Hands independence exercises at piano

The independence of his hands at his piano cannot be achieved by playing more but by separating his problem. First, his and his share of his hands and his and his face will be put together with his and his face with short fragments and with a difficulties that goes up in order: his and his and his hands are moved as well (with a mirror or with a parallel) and his and his and his hand remains and his and his and his face with different joints and with different rhythms.

Here's that progression in eight concrete exercises, a method to put hands together in anything, exercises that you can do far from the piano and what to do when one hand "drags" to the other.

To sum up

Before we put our hands together, we have to play our share alone, slow and without hesitation.
Loan his hands with fragments of one or two bars, slower than you think necessary.
The difficulty grows in this order: parallel or opposite movement, long and short notes, legate and staccato, strong and soft and different rhythms.
Check the meeting points at the score, where both hands play at once.
To have a high voice with a slow metronomer is what helps best with one hand copying another.

Why it's so bad to get his hands apart

The body tends to sync both hands: if one plays quickly, the other wants to do the same, if one tightens, and the other as well. At the piano we almost always ask them otherwise, because each hand has a different role: the right and the right and with another rhythm, another volume and another articulation.

That's why the typical symptom is that the left "copies" the right rhythm, or that everything stops when a difficult note appears at one of the two. It's not a lack of talent: it's a skill that's trained by layers. If you haven't a comfortable position yet, check first the [right place of the hands]](/blog/posicion-correcta-de-las-manos-en-el-piano)The tension makes everything more difficult.

The method to put your hands together in any piece

Just right hand, till we touch the fragment three times in a row with no mistakes and no pauses.
Left hand alonewith the same criterion. It's usually the best practice: give them more time.
Check the meeting points. With pencil, draw a soft vertical line where both hands play at once. They are your anchors.
Two compas board half the time you have with separate hands.
One plays, another "ghost." Touch one hand while the other move quietly onto the keys, without sink them, and then upside down.
Chain. When two bars get clear, add up the following two and then join them.
The tempo's up. from place to place, only after the fragment goes out three times straight.

Count out loud

To say "1 and 2 and" while you play force both hands to refer to the same pulse rather than to follow each other. At first it looks as if it's distracted and in a few days becomes the best ally.

Eight progressive exercises

They are all put into a five-fingered and at a slow tempo position. It passes to the next only once the previous one gets comfortable and always do the version with his hands inverted.

The easiest to the most difficult
Ejercicio	How To Do It	What training?
1. Movement opposite	The right starts at Do with his thumb and goes up (Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol) and the right starts at the Do from bottom with his thumb and goes down (Do-Si-La-Sol-Fa)	Basic Coordination: Both wear the same fingers, in mirror
2. Parallel movement	The two hands at Do's place, at an octave, come up and come down together	Fingers different at once: the right uses 1 -2-3-4-5 and the left 5-4-3-2-1
3. Long note versus short note	The left holds Do and Sun together four times and the right plays four black	Let a hand stand still without letting go
4. Black versus clordes	The left's playing black at Do. The right's clapping up and down.	Two note speeds at once
5. Legat versus Staccato	The right touches the attached position and the left, the same short and loose notes	Independent intermingling
6. Strong versus soft	The right touches the strong melody and the left a soft accompaniment, and then the other way around	The balance between melody and accompaniment
7. Alberti's low	The left plays Loo-Solo-Mio-Sol with continuous clordes and the right, a melody with black and white	Constant pattern with one hand and free line with another
8. Three versus two	One hand plays three notes per time and the other two	Rhythms that do not match and are detailed below

How to count 3 versus 2

The trick is to divide each time into 6 small parts, with 1 2 3 4 5 6 and 1 3 and 3 and 3 and 3 and 3 and 3 and with 1 and 4 with 1 (both), 3, 4 and 5.

Three versus two (x = plays)
Cuenta	1	3	4	5
3 note hand	X	X		X
Two note hand	X		X
Resultado	Ambas	Tres	Dos	Tres

Start with his and his hands at the same key, or with his and his best and his best and his best and best with his best and best best and his best best and best with his best best and best best best best best.

Exercises without piano: at table and with voice

Thumb and rhythm at the table. The left mark black with his palm and his right with his claphis. Then his right with his quiet rhythm while his left remains firm. He changes his hands.
Foot and hands. Fist his pulse with his foot while you clap a rhythm and get ready for his pedal.
Sing one hand, play the other. Touch only the left of your piece and sing the melody on the right. If you can do so, bringing your hands together will cost far less.
Read the score quietly. Follow both lines with your eyes while you listen to a recording, and check where your hands match.

How to use methonomas in these exercises

The methonoman gives both hands an external reference, so none commands about the other. It starts between 50 and 60 pounding a minute with the [methonomic]](/herramientas/metronomo)One note by clicking on black and two note by clockwork.

He goes up four strokes only after his exercise goes up three times in a row with no mistakes.
If a hand goes forward, put down his tempo rather than insisting: you're at a speed that you're still not monitoring.
Test from time to time with the click only at times 1 and 3: it forces you to carry your pulse inside.

At how to use methonomas to practice you have more ways to get his best.

Common mistakes with hands

What's up and how to fix it?
Error	What's up?	Corrigendum
Gather hands too soon	The doubts of each hand are added and mistakes are learned	He goes back to his separate hands till they leave without thinking
The left copies the rhythm of the right	The accompaniment becomes irregular	Exercises 3 and 4 and count out loud
To stop at every mistake	He's lost his pulse and his piece never flows	Keep going and write down the place to work after
Just look at his right hand.	The left gets lost in leaping	Learn from memory the leaping from the left
Always start from the start	The beginning goes out perfect and the end never	Start with the most difficult fragment
Stretch shoulder as you put your hands together	The sound gets tougher and you get tired	Take a breath and put his arms down and put his foot down.

To apply these exercises to real music, [piano easy songs]](/blog/canciones-faciles-para-piano-principiantes) you have pieces ordered by level, some chosen just by the challenge they put to independence. [piano]](/clases/piano)The teacher chooses the exercise that your piece needs at every moment.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to achieve independence of hands?

It's not a day-light switch: it's developed by layers throughout the training. With constant practice, first pieces with melody and simple accompaniment usually come out in the first few months and cross-rhythms as the three versus two come quite later.

Is it better to practice with separate hands or together?

The two things, in that order. Separate hands to learn the notes, the digitation and the rhythm of each party, together, by fragments, to build co-ordination. Even in advanced pieces, pianists put their hands back together once a passage gets complicated.

Why's my left hand so clumsy?

In most cases because she practice less and because she does more simple roles in the first pieces. Give her his own jobs and play her his melody from time to time and you'll see that she gets better. The opposite with his right can be true.

What pieces help to develop the independence of hands?

Those with melody and accompaniment with one hand, such as the Minueto at the Sun of Anne Magdalene's Fairy Bach, or those with an inverting role, as "The Cheer Peasant" of Schumann, where his melody goes on the left.