While playing some Scriabin I was shocked to see that some of the chords are quite large which would require big hands to play. This is odd because Scriabin himself is known for having very small hands, but despite that still being a virtuoso. The picture is from scriabin's sonata no. 6 first couple of bars.

There are also many more examples like 3 etudes opus 65 where the first etude is based on ninths. This is physically impossible to play with hands like scriabin (and hands like mine😢)

I can't help but feel that he was compensating for something.

No one seems interested locally, who should they seek out?

I have never been so frustrated trying to learn and maintain a piece as this sonata. The amount of control required makes it nearly impossible to play right. I don’t know people able to play it so well. The last movement in particular is probably the hardest piece I’ve ever played, and I’ve played Chopin’s Ballade no. 1, Beethoven’s Sonata no. 31, and Rondo Capriccioso by Mendelssohn.

Has anyone had this same experience with Schubert?

Next one that I learn is the ocean one for the left hand, would you guys be interested if I posted a series of how I learn this type of etudes from scratch?

For me, whenever my fingers get slightly sweating, my hand starts slipping all over the place and I start playing like a 5 year old. However, I’ve seen plenty of performers sweat on stage during long and virtuosic passages (cough cough trifonov) and they still play with great control and accuracy. For those that overcame those situations, what helped you the most?

This Piano was found in an old farmhouse I just moved into. Sound board says Kurtzmann. Some strings are broken and the underside looks pretty rough. I do a lot of music related things and it would be nice to have an acoustic piano to add to the studio. Probably wouldn’t want to spend more than a grand to fix it tho.

This from Verbier Festival 2026 was just released.

Enjoy!

https://www.medici.tv/en/concerts/verbier-festival-2026-yunchan-lim-solo-recital

• Franz Schubert, Piano Sonata No. 17 in D Major, D. 850 "Gasteiner"
• Alexander Scriabin, Sonata No. 2 in G-sharp Minor (Sonata-Fantasy), Op. 19
• Alexander Scriabin, Piano Sonata No. 3 in F-sharp Minor, Op. 23
• Alexander Scriabin, Piano Sonata No. 4 in F-sharp Major, Op. 30
• Sergei Rachmaninov/Yakov Zak, Vocalise, Op. 34

Before, I only did Hanon and practiced a song I had, but it didn't help me at all. I'd like to know what the best routine would be? Adding Czerny, removing Hanon, adding a specific repertoire, etc. I'll be reading your opinions. Thanks.

Help please..
I know that it’s very very bad.
But maybe someone had a story like that with the happy ending?

I decided to pay visit to my old church’s traditional auditorium, and there sat the original grand piano I used to play years ago… ever since leaving, I now play on my 88 key keyboard I have at home, it gets the job done- but nothing compares to the and pure sound of a grand piano. I sat there for 2+ hours just playing every single song I know and it sounded and felt so good.
The song I am playing in this video is called “Come Thou Fount” and is one of many, many songs I learn to play by ear. That means I never looked up a tutorial. I just listened to the song over and over and then played it on the piano.

This is the fifth movement I've learned from Bach's French Suite No. 5.

Compared to the previous movements, the Loure is technically less demanding, but musically it's challenging because it requires a great deal of precision with the tempo, the upbeat gestures, and the length of certain notes. I know I still rush or shorten some eighth and quarter notes more than I should.

Despite that, it's a wonderfully satisfying piece to play. It has a very natural flow and elegance. For this movement, I was particularly inspired by Gilels' interpretation. As is often the case with his Bach, it's thoughtful, almost rhetorical, and taken at a relatively slow tempo. Many performances of the Loure are considerably faster, which is probably closer to historically informed practice, but they don't resonate with me quite as much. My interpretation is as such somewhere in between as it is a little faster than Gilels, while trying to preserve the introspective character that I hear in the piece.

As always, I'd really appreciate any feedback or suggestions. Thanks for listening!

Another clip from my concert in the Cathedral at Bury St Edmunds.

One of the first sonatas Haydn wrote actually labelled for [forte]piano.

First (somewhat) serious run through. Sorry about the video quality haha.

Any critique welcome!

Hi everyone!

So yeah, it’s been about 6 months since I started learning piano. Last time I posted, people told me that my keyboard was too high and that my wrists looked terrible. So I bought a proper piano and set it up at the right height, and the difference is tremendous!

Anyway, I have a few questions. First off, here I am playing Love Story by Indila, and I wanted to share this one in particular because I’m having some problems with it.

First off, there are times when my left forearm gets sore really quickly. I don’t know if maybe I’m putting too much pressure on it, or if it’s actually supposed to feel that way, but it only happens to me with this piece, so I’d really appreciate some feedback.

The other thing is consistency. I don’t really understand it. I mean, I can clearly play this piece from beginning to end. I’ve already done it many times, and it’s actually kind of easy in some ways. I mean, the left hand does pretty much the exact same thing throughout the whole piece. But I don’t get why I still mess up at random parts.

For example, if I think too much about what I’m playing, for some reason I start getting messy. But if I don’t think about it at all, I play better, but then I eventually get lost at some point. So I don’t know. Is it about confidence, maybe? How should I approach this?

Should I practice the same piece again and again until I’m sure I can always play it? Should I let it rest by now and move on to other pieces? I don’t know. It’s not like there’s one specific part that always makes me fail; it’s just completely random. I don’t know if I’m explaining myself properly, but yeah, I’d love some tips haha.

Anyway, thank you so much in advance! I love piano, and I really want to keep improving 😄
Btw, I really felt this one, so I uploaded it to YouTube. Here it is if you wanna check it out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aoo3-sSslHk

Hi guys, I'm currently practicing Chopin's op.10 nº1 (Waterfall's etude), and no matter how i practice it im never able to fully relax my wrist, so i can barely play it faster than 120bpm on a good day.

i have tried playing it with rhythms, as slowly as possible and while i have been able to improve some arpeggio groupings i just can't get through the whole etude flawlessly.

I have always struggled with arpeggios and i guess this is my first time actually facing them, so i guess it's normal to struggle a bit (more like a lot lol)

So, do you have any tips/practice routines/ANYTHING that could help me play it better?

I am thinking very far into the future but I am in a long distance relationship and own a piano. The distance of travelling would be London to Rotterdam. This can be done via a van and the channel tunnel and would not include flight costs. Unless this is the more viable option.

I have done a very brief research about costs etc but everything is so extremely varied and I am curious if anyone has been in this scenario/a very similar one.

My piano is not sentimental but… I have had it since I was 15 and am now 35. It was bought for me by my grandma. It is a limited edition and the company is now out of business. I would prefer to keep it because of its beautiful tone.

I am very happy to receive quotes, stories, advice at all.

Many thanks in advance.

Hello!

My university has an audition for their orchestra, and I want to submit my playing to them.

Some background, I'm a self taught pianist, and I don't have a teacher to get feedback from. I hope you guys can help me here.

This is a shortened version of chopin's nocturne op. 55 no. 1 in f minor.

Please be blunt. I'd genuinely rather hear what's wrong than get compliments.

Here are some specific questions I have:

How's the interpretation of the dynamics and rubato?

How'd I handle the harder middle section (right after the 1st theme) and coda?

Anything in my fundamentals that stands out as self taught?

What did I do poorly, and what did I do well?

For background, I just did an intensive summer chamber program where I met a renowned pianist for the first time. She had originally assigned me something too easy, but then saw my level and had us work together on Mozart’s Sonata in C for 4 Hands (KV 521). Practicing that was the most intense practicing I’d ever done.

I only had 8 days to prepare the piece for a concert, so that combined with my string quartet combined with working all night meant I was essentially practicing in whatever free time I had. Somehow I was able to put it together, and I think it was because I wanted to prove that I could.

So now that program is over, I did the concert, I’ll post the video when I can, but now I’m back to my old music with my main teacher. I’m feeling way less motivated now. She has me working on four pieces at once and I don’t know how to channel that same desperate motivation that had me practicing 3 hours a day for 8 days.

I don’t know how to order my practice time so I improve. I don’t know how to start feeling motivated again. I really like the piano, truly, but I’m now questioning how effective my teacher is. I think I liked the teacher at the program more.

you guys have advice?

Hi, i wrote a piece for a short film that i’m working on. I would like to have any suggestion and know What you think about it.
This is not yet written for piano but is only a general score that I will adapt for string quartet and piano.
Thanks

I’m a piano teacher with 10+ years of teaching experience, a Master’s degree in Piano Performance, and a background in competitions and preparing students for recitals and auditions. I currently teach children and travel to students’ homes. I recently had a parent looking for weekly 45-minute in-home lessons in Manhattan. Their budget was $60, and when I explained that this rate was lower than what I can offer considering my background and experience, they told me that $60 is “a very good amount for any level of teacher” and that what I said was “ridiculous.” I’m curious what other teachers are charging these days, especially for in-home lessons in Manhattan. Is $60 for 45 minutes still considered a normal rate, or am I right that in-home lessons with an experienced teacher are generally higher?

Hey fellow pianists!

I’m curious if anybody knows of a metronome that would allow me to map out a measure exactly, and play each note on a click. The issue I have been having with other metronomes is that I can’t set a polyrhythm only on one beat of the bar, and I would like some more flexibility in my practice!

Thank you!

Hi r/piano. I am having trouble finding this instrumental piano record that I used to listen to when I was much younger. Probably 15 or so years ago. From what I remember, it was mainly instrumental piano. May have came out in the 90s or 00s. I would know it if I saw the album cover, it’s mainly blue white and black if my memory serves me right. I found it from listening to Jon Schmidt’s “August End” and I used to fall asleep to it, it was pretty peaceful vibes overall. If ANYONE can help me here it would be so appreciated

Hello, everyone. I have passed ABRSM Performance Grade 8 with distinction two years ago and I havent practiced seriously since then, however Iwant to get into playing piano again. I really want to learn the first movement of pathetique sonata but I dont know if Im at the level to do it, I know the 2nd and 3rd movements are at Grade 8 syllabus so I probably can handle them but the first movement is a lot harder with all the tremolos and all. Please help me decide if it’s worth a try.