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When somebody plays better during sight reading than you after practicing

“These were those dreaded octaves I was talking about.” *flawlessly plays octaves with no worry

-PRACTICE CHALLENGE PT. 2- ray flexes but in an inspiring way

Ray: twelve year olds can play it, eight year olds can probably play it aswell, so why shouldn't I be able to play it, right? *Also Ray: I learnt it when I was twelve*

Ray- “it’s going to be challenging to learn this” *Doesn’t even look at the music half the time*

Ray you're not even looking at the sheet music half the time. This isn't even a practice challenge it's like "can Ray play paganini from memory" incredible

I like how he calls us “practice buddies”

*me watching the entire video while not practicing by myself*

Ray, you forgot the hulahoop

It's cool to see that even Ray Chen struggles to learn. Thing is, he struggles getting Paganini right while I struggle getting Twinkle Twinkle Litlle Star on a fretted instrument.

I love how he uses "we" when saying "we are going to play/learn/practice", as if I'll ever be able to grasp such skill

WTF I figured out who the lingling is

When Ray started playing Variation 5, Two Sets Paganini jingle bells started to play in my head😂

"BUt WhY Is IT SLigHtLY OuT OF TUnE??? " - Ray 2019 of Paganini caprice No 24

Ray is like the guy she told you not to worry about....

"Yeahhhhhh....I hate you Paganini." Every violinist has uttered this phrase at some point. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

_those can definitely be more in tune but let’s move on_ *plays them better than i ever will in 40 years*

Ray: I don't want to be that violinist who can play only one Paganini capice Me, nervously: Yeah, I know, right...

It's really interesting to see how the score looks simple to someone who plays the piano but for a violinist.... It looks rather hell-ish.

you should do one of those sight reading vids with brett and eddy... i bet that would be so fun to watch😲😍

*casually sight-reads Paganini Caprice No. 24 with an 8 million dollar violin* " I did aight' "

I want to be that violinist who can play at least one Paganini Caprice...

Ray practice piece for hour sounds > My practice for entire life.

Ray Chen: okay that wasn’t that bad Me: ... ( sitting there speechless)

"I can only play one Paganini caprice" 😂 and that's the one i saw him play at Aspen Still, that upbow staccato is killer

Ray: "I don't wanna be that violinist who can only play one paganini caprice" Me: *laughs in 0 caprices learnt*

Me: Oh, I'll check out this Ray Chen video and then stop watching when it gets boring Also me: [finishes watching entire video in awe and wonder]

at the left hand pizz section i got flashbacks of brett playing it. idk why...

"Twelve-year-olds can play it, eight-year-olds can play it..." Ray watches too much twoset reacts to prodigies

Part 3 will be practice Pag 24 with a hula hoop, so we can have a crossover between you, Hilary Hahn and TwoSet... =)

14:00 When Brett nailed the pizz part in the video

Great practice. Now do 5th Paganini caprice with original bowing.....while riding on a bicycle. 😆

When Ray makes a mistake he’s chill When I make a mistake I rage so hard but I don’t play violin I play the piano

I see you watching Ray Chen practice instead of practicing yourself. 👀

Ray at 5:19 : "Alright, alright, this are those dreaded octaves I was talking about." Advertisement: "As we go on, everything is going to be harder. As we carry on, everything is going to be extremely tough..."

It's a weird-kind-of inspiring when I see someone like a soloist playing the raw piece, without mastering and dodgy intonation. Sometimes we students underestimate ourselves thinking we are not as good as someone else, but when we see the "someone else" with imperfections, it feels more closer to us, even if that person is a world class soloist! Great video, Ray! This just proves the amazing violinist and person who you are :) ♡

What's that mark on your neck son? "It's my Violin....."

Next up: Sergey Kachikawawa's forty caprices

Boi what kind skincare routine did you do

The fact that he is playing in a hotel room…. The people in the other rooms just gets a free concert!!!😂

Dont lie you love to practice!! I see it in the way you eyebrow at hard passages and then smile when you crush it! Ever inspiring. I downloaded tonic today!

OMG! Your octaves are perfect!!!😮😮😮😂👏👏👏 This is really cool!!!

Ray chen : flexing on us Asian kids: flexing on Ray

OMG I love his facial expressions while practicing

5:28 While playing octaves, ray casually flips everyone of consistently

Fun fact: when Heifetz played variation 10, he did it all with artificial harmonics.

“Yeah, that could definitely be more in tune… but uh.. let’s move on.” 😆 me too

Ray, I took up violin during the uks many covid lockdowns. I've taught myself and watched KZfaq tutorials. Thankyou for this video. You seem such a nice guy and so extremely talented. I cant imagine the hours it's taken to get to your level. I'm trying to master 3rd position atm and doing vibrato exercises. Your skill boggles my mind.

We missed you Ray!x

i’ve rewatched all of your practice video so many times because they always inspire me to pick up my violin and practice. so thank so much for these videos!

when you said that those arpeggios you learned as a kid came in handy finally, it makes me more motivated to practice my arpeggios LOL

Thank you, Chen! Very inspiring. Would be great to have more of such videos. You are a great master.

Thank you for this! Many people see the performance but very few people get to see how much work and practice you have to put in to take the bow. We weren't born playing Paganini! It takes hard work and skill so thank you for showing us a little "behind the scenes" episode.😁👍

What’s awe-inspiring to me is this video, to some extent, shows the breadth of romantic music and just how much is out there to work with. I mean think of it, Ray is an accomplished (and with good reason!) premier soloist who has probably hundreds if not thousands of performance credits across there again hundreds or thousands of pieces of music and he is only now revisiting one of the most famous and well-known violin pieces that he hasn’t played in years. One might argue, like Ray said that this is a “rite of passage” piece that every professional violinist might cross in their time performing and yet Ray’s experience is proof positive that there’s not just a book of about 10 or 20 different violin pieces that every symphony knows and plays. There are thousands if not hundreds of thousands of pieces in just the romantic period and as someone who appreciates a good performance it’s a war of attrition trying to collect and listen to every piece but instead learning to appreciate the musical nuance and personality of each ensemble and their staff who curate a unique and characteristic musical experience. As a player it’s also a war of attrition to try and play every piece because it’s simply not possible. Instead you learn to appreciate and connect with certain composers for again their nuances and how they speak to you. As a performer you bring these to your own ensembles wherever they may be and add to the musical story being told. When the story of the selection, the direction, and the performers is all in tune (pun intended) that’s what makes for a powerful musical performance - not so much just playing what’s on the page to the “t”. I knew the library of romantic music was astoundingly large - but I never had it put into perspective until I watched the first few minutes of the video and heard Ray’s take. Thanks for the new perspective and all you do for the community, Ray!

Me: imma watch a 3 min vid just to relax myself before going to bed. Also me: * aggressively breaks the replay button *

I love these practice videos. You do a great job of explaining the principles of study.

I loved hearing how you analyzed your difficulties and came up with alternate approaches. Really useful!

Thank you so much. Your perspectives in musicality, practice and performing REALLY inspired me. You are so great we love you. Love from China. Plz come often

thanks for all your tips Ray ! It's always a pleasure to watch your videos ! cheers from Belgium

I'm practicing while watching this! 😊😄 It motivates me so much! Thanks💗

I love watching you do this it’s so cool and makes violin music gain a much more human element

Ray, I love how you relate the music to a certain scene. That's what I do, and all other true musicians

Thank you so much for posting these practice vids! It is inspiring to watch a top tier soloist practice and breakdown their thought process on pieces. 24 is very flashy but so violinistic and kinda just flows off your fingers, except those darn 10ths.

That's really helpful that i see how a pro violinist practices .. i used to spend too many time and get not a bright resault but after i watched the first part and this one everything has changed .. i hope you make more of these videos😊 i love Ray

I don't play violin, but enjoyed watching the process of how you work through a piece. Also enjoy watching your violin face

R A Y I just barely started watching your videos and woAHWOWOW you’re so inspiring! You really made my day with this video-you’re so upbeat and happy, and you’re so uplifting to watch! Thank youuu! ♡ ♡

I learned so much, I'm not a violinist, and I learned so much about approaching a piece! I will apply this to voice lessons. I learned a lot about you. Ray, the virtuoso everyone wants as a bff. Bravo!👐

Loved this!! Thank you Ray.

This is so inspiring - even though I’m not a violinist! Thank you, Ray!!

Thank u for showing us how Rau Chen Practices hard pieces!! Keep being awesome Ray!!

I just feel happy there's a new video from you! 😊

I’ve been looking forward to this video for so long

*IF YOU CAN PLAY IT QUICKLY, YOU CAN PLAY IT SLOWLY*

my brain releases dopamine when I see you practice xdxD

I’m slowly learning this one! Thanks for the advice and encouragement to finish it!

I can't play but I'm getting a whole new understanding of violin music from watching these videos. Thank you!

I am a violin learner from Brazil and see Ray practice,his patience ,how he is looking to solve the difficulties he faced ,gave me a little more hope to continue learning. Congrats Ray!

So informative Ray, thanks for the video, trying to learn the violin and it's so nice to hear the thoughts of a professional on your approach when learning a piece of music.

Forget the playing, the real impressive thing here is the hotel's walls. 😂

Thank you for sharing. Very interesting to see how you go about learning a piece. The repetition and problem solving is something that beginners like me can use as well.

You can tell it’s a stead even though a video! The acoustics are basically flawless

people like you make these pieces seem so easy but you stuttered and practice just as hard as I do and it makes me feel so much better lol

Thank you! Now I can really appreciate how difficult this piece is!

I respect how ur able to learn something every time u practice cuz recently I haven't been able to and lost motivation

You nailed it ray this video is very inspiring ❤💕🎻

When it speeds up it legit looks like the sims, You move in such an exaggerated way that it resembles the cartoony fashion of the sims. I love it!

The moments with double speed somehow made me think about the Sims when you're making your sim practicing faster. Also, I play the piano and I was amazed by the ease you have when you sight read. I need 1 hour to read one sheet and play it correctly... That sure means I need to practice more!

Damn you Ray! That's been constantly rattling around in my head for a whole day now and I had to come back here to comment (and listen again)

This piece is my alarm sound every morning! Thank you Ray for playing this you're really awesome❤️

"We've established confidence" Famous last words after Fig. 1.

I must say his skin is always glowing😍

This was AMAZING!!! Thank you for uploading. Completely agree that confidence is key! xWBW

Caprice 24 is my favorite piece 😃👏

1:58 hey that's from your Singapore concert in March this year that I played in!

Wow! Pls do more practice challenge video 😍 so inspired ~

Hey Ray! This was very helpful! Thanks!

15:49 😂 the frustration is finally kicking in

“That could definitely be more in tune.” .... plays perfectly in tune

Especially when TwoSet overuse the Paganini Caprice No. 24 for their meme