Amazing. God bless u

Very effective

Thank you, I will work on these every day. I have found difficult to connect to an online course from the LCSP. where can we find? I would love to study with you guys.

@@dhruvalance1323 just visit our website www.contemporaryschoolofpiano.com and we can arrange this for you

Great thanks.

I would like to buy the finger book Thank you Jack kr

Glad you found it helpful Shirley! Thank you!

Thankyou very much Ash

Perfect! Thank you Tristin for watching!

Many thanks Eduardo

Many thanks Ben

Thank you Michael! Hope these finger exercises are helpful!

Thank you very much! Please let us know how your get on with these exercises! Do you play classical piano, jazz or both? We are going to publish more videos on chords, modes and scales, as well as improvisation very soon.

And also please let us know what topics you would like us to cover! We would appreciate it very much!

I am an early intermediate pianist, middle-aged adult, who has taken lessons off and on all of my life. A lot of folks like jazz but I have personally never cared for it. My goal is to play pop music and classical. Improvisation might be out of my reach, but do watch videos about it. My struggle is pretty straightforward: trying to learn a song efficiently and to play it well. Usually I spend weeks and don't end up playing it well and moving to the next one! Your Chopin tutorial covered the challenging spots, which was great, and was able to get me to the point where I could play it decently. The ideal videos on youtube for me are split screen where you see the music, and then have an overhead view of the hands. I constantly run into fingering questions in pieces and that overhead view helps. Various rhythms can also be a challenge so a walk-through in challenging spots and how to count helps. And clearly, hands separate is one thing, but the challenge of bringing both together can sometimes be discouraging. So specific tips on how to accomplish this would be beneficial. Theory is also helpful in trying to understand a piece so I appreciate information on that as well. Finally, there are a million exercises out there to gain finger strength and independence but how to proceed? I have heard Czerny's are good but they are daunting. So even videos on how to play them would be terrific. I find videos that sometimes play them at speed (which can be fast) but that's not helpful to someone like me that needs to learn just like a piece how to actually play the piece taking it measures/phrases at a time. So these would be some suggestions I would have for you. Thank you! :)

Dear Mattpa, thank you so much for such a detailed response. It is very helpful! For additional tutorials and more useful information on playing the piano make sure to visit our website: www.contemporaryschoolofpiano.com/ And also please feel free to ask any burning questions that you might have!

Welcome!

Many thanks Jorge

Many thanks, drop us an email via our website www.contemporaryschoolofpiano.com we have a gift for those who contribute to our channel.

Yes, so important isn't it. Also an interesting fact. Chopin taught B major to his students, first. It's the most ideal hand piano shape of all scales (as the hands are truly balanced unlike C major)

Glad to hear it!

A little practice everyday makes a huge difference

Thankyou Ricardo

That doesn't mean you have terrible technique, everyone has a weaker 4th and 5th finger, it's about slowly and comfortably training them

Practice very slowly and gently, remember technique is your brain telling your fingers what to do, be very deliberate, and play softly first.

Dear Lee, many thanks for watching and thank you for the video topic suggestion! There more videos coming out soon!

Very short amounts of time (3 minutes) with good technique and relaxed wrists and strong concentration. It's best to consult your local teacher for personalized advice. You can reach out to us if you require any other advice, www.contemporaryschoolofpiano.com

Thank you Peter! That's a very common thing with all of us! Sometimes it is good to be reminded of simple but very effective ways how to improve our playing!

Yes it's never too late at all Teresa

Yes, it's useful in all keys.

This is a common problem Antony. Remember to keep your wrist relaxed and practice slowly so that you can control your fingers. Happy practicing! You can visit our website www.contemporaryschoolofpiano.com for some extra resources!

Hi. Your question is an interesting one and I’m surprised nobody from the school has answered it for you. In a nutshell, there are tendons linking your fourth (ring) and fifth fingers, so in some ways the exercise promoted here is asking your hand to do something it wasn’t made to do. So it isn’t you, it’s the exercise which is the problem. I personally think independence exercises are a waste of time. If you play in a coordinated way they simply aren’t needed. Where possible, when we play with the fourth finger we do want our fifth finger to come along for the ride. This is now our hand is designed. Where the fifth needs to stay down, use rotation to position your fourth finger over the notes you need to play. I hope that helps. Please visit the Golansky Institute for information on the Taubman approach which addresses these sort of issues.

@@Sitbon08 I disagree with finger independence exercises being a waste. Students who are beginners or are new may struggle with these as for example when using the fourth finger other fingers tend to rise which can be a problem for rhythms. These exercises presented in the provide good dexterity and concentration which can help students learn nee patterns and understanding how to position the hand and to keep it relaxed while playing.

Hi Nour, This is a common issue in the human hand. It's a matter of being aware that the ring finger is more connected to the rest of the fingers, and being able to use it confidently and comfortably despite the restraints of this finger. There are a lot of "opinions" on this, the most important way to assess if you think your fingers are independent enough is if you feel they are fully optimized when playing musical passages, or would building greater strength and independence improve your overall performance. If you test this by practicing these exercises gently, for just a few minutes a day, it is more than likely you will feel and notice a difference.

@@Sitbon08 Tom here, jumping in for Siwan who is a very busy concert pianist nowadays., the question of our hands doing things they weren't made to do is an interesting one, but one that requires some specification and context. For instance, it's true our hands have evolved from practical evolutionary events (hunting and gathering) but any art form and skill does require asking our body to conform to specific and different tasks, from playing tennis, swimming, piano, holding and playing a violin, singing big operatic tones, you could argue all of these things are not "natural" from an evolutionary viewpoint. But it doesn't make these things, dangerous or completely unnatural, or worse still a waste of time. But it does bring up awkward issues in the hand such as the 4th finger. Though it's true that some of my students might not require these exercises, maybe some jazz students who are less interested in right-hand finesse in the technique, though it's well documented that jazz pianists Oscar Peterson to the likes of Chick Corea would have studied these approaches, so it's not just a classical exercise. From the experience of most highly technically advanced pianists I've spoken with, and my own experience, these exercises, in just short moderation, with good technique, bring many benefits, just 3 to 5 minutes a day no more than that,. It's definitely worth a try.

mine too :(

I recommend you to watch Paul Barton’s videos about both these etudes, he decompose the practice and propose fingering tips

With a tense wrist and poor technique, yes you could get RSI on any piece of music on any instrument, but given the fact these types of passages run in abundance in Mozart, Beethoven to Chopin's repertoire, it's not factual to say that working on your fingers with these passages with good technique would give you RSI. Though, for those who are self-studying, it's important to check in with a trained pianist on occasion if you are unsure if you are doing these exercises correctly.

@@contemporaryschoolofpiano My views on technique have changed since making that comment, and I now agree with you.

@@atticusakellyour views on the best approaches are always changing and evolving. We are both on the same page! Best of luck with your musical journey.

Why don't you put on the subtitles? Then you can accurately see what is being said against the music.

That's very true

Not sure what you mean, the subtitles are accurate

The subtitles are generated by KZfaq you can remove them in your settings. There are no actual subtitles on the video itself.

Why is she teaching it then?

If any piano technique is practiced the wrong way, there can be problems, but saying that playing chromatic and tonal notes evenly which is essentially what this exercise is leads to carpel tunnel syndrome, would be like saying, playing Mozart (which does the same things) leads to carpel tunnel syndrome. These are universal piano patterns, so we can't really hide from them.

Yes, start with the white keys first if that helps

Sorry about that M F, we had some phasing issues with the camera when we recorded this, so there was extra audio work required in the post-production, meaning we had to remix in mono. However, it still feels clear and easy to understand from what we read.

You don't give any reason why.

Hi Mathhieu, I'd like to highlight the credentials of Siwan Rhys, she is one of the most renowned classical-contemporary pianists in the UK. Her mastery is evident in her extremely rare touring and concert repertoire, for example, Steve Reich's "Music for 18 Musicians," Siwan has performed this work globally, even in the presence of the composer himself, including multiple performances at the Carnegie Hall! Alongside this, Siwan experiences next to little physical pain at all with her demanding touring and repertoire she plays (Contemporary Classical Repertoire is arguably the most technically demanding repertoire to physically play).Siwan with many of our students here at the school is also an advocate for Alexander Technique, which would probably help you correct many of the underlying issues that are causing you pain. Hint: It's those things most likely (not this exercise) that are causing discomfort for you. Regarding the exercise in question, it's true that adherence to Siwan's detailed instructions is crucial. This approach ensures a holistic understanding of the exercise, integrating it seamlessly with broader pianistic concepts. It's common for pianists to experience tension in their wrists and other parts of the body, which can indeed make such exercises challenging. However, it's crucial to recognize that if pain occurs, it often stems from underlying issues that can't be addressed specifically in a KZfaq video. The goal is to develop skill and ease in playing, regardless of the style of music or the purpose of the exercise. With the right approach and technique, these exercises can be both effective and enjoyable. I hope this clarifies these important points.