my wrists!

To me it looks like an exotic way to break wind.  

[carbe]

Can you video yourself doing an extract?

Of course... if that makes you help me better.
Here's a short extract of me playing the piece...
Note that I recorded this really quickly now.

[keyboardclass]

Quite competent but you don't use your wrist at all.   It should go up on the first three notes and down on the G.   Also drop on the C.

[carbe]

Quite competent but you don't use your wrist at all.   It should go up on the first three notes and down on the G.   Also drop on the C.

Thanks! It was a record done quickly, so it's not much feeling in it.
But you made me realise something... I think it is the wrist which is the problem! I've been told before that I move it to little and that can make me me tired in my hand, when I think about it.
What shall I do to use the wrist more? I think I just move my fingers. I really want to make my write better!
Thanks for all your help, I'm very grateful of it!

[keyboardclass]

Here's a silent video of basic technique.  Practice the last one - drop and flop.  The key is to realize when you've 'caught' the key then relax.  Practice this on the G maybe the C - but make sure your wrist makes it's way up before hand (on the previous note/s).

[pianist1976]

OMG! @carbe, your wrist is ultra-stiff!!!

It's a pity because I see you have some talent and your rendition of fantasie-impromptu could sound nice but this will not happen while you still have your wrist completely immobile, accumulating tons of tension. Be careful, your actual technique is prone to create a serious injure.

Playing only with fingers is never the best way to play piano (wich must to be played with the whole body). But it can work apparently well with pieces written for other instruments such as harpsichord or not very complex classical and romantic pieces. Anyway, although we could believe it works more or less fine with this kind of repertoire, it's still a mirage, it's not a good technique, also not for these pieces.

But it's in a piece like Fantasie-impromptu where the futility of playing only with the fingers manifests crudely. Otherwise, playing with the help of the wrist and the natural weight of the arm and the body does not only helps to play more relaxed, releasing tension and economizing muscle resources, it also helps to obtain a better, rounded, richer, musical sound.

But the movement of the wrist is not an arbitrary one. Like the bow of a violinist, the wrist of the pianist helps to draw the melodic line (of course, there's much more than this).

My advice is that you must start as soon as possible with a good teacher who have a good technique. A forum can help but, in my opinion, changing one's technique as you need immediately, is a task only a teacher can do.

[carbe]

Oh, this sounds not good...
I've been playing piano for one year and nine months, and now I hear that my technique is very bad... and none has told me anything about it!
It's hard for me to know how to work with my wrist, 'cause probably I've never done it correctly. I'm self-learned from the beginning but now I have a teacher in school and another teacher which I meet once a month. The another one is a classical piano-player... But none of my teachers has told me that I really need to practise on my wrist technique and that it's a big problem. And I've played an extract of this piece for both of them.
I have to ask them on next lesson. I'll hope they'll give me an answer which I understand.
I understand that I need to practise on my technique, but it's hard to take that I need to make drastic changes.

Thanks for your reply!
David

[pianist1976]

But none of my teachers has told me that I really need to practise on my wrist technique and that it's a big problem. And I've played an extract of this piece for both of them.
I have to ask them on next lesson.

If both accepted the way you play this piece and corrected nothing about your technique, I don't want to sound hard but they probably don't deserve to be called "piano teachers". They probably know nothing about technique so they cannot teach it. I'm not blaming them. Unfortunately this is a very common problem.

Many people learn to play piano in an intuitive way, just as you did. I think that it's very good that your reached this playing in less than 2 years. But the problem is that the intuitive methods never works good. By definition, they cannot work. Piano technique is the result of an evolution (and revolution) leaded during more than 150 years (saying round dates, from 1750 to 1915) by important instrument builders, teachers, theorists, interpreters and some geniuses. It sounds logical that an individual cannot reach the results of such an evolution that involved to so many people, with some geniuses among them. Why reinvent the wheel? In this case, also with our great effort, we run the risk of making our wheel square.

But the real problem is that there are in the world many "piano teachers" who didn't receive the result of this evolution. They learned piano in an intuitive way and they teach piano that way  (it is, the are not really teaching anything you cannot reach by yourself). Unfortunately many of these persons also teach in high Conservatoires. This is very well explained in C. Chang free book. The modern piano technique is the result of many decades of instrument evolution, composition experimenting and trial-error methods of people like Clementi, Chopin, Liszt, Anton Rubinstein, Deppe, Leschetisky, Breiphaupt, Matthay and many other big names. In order to play fine we must receive this legacy. It's not as complex as it sounds. It can be simply explained by a teacher in person.

[keyboardclass]

Yes, if a teacher didn't spot that right away I wouldn't have much faith in them - they'll lead you to injury or at the least poor playing.  This may take a year or two to put right.  Don't be discouraged, you obviously have what it takes to become an excellent player.

[carbe]

Thanks both of you.
I think it's sad that this happened to me, but I'm happy for your kind comments about my piano-playing too.
I should really prioritize to make my wrist work better, and I'll also try to make whole my technique better. Right now I don't know what to do, and from what you had to say, it seems like my teachers don't know it either. But I'll find a way... I'm a person who can't wait years for anything, so I'll find a way as quickly as a can, but without risks.

[birba]

I've never heard of wrist technique. 

[stevebob]

carbe,

While determination and perseverance are admirable traits, do keep in mind that we're all equally subject to the laws of nature.  You can't simply will yourself to have better technique if you don't know what needs fixing or how to remedy it, and you can't fast-forward a learning curve because you "can't wait years for anything."

The time frame in question may or may not literally require years, but it is what it is in any case.  As with any endeavor that entails a destination and a journey, there's no magic formula or degree of willpower that can circumvent the course of time and effort that are required.

I don't mean to discourage you by any means.  Stay positive and do what you need to do, but be realistic.

[carbe]

carbe,

While determination and perseverance are admirable traits, do keep in mind that we're all equally subject to the laws of nature.  You can't simply will yourself to have better technique if you don't know what needs fixing or how to remedy it, and you can't fast-forward a learning curve because you "can't wait years for anything."

The time frame in question may or may not literally require years, but it is what it is in any case.  As with any endeavor that entails a destination and a journey, there's no magic formula or degree of willpower that can circumvent the course of time and effort that are required.

I don't mean to discourage you by any means.  Stay positive and do what you need to do, but be realistic.

What I meant was that I will do my best to solve the problem as quickly as possible in a realistic way. But as you say, it's hard to know what to do when I don't know what to practise at.
Isn't it mostly that I need to work with my wrist while playing? How to make this a habit?

[richard black]

Well, it's not so much that you need to work with the wrist, more like work and _not_ working with it! The muscles in the side of your forearm are clearly just about rigid. They should hardly be doing anything, most of the time.

A good teacher would be the best route to sorting this out. If you want to go it alone, watch some good pianists closely (YouTube may be useful here!) and do your best to copy their ease of movement. But even some good pianists have dodgy technique, especially young ones....

[drorperl]

There's plenty of good input already...so very shortly I'll just add that you got to keep in mind that it takes time for your muscles to get used to such strenuous action. Its not something that has an easy or quick solution but if you'll keep practicing daily(make sure that you're not tense, and that your shoulders, neck and back are not "tight" when you play this fast and challenging parts) you'll sure gain the desired ability to play them without getting tired.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dror Perl. Pianist, Composer, Teacher.

https://www.sheerpiano.com/

Sheer Piano: The First Full Color Piano Music Books
simple jazz & contemporary compositions that are fun for beginner pianists & up

[keyboardclass]

(make sure that you're not tense, and that your shoulders, neck and back are not "tight" when you play this fast and challenging parts) you'll sure gain the desired ability to play them without getting tired.

Easily said.  A good teacher will spot these things.  You can't really tell yourself - the body's made to subsume tension - it becomes under the radar.

[carbe]

Thanks for your answers!

I've talked with a professional classical piano-player which I know a little, and I showed his the same video as you saw. He thought it looked okay, but if I felt tense in my wrists, I had to relax in them.
On the whole, this is probably what I have to do, but I also know that I need to do some practising with the wrists.

[gyzzzmo]

Getting tired in fingers/arms is usually a combination of lack of technique (for example stiff wrists or other type of 'forcing') and lack of stamina.
So to improve you need a good teacher, and play alot (the right way) to improve stamina.

[lostinidlewonder]

The video of your Right hand shows a few things which need to be remedied but it is not something that can efficiently or effectively be translated to you in words, but we can try! Some advice here has been good, others not so good, so be careful what you are listening to (whenever trying to read about technique in words one should be very careful).

First of all the immobility of your arm is probably caused by the inflexibility of your hand. It does not seem that you are using the weight of the hand to produce the sound of the notes, that you hold your hand flat and almost like it is set in concrete makes the hand weight utilization almost impossible to achieve. I believe this is caused by you suspending your hand with your arm, not using your hand to caress the keyboard which causes an effect to the rest of your body. You must give up thinking about holding your hand up with your arm as such.

 When I watch you play all I can think is "owch very tense" you are almost so tense that the muscles in your arm are flexed! You really must deal with this because you have the capability to play this piece with incredibly uncomfortable looking technique, I could imagine much greater things with your technique formed a little better.

You have to give up thinking about playing the individual notes with the individual finger, but playing groups of notes with one position of the hand. When you enter the group you usually use the weight of your hand, when you leave the group you push off with your hand. Difficult to describe, but I think if you abandon thinking about using the fingers in isolation but connecting them to your entire hand, wrist, forearm and essentially your body you might start treading in technical grounds which produce some change to your solid arm.

[ask_why]

There are a LOT of "professional" piano players and teachers who have no idea how to teach proper technique or spot bad technique (Hint:  If they tell you to practice Hanon or Czerny exercises they're a very BAD teacher).  Many of them have been indoctrinated by poor teachers themselves, and are now passing on those bad traits to the next generations of pianists. 

Compare your pinky movement to the movement of Yundi Li's pinky in his video of the same song (

).  Your pinky is jumping up and down as if gravity is pulling it towards the sky, while his looks as if it's always in contact with the keyboard -- even right before it plays each note.  The reason for this is that he's using the force of his forearm/wrist to play the notes, whereas you are relying on the finger alone to press the key.

The movements are mostly too subtle to spot in a video.  A lot of times you need to either perform basic exercises (such as dropping your hand from a couple inches up to get the feeling of letting gravity play) or actually place your hand on someone's wrist while they play so you can feel the motions. 

[carbe]

lostinidlewonder:
Thank you for that detailed comment. I agree that it's hard to know who to listen at, when there are so many advice. But if you're a consert pianist, I might listen to you.

I don't feel very tense in my hand or fingers when I play, but my hand is tired after playing Fantasie Impromptu, so I'm probably very tense. I can also see on the video that I look tense.

I really don't think that I play individual notes in this piece. I think in sequence of notes. But of course it's something I can do more. Everything can always be better.

You're probably right what's the problem with my technique. My wrist, the weight of my hand, the tense and more. But it's really hard to change, I don't know where to start. Do you have any advice how I should start improve my technique? I will try to thinking about my hand, my wrist and the sequence of notes, but is there anything else I can do?

Best wishes
David

[carbe]

There are a LOT of "professional" piano players and teachers who have no idea how to teach proper technique or spot bad technique (Hint:  If they tell you to practice Hanon or Czerny exercises they're a very BAD teacher).  Many of them have been indoctrinated by poor teachers themselves, and are now passing on those bad traits to the next generations of pianists.  

Compare your pinky movement to the movement of Yundi Li's pinky in his video of the same song (

).  Your pinky is jumping up and down as if gravity is pulling it towards the sky, while his looks as if it's always in contact with the keyboard -- even right before it plays each note.  The reason for this is that he's using the force of his forearm/wrist to play the notes, whereas you are relying on the finger alone to press the key.

The movements are mostly too subtle to spot in a video.  A lot of times you need to either perform basic exercises (such as dropping your hand from a couple inches up to get the feeling of letting gravity play) or actually place your hand on someone's wrist while they play so you can feel the motions.  

Well, my pinky always lives its own live. It happens on every piece I play. But yes, it might be because of my technique.
I don't exacly know what to practise at or where to start. I know that I need to improve my technique and make some practising, but I don't really know what.

[lostinidlewonder]

I don't feel very tense in my hand or fingers when I play, but my hand is tired after playing Fantasie Impromptu, so I'm probably very tense. I can also see on the video that I look tense.

We can often be in situations where we simply "do not know that we do not know". You might not feel tense while starting off but you do notice your energy slowly ebbing away and at the end of playing you feel tired. So the subtle tension added up in the end give you the result that you are tired. I would say the first step in changing your technique would be to identify what is causing tension in individual phrases. Once you conquer it in small passages it often has a domino effect on other parts since similar technique is asked of you.

The finger itself may be tense when it strikes a note however if you have it connected to the rest of your arm it will not feel tense. This paradox is interesting to investigate, how the fingers may be firm and strong but the rest of the body relaxed. Tension extending past the knuckles is bad tension (inside/above the palm, wrist, forearm, shoulders, back), but I have found that strong fingers in passages can act to balance your entire hand the trick is not to allow the tension to pass the knuckles.

What does tense feel like, you should feel your forearm when your arm is at rest and all floppy, this is the feeling you want to emulate while playing the piano (of course sometimes we diverge from the relaxed posture but always return to it just as our hand centers towards the natural Chopin hand formation). I use to test how meat was cooked by the tension caused by your thumb muscle inside your palm. Touching your index with the thumb is rare, third with the thumb is medium/rare,  fourth with the thumb medium and pinky with the thumb is well done. You do notice how your muscle reacts with different tension. Generally I think 1+2 and 1+3 are acceptable tension but anything past that is unnecessary if maintained for extended periods.

Learning about your own body is very important, instead of merely applying suggestions to forcefully change your technique. When you are lying in bed feel what your arm is like when it is all relaxed and not supporting any weight. At what point when your hand makes contact with the keyboard does your arm start to tense up? What does your arm look like when you play something many levels under your ability? Do you feel tense still or can you become floppy and relaxed? Why is it when more notes are added do you start to feel tension? At what point can the notes be added until tension begins? Getting to know your body in this respect can be a wonderful journey and on the way you improve your technique simply by getting to know your own two hands better.

[carbe]

I'm getting tired at 0.14 to 0.33 in this video. In that part my fingers get tired and after that it's hard to continue the piece.

[birba]

I think you're also sitting too high.  Try about 6 inches lower for the moment.  Get your wrist below the back of your hand, not above it.  It's also a good work-out for finger articulation.

[carbe]

I think you're also sitting too high.  Try about 6 inches lower for the moment.  Get your wrist below the back of your hand, not above it.  It's also a good work-out for finger articulation.

I usually do not play on this piano, and I know it's to high.
The other piano I play on is more adjusted for my length.

[carbe]

We can often be in situations where we simply "do not know that we do not know". You might not feel tense while starting off but you do notice your energy slowly ebbing away and at the end of playing you feel tired. So the subtle tension added up in the end give you the result that you are tired. I would say the first step in changing your technique would be to identify what is causing tension in individual phrases. Once you conquer it in small passages it often has a domino effect on other parts since similar technique is asked of you.

The finger itself may be tense when it strikes a note however if you have it connected to the rest of your arm it will not feel tense. This paradox is interesting to investigate, how the fingers may be firm and strong but the rest of the body relaxed. Tension extending past the knuckles is bad tension (inside/above the palm, wrist, forearm, shoulders, back), but I have found that strong fingers in passages can act to balance your entire hand the trick is not to allow the tension to pass the knuckles.

What does tense feel like, you should feel your forearm when your arm is at rest and all floppy, this is the feeling you want to emulate while playing the piano (of course sometimes we diverge from the relaxed posture but always return to it just as our hand centers towards the natural Chopin hand formation). I use to test how meat was cooked by the tension caused by your thumb muscle inside your palm. Touching your index with the thumb is rare, third with the thumb is medium/rare,  fourth with the thumb medium and pinky with the thumb is well done. You do notice how your muscle reacts with different tension. Generally I think 1+2 and 1+3 are acceptable tension but anything past that is unnecessary if maintained for extended periods.

Learning about your own body is very important, instead of merely applying suggestions to forcefully change your technique. When you are lying in bed feel what your arm is like when it is all relaxed and not supporting any weight. At what point when your hand makes contact with the keyboard does your arm start to tense up? What does your arm look like when you play something many levels under your ability? Do you feel tense still or can you become floppy and relaxed? Why is it when more notes are added do you start to feel tension? At what point can the notes be added until tension begins? Getting to know your body in this respect can be a wonderful journey and on the way you improve your technique simply by getting to know your own two hands better.

I have to say that I've read your text and I'm really thinking of what you wrote and I'll try this. Because I have to search detailed to find why my hand become tense.

[carbe]

I also have a theory!
I'm often less tense when I play on a good piano, a piano with smooth keys. On that type of piano I don't need to press hard to make it sound like it shall. Then I get a much greater float in my fingers. Anyway, I feel tense in my hand, but not as much as I do on a piano with harder keys. On that type of piano I have to press hard to make it sound like a whole note and then I become tense.
On my digital piano, Roland FP-7, it's easier to play this piece, and also on a good grand piano, but when I try to play it on an old classical piano it's much harder. Then I become tense very fast and I can just play the piece one or two times before I'm so tired in my hand that I can't play it anymore.

I just say that it's really hard for me to relax when I play on a piano which has hard keys. Then it's also hard to improve my technique on that such of piano.

[carbe]

It seems like this thread is finished.
So I have to thank for all the comments and all the help you're givin me!
Now I think I'm aware of what my problem is and I think I know roughly how the problem should be solved. Maybe I'll not get the best technique, and maybe I'll always be tired in my fingers, but I can at least make it better.
Thanks again!