Piano Forum

Piano Forum »
Piano Board »
Student's Corner »
Hard to play both hands simultaneously :C

Does Rachmaninoff Touch Your Heart?
Today, with smartwatches and everyday electronics, it is increasingly common to measure training results, heart rate, calorie consumption, and overall health. But monitoring heart rate of pianists and audience can reveal interesting insights on several other aspects within the musical field. Read more >>

Pages: [1] Go Down

Topic: Hard to play both hands simultaneously :C (Read 2514 times)

nocturne518

Newbie
Posts: 3

Hard to play both hands simultaneously :C

on: October 17, 2016, 02:40:35 AM

Hi, I know this is a common issue for beginners but is there any exercise that you can suggest in order to practice playing both of my hands together? I'm having a hard time on the first variation of "Ah, vous dirai-je maman!", and I've been practicing piano last 2 weeks. Any suggestions please? Anything will help

Logged

mjames

PS Silver Member
Sr. Member
Posts: 2555

Re: Hard to play both hands simultaneously :C

Reply #1 on: October 17, 2016, 03:12:42 AM

Mozart's not the only who wrote variations on that particular tune, sooooooo please specify if it's him or not. Anyways, if it's the Mozart, then it might be a little bit too much for you considering you've only been playing two weeks. Perhaps you should learn how to play with "both hands simultaneously" with pieces that are below a grade 7 work.

I suggest you go with some of the pieces from the Anna Magdalena notebook. It's baroque, so you'll get used to using both your hands in no time. Perhaps after that move on to learning some Clementi and Kulhau sonatinas, Bach inventions and so on. Then if you get to a point where you're sure you want to keep playing piano then find a teacher, and maybe then you can learn the mozart. It's a bad idea to learn difficult pieces without guidance.

Good luck.

Logged

nocturne518

Newbie
Posts: 3

Re: Hard to play both hands simultaneously :C

Reply #2 on: October 17, 2016, 04:00:08 AM

Thank you so much! And yes, it was Mozart's. But where can I find Anna Magdalena notebook somewhere in the internet?

Logged

adodd81802

PS Silver Member
Sr. Member
Posts: 1114

Re: Hard to play both hands simultaneously :C

Reply #3 on: October 17, 2016, 08:15:26 AM

IMSLP website will have it and lots of other free pieces.

Also on the Pianostreet section - Piano Music, Complete list it has an extensive list of pieces that can be arranged in grade so that you can fine pieces on your level.

Logged

"England is a country of pianos, they are everywhere."

louispodesta

Sr. Member
Posts: 1077

Re: Hard to play both hands simultaneously :C

Reply #4 on: October 18, 2016, 11:27:45 PM

Quote from: nocturne518 on October 17, 2016, 02:40:35 AM

Hi, I know this is a common issue for beginners but is there any exercise that you can suggest in order to practice playing both of my hands together? I'm having a hard time on the first variation of "Ah, vous dirai-je maman!", and I've been practicing piano last 2 weeks. Any suggestions please? Anything will help

The common piano technique development (Czerny) has to do with playing a finger routine, one hand at a time. However, what it does not do is to instruct those students as to how to physically effectuate this five finger routine.

And, what it definitely does not do is to have the student learn this by playing one of the most difficult pieces in the repertoire (to play correctly) which is the Mozart "Ah, vous dirai-je maman!"

Once again, Pianostreet has a marvelous search engine, which allows pianists to reference any prior question. Trust me, it is rare that any OP's question will be the first. So, go to the upper right hand corner, and work with it, even if you don't get your information on the first attempt.

Accordingly, I proffer an edited version of my prior post on piano technique, and if the OP has any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me by PM:

["With all due respect to those who have posted, I have noticed that there is no specific mention regarding any method of "key attack." This references how one/pianist strikes a particular key or a set of keys.

1) I was taught, by my late teacher Robert Weaver, that one should rest their hand, with fingers "resting" on the keys, in a standard five finger position, at "Middle C" (and a corresponding octave below).

2) That also means you are sitting erect, not stiff, but relaxed at the keyboard, with a full but relaxed arm weight.

3) Then, practice playing (super slow!) 1-5 in a very soft staccato fashion with little or no movement in either hand (super still!).

4) After one has mastered this, with one hand, the same should be repeated (slowly) with both hands. If you have to do this with two notes at a time (one to two, one to three, et al) then that is more than okay. Hand/eye co-ordination is different with every single person!

5) Then, the same modality should be effectuated with broken chords and dominant seventh and diminished arpeggios, accordingly."]

Logged

bernadette60614

PS Silver Member
Sr. Member
Posts: 541

Re: Hard to play both hands simultaneously :C

Reply #5 on: October 25, 2016, 08:08:26 PM

Not a teacher, but someone with a variety of opinions, all of which seem to need to be expressed:

. Learn each hand separately in some chunks.

. I do 2 measures if it is a brain killer (a Bach fugue), 4 measures if it is something I feel more comfortable with.

. Play each chunk separately 5 times perfectly, then go onto the next chunk. If you mess up on time 2, go back to the beginning.

. This is so tedious at times that I want to bang my head down on the piano like the pianist from the Peanuts cartoon, but I find that as an adult I want to GET TO PLAY THE PIECE RIGHT NOW..and I skip the foundational work that makes playing the piece well.

Take care.

Logged

vaniii

Full Member
Posts: 246

Re: Hard to play both hands simultaneously :C

Reply #6 on: October 25, 2016, 08:25:52 PM

It is simple really.

Learn to count and simply put the notes down in time. Eventually, your brain will understand the patterns.

Don't try to play music, understand the device that makes it appear.

Logged

Sign-up to post reply

Pages: [1] Go Up

For more information about this topic, click search below!