Excellent ! I had an "old school" teacher early in my piano life who would say to me, "Take your foot OFF the pedal; now, play that melody line with your fingers and make me THINK you are on the pedal. That, my child, is legato !"

best tutorial on legato technique on youtube

My teacher did not allow me to use pedal until I can perfect my hand legato, it was quite a drill, I love your lessons, well explained, immense help

Prof, i had lost touch with legato by constantly pedaling. Through your teaching i am on my way back to a better path!

I've seen several explanations and demonstrations of legato. This one clarified the most.

I can relate to this from my experience as a piano teacher. I think back to when I had my piano lessons as a child and was not allowed to use the pedal for a pretty long time. As in years. That is how I teach my students today. Even adults. First examine and learn a piece without the use of the pedal and only later on add it. Oh, by the way, and with all due respect. Have your piano tuned before you record videos 😉

Thank you Dr.Kate. You explained very well. 🙏

Prof, Dumisani here from Durban, South Africa, glad I stumbled upon your videos. I've been playing piano for a long time but recently decided to resume formal training and it's going okay (I think). This presentation has just explained what I have been doing wrong all along and what my piano teacher is having me correct. I have not been getting, now thanks to this presentation, it has just made a lot of sense. 🙏🙏 You've gotten yourself a new subscriber.

I like your explanation on Legato touch with clear demonstrations. I will use your advice to teach my students to improve their Legato playing on scales. Thanks so much😊

Thanks, Dr. Boyd. I'd love to see you make a video about the non-legato touch or staccato technique on piano.

Thank you Dr. Kate for this video. I always know I couldn’t play legato. My playing sounded horrible. I became frustrated with practice. Then I watched videos on how to play legato and using the sustain pedal. They all make sense but didn’t help me improving my playing. You are the only one who mentioned about playing with flat fingers. I tried that and it sounded so much better. It really works! I am so excited. I don’t dread practicing anymore. Thank you for the little trick which makes a BIG difference. Can you make a video on how to use the sustain pedal. I need help with that. Thank you again. You are God send ❤

Thank you kindly.

How about playing for almost 60 years and just now coming to understand Legato. My first teacher, a Lechitizky follower, stressed Hanon exercises but never taught me how to approach them as studies in legato as well.

I’ll try this method, it’s helpful when I use the method close and open during play scale, thanks

You are not wrong but there is more to legato than overlapping notes with the fingers to obtain a smooth sound. I was taught that first and foremost, legato is how a phrase is played. Example; start the phrase softly then increase the volume a bit then end the phrase softly. Legato resembles what taking a deep breath feels like; just imagine that the breath contains a string of notes sounding from soft to loud to soft. Even a succession of staccato notes without pedal can be played legato, it's how the notes are phrased in terms of smoothly graduated volume which creates the feeling that all the notes in a phrase are connected like a breath. Understanding this technique or approach is virtually the only way to make a Chopin nocturne sing. This way of phrasing also applies to left hand accompaniment. "Soft, Louder, Soft". I feel that many pianists don't spend enough time listening to good singers or string players. Forgive me for expanding on your idea, I do genuinely love your videos. Thank you.

Thank you for this video. My legato sounds more like lazy staccato at this stage. Im going to do the Hanon exercise. ❤

I would like you to make a video on staccato. I am playing a Mendelssohn Prelude and Fugue Op. 35 No. 3, b minor and I am very unhappy with my staccato. I am interested to see how you would approach learning this Prelude.

Someone failed to teach that student’s earliest lessons properly. How do you even get into music school without learning that, much less make it all the way to the end of four years without finding it out somewhere along the way? I can’t afford music school, but even I learned what legato is during the first lessons I ever took and how crucial it is to playing music that’s worth hearing. This wasn’t just a misunderstanding. Someone screwed up big time in that student’s learning process.

Great exercise. I realize that my struggling does not come from up to down but to down up (working the schubert’s f minor four hands fantaisie and having problems on the allegro vivace) After a short while all fingers seem to be much equally strong. And the hand does not collapse. Do you do this every day as your first exercise ? And for how long ? or many times a day? Thank you very much for your time and teaching. best from France .

❤❤❤❤❤❤👍🙏

When you are playing the Chopin piece your hands are flat. I always thought you always have to play pieces or technical stuff with an arch wrist. When should you play with an arch wrist vs flat?

When playing exercises like Hanon should I rise my fingers high and hit keys or just press keys without rising fingers high, please?

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