"shiny" flat and sharp keys on keyboard..

[happyrat1]

last time I studied Elton John playing, on "Later" /Jools Holland, I was surprised by some of the short cuts he was taking, i.e. - some that didn't appear to be inline with what our piano teachers may have taught us, but overall it helped me to appreciate and understand that - if Elton can do it, then I certainly can.

You have just learned the difference, between an artist and a craftsman my son.

Study the book, then throw it away and study jazz!!!

Gary

 

[happyrat1]

They said Rachmaninoff could span almost 2 octaves with his massive hands.

Us stubby fingered trogs have to make do with some slight of hand and trickery.

Eventually we all do what works for us.

It's called "style"

 

[Rayblewit]

I tend to play with flat straight fingers. Probably why I often slip up.
I will try the curled / arched method. It might take some practise and discipline but that is a good thing .. my wayward life needs disciplining in many respects . LOL.

I had a short run at it and seems the proper thing to do. I have rather small hands and the octave span does level out the curve but not fully. I think I can adapt to this and will give it my full attention.
Thanks for the advice. Play on!
Ray

 

[Giocast]

Have got into many bad habits and it's almost certainly too late now, think you've just got to trust that your hands will get to make that shape, and in time to the music - sometimes looking down stops the inventive shape-shifting!

 

[happyrat1]

The truth is that music is dynamic and uptempo. It's all about muscle memory finding the right notes at the right time and no static, clawlike artifact is going to hold its shape during a wicked performance.

Your fingers simply have to know where they are going before you do.

Gary

 

[Rayblewit]

Your fingers simply have to know where they are going before you do.

Yes indeed. It is amazing!
My brain is not needed as the fingers do the all the work.

 

[happyrat1]

If truth be told I have a harder time sometimes finding the right note with a slow melody.

If I'm whizzing along at 120 bpm, I don't have time to think where my fingers are going. They're there already. But when it's a slow ballad, thinking actually interferes with the process.

Gary

 

[Giocast]

very true ^

 

[Giocast]

 

[happyrat1]

I've always loved that song and own the album but you'll notice in the video that they are lip syncing the studio versio, quite poorly if I might add.

Gary

 

[bill88]

Here's a thread that may be of interest for some players.

Slippery Fingers on the Keyboard

This winter has really played havoc on my dry hands and fingers, and as a result I have no grip on the keyboard. After visiting some forums I found a lot of advice in how to remedy. Some suggestions like using a baseball player’s rosin bag (really bad if the powder gets into the key bed – and it...

www.keyboardforums.com

 

[Giocast]

Many Thanks Bill, will check this out in the UK.

 

[immrdave]

I use a Roland DS88 solely but this must apply to many devices:- I am struggling to play as accurately as I used to for a variety of reasons, but have decided recently that the above is one of them. I can be playing "with a bit of vigour" and a slip happens more often now and far less likely on a piano with ivories or matt keys. Just wondering who else has come to a similar conclusion, and what, if anything, did you do to rectify it. I don't want to do anything too drastic but it is starting to bug me.

You might try coating your hands with baby powder before you play. It can make a real difference if sweaty hands is the problem.

 

[Giocast]

You might try coating your hands with baby powder before you play. It can make a real difference if sweaty hands is the problem.

as Bill said, don't want to risk powder getting inbetween keys.

 

[MooseGeorge]

There's been a lot of good advice on keeping fingers and keyboard dry, property finger positioning, etc. already. Let's look at this issue from a different perspective.

It's rarely a show stopping event when your fingers slip and you hit the wrong key. I'm not saying we don't want to play perfectly. Instead I'm reminding that we almost never play a song perfectly, or even the same way twice.

I want to point out that slipping and hitting the wrong key is rarely THAT bad of a thing. It's usually during the fast notes and the mistake is "over" so quickly that the audience isn't really sure if they heard a mistake or not. I find it very rare that an audience notices these types of mistakes and are distracted by them.

If you're playing with other musicians the effect of your wrong note is even further diminished.

Again, we don't WANT to play bad notes. But we have to accept that we will. One of the hardest lessons for me to learn was to wipe these types of mistakes from my mind instantly and to just keep playing like they didn't occur. If I don't, then I start worrying about the mistake I made. Anxiety sets in, and then bad things continue to happen.

In other words, relax a little bit. Don't let the fear of playing a wrong note cause the anxiety that creates the wrong note.

While I was writing this, I was reminded of a particularly odious wrong note I played. I was asked to play at a friends wedding. This was over 30 years ago and i was young and nervous. The bride rounded the corner at the back of the church, we made eye contact as she waited for me to start the wedding march. The VERY FIRST NOTE was one of those egregious, half step discordant nightmare mistakes we all hate and fear. The bride (who is a musician herself) visibly winced and then dutifully began her march down the aisle. The rest of the piece and the entire ceremony went off without a hitch. As the ceremony progressed the few in the audience who noticed the flub forgot about it. (Though the bride still ribs me about it from time to time to this day. LOL)

 

[happyrat1]

I'm reminding that we almost never play a song perfectly, or even the same way twice.

Truer words have never been spoken my friend. The fly in the ointment is that we are all Humans! Not Robots!

Personally I like to chalk those up to "style" and people who work in note -or-note cover bands scare the heck out of me.

For me it's all about my childhood fantasies of owning and playing a synth, which my ever-so-practical father incessantly reminded me that "music is for losers" and "you have to be born with talent."

That's why, even though I loved music since forever, I bought my first flute on my 19th birthday and been rocking out to my favorite artists ever since.

Even today I still do my daily practice sessions without any dots to read. I just put my MP3 Player on Shuffle and try my hardest to keep up with Patti Smith or Peter Gabriel, or Stevie Wonder or Gentle Giant (THAT STUFF WILL KILL YA or even Wendy Carlos and add my own sweet vibrations to these epic tunes all while honing my ear training and my muscle memory. Keeping up with the key changes is half the fun.

Sometimes a half step accidental is just the price you pay for being human.

But yep, the instant after you hit it, another perfect note fills the gap

Gary

 

[Skyjumper]

I use a Roland DS88 solely but this must apply to many devices:- I am struggling to play as accurately as I used to for a variety of reasons, but have decided recently that the above is one of them. I can be playing "with a bit of vigour" and a slip happens more often now and far less likely on a piano with ivories or matt keys. Just wondering who else has come to a similar conclusion, and what, if anything, did you do to rectify it. I don't want to do anything too drastic but it is starting to bug me.

I made the transition from full weighted keys to semi weighted. I find my action is much faster for leads. You just have to get used to the feel and kick in muscle memory.

 

[Giocast]

I made the transition from full weighted keys to semi weighted. I find my action is much faster for leads. You just have to get used to the feel and kick in muscle memory.

Thanks for trying to help Skyjumper, but the advice within your reply is not a factor here, i've made it perfectly clear what the (main) physical problem is, I am not imagining it!!!! i.e. - my problem has nothing to do with how "weighted" the keys are, and the clue is that I don't slip like this on my piano with matt/ivory keys despite it being more heavily weighted than the Juno DS88.

...now awaiting a reply which says:- "well why don't you stick to playing a piano then?"