playing fast

[piano_vs_science]

i've been trying to play the nyan cat song but i can't keep up and if i try to keep up my fingers will twitch uncontrollably and press random notes

if i get rid of the tension and try playing fast the tension comes back!!!

what do i do?

[keyboardclass]

Be very careful about 'twitching' fingers - seek professional help.

[ajspiano]

I would suggest you find an experienced injury specialist piano teacher - if not a (or as well as) a doctor.

[pts1]

The entire business of "playing fast" has really been beaten to death.

One must first learn the music and be able to play it using the correct muscles/movements
and build "fitness" and "endurance" at the piano, just as you would in any athletic venture.

To build fitness, you simply spend sufficient time and after weeks/months/years things will be easier and eventually easy (relatively speaking).

Then, there is no problem "playing fast".... and fast is according to one's potential, not some
outside standard.

Pay attention to how you feel during practice and find the most comfortable way to move and play passages. After this becomes automatic and you build fitness, the speed will not be a problem.

[danhuyle]

The entire business of "playing fast" has really been beaten to death.

One must first learn the music and be able to play it using the correct muscles/movements
and build "fitness" and "endurance" at the piano, just as you would in any athletic venture.

To build fitness, you simply spend sufficient time and after weeks/months/years things will be easier and eventually easy (relatively speaking).

Then, there is no problem "playing fast".... and fast is according to one's potential, not some
outside standard.

Pay attention to how you feel during practice and find the most comfortable way to move and play passages. After this becomes automatic and you build fitness, the speed will not be a problem.

What worked for me when I got Scriabin Etude Op8/12 up to speed is I played it slowly and as pts1 wrote, I can see why it worked so well for me.

If that were the case, I would've had a fighting chance to play all 27 Chopin Etudes.

I had a piano teacher who told me you have to play Liszt Transcendental Etude No5 at lightning speed like Berezovsky. Each time I play it and record myself I finish it between 4:30-4:55. And the same goes for Scriabin Sonata Fantasia 2nd movement.

Playing slow is easy.

The playing fast has to feel like there's no need to play fast.

[piano_vs_science]

maybe i should try something easier like für elise

ps i started piano lessons today and 12 isn't too late to start right???

[birba]

What on earth is the "nyan cat song"?!

[49410enrique]

What on earth is the "nyan cat song"?!

you may regret asking it, it's an undying internet/youtbube
'mime', quite possibly the most contageous annoying little un ending uninteresting , sucks you in and you don't know why you're listening to it, rubbish piece of 'music' if you'll call it that. i find it amusing that the original nyancat video has so many million views! do a yt search for nyan cat youll see teh original and and the copies and variants it spawned....

i posted a pianist version of it here
https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=43643.msg476603#msg476603

original is a digital rendition with a silly flying poptart with a cat face and it poops a rainbow as it flies through the night sky, yes you read that correctly....

69 million plus views and counting, i dont' get it. i've never made it to the end of the video, i'm ashamed to admit i have tried but have yet to successfully watch the whole thing (i stope before i take a hammer to my computer to make the noise stop

[birba]

My gawd!  Sorry I asked!  Has to be japanese.

[tomoglo]

Okay, "playing fast" is a huge misconception within the musical realm of instruments whether it be piano, violin, cello, etc.

What seems to bother me is the fact that people these days tend to associate "playing fast" as a signal or symbol of virtuosity. Just burning through a piece swiftly does not signify virtuosity or mastery of the instrument. It eliminates all the other aspects that a professional musician requires whether it be dynamics, tempo, articulation, etc.

The most common mistake that beginner pianists make is attempting to play a passage incredibly fast in order to achieve the sound that they hear from elsewhere. Keep in mind, this may actually deter you from any form of progression in regards to the piece you are attempting to play.

Studying underneath my professor has made me acquire better practice habits. Hours cannot and should not correlate with skill. Thus, how many hours you practiced does not quantify the amount of experience gained.

I have played the "Nyan Cat" song just for fun with a friend of mine and will recommend that you practice slowly. Afterwards, gradually increase the tempo by 5 BPM or 10 BPM whatever is more comfortable. If your forearms or wrists begin to stiffen, slow down and relax them. A trick I employed during practice was to practice with incredibly relaxed forearms and wrists and hit each note downwards utilizing a vertical motion with the entire arm. Each note would be played loudly and with confidence.

Hope this helps in any other future endeavors!

[49410enrique]

...Has to be japanese.

indeed.  but you lived there so i think you understand...i think it's called nyan becuase in the japanese vernacular when you translate the writting to our system of letters and numbers, they dont' have a word for 'meow' essentially their translation for what a cat says/sounds like is 'nyan' thus the nyan cat was born...i love most things japanese but i just don't get this one (well that and i'll never understand  the vending machines in seedy/questionalble parts of town/city that sells dirty school girl panties, but that's a whole other topic/forum....not making this stuff up, that's exactly what they sell....)

won't post it but google will show you what i'm talking about ....

[jesc]

you may regret asking it, it's an undying internet/youtbube
'mime', quite possibly the most contageous annoying little un ending uninteresting , sucks you in and you don't know why you're listening to it, rubbish piece of 'music' if you'll call it that. i find it amusing that the original nyancat video has so many million views! do a yt search for nyan cat youll see teh original and and the copies and variants it spawned....

i posted a pianist version of it here
https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=43643.msg476603#msg476603

original is a digital rendition with a silly flying poptart with a cat face and it poops a rainbow as it flies through the night sky, yes you read that correctly....

69 million plus views and counting, i dont' get it. i've never made it to the end of the video, i'm ashamed to admit i have tried but have yet to successfully watch the whole thing (i stope before i take a hammer to my computer to make the noise stop

I may get blasted for this but...

It crossed my mind. The OP can play the nyan nyan cat song quickly without feelings and still come across as acceptable. I mean, listen to it...

[piano_vs_science]

What seems to bother me is the fact that people these days tend to associate "playing fast" as a signal or symbol of virtuosity. Just burning through a piece swiftly does not signify virtuosity or mastery of the instrument. It eliminates all the other aspects that a professional musician requires whether it be dynamics, tempo, articulation, etc.

you're right!!!

[roseamelia]

 maybe you should exercise your fingers like trying scales or play the song slower whats your timing on this song.

[piano_vs_science]

wow!!! Really???
I hate Bach he's so fat 
and I find his music annoying for some reason

[qirat]

wow!!! Really???
I hate Bach he's so fat 
and I find his music annoying for some reason

this from someone who is trying to play the nyan cat song?
my dear fellow... what are you smoking...? (no offense)

[ted]

This adulation of speed per se is a very peculiar thing, is it not ? Whole forums exist devoted to that ideal, and their members are not, in the main, musically shallow as might be suspected, but musicians of thought and depth. The phenomenon is, moreover, not constrained to classical players and concert pianists. Idolising speed is rampant in jazz and ragtime, and has always been so to some degree. Contemporary ragtime, in particular, seems besotted by it at present and the effect has caused at least one serious composer I know to eschew the label "ragtime" altogether.

My own view, as it pertains to my improvisation, is that velocity is just a variable option like any other musical property. If it adds to the musical effect then I use it and not otherwise. Its cautionary and very interesting consequence is that it alters the aural effect of rhythm. At very high speed, one cannot perceive much except a flow of notes, which is fine if one desires that outcome. The same is actually true of very low speeds but in a different way. At very high or very low speeds, it becomes difficult to produce those rhythmic events which to me are the soul of piano music. Other musical aspects will be "flattened" at high speed too; a beautiful harmonic change simply won't register in the listening mind if played very rapidly.

The whole issue of fast playing, and velocity in general, is much more complicated, psychologically and musically, than we tend to think, or so it seems to me. Speed as a competitive standard, a purely physical exhibit, a gymnastic achievement, holds no interest for me at all, and it is still a puzzle to me why so many otherwise wonderful musicians persist in embracing it as an end in itself.

[revanyoda777]

I completely agree Ted. Oftentimes people (myself at times) can fall victim to wanting to employ speed and velocity for its own sake rather than to enhance and contribute to a particular section of music.