Playing piano with both hands?

Hi Andrew and community . I've just started playing piano and have seen most of your videos. However, I'm having trouble playing with both hands. I know it takes a lot of practice, but I was hoping you can do a detailed video of how to use both hands? Like exercises, ways of approaching it, I don't know lol, it is just really difficult for me. Of course you don't have to make a video, maybe you can just give me some suggestions?

I think I'm going to find this difficult initially too, I think most people do. The main pointer is that in order to play a piece which requires both hands simultaneously you have to first master each hand individually. When your hands are used to going in a certain motion, less thought is needed, less overbearing signals are sent from your brain and therefore things become a lot clearer. When I come to my first 2 handed piece I'm going to practice like this:
- Right hand slowly til I get it right, then up tempo til its what the time signature suggests. (If its easy and I do it first time I'll still do it 4 times to memorize as I go)
- Left hand next, exact same as right hand.
- Try both hands together as slow as I need to and gradually up tempo and memorize.
- Finally I'll evaluate whether I am happy with how its sounding, any improvements of better fingering i could possibly do, finding whats comfortable for me and evaluating the sound and whether i could do it more expressively. Then I'll move onto the next bar! Gradually of course having the whole song down and hopefully memorized!

If separating your hands doesn't help much even after practicing for a while I'd suggest doing scales which include both hands, so simple pieces, where its like (C,D,E,F,G etc played on different octaves up the keys). Eventually I'm sure your braincells will get into gear and everything will be a lot easier.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the reply . Yeah that's what i've been trying to do lately, but dang its difficult. I can do each hand pretty good w/o messing up, but when I need to use both, it's like impossible for me. I know eventually I'll get used to it, in the distant future hahaha. I really should practice scales more...Anyways, thanks again

I have a hard time doing it too, most beginners do. It's just that you need to train your brain, espeically the motor cortex to be able control both hands and make them do different things simultaneously. I'm hoping now.... that the more you practice the more neuron connections will take place in the brain.

Also, I have difficulty using my 4th and 5th finger playing the piano, because throughout my life I hardly use them... my brain can't control them.

As a noob still going through this I am about to suggest what I think is starting to work for ME (me, just me).
There are a number of elementary pieces that you can look at and quickly realize that there are only a few notes where both hands actually play at the same time.
They seem to be written to be played "hands alternate", e.g. there are a few notes in the left hand and that rising line is continued in the right hand. The beginning of Fur Elise being an obvious one.

So, maybe just maybe, searching out pieces and grading them for almost no overlap, some overlap, more overlap,,,,, etc. will provide a more gradual path to playing hands together.

Maybe (-:

Hey!

A common mistake about playing hands together is to start learning pieces with separate hands.
Yes, it's a mistake! You waste your time doing this... Start immediately with both hands!
When you play the right hand alone, your whole brain is concentrated on it, idem with the left. When you play with both, the brain has to split his tasks in to right and left hemisphere, which it cannot do if it's already used to concentrate fully on only one motion pattern: once you've learned the right hand and the left hand alone, you have to start it all over with both hands.

I am guessing that there comes a point (eventually) where one can learn a piece both hands together straight off.
THIS thread started out as a "beginner learning to play with both hands" thread and "hands separate, then hands together" appears to be common teaching practice - from what I have learned/read so far, but I am still very much a noob (-:

Hello!

I know it's a common way of teaching, but it doesn't mean that it's right
I start with my beginner pupils with both hands together, and it works!

I agree with you Matthieu I also feel that it is a waste of time to learn it separately and then learn it together.
Although I can see why teacher would want you to do it separately... because it means a lot more practice time... the more you practice the better you will be.

My teacher told us to do both hands together as well, but for sight-reading purposes it is probably better for beginners to analyze the sheet for the separate hands separately. Analyze, not learn!

I share all of your frustrations, but I think as I could learn how to type "blind" eventually I will be able to learn how to play simultaneously without the feeling that my brain is screaming Takes time, a lot of practice. Good luck for all of you.

I was about to give it up when I crashed into this part... I mean it was really difficult! Mostly because I didn't know where to go after playing separately, but after a week trying to do it it works. I am sticking to Andrew's videos as much as I can, but when I thought on how to "begin" playing with both hands, I luckily managed to look on to the Song lesson section of my electronic Yamaha...

I am still learning the basic scales but when trying to play with both hands, I tried to hit on Beethoven's March of Athen's Ruins and also Mozart's Turkish March... and after trying countless times I started to control both of my hands! with the "reaaallyyy slowww" technique... of course, that means to learn the right hand first and then the left, separately... (which you say is a mistake) and after that do it together from really slow to the original song tempo

I just learned the first part of each one, I'm a beginner thou, but hey... now that you've said this, I'll try to do it with both hands right away; the same happened with the computer keyboard... you typed with both hands from the beginning! Thnx for the tip

yes i agree with Matthieu try to practice with both hand and play slowly
better dont separate your hand
but its only suggestion ..every people have own style in practise