Many people have trouble playing the piano smoothly, especially those who are self-taught. Piano players who haven't been classically trained often play with quite a clunky, uneven sound, despite being talented musicians. In this video I'm going to give you a couple of tips you can use to improve the smoothness of your piano playing.
My first tip is to use the whole depth of the keys. Many self-taught pianists find it difficult to play smoothly when moving between black and white keys. This is because they often use the keys as buttons and only press the very edges of the notes. It's important to remember that not only can you move up or down the keyboard, you can move up or down each individual key.
You'll see that when I play piano, particularly anything that moves between black and white keys, I dig deep into the notes to create a smoother sound. Remember that each key is a lever, so when pressing further up the key a little additional force is needed to maintain an even sound. Scales are very useful when it comes to practising this!
Another technique to help you to play more smoothly is hand anticipation. This is something that classically trained pianists will do without thinking, as it's necessary when it comes to playing classical music.
Basically, as you play one note you need to be ready to play the next, which means having your hand ready in the right position. A good way to practice this is to try playing early Baroque music (i.e. Bach or Purcell), which requires forward thinking if you want to create a smooth sound.
When improvising it's often more natural to play notes that simply fall comfortably under your fingers. However, if you want to create a particular sound, hand anticipation is essential.
Finally, make sure you really listen to what you're playing and the sound you're creating. It's easy to look at the notes you're hitting rather than really concentrate on the sound. If you find it hard to listen as you play, record yourself, take note of the problems and try to correct them.
When combining all of these tips, you should find that your piano playing becomes much smoother. You'll find more useful information on playing the piano in my book, which also contains lots of handy material on chords and improvisations.
Visit my blog for more tups: http://bit.do/billsbook
Bill Hilton
