Rapid One Note

[NiceKid]

Recently, I listen to Hiromi Uehara's "Return of Kung-Fu World Champion". At 0:56 - 01:10, she play rapid-one-note. How to do that? Any good practice to do that? :rolleyes:

[St0rMl0rD]

Check out Jordan's Keyboard Madness, in the chapter Performance Programming he explains how he does the same trick on the song "The Test That Stumped Them All". Swiping is the key :)

Cheers,
-J

[HammondToby]

With a classical technique you play fast notes on one key with constantly changing fingers, coause you can change fingers faster, than triggert it with one finger. So, there are two ways to do this:

1. the 'organ method', 'cause this is the way, it works on most Hammondorgans: play a trill on one note with your thumb and you middle finger.

2. the 'piano method', this is the way, I learned it on th piano: play the note with the fingering 4-3-2 (ring finger, middle finger, forefinger).

Common to both techniques: start slowly and then speed up, 'cause it might take a while to get to a impressing speed ;)

Best regards
HammondToby

[Grey Loki]

2. the 'piano method', this is the way, I learned it on th piano: play the note with the fingering 4-3-2 (ring finger, middle finger, forefinger).


I've always played it 4-3-2-1, because I can hold my thumb underneath my other fingers, which I found makes it easier to get my ring finger back above the key for the next 'run'.

[Maximus]

1-2, 1-2-3 can also work, while you're at it practice it with both hands

[eviani]

1-2, 1-2-3 is very awkward and I can guarantee, at least in a classical setting, that most repeated note passages start on 4 or 3 and work their way down the hand, it's much easier to play as you get your fingers out of the way much quicker. Don't practice 4-3-2-1 TOO slowly though because what most people have a problem with is the speed of changing the fingers...so practice in rhythms and working on loosening your fingers because doing too much slow practice on a technique like this won't build the speed necessarily since what the technique boils down to is a few motions:

1) arm drop
2) the quick swipe (which should almost feel like you're pulling your hand away, kind of like opening a drawer, that kind of motion)
3) lifting arm/dropping it, and swiping again...

[bobbykunkle]

I remember seeing jordan doing this on one of the receptor demo videos on his multimedia sections of his website, its like a minor arpeggio that goes up really fast....pretty rediculous. I talked through it with my piano teacher, and he can pull it off pretty well, but its still pretty hard for me to do. Jordan, if you read this, could you give some insight on how you built the technique up so well to play so fast (like i understand fingering, but not how to get it so fast). Thanks...

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE VIDEO (http://jordanrudess.com/jordan/mediavideo/receptor/Jordan_Receptor_02.mov)

[quartaumentata]

I agree.

As I started to read this thread I immediately thought about answering and telling people to have a look at the abovementioned video (by the way I love that piece... deeply studied it...), but bobby has been faster :smile:

For the OC members, there's etude n. 8 which involves this kind of technique.

[Maximus]

1-2, 1-2-3 is very awkward and I can guarantee, at least in a classical setting, that most repeated note passages start on 4 or 3 and work their way down the hand, it's much easier to play as you get your fingers out of the way much quicker.


There are many roads that lead to rome, and while starting on finger 1 always would be ideal, is also imposible, but still i woudnt dissmis 1-2, 1-2-3, i dont claim to be a guru on technic (personally i think my playing and technic suck, but thats whats motivate me) but i am classicly trained and he's adapting a piece to his playing style and skill level so i think he should try what works for him

[Staccato]

If would personally play 3-2-1, 3-2-1 and so on.. you might start on your fourth finger if you like it. I would not recomend startin with your thumb, as the easiest movement for the right hand is downwards. Just like playing scales, it is much easier playing descending scales fast the the other way around.

[Maximus]

Hmmm ive just realized that some have might interpreted 1-2, 1-2-3 as 1-2-1-2-3 but i ment 1-2, or 1-2-3 my bad

[arroyomusic]

Hmmm ive just realized that some have might interpreted 1-2, 1-2-3 as 1-2-1-2-3 but i ment 1-2, or 1-2-3 my bad
Hahaha! Hey man, it happens :biggrin:

[NiceKid]

Wow, thanks all.
Looks like, the 1-2-3 fingering suits me :smile:

Any good passage to train both hand? :smile:

[arroyomusic]

How about some major and minor arpeggios on the right hand while doing a consistant 1-2-3 on the root with the left hand. If your keyboard allows, do a layered sound of a bass guitar and a kick drum or the left hand. That is how I am going to play Yngwie Malmsteen's solo to the song Rising Force, just for an exercise. The bass guitar and kick drum pretty much lock on that song.

[Semmi78]

this is also a cool technique to simulate guitarpicking. I used it in some songs we composed to make the keyboardparts a bit more attractive.
For rapid note playing on black keys I mostly use both hands because to me that's more accurate.

[eviani]

Hmmm ive just realized that some have might interpreted 1-2, 1-2-3 as 1-2-1-2-3 but i ment 1-2, or 1-2-3 my bad

No, I understood exactly what you said. Maybe it "works", but it is not the most efficient way of practicing repeated notes. I am classically trained as well and I am currently at a conservatory right now studying classical piano (Eastman School of Music).

I have looked at dozens of technique books and watched tons of performances, and read up on technique, and I can honestly I have never seen anyone start repeated notes on your thumb. That is just illogical and inefficient. If you do repeated notes - depending on the passage of music especially, you either start on 2, 3, or 4 and work your way down. The simple reason is that the thumb is a clumsy and awkward finger - it is not designed like your other fingers (obviously since it cause pianists the most problems).

The reason why you start from a higher numbered finger (2,3,4) and work your way down is because it is MUCH easier to pull off. In the right hand it is much easier to play descending scales and passage work - starting on 4 or 3 or 2 in the right hand promotes that kind of descending playing (when you start on 2,3, or 4 on the left hand, your hand is moving in an ascending pattern, which is naturally more easy for the LH because you don't have to tuck the thumb under any fingers).

In any case, if you're using 1-2 or 1-2-3 for repeated notes, I'd HIGHLY consider switching fingerings. It is so clumsy. I just tried it for 10 minutes at my keyboard to try and see if it could work and it really doesn't work. It sounds pretty bad and it's more trouble than it's worth, the thumb is a big finger and starting on it makes it difficult to pull it out of the way quick enough for the other fingers to play after it...starting with fingers further away from it allow you to get back there in time after you play 4-3-2-1 with your 4 playing right after the thumb - why? because your 4 doesn't have to compete with your thumb moving out of the way, all it does is play above where your thumb was - this is why most repeated note techniques are practiced (for most people) like you're pulling a drawer open (or swiping the keys)...there is a genearl motion of "in and out" with the hand and wrist (into the keyboard, as in towards the wooden part behind the keys).

That's just my opinion after working on it with teachers, reading about piano technique, and playing for about eleven years, if you still choose to do it fine but in the long run I promise that starting on 4 or 3 is much easier (for example in Ravel's "Alborada del gracioso" (which I probably mispelled), there repeated note passages are clearly marked starting on the 4th finger, otherwise there is no way in hell you can pull off the repeated notes for two pages the way he writes them with other fingerings)...

Oh and the JR technique for that arpeggio looks harder than it is. Starting on an A minor triad for example. You play the A with (1), and then C with (3) (2) and then (1) and then the E with (3) (2) and then (1)...he starts on (1), but does not repeat with (3) on the same note, he leaps up to the next note in the arpeggio using the thumb as a kind of stepping stool up the arpeggio...hope that is clear.

[altruist]

Recently, I listen to Hiromi Uehara's "Return of Kung-Fu World Champion". At 0:56 - 01:10, she play rapid-one-note. How to do that? Any good practice to do that? :rolleyes:
It takes really good muscles. I recently played Gaspard de La Nuit:Ondine by Maurice Ravel (a classical piece) and it took me awhile to be able to do the double hits really well (not to mention the insanely fast and complicated polyrhythmic 2-hand arpeggios). If you're playing pretty loud, it's not so hard to do, but when you have to control your dynamics and keep your playing soft, it's quite the pain to do it. For the Ravel piece it's mostly a matter of triad double hits with the 6th thrown in every few notes to break them up after every 2. I don't know what you're trying to do, but if you have another note in there to help break things up, rotate your hand alot and it'll help greatly. If you can get a bit of momentum going, you won't need the absolutely beastliest forearms of all time to do it, which is generally a good thing.

[sanchis]

Play 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1-2-3-4-5...... etc. Then increase the tempo.

[gylfih]

for rapid playing on one note ive always used the fingering 1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2. i use it a lot on the piece Tocatta by chatchaturian where its needed a fair bit.