2022 our 25th year online!

Welcome to the Piano World Piano Forums
Over 3 million posts about pianos, digital pianos, and all types of keyboard instruments.
Over 100,000 members from around the world.
Join the World's Largest Community of Piano Lovers (it's free)
It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!

SEARCH
Piano Forums & Piano World
(ad)
Who's Online Now
70 members (brennbaer, Bellyman, Barly, 1957, btcomm, Animisha, bobrunyan, 14 invisible), 1,996 guests, and 343 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Hop To
#2177168 11/04/13 10:19 PM
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 77
R
Full Member
OP Offline
Full Member
R
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 77
I don't know what the exact term is, but I am referring to say each note in a scale played with the exact same intensity and touch...I struggle with this. It seems that my 1st and 3rd fingers always hit a note stronger than say the weaker 4th and 5th fingers. When I really concentrate, hands separate and glaring down at my fingers with the tempo significantly slower, I can get a smoother and more equal passage down...but it goes out the window as soon as I increase the tempo. What are some good approaches towards tackling this issue?

Thank you!


If they cut off both hands, I will compose music anyway holding the pen in my teeth. - Shostakovich
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 6,437
6000 Post Club Member
Offline
6000 Post Club Member
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 6,437
If you can play it the way you want to slowly, than you should practice it slowly until it is completely perfect. Then set your metronome a notch faster and do it again. Then faster, etc.

Some other ideas:
Make sure you hand is completely relaxed. Tension will cause unevenness.

Don't reach for notes with 4 and 5. This will give you a thinner sound. Try moving your hand so the weight of your hand is over 4 and 5; you'll get a better sound.

Watch your hands to see if the movement is uniform and smooth. Is every finger staying close to the keys or are some flying up and wasting time?

When your right hand is moving up the piano, move your elbow out to the right a little so your arm is not 90 degrees to the keyboard but is closer to 45 degrees. This will distribute the weight over your fingers better. Do the opposite for the left hand.

Analyze your movements to find out exactly where the unevenness is. Break the phrase apart and isolate the troublesome notes. Play them many different ways - varying wrist angle, weight, arm angle, etc., to see if you can work out the problem. Try different fingerings. Play the problem areas in varying rhythms. Play them with the downbeat in another place.


Best regards,

Deborah
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 990
A
500 Post Club Member
Offline
500 Post Club Member
A
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 990
Uneven tone production is typically a product of poor neuromuscular control. This is very quickly addressed with any given passage by providing your central nervous system (CNS) with very exaggerated (but not tense) movements to produce each tone. The exaggerated movements provide a very high level of stimulation to your CNS and the desired results come very, very quickly. There really is not much need for over-analyzing your hands/arms here.

Play each tone forte, and very deliberately, as fast as you can play the passage, but as slow as you need to. Doing this will build the required neuromuscular control very quickly and allow you to have "even tone" even when playing much softer.

Last edited by Atrys; 11/04/13 10:56 PM.

"A good intention but fixed and resolute - bent on high and holy ends, we shall find means to them on every side and at every moment; and even obstacles and opposition will but make us 'like the fabled specter-ships,' which sail the fastest in the very teeth of the wind."
R. W. Emerson
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 32,060
B
BDB Offline
Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
Offline
Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
B
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 32,060
It is always a matter of what your standards are. If you listen carefully enough, you can find imperfections in anything. I recall that Chopin believed that we could never be absolutely even if we wanted to, so the goal should be to have as much control as we can manage. So work on that, and you will become better and better.


Semipro Tech
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 309
Full Member
Offline
Full Member
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 309
Originally Posted by RaindropPrelude
I don't know what the exact term is, but I am referring to say each note in a scale played with the exact same intensity and touch...I struggle with this. It seems that my 1st and 3rd fingers always hit a note stronger than say the weaker 4th and 5th fingers. When I really concentrate, hands separate and glaring down at my fingers with the tempo significantly slower, I can get a smoother and more equal passage down...but it goes out the window as soon as I increase the tempo. What are some good approaches towards tackling this issue?

Thank you!

Consciously forcing your 3rd finger and 1st finger to play much softer when you play slowly.

This is a habit issue and takes greater effort and time to correct.

Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 999
500 Post Club Member
Offline
500 Post Club Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 999
All the suggestion from Gooddog, above, are very good.

I would like to add, avoid "glaring" if possible.

Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 77
R
Full Member
OP Offline
Full Member
R
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 77
I try not to glare - it's a struggle!

Thank you for the suggestions. Will try it out tonight smile


If they cut off both hands, I will compose music anyway holding the pen in my teeth. - Shostakovich
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 413
S
Full Member
Offline
Full Member
S
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 413
Glaring?


"Doesn't practicing on the piano suck?!?!"
"The joy is in the practicing. It's like relationships. Yeah, orgasms are awesome, but you can't make love to someone who you have no relationship with!"
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 617
N
500 Post Club Member
Offline
500 Post Club Member
N
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 617
Originally Posted by RaindropPrelude
I don't know what the exact term is, but I am referring to say each note in a scale played with the exact same intensity and touch...I struggle with this. It seems that my 1st and 3rd fingers always hit a note stronger than say the weaker 4th and 5th fingers. When I really concentrate, hands separate and glaring down at my fingers with the tempo significantly slower, I can get a smoother and more equal passage down...but it goes out the window as soon as I increase the tempo. What are some good approaches towards tackling this issue?

Thank you!


Unevenness is caused by isolating the fingers from the hand, by lifting them away from the hand. In order to control the weight evenly, the fingers, hand and forearm work as a unit in a coordinate manner, dropping into the key, not pulling away from it. There is a shape to the lateral movements that propel us up and down the keyboard.

Simply put, this shape allows the forearm to be behind the finger that is playing. Try this as an introduction to shaping: In a five-finger pattern, allow your forearm to rise slightly behind each finger as it plays, the highest being at the point where the longest finger plays (3). Then, allow the arm to drop slightly behind the shorter fingers (4 and 5). The fingers are not independent agents, but they can be made to sound that way by allowing this coordination. (There is much more to consider, of course, particularly as the thumb crosses.)

Any solutions you come up with must feel easy. Otherwise, they are not the answer.

Last edited by NeilOS; 11/05/13 09:07 PM.

Concert Pianist, University Professor, Private Teacher in Los Angeles
Blog: http://www.pianoteacherlosangeles.com/

Moderated by  Brendan, platuser 

Link Copied to Clipboard
What's Hot!!
Piano World Has Been Sold!
--------------------
Forums RULES, Terms of Service & HELP
(updated 06/06/2022)
---------------------
Posting Pictures on the Forums
(ad)
(ad)
New Topics - Multiple Forums
Very Cheap Piano?
by Tweedpipe - 04/16/24 10:13 AM
Country style lessons
by Stephen_James - 04/16/24 06:04 AM
How Much to Sell For?
by TexasMom1 - 04/15/24 10:23 PM
Song lyrics have become simpler and more repetitive
by FrankCox - 04/15/24 07:42 PM
New bass strings sound tubby
by Emery Wang - 04/15/24 06:54 PM
Forum Statistics
Forums43
Topics223,386
Posts3,349,204
Members111,631
Most Online15,252
Mar 21st, 2010

Our Piano Related Classified Ads
| Dealers | Tuners | Lessons | Movers | Restorations |

Advertise on Piano World
| Piano World | PianoSupplies.com | Advertise on Piano World |
| |Contact | Privacy | Legal | About Us | Site Map


Copyright © VerticalScope Inc. All Rights Reserved.
No part of this site may be reproduced without prior written permission
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission, which supports our community.