Dance: Hands Together

Hello and welcome back. I'm Joseph Hoffman. Today we're putting the right hand and left hand together for "Dance" by Gurlitt. Let's check out the score to get things started. When you're first putting a piece hands together, it's important to see how the rhythms relate to each other. We have TI-TI TI-TI TA in the right hand, but we have TA TA TA in the left hand. So let's see how those line up. We play this first note together, and then the right hand plays the second of this pair of eighth notes by itself, then they play together again, right hand plays this note by itself, then they play together again. So it's kind of together, right, together, right, together. Now let's try that on the piano. When I'm putting a piece hands together for the first time, I like to briefly review the right hand alone and the left hand alone. So let's try this. Will you please play the right hand while I play the left hand. So your part is going to be TI-TI TI-TI TA, while I go TA TA TA. Okay? Try and think of the rhythm words while you play. I'll do the left hand, you do the right hand. Ready, set, go! TI-TI TI-TI TA, TI-TI TI-TI TA TA TA TA THREE-EE-EE Good, now let's trade jobs. You play the left hand, TA TA TA, while I play the right hand. Get your left hand ready. Your turn to play left hand. Ready, go. TA TA TA, TA TA TA TA TA TA, TA TA TA Good, now when you put line one together, remember you have two different rhythms you're dealing with. So you have together, then right plays by itself, then together, right plays by itself, and then together. So that would be super slow motion. Together, right, together, right, together. And as it speeds up, it will sound like this: TI-TI TI-TI TA, TI-TI TI-TI TA TA TA TA THREE-EE-EE Now, I'd like you to press pause and try measure one as many times as you need to get it down. Go really slowly at first. Together, right, together, right, together, and then just do it again, and again until it starts to sound like this. It may take 50 times. That's okay. Just do it until it feels smooth and comfortable, then press play when you're ready to go on. Now in measures three and four, our job is much easier because the rhythms are much more similar. We have TA TA TA in both hands, and then the right hand holds this dotted half note while the left hand plays TA TA TA. Sorry that didn't line up very well, but those play together. And then two more by itself. Let's try that on the piano. Now let's try measures three and four hands together. This time the rhythms match a lot better. So we'll have: TA TA TA the right hand plays D G G while the left hand plays F G G. Together it sounds like this: F G G, and then we have a THREE-EE-EE in the right hand while the left end plays E G G. So both measures three and four will sound like this: Now press pause and try those two measures as many times as you need to get comfortable, then try linking that with measures one and two. So you're playing all of line one hands together, then press play when you're ready to go on. Now to play line two together we already know most of the notes. It starts off the same way as before, but this time piano. The only difference is here at the last measure of line two. This time our right hand comes down to a C, while the left hand plays the C and E chord together. So the last two measures of line two sound like this: Now press pause and try that a few times until you're comfortable with the ending of line two. Then press play when you're ready to tackle the B section. All right, let's try line three for "Dance." Once again I'll have you play the right hand while I play the left hand. Actually, I'm going to play both hands if that's okay with you, and you just do the right hand. Okay, we're going to play line three which you'll recall goes TI-TI TI-TI TA. Let's try it. Ready, go. TI-TI TI-TI TA, TI-TI TI-TI TA TI-TI TI-TI TA, TI-TI TI-TI TA Now, if that was too hard, go back and try it again. Otherwise now let's trade jobs. You play the left hand, while I play the right hand. Okay, actually once again I'm going to play both hands, but you just do the left hand. Okay, ready go: TA TA TA, TA TA TA D G G, C G G Good. Now once again, if that tripped you up or if it was too hard, just rewind and try it until you're comfortable. You want to be able to play the right hand alone and the left hand alone to be totally confident to do it hands together. All right, now in order to do it together just like on line one, you've got this rhythm TI-TI TI-TI TA in one hand, while the other hand is doing TA TA TA. So we'll kind of be together, right, together, right, together. Watch that again. Together, right, together, right, together, together, right, together, right, together. And then as you speed that up it will become: TI-TI TI-TI TA, TI-TI TI-TI TA TI-TI TI-TI TA, TI-TI TI-TI TA The left hand's always playing TA of course. Now, press pause and practice line three. It may take lots of tries. Go slowly at first, and then gradually speed up. Press play when you're ready to try line four. All right, now we're ready to try line four. Same rhythm as before. Our left hand is playing TA TA TA, while the left hand, I mean, while the right hand goes TI-TI TI-TI TA. So looking at the firs ...