This is the best video I have seen so far in 2024... I just got it in my video flow. Now I will go watch the second year. You are great... maybe one day we will hear you play "Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2".

You've done an excellent job! Just a little suggestion that's helped me so much- Make sure to relax your arm.... your fingers get power from the relaxed weight of your arm. If you relax your wrist, have your arm feel heavy, you can play with effortless power, using gravity. You'll feel a lot more relaxed. With the wrist tense or finger playing, you'll feel more rigid. I wish you were one of my students! Maybe I could make a video tutorial for you on Fur Elise, which is perfect for arm weight.

Absolutely fanastic! Ive taken this as inspiration as i've recently fallen in love with piano and started around a month ago. Used to play guitar a lot but this is a whole different game lol i'm not great with sheet music but wondered if you learnt chords as you went along or dedicated time to learn them as a base before going into certain songs? Keep up the good work! 🤘👍

@@dannyscavenger2290 I’m so happy to hear that. Best of luck on your piano journey! Yes I started learning piano theory (which covered chords) from week one. I also wrote everything I did in the description of this video :)

@@jellycodingthank you, you are very kind!

Thats exactly my thoughts

Yup

I am confused at why you would not at least use the sustained petal and learn as you go. Even used incorrectly, any piece would sound a 1000 times better with it incorporated..

Exactly

please 🙏

It’s quite a joy to have become a part of the piano world, thank you!

yes, everything is going well for her.

very inspiring! Subscriber here! Just started few days ago! How did you do it? Watced youtube or read a book? thanks very much. Hope you reply. 🙏

@@marvincanlas4595 everyone has a different style. I would try a combination of both, and if you can afford it, take some lessons to learn good fundamental techniques.

This was so beautifully said

I am 78 and started 6 months ago. The maturity you have means you know that consistency one to two hours a day is how to practice-No more here and there whenever..This I read from a Julliard pianist- consistency and focused practice one hour but no days missed. The trained teacher knows what is more important to practice for each lesson. I guarantee that every day the piano will absorb you like a friend. Practice slow, deliberately let it sink in.

I am 64 and have played drums since the 7th grade. I too will learn the piano this year! Good luck to you 😊. In the middle of selecting a digital piano. Looking at the Kauai ES-120 or the Roland FP-E50.

I’m wishing you very well David, all the way from the Giant’s Causeway coast of Northern Ireland. Like you I have always wanted to learn piano but life got in the way. I retired five years ago but I am very impressed with Zhenya’s progress. She has clearly spent a lot of time practicing. Not sure if I have that sort of commitment anymore.

@davidroberts2476 thank you for sharing your journey! Looks like you’ve had your ups and downs but nothing can overcome your love for playing music. Best of luck in your piano journey, please do take videos, I would love to see your progress! Given your profound drumming experience, you’ll probably pick it up very easily :)

Nice story David, sorry to hear about your friend's passing. I am 67 and played guitars most of my life. I was also inspired by Zhenya's video. I have zero knowledge of the piano but I have just bought a keyboard and intend to learn to play as best I can. There seems to be a wealth of information on KZfaq. Like you maybe I will post my progress after a year too, maybe compare notes :))

It will click for sure! Hand independence came to me fairly easily because of my drumming background (drummed for 100 hours on a pad prior to piano) but other things are harder. You’ll get there!

I find the same thing. I can use each hand independently, however playing them together is taking a while.

Hopefully piano's going well for you and things are starting to click! Sometimes you just wake up and piano makes sense. I didn't start playing as an adult but this happens regardless of level. You work on something over and over, can't do it and ragequit, sleep it off and then the next day for some reason you can do it and it makes sense. Neverending cycle :D

Hello. Of course it's hard. At the beginning of my training, my head was already heating up, even in a cool room, I felt hot. Now it has become easier, although not easy. The brain is accustomed to accepting this new, musical information. Sitting behind the instrument, positioning the hands - everything settled down and became familiar. I had never studied music or played an instrument before. Exactly two years ago, in the month of May, I was completely captivated by the idea that I wanted to not only listen to Bach on KZfaq, but also play it myself. I was 58 years old. I bought the instrument second-hand and on June 4, I sat down at the piano keyboard for the first time in my life. I opened KZfaq with training videos and began to study. In general, I was busy like this until mid-August. This is not to say that I didn’t succeed. But there were places where I doubted whether I was doing the right thing, to consult with someone. September came and I went to a children's music school. And the piano teacher agreed to give me lessons. On September 17, I started first grade at school ;)) By the way, my independent studies came to light. When we met, the teacher asked if I had previously studied music. And at the very first lesson he said, it’s obvious that you’ve studied before. Of course, I told how I studied on my own. Now the second year of school is coming to an end. The teacher says that she doesn’t teach me anything, she just tells me, and I learn on my own. As it may be, the role of the teacher in my studies is irreplaceable. Now I can give a small solo concert for 20-25 minutes. I learned all the pieces by heart, I play without notes, except the last one - Adagio BWV 974 kzfaq.info/get/bejne/aN5dgqudz8DeeIU.html Of course I'm not the one playing. This is for example. And I still don’t have the skill to play so well. But I'm playing. And I do it the way I want. Currently studying BWV 1056 kzfaq.info/get/bejne/bL59rMl0zZnFcYE.html I apologize for any inaccuracies in the text. I am writing through a translator. Greetings from Russia.

Sleep is like the final touch of practice you need to master something

Thank you! 100% agree! I’ve quit many things and just wanted to stick with something to see how far I can come. Totally worth it.

Im still in my first year but i got curious what after 8 years of commitment to piano your feeling is? Especially when there is nothing that hard anymore

@@daniaalaa8550I’ve been playing for over 10 years and there’s still some pieces that are hard. Not only do you practice playing the actual notes, you have to master the performance and emotion you put into the song

Thank you very much!:)

Take some lessons from a teacher, at least in the beginning. This self-taught piano players always (1000% of the time) lack some basic techniques that makes a huuuuge difference in quality. A teacher will address that from the first moment you touch the keys of the piano, and this way you'll end up sounding like a true pianist if you continue developing this hobby over time.

​@@dncviorel This is very true, and the difference lies not only in quality. I'm a self taught pianist and terrible technique actually damaged my right pinky. It took me like 2, maybe 3 years to realise this finger was constantly stressed, constantly in tension and it lead to a tiny deformity which will eventually need surgical procedure.

@@dawid12301d Oh, so sorry to hear that! Yes, mastering the right technique is highly important, not only for playing an instrument, but for pretty much anything you actually do on a regular basis. I hope you can find solutions to avoid surgical intervention, you could talk to a podiatrist for a 2nd opinion. Wish you well!

@@dncviorel Sadly, there is no other way to fix it. I developed some kind of irregular bone and tendon growth which makes that finger crack every time I bend it. Every single time. It's not painful unless I play for an extended period of time or have to grab things repetitively. It was extremaly annoying at the beginning but I got used to it to a point I'm not even noticing. I did contact three orthopaedists, one of which is a top hand specialist and surgeon. Surgery would fix the problem but there is a high chance it will make that finger quite stiff, which I'd like to avoid... so as long as the pain is very minor and there are no other problems I'm postponing surgical intervention, as it was suggested by the specialist.

@@dawid12301d If surgeons can't guarantee full success and no other side effects I would do everything to avoid the procedure, but I'm sure you know better. Whatever decision you take, I hope you'll continue having a good time playing your favorite instrument. Cheers to you!

Thanks so much, I’ve been playing for two years now (video out) and enjoying it even more now :) Finally playing with a pedal (although my pedaling needs a lot of work) and a metronome. And critiques always welcome :)

I have just watched it and I was really impressed! Fewer pieces but much stronger. It looks like you met all the goals you set in this video. The improved pedalling will come with practice, I think you’re doing great 😊. Critiques are good but it doesn’t help to have lots of people shouting lots of things and honestly you’re doing really well! Just learn what you want (and can comfortably learn) and work on improvement and technique in a way you find fun and this is the best advice 😊.

i learned fur elise in my first month but it took me 2 month to master it

@@ken3278 dang. Some people are just built different huh

@@ken3278no joke?

@@Pamela-dv7gb i swear

@@ken3278first piece I learnt was one summers day by Joe Hisaishi and then a few months later I learned and mastered the full version of fur Elise

Thank you so very much!

Thank you so much for the kind words! Interesting username! I take pine needle tincture consistently.

Thank you very much! It’s been a wonderful journey indeed, and this year I’m trying to practice smarter and will see where it takes me. Good luck to your sister :)

Bro when u said terrific I got scared a little 😂

Thank you very much! I hope you return to playing piano, it’s such a fun endeavor!

Thank you! With hard work progress is inevitable! You can do it!

Thank you very much! Good luck with yours as well :)

Same , so exited atb to ya mate

Same here but I'm going for the self-taught way also... Maybe it's the harder way but I'll try it and dedicate 1h minimum to piano every day

How is it going?

hows it going ?

I tried to teach myself but hard when you are older. I started lessons 3 months ago.

Thank you!! Yes, I started using it during my second year and boy did it make a difference!

Thank you so much!!! Will keep at it, and best of luck to you too with your piano journey!

Thank you, I really appreciate your kind words!

Thank you very much for the kind words! I’ve actually been playing for two years now (this is an old video) and I did already post my send year as well.

Thank you very much! If you enjoy it, you’ll achieve your piano goals in no time :)

Thanks so much for the encouragement, been playing for two years now (video out) and enjoying it even more now :)

Спасибо большое, Сергей!

Wow thank you so much!

i agree , i was waiting the whole video wondering when she was going to discover the sustain pedal. it is basically what tied everything together for me.

Thank you so much!

Thank you Al:) I’ve loved every moment of learning. You have beautifully performed pieces on your channel, wow! Best of luck to you!

@Evgenia Marushko Thanks so much really appreciated. If you like and would like to subscribe you'll be notified for every new video. I'm a new subscriber on your channel, I'm curious to see more your piano journey! Thanks again and enjoy the piano 😀

Thank you so much! And I wanna relearn drums! I drummed on a pad, but getting to an actual kit was just so different and terrifying. I wish you best of luck in your musical journey!

I laughed out loud reading your post. I ordered a DGX670 yesterday! I took piano for about 10 years ago but that was also about 40 years ago and I don't remember any of it. So I'm starting from scratch. This video watching the progress is really inspiring! I would be very curious to learn how you started. A book? A class? A video? I'm looking for something that can guide me through the basics once again.

@@CMDR_Elizium51RA I wrote everything I did to learn in the description :)

@@Zhenyamarushko Thank you I saw that after I replied!! :)

Thanks so much, I’ve been playing for two years now (video out) and enjoying it even more now :) You can do it!!!

You can do it! I hope you learn from my mistakes! The pieces I learned were way too difficult for my level, so I couldn’t play them on time or with the articulation they needed. If I had known better, I would have started with basics and got used to playing with relaxed fingers and metronome. So I hope you practice smart, and that way you’ll see great progress and set yourself up for many successful and enjoyable years of piano playing. 😊

hello there! You previously commented on my piano technique and correctly pointed out my flaws, so I wanted to reach out. I posted another video, and I was wondering if you could see any improvement in my technique? I’ve been working on not having as much tension, but it’s hard for me to say whether I succeeded or not. If you could give me your honest opinion, I’d be very grateful! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/bredjLWKpte3aIU.html Also, my pedaling in that video is off, I was not releasing all the way I think. I fixed it by now, just haven’t made another recording.

Fake

@@ciararespect4296 ????? You’re joking right?????

@@novembie8577 haha yes only joking

Thank you very much! You have some wonderful content on your channel, subscribed!

Thank you!

Looks like she practiced for 4 hours in total bc does songs are beginner songs

​@@asyayesayan2494400h is maybe 2h per day over the course of a year, discounting time off to do other things, like having a weekend. Maybe it'd be good for you to acknowledge somebody trying to put in effort. Even if you think they could've done better, talking others down doesn't help them, and it helps you even less.Others trying to do better is not an excuse to do nothing while others try. And mocking others for trying while you do nothing is just a kind of cowardice.

@@asyayesayan2494let’s see your skills pal

@@princehakim._6427 your talking like I don’t play piano. I’ve been playing for a year and I play way harder songs then her 💀🙏🙏 Ever heard of Claire de lune.

@@asyayesayan2494 It’s not really a matter of playing “harder songs” but instead playing them well and with good technique

@Пётр фигнёй страдает -- it may be that how boring the lessons seem may depend somewhat on the teacher, the approach, and the material -- and the student btw -- why is "Peter is suffering from ..." ? ;-)

@@aBachwardsfellow it's not really 'suffering', it's just an idiom in Russian language that I love so much.... it's more like 'Peter does silly things' or something like that

@@user-fi4yd2kf6g cool! (I was at the mercy of Google translate for that one)

Hello, you are so right on this one! Now that’s I’ve played for two years, I understand that I should have started with basics. I’m smarter with selecting more suitable pieces now and finally play with a metronome and a pedal :)

very good my friend, i play piano for about 7 years now, keep it up buddy!

Thanks so much, I’ve been playing for two years now (video out) and enjoying it even more now :) I finally started to do scales, arpeggios, and try to relax more, and some of it worked (while I’m still working on a better technique).

Thank you so much!

Wow....u have improved so much... Do u learn with staff notations... How do u initially learn????

Very well done with respect you definitely have a talent for piano, I love playing the piano myself, I am humbly speaking mostly self taught, I taught myself to play the piano at the age of 15yrs old way back in 1985, I am 53 yrs old now, so been playing 38yrs, I now enjoy playing Scott joplin rags like the Entertainer and maple leaf rag, also Beethoven Sonatas Moonlight and pathetique also fur elise, and Mozart sonatas, with a bit of Chopin and Richard Clayderman, Music is a wonderfull God given gift to have, and being able to play the piano is one of the true GOD JEHOVAH greatest gift, I wish you all the best with your playing the piano, greetings from wales uk. 😀

Can u play by ear

As long as you're having fun as that's the main thing! Also don't feel rushed into reaching any particular milestone with the piano, just keep at it with consistent and regular practice and you will improve. Not sure whether it has been mentioned to you before, but watching the video I notice that you play with what we call "claw hands" (I think almost all of us did at one point or other when we first started piano). Foregoing lessons means you might miss out on some really useful initial guidance, but ideally you want to avoid the collapsing knuckles as much as possible. Try to break into the habit of playing piano predominantly with curled fingers, it will feel a bit unnatural at first but it massively helps in the long-term. Not too indifferent in the way that a singer will try to adapt their breathing to better support their singing, well a pianist should adapt their forearms and hands for sustainable playing. If you're on a keyboard then the keys may not be weighted, but there are also exercises you can do to train the finger technique and strength (more relevant for when you're playing on fully weighted keys, but the sooner you start applying it the better). General rule of thumb though is that the fingers should never be higher than the back of the hand, and remember that it is okay to make use of the wrists and arms when playing (it is encouraged to, actually). A bit hard to explain, but once you do it and once you get past it feeling a bit unnatural at first, it should make more sense as playing with curled fingers greatly allows you to play with much more accuracy, tempo (if required) and personally what I find most important, it doesn't tire out your hands as quickly and you get to avoid many hand cramps lol. I don't mean it as a bad critique or anything like that at all - just that I think it would be a benefit to you to keep it in mind, and I just wanted to share it with you in case it wasn't something that had crossed your mind before or if nobody had pointed it out to you yet. Best of luck with all your progress and hope you continue playing!

Not everyone wants to be a concert pianist seems like she wanted to see how much she could do on her own. But thanks for your snobby opinion there is always another person in the crowd with there nose in the air complaining about how perfect everything should be.

I have to agree. A good example of somebody who has obviously invested a lot of effort, made good progress, but lacking a teacher for the correct technique. If you invest in piano lessons while keeping the effort constant, you will make great progress in a short time. Enjoy the piano!

I appreciate that! I’m surprised to hear that because my timing is all over the place and there are lots of pauses and clearly the pieces I learned are way above my level and I understand now that I should have started with simpler songs. Plus, I can’t read sheet music and play simultaneously yet and had to have everything memorised. So I ended up forgetting some of these pieces, and it would take me hours if not days to remember them again. This year, I already started with simpler stuff and I’m just perfecting every piece that I play and always practice with a metronome, so this year everything should sound cleaner. Thank you for your kind words, and good luck with your piano journey!

@@Zhenyamarushko which materials, written books or online learning applications you use and recommend?

@@Del21 I didn’t really use any books (but I definitely should have and I practice with Hanon now), but I watched lots of KZfaq videos. I studied a 3-hour music theory course by Marcs Piano where it taught all kinds of different chords, scales, and some arpeggios I believe, and I practiced them all. I also watched some beginner practice videos by Pianote and Jazer Lee and did some of that. But I have to admit that most practicing I did was just rehearsing those pieces. I didn’t have a very structured practice plan, I just wanted to learn the pieces. I would divide each piece into 15-20 (sometimes more) parts and just work on one part a day. I did lots of repetitions, and wouldn’t skip to the next part until I was confident in the current part. I should have practiced different exercises and learned new pieces simultaneously, but now I’m doing all kinds of exercises and I see that at least learning those pieces my first year helped, so the exercises I’m doing now (chord inversions, octaves, arpeggios) aren’t too overwhelming.

@@Zhenyamarushko Thanks for your reply, definitely you’re gifted, All the best!

@@Del21 thank you very much, and all the best to you too!

I 100% agree. Creating my own melodies (composing my own pieces sounds too fancy for my level) is the reason why I picked up piano, that’s my ultimate goal. And improvisation will help me get there. I try to improvise daily, but right now it’s definitely taking me out of my comfort zone and I’m terrified of it every single time I’m about to do it. I’m sure it will get better over time like anything else.

​@@Zhenyamarushko My goodness! -- no need to be "terrified" ! ;-) As the saying goes, if you play one note wrong, it's a mistake; if you play two wrong notes -- it's jazz. 🙂 Would you say that your inclination towards improvising and composition is more towards the jazz and pop instrumental spectrum? Or are you interested in improvising and composing in other genres as well -- songs? Do you also sing and/or write poetry/lyrics)? By improvising -- do you mean that you're taking an existing/known piece and either playing it by ear and/or reworking the melody and harmony? Or are you starting from "scratch" and creating your own (new) piece? Either is a great way to connect your mind with the music. I definitely recommend playing existing pieces by ear as a great way to start -- it's a form of improvising. An useful exercise I like is to take a simple piece, learn to play it by ear in a simple key -- i.e. C. THEN -- play it in every other key (transpose). This is a great way to get comfortable with the chords and melodies in other keys. From there you can improvise by using alternate chords, altered chords, progressions, melodic ornamentation, etc. Another great way to support improv is by ear training and dictation: listen to a piece of music and see if you can write down the harmonic progression and melody. Learning basic harmonic analysis * is helpful for this as well and is a good tool for both thinking and playing improv as well as composition. * Harmonic analysis -- you may already know this, but in a given major key -- C major for example: G a b C D e f E f g A B c d triads: *C* *d* *e* *F* *G* *a* *b* MAJ min min MAJ MAJ min dim analysis: I ii iii IV V vi vii scale note: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 C major: C D E F G A B For improv/new compositions, start with basic chords in an easy key -- figure out if you're wanting a major key (C, G, D, A, F, Bb, etc.) or minor (a, e, b, d, g, etc.) -- run a few scales and do some arpeggios, chords and cadences in the key to get the tonality in your head; figure out whether you feel like something upbeat or more mellow, contemplative; kinda figure what harmonic style your wanting to try -- jazz, pop, folk, "classical" -- and the rhythmic texture you're wanting -- lively, jive, swing, ballad, etc. If you've got a melody in your head work that out first, then find the chords / bass that go with it; if you've got a harmonic progression in your head, work that out -- then add the melodic material that seems to fit. Keep the harmony in basic triads at first, then develop it -- rhythm, added intervals -- 7ths, 9ths/2nds, 6ths, etc. progressions, and bass. I like to work in a "variations" approach (or "versions" approach -- v1, v2, etc.). I create (whether playing or writing) a "rough draft" -- simplest version or outline to get the overall structure in place -- then start enhancing it a bit at a time, sort of like a theme and variations piece. If you're improvising "real time" -- that is at the keyboard as you go -- you'll find that the better you know scales, chords, and arpeggios the more material you'll have to work with. Keep in mind that it's an experimental and learning process -- you'll discover more of what's "right" the more you do it -- do not be "terrified" of playing something "wrong" or making "mistakes" -- just *listen* and learn :-) and ... *have fun* ! PS -- sometimes I do better writing it out ("composing" !! ) first. There are some free music scoring software available which will play back what you write and allow you to hear it -- a great way to experiment. Finale Notepad is free -- very basic -- but usable, I've been able to do most of what I want with it since I'm only wrting basic piano (grand staff) or organ (grand staff plus pedal bass) scores (sometimes with a solo instrument or vocal line). I've also used MuseScore (paid $29 / yr) which is a little more advanced than Notepad and maybe a bit easier to use. But no need to shell out $nnn for music software (Finale, Sibelus) until you know what you want/need.

@@Zhenyamarushko listen to some Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett for some ideas and go the Jazz way and don't look back

Thank you James!!

Thank you so much! I didn’t really use any books (but I definitely should have and I practice with Hanon now), but I watched lots of KZfaq videos. I studied a 3-hour music theory course by Marcs Piano where it taught all kinds of different chords, scales, and some arpeggios I believe, and I practiced them all. I also watched some beginner practice videos by Pianote and Jazer Lee and did some of that. But I have to admit that most practicing I did was just rehearsing those pieces. I didn’t have a very structured practice plan, I just wanted to learn the pieces. I would divide each piece into 15-20 (sometimes more) parts and just work on one part a day. I did lots of repetitions, and wouldn’t skip to the next part until I was confident in the current part. I should have practiced different exercises and learned new pieces simultaneously, but now I’m doing all kinds of exercises and I see that at least learning those pieces my first year helped, so the exercises I’m doing now (chord inversions, octaves, arpeggios) aren’t too overwhelming.

Thanks so much, I’ve been playing for two years now (video out) and enjoying it even more now :)