Fantasie Impromptu Project

[elenka]

It's pretty good, only when you have the chunk at bar 11 of the moderato cantabile  you have to play them with the same value they seem 1/4 1/8 1/4 . there it's easier because you have only to get each note together with the first one of the triplet

[candlelightpiano]

Thanks, Elenka, for spotting the problem area.  I'll work on it. 

Twirler. maybe I'm pedalling too much.  On a baby grand, the pedal effect is more powerful and I haven't learned to control it yet.  I only need to touch it a bit, otherwise, I flood everything with the pedal. Thanks for your feedback, though.  How did you manage to play those repeated semiquavers in bars 125 - 134 without stumbling over the notes and without feeling fatigued? 

[starstruck5]

Your Middle section Choo had some really lovely moments. I also know that you are not used to playing a real acoustic piano  -but the more you play this beautiful instrument, the more confident and controlled your playing will become.

You start off by blurring the Peasante notes too much -after the blurry maelstrom of the presto -they need to stand out as heavy and distinct - each note should draw attention to itself -then you need to make the notes seem to be receding away into the distance -Chopin is transporting us to a different place entirely in this section. In bar 5 you are hurrying the 8th notes -it is important that they are even -

Your trills are very good -in bars 19 and 20 you need to play much softer here -we go from forte in bar 18 -to pianissimo in bar 20 this has to be also like notes sounding further away in the distance -

All in all though -I think you do more good things than not so good -I won't even say bad -because there was nothing bad in your playing -there is a lot of song here!

I thought the transition back to Presto was awesome -I was sad you stopped!

Well done!

[candlelightpiano]

Thank you, Starstruck, for your detailed feedback and wonderful suggestions, which I will incorporate into my play. You have tremendous sensitivity for music and a deep understanding of the composer's intentions, something I would like to develop.

I need to relisten more critically to the polyrhythms here.  I have a feeling I'm still not getting them as I'm still not getting them in Consolation.    

EDIT

When you mentioned that I started out by blurring the Pesante, did you mean too much pedalling?

[costicina]

Great progresses, Choo!!!!
I've always thought that you have a deep, innate musicality. It emerges so well in thsi middle section. When you'll be a bit more self-confident (and I'm sure it's going to happen very soon), you'll play the FI beautifully. I also notice, as Starstruck rightly pointed out, how the fast section has improved: much much more fluent than before!!!!! 

Keep strong
Marg

[ajspiano]

I enjoyed watching your video of the middle section choo. Most of your poly rhythms felt a little stalled but I don't feel that it was a big deal, the passage has an overall fluency and musicality so it I had trouble focusing on the polyrhythms rather than just enjoying the music.

That said, there is much room for improvement on the musical front. I'm not sure how much of this was the capabilities of the camera, but I feel that the melody needs to come out more still. There is a beautiful melody here that could really shone on it's own with almost no need for the left hand at all. It's possible to be soft and gentle with the piano here and produce a tone that has power and volume. Remember birbas video for this section, and how we talked about sometimes dropping down into the keys? How his melody sings out loudly above the left hand but still sounds soft and sweet?

Overall I felt a little bit like you were focused on getting trough the notes and so not as focused on the feeling of the music so I look forward to seeing how it will be with a little more practice under it. What does the passage make you feel? Do you have imagery for it like you've expressed for the octave section?

Anywho, I practiced FI on sunday night, might throw up a video on interpretation in the coming days. There are sone aspects that I don't think anyone has discussed here yet.... ..I've forgotten most of the middle section though(but can sight read it) - and I need to tidy up the chromatics and such before the middle as they seem to be well out the window aswell at this point when I try to play HT.

AJ

[candlelightpiano]

Thanks, Marg and AJ, for your comments and encouragement.  

AJ:  I definitely agree that the melody needs to come out more and I've watched Birba's video and wondered how he manages to bring it out and make the LH so soft and gentle.  Perhaps it's just more practice that I need.  I'm able to play the LH real soft now in Consolation so perhaps with more work on it, I could do that here too.  How do you drop into the keys?  I definitely look forward to a video!!  Thanks in advance.

AJ, I'm also having a ton of trouble with the RH of bar 12 - I keep stumbling over the first 4 notes no matter what fingering I try. The other problem bar is 34 where I stumble over the RH chromatic passage and the 3rd and 4th beats of the LH (always missing notes).  Then, there's the repeated notes from bars 127 to 134 that are still giving me a headache.  And my hand gets so fatigued playing these 8 bars! I'm obviously tense but don't know what to do about it.  Can you please address these problem areas in your video?  I would appreciate it greatly!  Thank you.

EDIT
The only image I have of the middle section is of the one Katsaris talked about in the MasterClass - tell your secrets, unloading your secrets.  I don't think that imagery is working though!    Perhaps you can come up with something better!

SECOND EDIT

I decided to try Barnhard's suggestion of working on an area for 20 mins and also using your rotation for bar 12 and it has helped tremendously!  Of course, I'm playing at a very slow tempo but I plan to continue doing it this way for bar 34 as well.  Really could use your help with bars 127 to 134, though.  I'll let you know if this method works for bar 34 later when I get to it.

[ajspiano]

So I've been tackling this a few days running now - can comfortably play through the notes now for the whole piece, though there are some clear areas for improvement just on a fluency level.

General rhythmic accuracy and articulation of each note throughout the piece. That is that at a high speed, while perhaps most people would be blissfully unaware, I can tell that my 3 vs 4 are not perfect because the notes that fall on the beat are not always perfectly syncronised both L and R hands.

I'm working on the articulation of each note so that there is clarity for every single note (rather than chromatic mush) and so that I have far greater control over the dynamics.

I have a tiny bit of tension to resolve in bars 11-12, which I have fixed but need to practice more to break the habit formed when I learnt FI years ago.

Middle section -
Problem 1 is musical direction, ie. holding the listeners interest throughout the entire section with variations on dynamics, rubato and ornamentation. I'm gradually starting to form a picture of how I want this entire section to sound from start to finish.

Secondly, while I can play them I am unhappy with the level of control and my ability to vary the execution of the 7 vs 6 polyrhythms. Big improvement on that yesterday but still some work to be done.

Bars 119-126 are a pile of slop.

Finally I would like to gain greater control over the RH in bars 135-136 because at the moment I'm finding my thumb notes are coming out too strong.

Also I'm working a fair bit on LH accents to highlight the harmonic shifts/direction - I'll explain a bit about what I mean by this when I do a video soon.

AJ

[candlelightpiano]

I'm so impressed, AJ!  You're one of the finest pianists I've seen and I look forward to your video.  

I have problems in all those bars you mentioned, plus bar 34 (both hands).  Last page is an absolute challenge and causes a lot of tension.  I can feel the tension when I play it even when I focus on keeping my hand free with the exercises Birba taught me.  When I'm doing the exercises, I don't feel tense but when I play HT, I'm all tensed up again.  I look forward to your advice on getting through this page and bars 11 - 12 and 34.

Last but not least, I sprained my thumb and can't practice FI, except for the middle section.  

EDITED MARCH 15

I did two quick run throughs of the piece tonight but played the whole thing softly so as not to put too much pressure on my thumb. And I played better than before, probably because of the rest yesterday, or perhaps because I felt relaxed playing softly.  Didn't feel any tension, not even on the last page, though it was a big mess.  Which makes me wonder if I should do a 3 day cycle of practice the first day, rest the second, and do two quick run throughs the third day?  This will only apply to FI, of course.  And practice softly to prevent tension buildup and only play with dynamics once during the practice session?  What do you guys think?

[austinarg]

Slowly but surely, I make my way through this piece... will post a video soon

[candlelightpiano]

Looking forward to your video, Austin.  Where are you, in the piece, now?

[austinarg]

Well, I was thinking of playing bars 13 to 24, in order to get some feedback on that part. I've got bars 1 to 9 running smoothly, not perfect, just started on the middle section (2-to-3 polyrhythms) and bars 31 to 39 are a complete headache  

EDIT

I've found out that my hand tension playing the octaves passage has not disappeared, but instead moved to the middle of my forearm. Any suggestions to overcome this?

[candlelightpiano]

Austin:  Definitely a good idea to record  anything you're working on for feedback.  I did that many times.  The octave passage (13 - 24)has been a continual trouble spot for me, due to tension.  I think I'm doing much better now but there's still a bit of tension.  Birba always adviced that I do those exercises lots and lots, you know, the one where you keep your hand in a closed ball position on the first note, but making sure it's relaxed and also ending the group the same way.  The other thing he taught me when I was having a real hard time with bars 119 - 125 was to drop the arm after you complete the group in order to relax your arm.  So you could try that.  Instead of ending the group in a closed ball position on the note, drop your arm.  Then start again with the closed ball position for the next group.  It may take a while for the tension to go away, though.  

For bar 31 to 39, I found the video that Birba made for me for that section. :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZh9HqxYx-c

I have constant problems with the 3 in 2 polyrhythms in the middle section, especially when I play the trills on the first note.  I've used these rhymes to help me:  not-di-fi-cult, join- al-ter-nate, nice-cup-of-tea.  

Are you taking lessons?

[austinarg]

Not at the time, my teacher went on vacation and is coming back on March 31st.

I'll watch the video, if it's Birba it can't be bad! 

[candlelightpiano]

Ha ha!  Birba's a Maestro!  He's also one of the best teachers I've ever had, even though he's not a teacher. 

[candlelightpiano]

Austin:

AJ made a video for bar 13 and the same technique applies to the other similar measures:

Here are his notes about this video:

This is some thoughts about bar 13-24, and how to get to playing without any negative tension, so that we can play with control and expression.

I talk about some of the ideas found in Dr. Chang's fundamentals of piano practice, chord attacks and paralell sets. At least as I understand them, and they have worked for me by employing them in this fashion.

I'm really assuming that you can control your arm as a free falling weight over the keys. I don't think that will be a huge problem for you but maybe there will be some confusion..  as always feel free to shoot questions at me.

AJ
------------------------------

As far as my progress goes with FI, I have completed it but there are several problem areas I'm working on that seem to continually crop up and the last page continues to be a challenge.

[drazh]

Hi
 What is your fingering in bar 12
I'm playing the first 8 notes like this
4  - 3 - 5-1.       & 2-1-4-1
The second part is difficult
Any suggestions?
Thank you

[candlelightpiano]

My fingering for bar 12 RH is:

3-2--4-1, 3-2-5-1, 3-2-4-1, 3-2-1-2

[49410enrique]

i don't speak french but i at least got that she's giving some pretty good advice on the basic of the work. posting for other folk's benefit in case they come to this thread for help in working through the piece.


she's a phenomenal pianist, so it's coming from a good source from what i've heard come out of her

[candlelightpiano]

Thanks, Enrique.  She is a phenomenal pianist.  I watched her FI tutorial - wish I could understand more French than "avec" and "boujour!"  LOL  I'm going to ask Marg to translate it here.  We have to give her something to do!    

I'm not even playing piano now.  I'm in a slump caused by some problem with my right arm and hand (cause unknown but is being investigated) so I'm taking some time off, possibly for 3 months or more.  Hope to return to FI sometime in the near future, though.  It's one of the pieces on my "want to play before I die" list. 

[49410enrique]

Thanks, Enrique.  She is a phenomenal pianist.  I watched her FI tutorial - wish I could understand more French than "avec" and "boujour!"  LOL  I'm going to ask Marg to translate it here.  We have to give her something to do!    

I'm not even playing piano now.  I'm in a slump caused by some problem with my right arm and hand (cause unknown but is being investigated) so I'm taking some time off, possibly for 3 months or more.  Hope to return to FI sometime in the near future, though.  It's one of the pieces on my "want to play before I die" list. 

i forgot costi knew french! great idea.  still much can be learned by listening and watching, music really does transcend language barriers it seems....
yes do be careful and conservative with your recovery.   it sounds like your under the care of a doc so that's good, however do consider seeking additional input from a naturopathic perspective, i.e. antinflammatory nutrition, there's a world of good you can do with dieatry tweaks to enhance the traditional medicine.

consider doing some reading here (guy really knows his stuff and has a fantastic track record helping folks who were let down by traditional medicine)
https://chriskresser.com/ , he also does (i know he did, but he just had a baby so i'm not sure if it is on hold) online/virtual consulting, you might look into that as well

ah yes the bucket list, the ever evolving (and on my end EVER GROWING! it seems for every one i manage to occassionally knock of i stick 3 new ones on....).

get well! consider some left hand only piano work also? if it doesnt' aggrivate your RH stuff might be a good worthwhile time investment

[costicina]

Sadly, French is not among the languages I know . I can roughly read in French,nothing more....The French expert is Birba (devil of a man!!!)
Anyway, as Enrique pointed out, watching the video I've the impression the the visual part is the essential one, since she's trying to translate in words what she is doing with her fingers...
But if you give me some more time (I'm very busy in these days)  I'll try to help as I can.

Let's know what exactly is the problem with your hand. We miss so much your work in progress projects, it motivated many of us, me in the first line!!!!

I whish you all the best

[dire_tonic]

Greetings Choo and everyone. Re Enrique's post, I have a bit of french…

She starts off by telling us (as we already know!) that FI is polyrhythmic.

It’s got to be regular and warns against falling into the trap of letting the LH slave to the 16s of the RH; specifically, some may have a tendency in the LH to play a 1/8 note followed by a pair of 1/16th notes for each quarter-note duration.  Avoid at all cost  – she demonstrates this at 1:15.

Practice the LH separately to perfect the triplets.

If the 4-3 is troublesome, practice by playing half a measure and stopping at the beginning of the following ½ measure (1:38).

Avoid practicing too slowly as this will break up the cohesion of the rhythm (I think she says trop décomposé).

She plays a quick demo of RH bar 5 pointing out the dim towards the end of the phrase. She plays but says nothing about 7/8 (same dim, maybe?)

13 etc – really bring out that thumb melody (love the way she plays this!).

17… – certain pianists (not all!) accent the pinkie.

29… you can use the LH to help with the crescendo, particularly the pinkie bass line – lay into it.

37…use RH rotation to get the pinkie notes (3:26).

Moderato:  Don’t diminuendo straight away. Melody to be played tenderly.  The LH should be ‘voile sonore’ (ethereal? Just guessing)

45..  bring out LH melody on thumb (4:13).

Then she drops us straight onto the nightmare that is the final page.

119…Heavily accent the pinkie  from the E onwards but dim quickly on the G#s end of 120 leading to  121.

Through 125/6 the RH should gradually almost disappear becoming a murmur by 127 where it’s almost impossible to differentiate the notes.

She certainly plays it beautifully.

[dire_tonic]

Choo, I picked up these latest posts having not read pianostreet for a while and am sorry to hear you're not playing at the moment through injury. You need to get that sorted out although I don't think a month away from the piano here and there is anything to worry much about. Keep well and keep immersing yourself in the music.

Regarding other projects and while this one is on the back burner, how about inviting forum members to vote for a popular piece?  You collectively devise a shortlist (e.g. everyone has 2 nominations) and the piece that picks up the most votes (you can't vote your own!) wins.  That way you should get a very active thread though of course some will drop out, some will join anew.  Just a thought - although I fully understand reaching for the stars (as we all do with FI and many of the other lofty goals) I think there's a lot to be said for simpler pieces which afford just as much, sometimes more, scope for expression and interpretation.  Lots to choose from.

[candlelightpiano]

WOW, DT!!  Thank you so much for translating the French in detail!  Enrique is right that music is a universal language but when it comes to tutorials, I really like to know everything that's being said. Besides, some things she doesn't demonstrate and unless you understand the language, you miss out on the tips.  So thank you very much!

I'll bet you didn't think you'd have work to do as soon as you visited the forum!  Hope this doesn't mean you'll go away really quickly again!    I have missed you.  Did you know I posted my Consolation in the Audition Room a couple months ago?  It was still a work in progress then but now, of course, I've completely forgotten how to play it but it's the first piece I'll relearn when I get back into the swing of things.  I was still not getting my birdsong.  

That's a good idea, your suggestion, but I think I'll hold off on it until my hand/ arm is better. I'm very frustrated with it because I was learning a lot of useful techniques from Gyorgy Sandor that I was applying to FI - and I felt it was making a real difference in my performance and then, this thing happens.  Well, a few months off here and there is probably beneficial for me.  Everything and everyone benefits from a rest.

[candlelightpiano]

Thank you, Marg and Enrique. 

Enrique:  I was working on a couple of LH pieces for a couple of weeks but my heart wasn't in it so I stopped for a week.  Started back up last night when I read your suggestion.    Thanks.  The way the Canadian health care system works, by the time I get to see the specialist, my hand/ arm will be A-OK and I'll be cancelling the appointment.  LOL  That may be a good thing, of course.  Anyway, since it's not an urgent matter for me, I'm just taking it easy (well, to a point - yesterday, I spent hours weeding and made it even worse!     ) and hoping rest will be the healer.  I'll look into naturopathic medicine.  I do have an interest in alt therapy and actually just ordered a bottle of Solomon's Seal tincture.  It can't hurt, right?

Marg:  Thanks for trying.  I thought you could speak French.  I was thinking of asking Birba too but DT showed up right out of the blue to help this damsel in distress - again!     I don't think I'll ever know what's going on with my hand/ arm.  Hopefully, it will decide it's time to behave and be back to normal after a bit of rest.  Don't work too hard!  We miss you here.

[simran2012]

WOW !!!! such an awesome thread !! really liked the idea of this project candlelightpiano!! I hope yor arm/hand is better now. I did go through this thread last year but was not learning the piece then. Started learning very recently. So just wondering about latest update on it  here !! haven't gone through all (!) the posts yet but in the latest posts saw Ajspiano's post in detail. Ajspiano  - would you be ablt to  please upload your video of playing this!!! Would love to  see it!! For me the problem is polyrhythm 3 vs 4. The problem I have is the spacing /timing of LH notes in  the second half of sixplet. And I think the reason behind that is that my fourth note of lh sixplet doesn't match right hand note. At medium speed I can pay attention to left hand and polyrhythm comes better I  think. But at faster speed, and if I want to concentrate on dynamics and technique, i think at few places polyrhythm is problem for me.  One thing I found useful though was to purposely match the notes that fall on the beat - especially match the fourth note in the sixplet of the left hand with the corresponding note in the right hand. If I do this, the second half of the sixplet is better. It's like a start of another triplet. I can do this at medium speed but not at high speed as I have to pay attention to right hand technique(later dynamics). I think I can play at somewhat faster speed but hands separate
I would soon record my playing and post it. Also what do you all think about purposely  matching the notes that fall on the beat to help polyrhythm ? This piece is immensely beautiful and exciting!!!!

[ajspiano]

Ajspiano's post in detail. Ajspiano  - could you upload your video of playing this!!! Would love to  see it.

Any particular post? Honestly there used to be quite a few instructional videos of mine up in this thread covering a bunch of different things ... unfortunately none of them exist any more, not on youtube or in my private possession so I can't repost the vids.. I'd have to make a new one, which I probably can't commit to right now.. busy times ahead the next couple of weeks.

[simran2012]

Hi ajspiano,
Thanks ! I was referring to your post - Reply #507 on: March 15, 2012, 12:33:08 AM

Oh  wish you had the videos .

Hope you would find some time to do one. even if it's just a  little like first few bars for polyrhythm .. whenever you get a chance !!

[ajspiano]

Hope you would find some time to do one. even if it's just a  little like first few bars for polyrhythm .. whenever you get a chance !!

You can nag me by PM once a week or something I'll probably get to it sooner or later. If you're happy with an excerpt I could probably do it on the spot some time this weekend. What do you want? A "how to" on 3 vs 4? or just a demo of me playing it..?

[simran2012]

Oh Great !! a how to on 3 vs 4 would be so great !!! I will PM you.

I read Chang's book  - the FI portion. That's what I can say I tried to follow. I think my 3 vs 4 is better for page 2 than page 1, may be because of accents on every beat's first note on page 2 beginning.

Thank you !!

[simran2012]

Hi!
This is the video of me playing the first page:  

 It's in the beginning stage.  No dynamics  For me this is a bit faster than what medium is. I am starting  directly at sixplets in lh to later join rh to help polyrhythms  for the video.
A little stuck towards the end sorry about that

I would be very grateful for any comments or suggestions you may have.

Any criticism is welcome

So far I learned this on own. I have a teacher but on a break right now !!


Ajspiano - if you get a chance, I would be very grateful for your comment

[ajspiano]

Well for starters, good work beginning to get this somewhat challenging piece together.

I have plenty to say, but will put it in a video for you rather than attempt to write it all out in what might end up a bit like an FI thesis.

couple of questions before I do though -

1. what speed are you comfortable with hands separate? can you manage the notes full pace?

2. have you got through the entire work or have you been mostly concentrated on the opening?

[simran2012]

Thanks for the comment   I have played through the whole piece a few times hands together , but mostly hands separate . And now focusing on hands together, polyrhythm and the opening.

Hands separate  I can play the piece at about  120 bpm  except for the second page section and measure 115-116(37-38). The second section I am comfortable at about 105 bpm. Getting this section to play with nice dynamics is an issue. Measure 115-116(37-38) I can play at 115 bpm - Hands separate !!


That's the current status

[ajspiano]

Here you go, keep in mind this is not rehearsed or planned..  just a spattering of thoughts. Sorry if i've told you mostly things you already know. Try to keep an open mind to ideas, but also a critical one. Bare in mind that you are not going to recieve direct feedback from me so you may easily misinterpret what I mean (or perhaps I didnt even say/demonstrate it how I should have) so don't follow anything blindly. You decide what works for you and what doesnt.

In regard to my comments about trying to speed up. - don't rush this, I brushed through a series of steps quickly, you will need to judge when you are ready to move on from each which may take days/weeks per step. Especially in regard to when I played the fast minim clusters of notes, you may need to do crotchet clusters and/or 3 note clusters before doing this. This is all relating to good slow practice - allowing time to mentally process and ensure that you use a sound technique that will manage a fast tempo, but practicing it at a slower HS speed. Fast but slow.

I also (perhaps boldly) assumed all your fingering is in order, and I haven't seen you play the second page which you said was more problematic for you.. so that may also be a factor in attaining a good tempo.

[dima_76557]

Here you go, keep in mind this is not rehearsed or planned..  just a spattering of thoughts.

That is a very good clip, ajspiano. I see by searching in your posts that you have recorded more useful stuff, some of which are real treasures that surpass much of what one can find on YouTube regarding teaching and practising piano playing. Once the clips are already there, I would urge you to make them all available for everyone so people don't have to dig deep into this forum to find them.

[ajspiano]

That is a very good clip, ajspiano. I see by searching in your posts that you have recorded more useful stuff, some of which are real treasures that surpass much of what one can find on YouTube regarding teaching and practising piano playing. Once the clips are already there, I would urge you to make them all available for everyone so people don't have to dig deep into this forum to find them.

That seems extraordinarily generous of you. Thanks There are many hidden treasures if you dig around here - I'm probably the least of them.

I think I mentioned above, quite a few of the videos I posted literally don't exist anymore. Unless someone here has them saved to their own PC.. same goes with many of birba's videos I think, which were real gems.

To be honest, most of my advice is pretty personal aswell.. I don't give advice intended as a generalisation (past videos have either been relevant to my own development, or in response to a particular individuals playing) so I tend not to want stuff left here on permanent display as it may not at all be relevant to the later viewers..  (though perhaps some content from this one is..)

...also I know more, and am a better pianist/teacher now than when I posted previous videos.. and that will be true of any subsequent ones also, which will almost undoubtedly cover similar topics one way or another.

[dima_76557]

That seems extraordinarily generous of you. Thanks There are many hidden treasures if you dig around here - I'm probably the least of them.

My trouble is (and I guess I'm not the only one) that I really don't have the time to dig through 554155 posts in 46996 topics by 75912 members. I also have no idea who the superstars are/were. Many of the really interesting ones have disappeared or so it seems. (?) I would be happy to hear some names so I can limit my search to their profiles. Thanks!

...also I know more, and am a better pianist/teacher now than when I posted previous videos.. and that will be true of any subsequent ones also, which will almost undoubtedly cover similar topics one way or another.

You could always remove what does no longer pass your judgement of good level. Every pianist (even the greatest) got a little better each time, but we would have missed a lot if they had maintained the same philosophy: that would have left us with virtually nothing.

[ajspiano]

I also have no idea who the superstars are/were. Many of the really interesting ones have disappeared or so it seems. (?) I would be happy to hear some names so I can limit my search to their profiles. Thanks!

My personal pick of the bunch..

"Bernhard"

"marik1" and "m" - same person..  (i think it was "m" - its and older account.. used to have some good debates with bernhard, and was one of the few people I ever saw who actually has the experience to challenge bernhards thoughts, and at times did to a fairly reasonable extent.)

more recently "p2u_"


.....

there are others, my memory isnt great..  robert_henry has some good posts.. rachfan (or rach_fan (?) ) has made many really good lengthy detailed responses to videos in the audition room...

bernhard is easily the most prolific and should be sufficient to keep anyone going for a decade. I've got an index of his best posts if you want to PM me an email address.

Dr. Chang, who wrote "fundamentals of piano practice" also has an account here - "CC" ..I haven't dug around in his profile to know if he posted much of value or was a bystander.

[dima_76557]

"Bernhard"
"marik1" and "m" - same person.. 
"p2u_"
robert_henry
rachfan
"CC"

I understand that with the exception of marik, they didn't leave any audio or video material? I have great trouble reading in a language that is not my own. I'm more the audio/video type of person. That is mainly why I liked your clip(s) so much: "A video or audio clip is worth a thousand words" so to speak.

[ajspiano]

I understand that with the exception of marik, they didn't leave any audio or video material? I have great trouble reading in a language that is not my own. I'm more the audio/video type of person. That is mainly why I liked your clip(s) so much: "A video or audio clip is worth a thousand words" so to speak.

Birba.

Unfortunately I doubt that any of his video's exist anymore though..  its was a very uhh.. "italian school masterclass" type thing.. good stuff.

You can always have a search and see if there are any still around.. all the ones I can find just say "video is unavailable" though.

Also, what clip is there of mine still here besides the audition room performance on chopin 10/1?

[dima_76557]

Also, what clip is there of mine still here besides the audition room performance on chopin 10/1?

A search in Google by site:pianostreet.com ajspiano youtube
gives me among others this one about baroque improvisation:

from this topic:
https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=48429.0
P.S.: Please don't tell me you are going to remove it.

And here's another one:

from this topic:
https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=48902.0
P.S.: Do you want me to go on? You seem to have two profiles on YouTube: ajspiano and ajspiano1, so you may have missed something while removing stuff.

[ajspiano]

hahah I barely remember doing that jazz one..  you can go on if you like..  those videos can stay...

the only others I imagine might be the tchaikovsky one and something from that thread called "technique"

[dima_76557]

hahah I barely remember doing that jazz one..  you can go on if you like..  those videos can stay...

the only others I imagine might be the tchaikovsky one and something from that thread called "technique"

There is also this "anti-splash" one:
https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=48051.msg526253#msg526253
but I will not go on because it is off-topic here.
P.S.: I really would like to see you do a special one on "finger tapping". That one could form an adequate reply to the ever-repeating questions/discussions here on this forum about finger strength, full-arm pushing, wrist pain, etc.

[simran2012]

Hi ajspiano!
Thanks a bunch for the video!!! It is so informative ! a master   !!

I quickly tried the keystroke idea - I sort of tried playing closer to the keys and it quickly improved my speed !!  I am not sure if I interpreted what you meant correctly or not but I am not lifting the playing finger during release - I just let it go as I play  the next playing finger.

Just now I could do 125 bpm (quarter note) not that I want to rush but just gave a quick try at the piano for rh after watching the video.

I wonder if its the heavier touch of my piano that is causing the speed issue. Because when I went to the piano store to purchase one , I played other pianos and couple  others were lighter in touch and I played this same portion of FI faster rh only  on those ones and it was easy to play faster I think I must have played 128-130 bpm then. But mine has to still break. But  I will slowly work on building up the speed. Should practice at slow speed what will help at fast speed - like you said I like that line slow but fast movements.
 
Yeah , I should add  dynamics  as I learn.  The second page octave section is more problematic in terms of speed I think mostly  in measure 16 where there is B D# and B E is.
I am using 2 4 for them and struggling whether should use 1 4 instead. The use of 4 is problem. Playing ht may also affect the fingering here because I kind of have to look at lh to play the E major notes and the rh thumb needs to be quickly back to G# if it plays B at which point I am still looking at lh.


Great tips !!! Thank you


dima_76557- it would be helpful if you could list other videos of ajspiano if it is okay with him of course !!

[ajspiano]

I didnt mean to insinuate that you consciously lift you fingers on release. The finger tap exercise that I suggested where the notes are played individually and short finger staccato close to the keys helps train you to use an efficient motion into the keys, to not press beyond the point of sound and to release the muscular tension faster than you might already be doing.

I don't doubt that you release the tension as you play the next key.. but this will help you not just release, but release fast.

its a kind of conditioning process that will take time, you will see results soon like you did already, but the really sucesses will come if you have the patience to work in this way for some time without trying to play the piece in full at high speeds.

...and its something that can be applied to most anythibg you are working on, not just FI.

[simran2012]

I didnt mean to insinuate that you consciously lift you fingers on release.

Even if you did, its perfectly alright

The finger tap exercise that I suggested where the notes are played individually and short finger staccato close to the keys helps train you to use an efficient motion into the keys, to not press beyond the point of sound and to release the muscular tension faster than you might already be doing.

I don't doubt that you release the tension as you play the next key.. but this will help you not just release, but release fast.

I understand I think what finger tap exercise is for staccato playing. But when playing legato, we kind of depress the first key until the next key is depressed, right ?, in which case the process of hand-arm movements to move to and depress the next key automatically undepresses the first key and the release is occurring for me. For example going from G# to A, the arm-hand movement(rotation etc) to depress A makes finger 3 on G# to sort of get autoreleased. So in this how to more efficiently release the tension ? Sorry if its too basic a question that I should have already understood from your video.

 I am not sure I understand how to apply finger tapping to legato playing and how it will release the muscular tension quicker in legato playing.

I am not going beyond the point of sound, just so you know if this information may be required for your reply

Thanks asjpiano for taking the time to help/;

[ajspiano]

you are right about legato playing..

so to elaborate..

separating the notes will allow you for the moment to focus your attention on the sensation of the release part of the finger stroke. You will develop the facility to control that much more accurately in isolation than with other notes surrounding it and taking focus.

There is a further step where we then work slowly connecting another note before releasing. Alan fraser has a video on youtube I think where he explains legatissimo overheld notes like this.

......

this may seem like overkill to you? more detail than is required? its all pretty relevant to accurate and fast playing of advanced material.

if you have ever experienced a "speed wall" and/or any sensation of tension when trying to play fast this could easily be a factor. You may be letting go of the key but carrying over some muscular tension subconsciously. This then builds up throughout the passage and hampers your ability to play fast and with dynamic control.

As I originally said, you need to make your own decision about its relevance to you personally.

[ajspiano]

The other side of it is that in high speed playing, even if the overall touch is legato you're not really holding on to the notes at all much.. the touch pretty much is finger staccato, but they follow each other so closely that the sound is legato. In FI at full speed you have around .1 of a second per note..

[simran2012]

The other side of it is that in high speed playing, even if the overall touch is legato you're not really holding on to the notes at all much.. the touch pretty much is finger staccato, but they follow each other so closely that the sound is legato. In FI at full speed you have around .1 of a second per note..

Yes, this is what I want to learn !!!  - I do think I kind of hold notes a bit too long than necessary. For some reason I think this is happening with heavier touch piano - did not happen on the lighter ones I played. Not sure what the relation is. May be I don't feel settled at the bottom of the key on heavier touch piano soon enough.  For example in higher registers I play the same thing FI faster and the higher registers are ligher in touch. I need to find out.

 Another thing is it takes me time to figure out where the next note is located - which I think slows me down just a bit, may be another reason why I hold onto a note longer than necessary. I will try to look at next notes to be played in advance and see if that helps in not holding earlier notes for a bit too long. So these new things.. anything that would make it efficient, I would like to learn.


I will check to see if I find Alan Fraser's video.

Its not an overkill at all.Thank you for the details  
I need them !