high up the keys

http://youtu.be/Yz7rOwuEzJE

That's a link that's made me look at and feel the keyboard in a whole different way.  What he's saying about chords is interesting, but the main thing is about playing higher up the keys - something I've noticed all good piano players do.  I've been playing the ends of the keys, especially as I've been working in C major for the last couple of months.  But since I saw that video, I've gone back to basics, and started back on scales, (C major, one octave apart, up-and-down four or five octaves, arpeggios, and contrary motion) high up the keys.

It's a difficult adjustment, and I'm much slower and mistake-prone, but it (literally) feels right.  For example, on the contrary motion scale, I'm aware that when one hand's playing F, the other's playing G: I'm aware because being higher up the keys I'm more in touch with what key it actually is - the end of the keys in C are, after all, the same - only when you're high up and brushing the sharps and flats, can you get a feeling for each individual key. 




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Leech or flatworm? Ants and Swiss Chard

"Chevy Chase. Fuck ever happen to him?"

How many pallets can you fit in the back of a Fiat 500?