{"id":6936,"date":"2022-02-04T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-04T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/?p=6936"},"modified":"2023-01-16T10:06:55","modified_gmt":"2023-01-16T18:06:55","slug":"play-piano-with-both-hands-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/play-piano-with-both-hands-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Easy Piano Exercise for Playing with 2 Hands"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Playing with both hands is one of the trickiest skills to master when you\u2019re learning how to play piano<\/a>. People often say their brain knows what to do, but their hands won\u2019t listen!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hand independence exercises can be frustrating, so in this lesson, I\u2019ll show you five exercises that are super simple yet effective. And they sound good! You\u2019ll be playing a pattern that sounds like a delightful minuet \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s get started!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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DOWNLOAD EXERCISE PDFS<\/a><\/center>\n\n\n\n
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Exercise #1<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first exercise we\u2019ll do is super simple. It\u2019s just the first five notes of the G scale with a lift (staccato) at the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is essentially a five-finger G scale. It may be easy to grasp, but do spend some time practicing it. Use even pressure and make sure your notes are consistent and precise before moving on to the next exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Exercise #2<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The next exercise is a gentle level up from the first. Here, you\u2019ll speed up the first four notes and repeat the top note.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Put on sheet music, it\u2019ll look like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Turning those first four quarter notes into eighth notes makes them twice as fast. And adding the extra D gives the phrase a sense of completeness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re new at reading music, you can learn about rhythm notation here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Exercise #3<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now we\u2019ll start making changes to one of our hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this exercise, play the same thing as before with your right hand. But your left hand will only play the first three notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Your hands are playing completely different rhythms now, so if this feels odd, that\u2019s totally normal!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Practice this pattern a few times and get it down pat before moving to the next exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Exercise #4<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For our fourth exercise, we\u2019ll add another measure of music to our pattern!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On your right hand, you\u2019ll play an extra three notes. This will require you to switch to your second finger on the second D.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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No hand positions changes are required on your left hand, but you\u2019ll also add a few extra notes here! These extra notes make this pattern sound more like a song than an exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Final Exercises<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we can add more complexity by changing our articulations. This will force your brain to work harder, but it\u2019s so worth it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, try playing everything staccato.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, try playing staccato on one hand and legato on the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, experiment with dynamics. Play everything softly, everything loudly. For added complexity, play one hand loudly and one hand softly. It’s a challenge!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Take these exercises step by step. Then, gradually add complexity. It\u2019ll help you develop hand independence and take your piano playing from good to great!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re a Pianote member, hop on over to our Member\u2019s Area and practice this with our practice-along feature. If you\u2019re not a member yet, you can still download the PDFs<\/a> for this exercise for free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy practicing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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