Ben Laude: Ask Me Anything about Piano Technique!
We are kicking off this new Community feature with our own Ben Laude! You know him as an outstanding pianist and pedagogue, and, of course, as Head of Piano here at tonebase, where he has produced and appeared in countless video lessons and interviews with the many dozens of world class pianists on the Artist Roster!
As he'll be the first to tell you, Ben was no prodigy; and without proper technical training, he had to solve his physical problems at the instrument the hard way. A long-time student of piano technique, Ben has researched a variety of technical schools of thought developed over the past century and is always experimenting with them in practice.
For tonebase, he has collaborated on video courses with technique specialists from Penelope Roskell to Seymour Bernstein, and is currently in the process of releasing a multi-part video series on how to practice the Chopin Etudes with Marina Lomazov. This past spring, he released a series of master class sessions on the Taubman Approach with Golandsky Institute co-founder Robert Durso, and will be recording with Edna Golandsky herself this fall.
How to Participate
- Ask your questions right here until September 2nd!
- Ben will answer questions from September 5th - 9th!
-
One can play a note softly by gently pressing the key. Another way is to gently stroke the key. I find that the latter produces a more magical sound. Is this backed by experience of professionals? If so, then a combination of “tangential” and “orthogonal” motions could introduce a vast array of tones.
-
Gail Starr So nice to hear a fellow cello spirit! Yes, there is that lovely stroke cellists can make with the bow that rests underneath and supports the other instruments. Sometimes a conductor wants us to make our cello strokes more percussive, like a piano, while we pianists sometimes try to make our piano notes less percussive, like a cello! That is why I have been trying to figure out to do this in a logical systematic way, consistent with dynamics of motion arising from essentially instantaneous forces.
Maybe someone on ToneBase could measure or simply watch a hammer move in response to various actions of the finger/hand/arm. What happens when someone tries this stroking tangential motion on an electronic piano? Unless developers have spotted this as a desirable trait, the electronic version probably won’t sound magical the way a concert grand would sound.
-
-
Perfect timing! I have a question about large stretches, particularly in the Grieg Piano Sonata 4th movement, although there are some in the 1st movement also. An example would be in M86-87 in the left hand (M88-89 I can take the eighths with the right hand), although there are quite a few other examples in this movement. Sometimes it is possible to leave a note out of a large stretch, but I'm having trouble in this place specifically. Any help would be appreciated!
Catherine
-
Catherine Donkin Thanks for your patience. I'll be responding with a video ASAP this week. I've played the first mvt of the Grieg Sonata since High School and performed the whole thing on a Juilliard doctoral recital. It's a great piece! I've got some tips for you in that spot.
-
Ben Laude Thank you! I look forward to it.
-
Catherine Donkin I can't wait to hear you!
-
Catherine Donkin Thanks again for your patience! Here's a video on that passage in the Grieg.
-
Ben Laude Thank you so much for taking the time to make this video. It is so very helpful to hear ideas like these. I really like the half pedal approach, and realizing the bases don't need to be held, which was my main concern, particularly when there was a harmony change during a tie. I will certainly implement these suggestions. Thanks again!
-
-
How do you avoid getting "pumped out" when practicing fast sections?
I find that even with a decent warm up, by the 2nd or 3rd rep of a super fast section my forearms are bursting and I'm too tense to play quickly anymore-
trevor Especially this whole thing
-
trevor I'll make a video for you on this by tomorrow!
-
trevor Tomorrow has come and gone! But, I will respond with a video ASAP this week. Thank you for your patience.
-
Ben Laude Appreciate it!
-
trevor Thanks again for your patience! Here's a video on trying to avoid strain when playing fast passages like the one in Debussy.
-
Ben Laude
"Can i find my good advice here?" (https://youtu.be/dFjUD_-aPsw?t=423) Haha, thanks so much for taking the time to make this!
so much of your advice was so helpful here. The grouping drills are great and will definitely be a route forward. More spidery is good advice. Pixie dust is a nice operating mode to think about the passage. I think my hand position and my tension was contributing to my "pumped out" feeling.
By the way, "pumped out" is to describe when all the blood has rushed to your forearm, so you can't move your tendons/ligaments properly anymore so your fingers are taut and hard to move. If you google "forearm pump" there's lots of people talking about it in the context of other exercise. I do find that the more warmed up i am, the less pumped out i get when repeatedly practicing passages like this.
Thanks again for all the detail, I wasn't expecting such an in-depth and helpful lesson on this section, I'll be re-watching.
PS:
As for my level, i put up a video of my WIP on later sections of the piece here: https://www.instagram.com/p/ChlH363M_bR/ ... I got a ways to go still, but I'm hoping to record a serviceable performance at some point very soon.
-
trevor Hey Trevor thanks so much for asking this question! I've found Ben's advice about learning this passage so helpful. I watched your instagram clip and love the way you play this piece. Bars 66-71 are magical, my favourite part, and I noticed in bar 68 with the big Cm arpeggio that you alternate between hands but couldn't catch on the video how you split it up! Any chance you could explain your fingering for that? Many thanks!
-
Ian Gilchrist Pardon my terrible handwriting, here's what i have! Basically, LH takes the first 6 notes (you can be a bit slower about this for effect, so you don't need to be so concerned about speed) ... and then the next section i think needs to be as controlled, quietly emotive, and speedy as possible so you want to use all the fingers on one hand as much as you can ... That's my operating approach, anyway!
Thanks for the kind words!
-
trevor Trevor many thanks for going to the trouble of showing this fingering and advice about execution, I will certainly try this out!
-
-
Ok Ben. You asked for it. Chopin B Flat Minor Sonata: Allegro, mm. 91-92 and mm. 220-221, RH. Getting those passages up to speed is a challenge for me. Note that I barely reach an octave. Thanks, John O
-
John I gave up on this piece for the same reason!
-
John Gail Starr I'll have a video for you on this by tomorrow!
-
Ben Laude Thanks a million! You’re the BEST!
-
John Gail Starr Thanks for your patience. I took a look at this passage again last night, and it came back pretty quickly. I actually have a really helpful way of organizing mentally/physically - I'll send a video ASAP this week.
Incidentally, I played this during my Master's, and you can watch a clip of me playing it below – it starts right on it... note the unfortunate memory slip at 2:50, just before the second time the passage comes :|
-
Ben Laude Fabulous recovery from the memory slip! You are simpy awesome!
-
John and Gail Starr Thanks again for your patience! Here's my video on that Chopin Sonata passage.
-
-
Hi Ben,
Are you aware of all the muscles on your finger? I find that some muscles on my fingers/ hands are weak, so that the movement is not straight down but curve in some particular way. Do you know any way to straighten out and strengthen the fingers?
