Romance

I would like to hear opinions.

I would like to hear opinions. Looks pretty good- although I think the frequent visible finger slides are very revealing. Basically, the direction of your finger actions is pulling your wrist forwards and up still, and there remains some stiffness to counter that. The wrist isn't going as far out of alignment as on some previous films- but it's stiffness in the wrist that is preventing it from going too far. It's still not quite in a natural alignment, where finger and arm feel truly connected. While it's closer, I think the difference is more on the surface, rather than running deep within the inside. Anything that pulls back towards you at the finger end needs the arm to release/pull back a little more (to balance the forward pull that results upon the arm and wrist). Otherwise stiffness is the only way to stop the wrist getting pulled further out of alignment by every individual finger action. You're still fighting against the natural responses to your finger movements, rather than absorbing them. However, the alternative would be that if you feel the fingers are extending slightly forwards, the reaction will instead push your wrist backwards. Instead of sending it out of alignment, it literally encourages it towards a self-creating alignment. Since I've realised how to distinguish between the two different paths of finger action, I've been finding that Alan's ultra-light floating arm can be achieved- without my wrist rising up or "kinks" appearing in the arm and hindering the energy transfer. With this direction of finger movement, the whole thing clicked into place- but it has been absolutely essential for the finger movements to push the wrist back, rather than to be pulling it forwards. I think it's quite similar to the issues in the thread on the Australian guy's article about the interosseus. While his explanation is oversimplified, I think what he says about the stiff wrist in indeed happening, in your case. If you learn both styles of finger action, I believe that each would serve to aid the other. It's very useful to have both at your disposal, rather than only one. In cases where you do use the purer inward action, I'd also consider flatter fingers. The more curved they are, the more easily they are going to slip due to any continuation of activity and the more flimsy the contact will feel. From that type of hand position, I think it's almost essential to involve at least some level of finger straightening, or it just doesn't really connect everything up to the full.

In terms of technique I can't say I didn't make any progress. Barely Preliminary level tempo compared to Grade 4 at which I am now from ABRSM's perspective, is certainly a huge leap for 1 year of study. However if I look on the outside, precisely at the videos I recorded last autumn I wouldn't say the same if I were not in my own skin. There is little one can see from last year to this one. At least from the outside.

I certainly wouldn't go that far. It's sounding good and looks more flowing to me. The hand moves extremely well. There are slight holes in legato at times, but the quality of hand movement does look very good. I'd just try thinking of aiming the fingers slightly forwards and out. I'm convinced that this would loosen your wrist up almost instantly. You need to add hand actions that will push it back into alignment, rather than keep pulling it forward and out of alignment. As soon as the reaction to finger movements becomes a positive rather than a negative, you'll have no reason to fight it with any stiffness. Do you ever practise with a mirror? I'd try going slowly and totally outside of any tempo and just check the wrist on every note. If it's going up, pull it back straight again before the next note. You need to learn to let go of the efforts that allow it stay forward and up and let it hang back. With finger actions that extend out slightly, you'll also find that the movement actively encourages you to go into the position of low effort alignment.

Moreover I feel that I'm approaching a speed barrier. My RH 4th becomes sluggish. I cannot control the unwanted accent that occurs every time the right 4th plays a particular key in a hanon drill. For instance today I have played the #1 at 58 bpm which is very close to what I aim - 63 bpm. I'm increasing the speed in 1 bpm increments/day. When I say 1 bpm/day I don't mean today 58, tomorrow 59, but today 232 with 1 note per beat and tomorrow 233 until I reach 236 (which is the equivalent of 59) and then I play with 16th notes once again. I must say I'm disappointed because I started 40 bpm(10 bpm if I play with 16th notes!!!) and I got all the way up to here and yet the 16th are not as smooth as I wished. Besides this "crazy" accent is starting to appear even when I lover the tempo. Maybe 52 bmp would be sufficient for the time now, else I will ruin the things I learned until now. Grade 5 already means intermediate. Which is not really my case. PS I started to feel the real gravity pull. Not horizontal, but oblique from the elbow down. Where have you found those podcasts with feldenkrais you have been speaking about?

Moreover I feel that I'm approaching a speed barrier. My RH 4th becomes sluggish. I cannot control the unwanted accent that occurs every time the right 4th plays a particular key in a hanon drill. For instance today I have played the #1 at 58 bpm which is very close to what I aim - 63 bpm. I'm increasing the speed in 1 bpm increments/day. When I say 1 bpm/day I don't mean today 58, tomorrow 59, but today 232 with 1 note per beat and tomorrow 233 until I reach 236 (which is the equivalent of 59) and then I play with 16th notes once again. I must say I'm disappointed because I started 40 bpm(10 bpm if I play with 16th notes!!!) and I got all the way up to here and yet the 16th are not as smooth as I wished. Besides this "crazy" accent is starting to appear even when I lover the tempo. Maybe 52 bmp would be sufficient for the time now, else I will ruin the things I learned until now. Grade 5 already means intermediate. Which is not really my case. PS I started to feel the real gravity pull. Not horizontal, but oblique from the elbow down. Where have you found those podcasts with feldenkrais you have been speaking about? Quite honestly, I wouldn't personally advise doing much at all with a metronome for now. I'd virtually ditch it for the time being and instead pay all your attention to the achieving release in the forearm- independently of having to anticipate when another next note follows. I think it's actually distracting you from paying attention to your quality of movement and balance between notes. Until the wrist can be released, I don't see any real benefit in trying to push for faster speeds. Once it's hanging back, things ought to improve extremely quickly indeed. Do you use itunes? I just searched for Feldenkrais on there and three different ones came up.

Yes. That hanging gives the real piano tone. It's just an assumption because I haven't obtained this relaxation yet. The only exception was when I first started piano and my first teacher supported my wrists from under. The tone was different and my body felt different. You know Andrew, I think Alan was right when he said that the grade of the piece is not given by ABRSM at all cost but by the way you play it. This piece I recorded was a Grade 4 but it sounded like Preliminary. Look how this guy plays: This piece is easier than the one I played. I think it's somewhere around Grade 3. And voila. The truth is that he's got that certain something. And when you think he's an electrician and he started piano by 17...

"Yes. That hanging gives the real piano tone. It's just an assumption because I haven't obtained this relaxation yet. The only exception was when I first started piano and my first teacher supported my wrists from under. The tone was different and my body felt different." It just occurred to me that this might actually be very good for you- if you spend a few minutes at a time (I wouldn't get lost in this flopping nonsense as an end in itself). You need to feel what it's like for your wrist to be truly relaxed and you need to be able to perceive the instant its starts getting held forward. I've been doing some of these myself sometimes and it definitely contributes something. In a long session, it's easy to forget the sensation of a loose wrist and start tolerating slight stiffness without even knowing. Just a few seconds of this and you start realising where you are again. I think the problem is that in a long practise session, changes are so gradual that progressive stiffness can creep in completely unnoticed- unless you can remind yourself of what the utmost looseness feels like. It's a bit like boiling a frog- where they cannot perceive temperature if warmed up slowly. When I see a held wrist in students, I'm always inclined to grab their forearm and shake it around, while trying to get the them to stay connected the finger. You could try that on yourself too. Above all, I'd put the metronome aside almost entirely for a time- in order to be sure that monitoring sensation always takes precedence over having to keep going forwards. "You know Andrew, I think Alan was right when he said that the grade of the piece is not given by ABRSM at all cost but by the way you play it. This piece I recorded was a Grade 4 but it sounded like Preliminary. " I definitely agree with the principle, but you shouldn't be negative about it! You just need to learn how to loosen up, so your playing can flow. I think that the direction you send your fingers in is 90% of the issue. Aim forwards and practise a few flops to train the wrist to release and I'm convinced you'll have it sorted.

What do you mean by aiming forwards? What do these "flops" mean?

What do you mean by aiming forwards? What do these "flops" mean? Just literally that- that the fingers extend out to play each key in a way that aims slightly forwards (meaning that the reaction will push the wrist back). It's basically that simple, although I'm going to write a blog post sometime going into more detail. It may sometimes involve a slight slide along the key, although it build up to the point where the fingertip contacts the same spot on the key and the act of extension pushes everything back slightly. The "flop" is the wrist collapse in the film.