I have difficulty playing etudes on a piano which has heavy irresponsive keys

[claireliii]

I usually practice on a upright piano and the keys are really light. I can usually run through an intermediate level Chopin etude at its original tempo. however, I always have problem playing on my teacher's Kawai grand. It is the heaviest, most irresponsive piano I have played on, and I have actually played on a lot of grand pianos (steinway/yamaha/cb...)before, since I usually practice at school before the pandemic. I always found it more more tiring to play with heavier pianos, and sometimes my fingers get so tired that I can even run through the entire etude.

My teacher told my that it had nothing to do with the piano but my way of exerting strength. my fingers were too loose and my wrist was too tight, and Id need to rely on my major knuckle more.

my background is not very solid, I did not grow up practicing more than 1 hour every day and I have been criticized of fingers being too weak. However, I am really serious about piano now and seriously hope to play through an chopin etude at a satisfactory level to prove to my teacher that I am not so incompetent.

[keypeg]

changed mind

[timothy42b]

I always found it more more tiring to play with heavier pianos, and sometimes my fingers get so tired that I can even run through the entire etude.

My teacher told my that it had nothing to do with the piano but my way of exerting strength.

Presumably the teacher has other students who have no difficulty with that piano, and you seem to have difficulty with any heavier piano.

That suggests to me that this is not a piano problem but a technique problem.

But your teacher's explanation doesn't give confidence that he/she knows how to fix it. 

I think you need a second opinion. 

[dogperson]

Your teacher has told you this is a technique problem.  Now what you need is a demonstration from your teacher of playing with a loose wrist and playing from the knuckle.  Have your teacher demonstrate and then observe and correct what you are doing until you understand how to make this work for you.  It is an important change which needs to be understood and implemented.

[timothy42b]

Your teacher has told you this is a technique problem.  Now what you need is a demonstration from your teacher of playing with a loose wrist and playing from the knuckle. 

I agree it is a technique problem.

The teacher's verbal description is not going to help.  And from another post we know the teacher-student relationship is strained. 

The verbal description might be misinterpreted to mean a more finger centric approach, and lead to worse results.  Or, it might be correctly interpreted to mean that, and the teacher doesn't understand what the right technique is. 

Regardless, this technique problem is going to limit progress until solved.

[debussychopin]

my background is not very solid, I did not grow up practicing more than 1 hour every day and I have been criticized of fingers being too weak. However, I am really serious about piano now and seriously hope to play through an chopin etude at a satisfactory level to prove to my teacher that I am not so incompetent.

A serious student (even serious professional players) will come to their teacher/trainer/coach in a mindset of humility, to come knowing they constantly have to improve somewhere, and that they need their continual training to overcome it.  That is what the teacher /student relationship is. It is how anyone continues to progress in whatever they do.

The focus of trying to prove your teacher wrong and that you are fine, is the wrong approach. Sorry. I see this at music class all the time. Particularly in younger students who have been told they are very talented. The teacher can talk and instruct, but nothing goes into their head, because , I dont know, it seems to me they are complacent in what they bring to the class and not focused on what they can get out of it. Usually their only line of thinking is, how can I myself get this faster and faster in speed?

By the end of the semester, it is a flurry of notes played out in tempo, but none of the suggestions of technical aspects of dynamics, articulations, pedaling, finer points, etc are manifest . Just a bowl of oatmeal-mush notes (in mezzoforte, nothing else) from beginning to end.

[lostinidlewonder]

A piano with heavier action will require more force to produce a desired sound, that is just simple physics. You will have to exert more force to produce what you are accustomed to on a lighter actioned piano. When you try to apply more force it may cause your to create tension in your technique where you otherwise wouldn't, you may have to reassess how to make the most efficient movements when including this extra force.

I had opposite problems as a child since I grew up on a very heavy actioned piano and found everything else so light and would play too loud. You do need to practice on a heavy action to get used to it. If you only have a small amount of time during your lessons with your teacher it doesn't really give you enough space to experiment.

In the end it is ok to prefer one action over the other some really heavy actioned pianos are a beast to control especially if you have to play fast passages. I've found some pianos simply incapable of rapid repeated notes no matter what technique you try to use, so there are limitations to poorer make pianos too.

[anacrusis]

You are not incompetent for not getting it. It can be really tricky to figure technique out without help. If your teacher just tells you that what you are doing is wrong but does not show you how to change it, I would consider if I would want to go looking for another teacher who works with you and helps you figure it out.