I have been in love with the piano for as long as I can remember, and, though my parents repeatedly promised me lessons, they never came through and I had to teach myself. I devoured every bit of musical knowledge that came my way. Two years ago for my birthday, thanks to my marvelous husband, I finally got the piano I had waited for all my life. It is just as much a part of me as my arms and legs. I am now 70 years old, and I think this is the best video I have ever seen. Thank you.

Seriously, one of the best piano lessons I've seen on KZfaq. Thank you so much.

Studied piano for 18 years. Nobody told me this. Very informative. Thanks a lot

I have played for years. I became a mom...no time to practice...then kids grew up and I had to find myself ....so I picked up piano again. Thank you. I have never had the opportunity to learn these essential mechanics. I just had a lesson by an incredible teacher. Thank you!!!

I see that this is your only video on your channel. I hope there are more awesome master classes in the near future

A beginner / intermediate here, and I never have thought about nor did my childhood piano teacher talk about technique, arm and hand movement, etc., to allow for easier access which ultimately allows for smoother transitions. Thanks!!

use your whole body, diaphragm at the centre, control ur breathing 1. flexible wrist and body movements - bend your body left or right, dont shift ur ass 2. free fall of hand 3. horizontal movement - align hand with fingers 4. vertical movement - raise hand with pinky, set with thumb 5. exception to 4: always be lowest at beginning of a phrase and highest at the end 6. Rotation - build momentum back and forth 7. Staccato - thrown fingers with force 8. Thrust - force with just fingers

Superbly helpful! Deepest thanks Marian!

1. Free fall 5:10 2. Five fingers, scales & arpeggios 8:40 3. Rotation 18:05 4. Staccato 23:23 5. Thrust 27:19

This is a well-produced and thought out demonstration of the basics of solid piano technique. The clear explanations, musical examples and variety of camera angles kept the lesson interesting all the way through!

Your teaching is so clear when you are demonstrating a certain technique that I can actually take it in and remember it not just watch only to be left wondering, "Now what did that teacher tell me to do?" Also, you are so sweet and soft-spoken that your personality does not get in the way of what you are teaching. Thank you so much for sharing this.

Dear Marian. You cannot imagine how important and useful is being to watch your super class on piano basic motions. Must confess, I never saw this subject being exposed so clearly! THANK YOU, SO MUCH! God bless you. Greetings, from Brasil. Prof. Roberto Sion.

Abby Whiteside in her book on playing the Chopin etudes in the 1950's also revealed this important foundational fact that all piano playing is connected to the bigger body arm ,torso and diaphragm .And great playing itself comes from the whole personality .Rhythm in particular was enlivened by this connection . Finally ! Information about movement necessary for thumb repositioning ! This basic was never made clear to me in my many decades .It has always been more difficult descending in Chopin first study :now this should help.Wrist is really key in no.4 and 5 . Whiteside talked about torso and stomach in no.7 . This video is really an excellent foundation for technique !

Thank you for producing this video. Thanks to you I’ve been able to improve my piano technique. I am very grateful. Monique.

When I was a first year student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor I had the opportunity of playing for Professor Sandor the Chopin G Minor Ballad in a Masterclass. Although feeling somewhat intimidated by him he gave me several wonderful ideas. His Bartok is legendary!

Fascinating! These concepts were never taught to me. I have been playing now for over 40 years and while I haven't yet experienced hand pain or tendon issues (thankfully!), this makes me want to really analyze how I'm playing to make sure I'm not wasting motion and/or not using enough motion, rotation, etc., to ensure that I DON'T get fatigued or get tendon issues. Thanks so much for your time!

I read his book part 1 and 2 and tested the 5 techniques on piano keys, and I applied it to some notes I struggled with. Set proper rotational axis, check alignment, raise fingers before playing, move slightly up and forth before playing a black key and prepare whatever needed.. Bam my finger just flies on a keyboard. With the thrust motion I made a huge sonority without an effort and a strain. My 10+ years piano playing now makes sense. Spent many many time to play fast and with a few second got tired and though "my practice is not sufficient, I should repeat it more and more". But now I know I was wrong. that was futile. This video have to reach at least 10m+ views, I think it's unfair some ppl know it and others don't. How critical the information is. I am thankful I could learn English and you made the video. 10+ years piano technical problems are just resolved under 7 days of learning these new basic techniques. I am very shocked and feel strange...

First time Ive heard that there are piano exercises that one needs when playing piano. Im 70 and at 69 i taught myself. I now compose and play my own tracks. Ive uploaded two such tracks on my YT channel. But thsts my style of playing. Thanks for this video. Very humble to introduce your great teacher.

This is the type of explanation I was looking for, explanations that I don't get by paying for private lessons. I'm canceling my classes that have been frustrating me for some time and I'm going with you and other pretty serious piano teacher on youtube.

Dr. Lee, I have just subscribed your channel after watching your tutorial. I have learned these motions during my seven years of study with my teacher. But you broke them down in such clear categories along with their applications, which is particularly helpful. I hope you can share the applications more with a more extensive score example when possible. Thank you for your generosity. By the way, it's exciting to know you were maestro Sandor's pupil. I was exposed to his artistry a long time ago when I acquired his recordings of the complete Bartok piano music, which is a special part of my prized collection. Thank you for passing his wisdom down to us.

This video is educational, informative, and interesting to watch! Thank-you for the efforts of your team, and your passion to put this together in memory of your teacher. Teachers and students alike can benefit. Thank-you!

thank you very much. I am very happy i watched your clips, really!!!. 40 years ago i learned piano as a hobby for one and a half year, i can reach grade 4, then frustrated with difficult pieces. I stopped since then. Now at the age of 50, I decide to play piano again. Thanks for sharing these precious techniques.

Wow! What an outstanding description of these different piano motions. Thank you so much.

Thank you for this. As a 40+ year violist recently starting on piano, it’s invaluable. ❤. Posture is everything.

I've recently had to take a break from piano practice as I caused a bit of a wrist injury (self taught so I was unaware of the basics of form & technique) and this is such a valuable resource. I'm resting my wrist so that it can heal up but when I'm back this will help immensely to set my form and technique on the right path. Thank you kindly! I look forward to future videos :)

May God bless you greatly for this precious information!

I want to express my gratitude to your various advises.

Hello Marian, thank you só much for sharing your knowlege with us. You are such a kind person and i love to learn from you. I started playing on my simple Yamaha keyboard. I started with clássical pieces during The pandemic. First time that i had contact with the piano i was 6 years old. My mum brought me to a teacher and i had only 2 lessons. We moved tô another town and then i never saw a piano again. But i always knew that i wanted tô learn playing. Now i am 39 and i already read notes and i am playing simple pieces from bach e Beethoven. My dream is tô buy one day an acústic piano. Thank you, and i am sure that you will be succesfull with your vídeos

Thank you for this teaching. It is very important to know. Greeting from Netherland 🥰✍👌

Wow... I'm 48 and just starting my music "career". I say you're never too old. I'm up at 2:45am... learning. I'm on the isle of man on a farm owned by my piano instructor. Thank you for the time you put into this video. 💙🙏💙

“Start with the breath”. This is literally piano yoga. Thank you. This is genius.

I've been self-teaching piano and when you talked about alignment in the 5-finger scale, that removed so much tension from my playing that I couldn't identify before. Thank you so much for making this! It has been a life saver!

Thank you so much. I’m not a pianist and still learned enough to get me interested. You explained and demonstrated with so much mastery, elegance and generosity. May your tribe increase. Learning from a great teacher is a gift and a blessing. No other short cuts - need to put in the work. 🙂

Gyorgy Sandor ! Great teacher and player ! I went to UMich when he was there teaching Samuel Perez and many Brazilian, Asian, American, Russian players of incredible talent. He played the Chopin Sonata with me (cellist) for fun when I was recovering from an arm injury, and his advice was exactly correct ! I will always appreciate his greatness, and i'm very happy to MEET another of his "off-spring" !

The rotation thing really helped on the quick part of Chopin's Waltz in C#m 64-2 to ease all the 4-5-4 work in the right hand. Thanks! Great video!

Thank you for this. In the rotation section, you looked for a word and arrived at a good explanation of bow an arrow, or a baseball pitcher both drawing back to gather momentum. In ballet we call this a preparatory movement, and these movements not only serve that same purpose, but they add grace and plasticity to the movement. 🙂⭐🙏🏼

Hello Marian, I want to thank you very much for offering this video, which is so instructive and valuable - by far the best video I have seen on piano technique. I started playing piano at age 70, teaching myself from the Faber series. I am now 75 and still practising almost every day, still excited about learning to play this beautiful instrument. Your generosity in sharing this information with me and all aspiring pianists is deeply appreciated.

Hi! It's good to see another teacher use free fall. I, as a piano teacher use the technique but mine is more like free fall in parachute because shoulders and upper arms have control to some extent. I don't drop my fingers from that high and I use it in playing super fast music too. That's actually my main technique for my entire piano performance. If I use it right I can enjoy effortless playing in full relaxation.

This is why you want the best teacher you can find. There are so many crucial habits that need to be installed correctly. Bad habits are hard to get rid of.

I came for tips on how to play the piano and stayed for the woman with the affable approach. That is probably why people enjoy your company in everyday life, thank you.

I just lucked onto this in my feed and it has already changed my life! I cannot thank you enough. Identifying these core motions and explaining them in a concise and simple way takes deep insight. You have solved a million problems I was having that would never have been resolved by repetition and experiment. WOW!

What a precious knowledge and and experience you give there. Thanks for your passion and generosity. Extremely clear explanation. You are a master Madame ! 👍❤️☮️

I've learnt more from KZfaq videos like this than all my music teachers combined. God bless!

i am 69 years old -male - Chinese origin living in Austria. I'll soo get a Keyboard from my son. this video appears timely on my screen. thank you Dr Lee.

Well as a person suddenly intrigued by the piano - and having covered many Guitar styles I have recognized the importance of techniques supporting phrasing and execution - much of the nuances is driven by physiologically naturally supporting movement. - applied a few ideas surrounding some absurdly non-beginning pieces - revisited Daniel Barenboim's Clair de Lune and fortunately now there is more fluency and expressiveness in the recorded results - thanks for the additional focus.

Please keep educating us. Amazing knowlege and such a calming voice.

What a lovely person and fabulous teacher. Where were you when I was growing up? I'm going to look at the Ballades with fresh eyes now. Thankyou!

I am a beginner who watched videos online to learn to play. But I knew my technique was incorrect due to sore hands and thumbs. Thank you for teaching the proper techniques to allow me to practice. I wish I could learn to play effortlessly, but suppose that is where practice and patience will pay off.

Thank you. I have just completed grade 6 - classical Australian Music Exam Board, I’ve returned to lessons in my 50’s. I am so thankful because you have explained this so well and beginning grade 7 I can consciously analyse the new pieces in this way, something I have never done before. My teacher was describing a rotation movement and said to think of turning a door handle - the analogies are very helpful. Thank you for your clear teaching and care ❤

I can't thank you enough for not only sharing this info with us but presenting and demonstrating it the way you did. I was able to follow you so easily and wow what a difference. I've been playing for years but this is the first time I've heard this. You're a really good teacher. Many thanks💛

You are a great teacher! I ❤ the way you explain and demonstrate each skill.

Great teaching and teacher !!!!! THANK YOU. The world of piano teaching needs more of this type of instruction. So needed in order to play MUSIC on piano .

This is a great resource for the inquisitive student who wants an overview of something that is so difficult to summarize. Thank you!

This is lifesaver ❤❤❤Thank You,Marian!!!

Learnt more in 3 mins 46 secs than 54 years of piano playing, playing being the operative word. Thanks a lot.

I'm so grateful I stumbled upon your content! Your piano lessons are truly exceptional, among the finest I've ever come across. I'm eagerly looking forward to more of your informative videos that can aid individuals in honing their piano skills and mastering advanced techniques.

I’m just a guitar player. I wish there were videos like yours for us… Very systematic tutorial, that helps to understand the multi-dimensional interplay of muscles, senses and the brain to produce what we call music, far beyond the two-dimensionality of sheet music. Bravo!

Fantastic video. Wish I had learned when I started 50 plus years ago. All beginners should watch this many timed

Thanks Dr. Lee for the techniques!

You are an excellent teacher. Very easy to understand and comprehend your concepts and techniques! Wish you would create more helpful videos for those wishing to learn and develop sound piano skills and techniques. Thank you in advance!

Thank you Marian, it’s really useful being able to categorise certain passages of a piece when learning or even listening to it. This is a superb reference that I’ll keep for myself and share to anyone looking! Thankyou!!!

Very educational. I've watched it several times, and I am still thinking about it. I will be watching it again. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

Yes your were lucky to have free lessons from a dedicated teacher. Thank you. I sel I have à lot to learn...

This is outstanding! Thank you. I would like to give you a million likes! I hope we will see more videos from you.

What a valuable, valuable lesson! Thank you so much for it. Look forward to more videos like this. You are a wonderful teacher!

Thank you! The video is very informative and clear, this will honestly help me a lot.

Thank you❤️🌺🎶someone should have told me this 50 years ago! I love your explanations which clarifies what I see. Again, thank you for giving us this.

This was an excellent demonstration; I eagerly forward your future content.

❤thank you, Marian for sharing your talents! You are a great teacher. I am hoping I can play the piano one day. I would love to be able to. God bless you. 😄❤️🙏💐

GOD bless you Dr. Lee in the name of Jesus! Thanks!😁

I don't "belong" here. as a non pianist and a low skill level guitar play I was lured in by the title. But I watched the whole presentation with delight. it was fascinating. Reminded me a bit of the movie "Talent has Hunger" The techniques were understandably new to me. but it captured my imagination. The ball really illustrated your points. As a non note reader I could see the patterns of the music on the paper and could grasp what you were saying about knowing the rotation . I could go on but I'll spare you. It was a fun viewing. I wish I had seen this when I was 7-8-or 9 ( instead of 73. ) One more thing is the pieces you selected had such beautiful phrases and awesome chords and melodic combinations. You have inspired me. I am grateful. I am now going to listen to Chopin's Prelude in c minor opus 28. Awesome.

Less than five minutes into the video and I am so impressed that I hit the subscription button. Thank you for your generosity, sharing such invaluable lesson. I look forward to learning more.

Great lessons. I find the way you repeatedly mention Sandor's name heart warming. Hope this is the start of a great channel with a wealth of good information!

I don't have time to watch this in it's entirety for the moment. I'm a Chiropractor forced to change my techniques due to a Major shoulder injury. I started playing the piano 7 months ago after my retirement, but I've already talked of piano technique for decades with a dear friend who is a Professor at our local conservatory. I hope to have my video on my series of exercises and self-help techniques for the low back, but also the shoulders and arms. Very good point about breathing, since I treated people for back, neck and shoulder problems and it was amazing how many people didn't know how to breathe. I'll comment more after I finish the video.

I've heard so much about rotation recently, but this video really put it into context. I'm sure I will be rewatching this a few times as i digest it all into my playing. Thank you for your time and effort. I had a ball!

Thank you so much, your clear explanations of the five motions and your insightful analysis of scores are most helpful. I appreciate all the effort that has been put into this video.

Amazing! I’ve studied the Sandor’s technique in Italy with teacher Christine Meyr and continue to dig it till now, I was looking for a long time to some video about this technique but couldn’t find much material. I’m happy that finally I’ve found someone who is explaining this great why to use our body to play the piano

I'm not sure how I found this, but I'm grateful. At 69, I've never practiced these techniques. This looks like a way to extend my playing life on these hands, maybe even improve, as I've been holding back in response to pain. Even at my desk, this all makes sense. Bravo and thank you!

🎼 Thank you so much Marian Lee ! 🌸

Great video! I took five years of piano lessons in my teens, learning pieces like moonlight and pathetique and have played on and off my whole life (mostly ON for the last three years, without nearly the progression I would like). Recently retired and trying to get reasonably more disciplined. All that to say, this was great information, none of which was ever presented or taught to me so clearly as you did. The free fall, staccato, rotation and thrust seem straightforward to incorporate into my playing, partially because you explained it so well and so intuitively and how it fits in. However, the concepts of motion for the scales and arpeggios seem less intuitive (while you explained each of them exceptionally well for the time alotted), those motions probably have much more nuance depending on hand size, strength, etc., that would probably require some more depth evaluation and time to explain. I appreciate the suggestion of Gyorgy Sandor, I will definitely get that, but are there other videos in more detail by other folks that you find helpful for your students that you could suggest to get that more depth on the scale/arpeggios motions? I will be watching this video a few more times in front of the piano in my practicing. Thank you again!

Thank you so much Marian, I have learned so much from you! Love how you explain everything so clearly and easy to understand. Would love to see more videos like this from you in the future

Hi Dr. Lee, I'm trying to learn piano on my own, and I wanted to say thank you for sharing your experience. I never thought of piano holistically before. It gave me a different way to think about practicing.

Thank you very much for the piano teachings...

Thanks you for passing on what you learnt♥️ Amazing lesson. I usually zone out in 10mins. But you made me sit and watch the whole 35mins. Looking forward to more videos from you. You are an amazing teacher. Special credits to the camera man too and editing. ❤️

Thank you so much, for this. I am a piano teacher, having taught for many years. I do and teach what you went through here except I did not know how to explain it so well as you did. Thank you from the depths of my heart for this.

Amazing tutorial! I can't believe this is free! Thank you so much!!

I’ve been playing the piano for year by ear for many years. For the past years I’ve been struggling to advance my playing or learning new songs, so I decided on going back to the basics. And it made me realize how I never really learned any basic techniques on how to play. Finding videos like this makes it so much more fun to practice and learn. Thank for you a brilliant video!

These techniques are amazing and super well taught! Thank you so much.

Thank you so much Marian, excellent helpful teaching. I really appreciate your time and sharing.😊

Sándor György! Boldog vagyok Az egész abszolút fantasztikus volt!

Hello, I am 22 and been playing piano for a year now. These days Im mostly focused on making a (at least) proper piano technique and yesterday my teacher actually reminded me about the active fingers, but also corrected my wrist and I was like okay wow, but you also have the rest of the arm and I just didn't understand why and whats the theory behind it. Just came back from job, turned on some youtube for a little chill before I practice and BOOM the first thing I see is this lesson just fell from the heavens haha. Can't thank you enough Dr. Lee, amazing examples, the most important thing I try to avoid now are bad habits and I can't think of how many I could potentially make if I hadn't watched this video. I think it's gonna be such an improvement now combining it with for example Hilary Hahn practice strategies. Much love and Thank You again!

Such a great video Marian. I’m new to piano playing but i know enough to realize about the value and many layers of this video. It goes right away to my list of reference videos. Thanks a lot!! 🙏

That was wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.

A simple, logical revelation. When I practice (or even worse) perform, I'm so focused on hitting the notes right, anticipating harder sections, that I never would have considered the physics and structure of my fingers, hands, wrists, fore/upper arms, elbows, back and how to use them together. This will be a different learning curve, but I will try it. Thanks, Dr. Lee (you could sound even more confident, you've earned it!)

I love this video, and will certainly be returning to re-watch to help with my own practice. Looking forward to hearing more from you!

This is such an incredible video! Thanks so much for sharing these precious information with us for free. I am so grateful for your help! ❤️

Checked out the book, and finding it VERY useful. Much thanks for bringing your teacher to my attention.

Greetings from the UK. I just discovered this and can't wait to put it into practice. Thank you.

Very informative and very helpful! Thank you for sharing this information!

Really helpful video, thank you so much Dr. Lee for sharing such wisdom.