Playing with both hands with diff speed problem

[mcr555]

Hi. I have been playing piano for a few years. I can play pieces like Fur Elise and American Patrol.
My problem is I can't play very well a piece I want. That piece has a lot of 16th notes on the right hand and a lot of 8th note at the left hand. I find it hard to have different speed for my left and right hand.
I tried the suggestion of others
1. play with the hands separately until I am good at it
2. play with the hands together but slowly at first then gradually speeding up until I get used to it

any other suggestions? the tip given to me seems not to be good enough

I am starting to think that I need 1 more brain so that when I try to speed up my right hand, my left hand will stay at the same speed

[justanamateur]

1. is a very good idea, and I think you should be familiar with all the notes first. If the piece is homophonic (one hand = melody, other hand = accompaniment), you might even want to memorise the accompaniment first. If it's a polyphonic piece (both hands = melody), this step is especially crucial. *Always play at the required speed at this stage!*

2. does work for beginner and intermediate pieces, and it's also a very good way of learning how the notes 'correspond' to each other, especially if it's a polyphonic piece. However, I think it's best if you quickly return to the original speed once you've got the hang of it. Alternatively, you could tap the rhythms on a table. Once you've 'got it', you can return to the piece.

It may seem intimidating at first, but as you progress, you'll find that it's really easy. Remember when you started doing multiplication and division as a kid - it was so difficult at first, but quickly got easy! Later, you'll face greater difficulties like polyrhythms that can be resolved through similar means. Good luck!

[lojay]

Add a book like Hanon or Czerny to your practice routine.  Make sure you initially go through this with a teacher so they make sure you're approaching it correctly or you're going to end up with more problems.

[mcr555]

i see. thanks that helped!

[gregh]

Remove the complication of the keyboard and get your mind on just the timing:

-Play the harmony while singing the melody.

-Play the melody while tapping out the harmony on your knee with the other hand.

-Sing the melody while tapping out the harmony on your knee.