I have been practising Mozart's Piano Concerto No 20 recently. I can play the movements soundly, but some parts in the first movement are bothering me. The problem I am having is playing the loud parts of the movement loud as well as fast. I find that playing with a light touch, I can play all the notes at the right tempo and at the correct speed, but as soon as I begin to play louder, I find that I am pressing the keys slightly harder to produce more volume and this slows me down.
Im wondering what I can change in my technique to help me fix this problem.
Any suggestions?

PM SteveHopwood, YetAnotherPianist, SuzyMac, chocolatedog or AnotherPianist for help They're your best bets

Glad to hear that my reputation outsrtips my abilities .

This is a bit of an obvious suggestion but have you tried playing it at a speed that you can play it loudly at with the metrenome and then gradually speeding it up? That way you can have the loundness and you're playing it 'correctly' it's just a matter of getting the speed back up. As many wise people have said, there's no point playing it wrongly (in your case loudly) again and again; do it at a speed that you can and speed up. Or maybe it's a matter of tension: maybe you tense up when you try to play loudly, if so, relax (easier said than done!): play until you start to feel the tension and then stop and start again (apparently it works with trills). Slowing down might help with this too.

I'm hardly qualified to answer this question: no doubt someone wiser and with a few more years of experience under their belt will offer some advice later .

I thought you were a semi concert pianist with a diploma or something AP?

Practising some Czerny exercises (or even scales) with dynamics might help develop your technique and strengthen your fingers for this. Try keeping your fingers closer to the keys too - if you aren't already. as AP says, start a little lower and build up speed as your technique develops.

Good luck!

Fabulous piece, I hope you're enjoying playing it.

My pianistic abilities aren't up to concertos, but from my clarinet experience I'd say you shouldn't get hung up on the fact that it's a concerto. Ask yourself what you'd do if you were having the same problems playing a Mozart sonata, and adopt the same approach. Not sure I can better AP's suggestion of playing it slowly and correctly, then building up speed until you're at the tempo and level of correctness to which you aspire.

IL, I'd guess you're confusing AP with YAP, who does have a DipABRSM. I've said it before and I'll say it again - think before you post.

I KNOW that YAP has a diploma...I always imagined AP did too

What a nice young man .

Aren't you both the same age and standard?!

I have to say the same!

IL - I think AP is G5 (distinction?)? YAP is AP's teacher.

I have a few strategies trying to get Mozart to sound pleasent and loud - it isn't easy! I'm nowhere near concerto standard, but try the following. As AP said, try loud and slow while keeping the 'effortless' feeling. A bit of separate hands work can do wonders, you may find it is only one hand slowing you down (always the left for me!). Try and make sure you're relaxed when you're playing. Tense shoulders are a nightmare when you're trying to keep control and play quickly.

Steve Will no doubt have some pearls - he's helped me in the past

Oh!!! ooops!

Indeed Suzy is correct: at least it was a good whoops not a bad one .

........... how to get on AP's good side

Sorry, I'll butt out now, that had no relevance at all

*goes to repent in sackcloth and ashes*

Now back to your usual programming...

For what it's worth, AP's suggestion of slowing it down sounds like a good one. I ain't an expert (less expert than the illustrious AP ) but I do know that to play fast on any instrument, being relaxed helps, and that's precisely the opposite response one usually gets on seeing a high BPM marking or Prestissimo at the start of a piece.

Another idea: in The Practice Revolution, it suggests dimming the lights so you can just see what you're doing but aren't easily distracted, slowing the piece right down till you can play it exactly how you'd like to play it (except for the speed! dynamics, articulation etc all just perfect) and as you play repeat things like "relaxed, effortless, easy"... it's supposed to help you emulate that feeling that you're playing it really well and to associate those words with it, so that when you speed it up the tendency to tense up is reduced.

Lol!
I shall try these techniques a try.
You said tense shoulders dont help. I have tendonitis in my shoulders which causes the muscles to really tense up sometimes causing me a decent amount of pain. This usually kicks in whilst playing the piano Guess il have to pick the right time to practice so it doesnt hurt.

Eeeek! I can imagine that would not help. Are you getting treatment?

Physio has given me stretches to do. But that doesnt always help *sighs* Just gotta live with it.

If you have a problem whilst playing the piano it could be posture as well as being tense. Tendonitits in your shoulders won't help! Maybe you could see a physio - in a few sessions you would have sufficient exercises to work on by yourself. I had physio for about 6 months for tendonitis in my wrist and it really helped me.

Try not to be confused by forte markings in the concerto, ashmoors.

Dynamics are all relative: to what came before; to the size of the instrument you are playing; to the period to which the piece belongs; to the number of notes you are playing and the speed at which they are passing.

This last one is the real clue when playing Mozart, whether it is a concerto or a sonata.

You can play an 8 note chord much louder than a texture of one note in each hand - the norm with Mozart.

Therefore, a Mozart forte is a fraction of the volume of a Rachmaninov forte.

Don't press hard or try to achieve a loud dynamic. It could well be uncalled for. If your instrument is not a full sized concert grand, it will be impossible to play loudly. All you will do is hurt yourself if you try.

Hope this helps


Steve

Thanks for the help everyone. Have put into practice the advise and it has worked wonderfully. Slowing down and building up the speed has helped a lot and also what steve said about the volume. I went back and listened to the recording I have and have realised that I have been trying to play too loud.
Thanks again.
Happy Birthday Mozart lol