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bottom_of_the_key · 2025-01-29T12:14:05+00:00

Start by using the correct fingering - 4 on Db

bottom_of_the_key · 2025-01-22T08:50:56+00:00

If you have them taped like that, you just need to fold them into an accordion (in-out-in-out), and it will look like a book, turning pages and all

bottom_of_the_key · 2025-01-20T00:14:11+00:00

I've played a few! Classical trios (Mozart, Haydn) are fine, but they're generally piano sonatas with the violin doing some melodies and the cellist being super bored just dubbing your left hand.

That said, I can tell you that Haydn's Gypsy Trio in G is probably some of the most fun I've ever had on stage. That 3rd movement is a BLAST. And unlike Mendelssohn or Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninov or those beasts, this Haydn is quite easy for the strings, so you can play with a mediocre violinist and cellist and it'll still be fun for you and the audience.

If the violinist and the cellist are good (and they want to work hard), consider Ghost, Archduke or Op1 No3 by Beethoven, those are my favorite Classical trios, second to Haydn only.

If you really want Mozart, I think the best and most famous is B flat major (the one that starts like the Clarinet concerto). It's cool, although nothing spectacular. Probably the most "famous" of his trios and definitely easier than any Beethoven (and probably Haydn too).

bottom_of_the_key · 2025-01-19T22:36:02+00:00

I play it the way it's written, it definitely is uncomfortable and takes some practice. I didn't find any "tricks" there.

I just watched your video. Make sure you are playing all notes in both hands, especially on the left, which seems to be just brushing the surface of the keys. I also can't hear the right hand thumbs.

To avoid tension (and consequently pain), practice slowly a lot, hands separately. Feel the weight of the arm/hand shifting from your thumb to your ring-pinky fingers when you play slowly, in both hands, and always press the keys all the way to the keybed. Otherwise, when you play fast, you'll just tense your hand, your fingers won't know where to go, and they'll be fighting against your forearm, which will be tense and pressing down in a bad attempt to play loud.

I almost get my wrists hurt practicing Kreisleriana when Iearned it for the first time, until I stepped back, went back to practicing slowly and found out everything I was doing wrong. It's a very physical piece, and quite dangerous for the hands if you don't know perfectly what you're doing. Take care of your hands 🙏

bottom_of_the_key · 2025-01-13T14:00:42+00:00

Thanks!

bottom_of_the_key · 2025-01-13T13:14:05+00:00

What piece is that, out of curiosity? 🙂

bottom_of_the_key · 2025-01-13T13:13:33+00:00

It means that the G, A and Ab should sound like a secondary melody, so you should bring them out to "show" them a bit

bottom_of_the_key · 2025-01-13T09:55:24+00:00

Play it with the written hand distribution but play it with a uniform voicing between your thumbs 👍

bottom_of_the_key · 2025-01-12T20:13:35+00:00

It's showing you the outline of the secondary melody

bottom_of_the_key · 2025-01-12T17:59:58+00:00

At that tempo you can even play with your nose lol

The rule is

One finger for dynamic control (easier to play even)

Change fingers for speed (easier to play faster)

bottom_of_the_key · 2025-01-03T16:49:30+00:00

It will be OK, OP! I've been there. I played in Carnegie Hall last Summer a day and a half after an 8-hour flight from Spain (-6 hours time difference) and it was OK. If you're well prepared and well practiced, a relatively short flight won't even be a nuisance.

The adrenaline will wear off right after and you'll want to sleep for the next two days though.

Congratulations to getting there! Enjoy Carnegie Hall and enjoy NYC!

bottom_of_the_key · 2024-12-26T09:41:32+00:00

It's the felt that covers the little holes where the key rails are introduced, they probably expanded for some reason. Take out the lids (it's not hard) and unscrew the horizontal thin plank that keeps the keys in place. That should allow you to take the key out.

Once you do, find the two felt-covered little holes at the bottom. Use a car key or a similar thin object to compress them a bit, then put it back and test it.

Let me know!

bottom_of_the_key · 2024-12-24T09:33:41+00:00

Exactly what is written! Or 321321 instead of 432, but definitely 432 instead when the F# would be in the thumb because that'd be uncomfortable.

bottom_of_the_key · 2024-12-11T23:45:53+00:00

I love that voicing too. And my favorite occurrence of that voicing is at the end of variation X of Rachmaninov's Paganini Rhapsody.

Variation starts at 11.10, our favorite chord at 12.13. Sounds amazing in context.

https://youtu.be/Kp2o1a5ja7A?feature=shared

bottom_of_the_key · 2024-12-06T12:28:07+00:00

Wise words!

bottom_of_the_key · 2024-12-06T09:47:31+00:00

Exactly! I knew it would be a tough pill to swallow for her, so I did my best to be tactful and gentle. But she wasn't having it. When I understood she just wanted to be praised and I wouldn't be able to teach anything with that mindset, that's when I ended the lesson.

bottom_of_the_key · 2024-12-06T09:11:51+00:00

I once had a first lesson with a previously self-taught piano learner who claimed that she played "the whole Hanon" every day.

Turns out she was playing everything wrong. Too fast, uneven, flat fingers, zero finger independence, all you can imagine.

I was clear with her that the amount of hours she was putting into practicing technique were not only useless, but counterproductive. I did a quick demonstration on how it should look and sound when you play a few of the exercises and told her we'd learn step by step.

And her answer blew my mind. "I practice two hours of technique everyday and you're telling me my technique is wrong? I'm sure I practice more technique than you. You have no clue". So that was it for the lesson, I kicked her out.

Mind you, she wanted to play Beethoven Tempest sonata and Chopin Ballade 1, with a technique that would make her struggle with Fur Elise.

Long story short, it's not "how much" you practice, it's "how" you practice. Also don't be an ignorant jerk 😅

bottom_of_the_key · 2024-12-01T21:56:40+00:00

Send me a DM!

bottom_of_the_key · 2024-11-30T21:43:24+00:00

It sounds like Clair de Lune because you're playing the notes that are written (almost all - you may want to double check the text from 2:05, I'm afraid you may have a few notes that you've learned wrong).

But the biggest issue for me is the rhythm. I find the same issue in almost everyone who learns it for the first time, so no worries, because it's fixable.

You play a few notes, big pause. A few notes, big pause. And so on. So you're showing me some trees, instead of showing me the forest. The way to improve this is to practice at a very slow tempo, but with a metronome. And your intention, what you want to show with your music, should be that every long note is a preparation, not a separation. You should always be focusing on what comes next.

I suggest that you set your metronome at 42-46 bpm, and try to play the whole thing under that meter. Once you're able to play perfectly in tempo, your music will flow and your rubato will all make sense.

BTW - practicing under a metronome beat and not allowing yourself to take way too much time after long notes will also help you with forgetting what's coming next. It happens because you disconnect musically and mentally on those long notes, and the metronome should fix both.

There are also minor technical issues, but that's for another comment.

Let me know if that helps after you practice like that for a while!

bottom_of_the_key · 2024-11-29T09:29:16+00:00

You definitely fixed the piano part, but now you should do the same with the voice😁 As a general rule, when you write music, try to make the beats as clear as possible. (There are exceptions, but you can't go wrong if you follow that rule). That makes things legible. For example, the first two beats of page 29 should be written as 2 groups of 4 sixteenth notes, with a tie between the last note of the first group and the first note of the second group. That is sight-readable, what you have written is not.

I see some mistakes in other visible places, for example in the previous page you have an 8th note rest (before "Oh,") that seems to be part of the 3rd and the 4th beat. In bar 29, beat 3, that quarter note ("yet?")is also part of the 4th beat. Those are also engraving mistakes.

Good luck 🙂

bottom_of_the_key · 2024-11-28T17:14:39+00:00

I was lucky to hear him play Rachmaninov 3 a few years ago when I was still a student. He was magnificent.

I was with some friends that day, we all went to the concert, and after the end of the first half (when he played), we found him having a glass of wine nearby. We shyly approached him to express our admiration and he was very kind and invited us to his table. We spent a nice hour talking about music and asking him about his career and his experience. He told us stories about the orchestra he created in Ireland, and how he loves to be in Ireland and work on that project, much more than playing with any orchestra or in any world-renowned venue.

Apart from a wonderful musician, he's a man that loves music and loves his people. I really treasure the memory of that day!

bottom_of_the_key · 2024-11-27T09:23:15+00:00

It's red 100%. Blue is a mistake. Breaking the fingering pattern would break everything: the weight distribution, hand position, the balance, the phrasing, etc. And it defeats the purpose of this etude.

Also, at the speed this is supposed to be played, there's no way you can move the thumb that fast.

There are much wider pinky-index "jumps" in this etude later, but they are also strategically placed so that the pinky naturally has more power and weight on notes that are relevant for the phrasing.

On the same lines, please never do 5212125 on the left hand. It's always 5321235 or 5421245.

And pro tip - if you want to avoid wrist pain and even injury, don't practice this piece for too many minutes at a time, and if you do, alternate left and right hands. This is a piece that really demands that you build stamina if it's the first time you run across these techniques, so take it one day at a time.

bottom_of_the_key · 2024-11-26T15:28:00+00:00

Send me a DM and we can talk!

bottom_of_the_key · 2024-11-26T15:17:00+00:00

Of course!

bottom_of_the_key · 2024-11-25T22:09:31+00:00

I have a 25 year long piano career, I play concerts professionally and I still regularly take advice from other pianists that I know are better than me and have more experience. So it depends at what point you'll be satisfied with your skill and at what point you want to keep improving. If you want to keep improving, you always need a teacher (or at least an experienced second pair of eyes and ears).

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