You’re going to learn a piano crossover run that LOOKS as cool as it sounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s a two-handed run, and it’s something that you might have seen professional players do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maybe you thought it was impossible for you? Well, it’s not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’ll show you a cool run today using an E minor sus 2 chord. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now that looks difficult, but really it’s simple. Take an E minor triad (E-G-B) and substitute (sus) the 3rd note for the 2nd. So the G becomes an F# (because it’s the 2nd note of the E minor scale).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So the notes are now E-F#-B. It’s a beautiful, mystical-sounding chord \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So those are the notes, let’s learn the run. But first…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Learning how to “roll” your wrist will make this whole exercise a lot easier and allow you to play faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you play these 3 notes (E-F#-B) try to think about rolling your wrist slightly, instead of playing each individual note with your fingers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rolling your wrist will allow you to set your hands and move through the notes much faster and it will help cut down on the risk of injuring yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It can be difficult to explain a crossover piano run in words, so make sure you watch the video for a demonstration of what I’m talking about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once you’ve got that, it’s time to tackle the biggest challenge of this run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is the hardest part of this piano crossover run. You’re going to be (literally) crossing one hand over the other, so the sooner you can get your hand into position, the faster you’ll be able to play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It really helps to look for landmark notes — that means the note which you are going to land on. In this example, the E is the landmark note. It’s easy to find because it’s just to the left of the 3 black keys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Practice moving your hands up and down the keyboard and putting them in the correct position. Don’t worry about playing the notes, just get your hands in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once that feels comfortable, it’s time to …<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I thought this was an impressive, fast run?!”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n It is! But remember — the best way to play fast — is to start SLOW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is especially true here. Once you have the wrist roll and the hand position, it’s time to start playing the run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starting slow will make sure that your accuracy is good, and you will develop muscle memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starting fast will just ensure that you’ll make mistakes fast and then those mistakes will become a habit. Don’t let them form!<\/p>\n\n\n\n And finally … if this chord is a little uncomfortable for you or you don’t like the black key, you can do this run with ANY chord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Try a C major chord, or a Csus2 instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Give it a go! And for more on runs and fills, check out this lesson on right hand fills<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n