WEBVTT 00:00:25.519 --> 00:00:28.719 That was Vols a la Francaise, and it was composed 00:00:28.719 --> 00:00:31.940 and performed by Zhenia. Today I am speaking 00:00:31.940 --> 00:00:35.520 to the Ukrainian -born pianist about her yoga 00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:40.719 -inspired piano method, piano yoga. Zhenia, it's 00:00:40.719 --> 00:00:44.100 great to have you on the podcast today. Oh, it's 00:00:44.100 --> 00:00:47.119 a pleasure to be here, Erica. Thank you for inviting 00:00:47.119 --> 00:00:50.039 me. You're very welcome. We are here to talk 00:00:50.039 --> 00:00:52.619 about your method, piano yoga, of which you are 00:00:52.619 --> 00:00:56.039 found... So firstly, before we get into the nitty 00:00:56.039 --> 00:00:59.539 gritty detail of piano yoga, I think it's really 00:00:59.539 --> 00:01:02.280 interesting to find out how you invented it, 00:01:02.299 --> 00:01:06.620 how you created it and why. Well, I wasn't planning 00:01:06.620 --> 00:01:10.620 to create it and all what happened because I'm 00:01:10.620 --> 00:01:14.719 quite petite and I have quite small hands. And 00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:18.719 my professors were fantastic, especially in Ukraine, 00:01:19.040 --> 00:01:22.019 but they all had really large hands. And they 00:01:22.019 --> 00:01:25.260 said, look, there is a number of pieces from 00:01:25.260 --> 00:01:27.799 piano repertoire which you should never touch. 00:01:28.359 --> 00:01:31.459 And one of them was Rachmaninov Rhapsody on the 00:01:31.459 --> 00:01:34.780 Scene by Paganini. But of course, all I wanted 00:01:34.780 --> 00:01:37.359 to play was Rachmaninov Rhapsody on the Scene 00:01:37.359 --> 00:01:40.500 by Paganini. And then I did a little bit of a 00:01:40.500 --> 00:01:44.040 cheeky thing. I was talking to a conductor and 00:01:44.040 --> 00:01:47.799 who didn't know about all my, you know, all this 00:01:47.799 --> 00:01:49.719 conversation. And he said, Shania, what would 00:01:49.719 --> 00:01:52.900 you like to play? We have, I really want to perform 00:01:52.900 --> 00:01:55.400 with you. What would you like to play? And I 00:01:55.400 --> 00:01:58.280 said, I would like to play Rachmaninov Rhapsody 00:01:58.280 --> 00:02:01.819 on the scene by Paganini. And so we had a date, 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:05.319 we had an orchestra, everything booked. and only 00:02:05.319 --> 00:02:09.159 after that I opened the score and I thought oh 00:02:09.159 --> 00:02:13.500 my goodness how am I going to play because I 00:02:13.500 --> 00:02:16.699 realized that the chords were bigger than the 00:02:16.699 --> 00:02:19.099 capacity of my hands and also I didn't have the 00:02:19.099 --> 00:02:24.500 strength and by some reason you know because 00:02:24.500 --> 00:02:27.719 I was quite young I thought there must be a system 00:02:27.719 --> 00:02:31.340 there must be a method which already exists which 00:02:31.340 --> 00:02:33.759 would allow me to stretch and strengthen my hands. 00:02:34.300 --> 00:02:39.219 So I spent about, I think, two months going to, 00:02:39.319 --> 00:02:42.860 it was in the last century, by the way. So I 00:02:42.860 --> 00:02:47.240 went to different music shops. I look online, 00:02:47.439 --> 00:02:50.560 but at that time it was a limited choice, not 00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:53.919 as big as now. And although I could find separate 00:02:53.919 --> 00:02:56.819 exercises, there are some separate exercises 00:02:56.819 --> 00:03:00.099 for stretches, but there were not a single program 00:03:00.099 --> 00:03:03.759 which would take me from where I am now with 00:03:03.759 --> 00:03:06.740 my little stretch, which was like eight, and 00:03:06.740 --> 00:03:10.240 take me where I wanted to be. And at the end, 00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:14.000 it was six months before I had to perform. And 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:16.180 I said to myself, look, either I have to pull 00:03:16.180 --> 00:03:20.569 out or I have to create something. myself but 00:03:20.569 --> 00:03:23.169 i have to start working on it there's no more 00:03:23.169 --> 00:03:27.509 looking and at that time i was doing a lot of 00:03:27.509 --> 00:03:31.409 yoga and i had a very very good teacher um because 00:03:31.409 --> 00:03:34.210 initially i got into yoga because i used to play 00:03:34.210 --> 00:03:37.389 and practice as every student in piano eight 00:03:37.389 --> 00:03:41.789 hours a day start having back problems and found 00:03:41.789 --> 00:03:44.289 out that yoga really helped me and healed my 00:03:44.289 --> 00:03:48.080 back so i got into yoga and suddenly i thought 00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:52.800 i feel even taller was doing yoga oh yeah and 00:03:52.800 --> 00:03:55.900 i said well why don't i try the ideas the principles 00:03:55.900 --> 00:03:59.020 which we apply to the whole body in yoga just 00:03:59.020 --> 00:04:03.360 apply it to my hands and that was the start of 00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:07.180 it and there was a lot of experimentation And 00:04:07.180 --> 00:04:11.139 I created the exercises, which really helped 00:04:11.139 --> 00:04:13.819 me. And as a result, I went and I performed. 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:16.459 And I have this recording on the SoundCloud, 00:04:16.480 --> 00:04:19.319 so people can actually listen, recording from 00:04:19.319 --> 00:04:23.579 that particular performance. And I was really, 00:04:23.879 --> 00:04:27.259 and I discovered so many things. And at the same 00:04:27.259 --> 00:04:31.319 time, I was already teaching. So I had my students 00:04:31.319 --> 00:04:33.180 who were coming, and all my students were... 00:04:33.639 --> 00:04:36.779 full of music you know i was writing by hand 00:04:36.779 --> 00:04:39.980 and they said to me jenya oh can we try the exercises 00:04:39.980 --> 00:04:43.740 we want to try as well and that gave me an amazing 00:04:43.740 --> 00:04:47.300 opportunity to experiment not only on my hands 00:04:47.300 --> 00:04:50.500 but on the people with different hand sizes and 00:04:50.500 --> 00:04:54.000 to see a different headspace as well you know 00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:57.339 and it was fantastic and i could see that it's 00:04:57.339 --> 00:05:00.139 really working and that was the start of piano 00:05:00.139 --> 00:05:03.629 yoga That is so interesting because a lot of 00:05:03.629 --> 00:05:06.410 pianists and teachers will say that it's a bad 00:05:06.410 --> 00:05:09.769 idea to try to stretch fingers and hands. We 00:05:09.769 --> 00:05:12.889 all know Schumann's story, right? Yes. Who damaged 00:05:12.889 --> 00:05:17.629 his hands. Yes. Yes. So this is obviously a way 00:05:17.629 --> 00:05:20.399 in which you're not... putting any stress on 00:05:20.399 --> 00:05:23.879 anything no no no no you're using your body you're 00:05:23.879 --> 00:05:28.519 using your breathing and um i mean i had to obviously 00:05:28.519 --> 00:05:32.660 late as a method became a book and before i published 00:05:32.660 --> 00:05:36.540 it as a book i took it to um clinical hand specialist 00:05:36.540 --> 00:05:39.680 Catherine Butler and she approved the method 00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:43.819 she studied it and the whole idea is basically 00:05:43.819 --> 00:05:46.439 the method for people who play piano they would 00:05:46.439 --> 00:05:51.680 understand is based on succession playing succession 00:05:51.680 --> 00:05:56.360 of certain chords in broken way but with every 00:05:56.360 --> 00:05:59.779 new chord the stretch is increased by a semitone 00:06:00.400 --> 00:06:03.139 so you can really you first of all there's a 00:06:03.139 --> 00:06:05.540 starting point you can decide where you want 00:06:05.540 --> 00:06:07.860 to start because for some people for example 00:06:07.860 --> 00:06:10.920 the very start is too easy so they don't want 00:06:10.920 --> 00:06:13.139 to waste the time because it starts so really 00:06:13.139 --> 00:06:16.360 people small hands of diminished sevenths but 00:06:16.360 --> 00:06:20.240 then with every chord the stretch slightly increases 00:06:20.240 --> 00:06:23.839 and if you do it what i discover if you do it 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:26.279 every day and also if you do it with breathing 00:06:29.000 --> 00:06:32.180 Your body, it doesn't work. I wouldn't say it 00:06:32.180 --> 00:06:34.540 works for 100 % of people. No, of course not. 00:06:34.540 --> 00:06:37.060 Some people, for example, I know that some people, 00:06:37.100 --> 00:06:39.860 they just don't have this capacity to stretch. 00:06:40.079 --> 00:06:43.240 But it works for more than half. For more than 00:06:43.240 --> 00:06:46.209 half, it does work. And you do it really safely. 00:06:46.370 --> 00:06:49.209 And you are the one who is in control. So you 00:06:49.209 --> 00:06:52.589 can decide how much you want to push. And you 00:06:52.589 --> 00:06:55.670 need to create the right atmosphere for it. It's 00:06:55.670 --> 00:06:57.769 not like you just walk out from the street and 00:06:57.769 --> 00:07:01.170 start stretching it. It's a process. And that's 00:07:01.170 --> 00:07:04.069 exactly what I was looking for. I didn't want 00:07:04.069 --> 00:07:06.610 just an exercise. I wanted something which would 00:07:06.610 --> 00:07:10.610 take me from... stage one when i can't do anything 00:07:10.610 --> 00:07:13.730 or where i am right now and take me slowly slowly 00:07:13.730 --> 00:07:17.810 slowly to a capacity and now i'm doing tens easily 00:07:17.810 --> 00:07:21.970 oh yeah yeah yeah so for me it's good but what 00:07:21.970 --> 00:07:24.610 i also discovered which was i wasn't planning 00:07:24.610 --> 00:07:28.230 but it's incredible that the fingers become very 00:07:28.230 --> 00:07:31.990 very strong especially proximal phalanx the bottom 00:07:31.990 --> 00:07:35.360 part of the finger And that's good for any playing, 00:07:35.500 --> 00:07:37.279 you know, whether you want to stretch or not, 00:07:37.319 --> 00:07:41.019 because that will give you that clarity in playing. 00:07:41.360 --> 00:07:47.920 And I... think it can do this is my belief personally 00:07:47.920 --> 00:07:51.720 more than Hanon exercises for example which people 00:07:51.720 --> 00:07:54.939 do fast and I mean I have issue with Hanon because 00:07:54.939 --> 00:07:58.259 also Hanon you need to know how to do it yes 00:07:58.259 --> 00:08:03.060 you know I had a student who did Hanon he didn't 00:08:03.060 --> 00:08:05.860 tell me he did Hanon for an hour and ended up 00:08:05.860 --> 00:08:10.139 having a problem with his thumb But with piano 00:08:10.139 --> 00:08:15.160 yoga, we do work very slowly and very consciously. 00:08:15.699 --> 00:08:18.500 And we are building... Is that going to the gym? 00:08:18.579 --> 00:08:23.120 You know, if you go to the gym, Erica? No. Sorry, 00:08:23.139 --> 00:08:26.439 everyone. For people who do. If you do something, 00:08:26.540 --> 00:08:29.360 not fast, but really slowly and consciously, 00:08:29.600 --> 00:08:33.539 you can actually build your strength. And that's 00:08:33.539 --> 00:08:38.019 so important for playing. So interesting. Now... 00:08:38.250 --> 00:08:42.990 You were talking about three pillars and now 00:08:42.990 --> 00:08:45.450 I believe at the moment you're talking about 00:08:45.450 --> 00:08:48.370 the hands, aren't you? Yes. In piano yoga. So 00:08:48.370 --> 00:08:52.289 if you can explain to everybody that you say 00:08:52.289 --> 00:08:54.490 that piano yoga is clearly structured around 00:08:54.490 --> 00:08:58.330 three main pillars. yes first of all what is 00:08:58.330 --> 00:09:01.990 piano yoga piano yoga is a method of piano playing 00:09:01.990 --> 00:09:05.610 and i want to be very clear about this like what 00:09:05.610 --> 00:09:09.009 the main purpose of the piano yoga is a piano 00:09:09.009 --> 00:09:13.210 technique it was described i think by piano yoga 00:09:13.210 --> 00:09:16.730 and health magazines first the new technique 00:09:16.730 --> 00:09:21.730 which was developed in the last 50 years it is 00:09:21.730 --> 00:09:27.710 a technique however um How does it differ from 00:09:27.710 --> 00:09:31.809 other piano techniques? It utilizes the body 00:09:31.809 --> 00:09:35.110 of the player. yes and the mind of the player 00:09:35.110 --> 00:09:38.690 but first of all you know the body so for example 00:09:38.690 --> 00:09:42.690 some piano schools they say you do everything 00:09:42.690 --> 00:09:45.570 like i'm obviously i'm simplifying it but they 00:09:45.570 --> 00:09:47.710 would say oh this you would like french piano 00:09:47.710 --> 00:09:51.029 school is very well known of playing with a close 00:09:51.029 --> 00:09:57.580 hand i call it cat cat fingers And some schools, 00:09:57.720 --> 00:10:01.720 for example, use more body weights than others. 00:10:01.860 --> 00:10:05.240 So things like that. With piano yoga, we say 00:10:05.240 --> 00:10:11.120 everything goes as long as it works within your 00:10:11.120 --> 00:10:16.740 body, within your anatomy. So, for example, if 00:10:16.740 --> 00:10:21.340 I use myself, someone like me, I'm quite petite. 00:10:21.519 --> 00:10:27.620 I have a long... both like legs for my for me 00:10:27.620 --> 00:10:31.659 being pity and the shorter upper body yes so 00:10:31.659 --> 00:10:36.740 when i play piano i take this into consideration 00:10:36.740 --> 00:10:42.679 if i were teaching a student who is tall tall 00:10:42.679 --> 00:10:47.700 long limbs uh tall upper part you know i would 00:10:47.700 --> 00:10:51.279 possibly won't give him the things which i would 00:10:51.279 --> 00:10:55.080 do myself because and i would explain it to him 00:10:55.080 --> 00:11:00.019 so i also teach people to understand how their 00:11:00.019 --> 00:11:03.860 own body functions do you see what i mean and 00:11:03.860 --> 00:11:07.039 use their own mind and their own judgments so 00:11:07.039 --> 00:11:11.220 i educate them which is great not only for piano 00:11:11.220 --> 00:11:15.549 playing is actually great for everyday life You 00:11:15.549 --> 00:11:18.970 know, because it's good for us to know, because 00:11:18.970 --> 00:11:21.129 sometimes we don't think. And then we say, oh, 00:11:21.289 --> 00:11:24.210 I suddenly have pain here, pain here. Oh, I've 00:11:24.210 --> 00:11:26.970 been sitting at the desk for five hours and now 00:11:26.970 --> 00:11:31.330 I have pain in the right part of my neck. And 00:11:31.330 --> 00:11:33.850 I said, well, look how you sit. Can you see that, 00:11:33.929 --> 00:11:36.470 for example, your right shoulder is falling forward? 00:11:36.789 --> 00:11:40.289 Can you see this? Yes, I can see that. So I teach 00:11:40.289 --> 00:11:43.289 them and then they start. doing something which 00:11:43.289 --> 00:11:46.269 is called body mapping they can read their own 00:11:46.269 --> 00:11:49.190 body and they become in control of their own 00:11:49.190 --> 00:11:52.750 body which is fantastic you know that's very 00:11:52.750 --> 00:11:55.610 interesting so you don't really have a one one 00:11:55.610 --> 00:12:01.289 position fits all No, absolutely not. And your 00:12:01.289 --> 00:12:05.210 answer is why is it body, obviously hands, because 00:12:05.210 --> 00:12:08.889 we play with the hands. Why is it body? Because 00:12:08.889 --> 00:12:11.750 hands are connected to the shoulders, to the 00:12:11.750 --> 00:12:15.110 upper part, we control from the back. The position 00:12:15.110 --> 00:12:18.289 of the back is determined by the hips. The position 00:12:18.289 --> 00:12:20.769 of the hips starts from the feet. Everything 00:12:20.769 --> 00:12:24.490 starts from the feet. So when we work, again, 00:12:24.529 --> 00:12:29.580 on the piano technique, i would start with the 00:12:29.580 --> 00:12:33.899 feet and i do exercises and that would very much 00:12:33.899 --> 00:12:37.440 determine certain things or how you do it on 00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:41.360 a piano it's very interesting it's very interesting 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:45.080 um and then of course mind because with the mind 00:12:45.080 --> 00:12:47.500 you need to take all this you want you need to 00:12:47.500 --> 00:12:49.600 understand what you are doing and you're doing 00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:54.850 it consciously rather than unconsciously So that 00:12:54.850 --> 00:12:59.149 is why this has these three pillars. How very 00:12:59.149 --> 00:13:02.629 interesting. You talk about focus and concentration, 00:13:02.870 --> 00:13:05.610 the mind. Obviously, that's a big deal when it 00:13:05.610 --> 00:13:09.289 comes to performing. So how does piano yoga help 00:13:09.289 --> 00:13:15.470 with that to perform? Many different ways. So 00:13:15.470 --> 00:13:18.169 if we talk, for example, just about concentration. 00:13:18.590 --> 00:13:23.259 Yes. Because to perform. you need there's a concentration 00:13:23.259 --> 00:13:26.500 aspect but they also stage right nerves aspects 00:13:26.500 --> 00:13:29.659 that two different things but the first one the 00:13:29.659 --> 00:13:33.179 concentration the simplest thing for example 00:13:33.179 --> 00:13:36.460 i invite people to do every day before their 00:13:36.460 --> 00:13:39.740 performances let's say seven for at least for 00:13:39.740 --> 00:13:43.860 seven days to do three pause three pause is when 00:13:43.860 --> 00:13:48.970 you stand on one leg okay and you are trying 00:13:48.970 --> 00:13:51.690 to keep your balance and you're focusing. But 00:13:51.690 --> 00:13:53.870 I made them kind of look at the piano and the 00:13:53.870 --> 00:13:57.000 keys so it's a little bit more focused. And then 00:13:57.000 --> 00:13:59.659 people will learn. But basically, then I challenge 00:13:59.659 --> 00:14:02.919 them. So I make them feel so uncomfortable. So 00:14:02.919 --> 00:14:05.700 unless they use the gaze to look at the piano, 00:14:05.779 --> 00:14:09.519 they will fall. And then what they do, they remember 00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:13.120 that energy, that strength, that feeling of concentration. 00:14:13.700 --> 00:14:16.980 So when they go on the stage, they can take that 00:14:16.980 --> 00:14:21.000 energy and they can apply to their performance. 00:14:21.679 --> 00:14:23.940 it's one of the examples that but that's very 00:14:23.940 --> 00:14:26.620 strong and that's very easy to explain because 00:14:26.620 --> 00:14:29.480 basically if you don't stand correctly you will 00:14:29.480 --> 00:14:32.600 fall so you have to do everything no it's very 00:14:32.600 --> 00:14:36.500 simplified then uh we have we do something called 00:14:36.500 --> 00:14:39.360 piano yoga meditations and i'm actually next 00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:43.139 week i'm launching again new digital course with 00:14:43.139 --> 00:14:46.840 piano yoga meditations And that's, again, something 00:14:46.840 --> 00:14:49.779 which helps you to program the mind. This is 00:14:49.779 --> 00:14:53.519 much more gentle, mild, but there are some meditations 00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:57.240 people use before practice, for example, because 00:14:57.240 --> 00:14:59.580 lots of people, you know, it's not just to practice 00:14:59.580 --> 00:15:02.720 piano. It's not just to get to the piano. You 00:15:02.720 --> 00:15:05.000 need to be in the right frame of mind because 00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:07.340 you can get to the piano, but if your mind is 00:15:07.340 --> 00:15:10.600 elsewhere or if you're disorganized, you might 00:15:10.600 --> 00:15:14.799 waste your time. So we do things like this for... 00:15:15.509 --> 00:15:18.490 meditations to get again to get your mind to 00:15:18.490 --> 00:15:22.149 get yourself in a certain state and that is how 00:15:22.149 --> 00:15:26.070 piano yoga helps that's very interesting but 00:15:26.070 --> 00:15:29.289 let's say you're learning a Beethoven sonata 00:15:29.289 --> 00:15:32.009 movement you know you're sitting down you think 00:15:32.009 --> 00:15:35.029 right now I've got to learn this movement how 00:15:35.029 --> 00:15:40.990 how does the piano yoga method find itself into 00:15:40.990 --> 00:15:45.830 the repertoire I'm trying to okay well that's 00:15:45.830 --> 00:15:48.029 why that's actually quite simple because the 00:15:48.029 --> 00:15:52.470 piano yoga book uh which i published is it was 00:15:52.470 --> 00:15:56.450 a little bit controversial because the message 00:15:56.450 --> 00:15:59.490 is based on practicing with straight fingers 00:15:59.490 --> 00:16:04.029 but not with a flat hand so the arches need to 00:16:04.029 --> 00:16:06.710 be maintained so i always say you know the arch 00:16:07.259 --> 00:16:09.779 here which supports all the finger then something 00:16:09.779 --> 00:16:13.159 called senior muscle which is our thumb muscle 00:16:13.159 --> 00:16:17.279 and hypersina it's it's a side which is connect 00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:21.120 to the little finger and if i were teaching kids 00:16:21.120 --> 00:16:23.340 or i wanted to explain someone who doesn't play 00:16:23.340 --> 00:16:27.559 the piano said look at the hand this is our roof 00:16:28.009 --> 00:16:31.450 where the knuckles are. This is our walls. What 00:16:31.450 --> 00:16:35.070 would happen if the roof collapses? The house 00:16:35.070 --> 00:16:37.110 will collapse. What would happen if the wall 00:16:37.110 --> 00:16:40.230 collapses? Again, it will collapse. So to play 00:16:40.230 --> 00:16:43.190 piano, these three elements need to be engaged. 00:16:43.830 --> 00:16:46.490 Now, whether you want to do it with the round 00:16:46.490 --> 00:16:52.169 fingers or straight fingers, it depends on what 00:16:52.169 --> 00:16:56.230 sound you want to achieve. So, for example, if 00:16:56.230 --> 00:17:01.220 you play Chopin, Where we want beautiful legato 00:17:01.220 --> 00:17:05.660 on the top voice. If you play Bach, where you 00:17:05.660 --> 00:17:09.200 slow Bach, second movement Italian concerto, 00:17:09.200 --> 00:17:12.720 where you don't want to use much pedal, but you 00:17:12.720 --> 00:17:16.460 want to create that sound, you would benefit 00:17:16.460 --> 00:17:21.740 by using more of your finger part and finger 00:17:21.740 --> 00:17:26.789 with the weight on a key. Yes. But if you do 00:17:26.789 --> 00:17:30.549 fast passages, something very quick, of course, 00:17:30.549 --> 00:17:34.730 it's much better to use rounded fingers. So my 00:17:34.730 --> 00:17:37.990 students know sort of straight fingers are called 00:17:37.990 --> 00:17:41.269 duck fingers, piano yoga duck fingers, and round, 00:17:41.410 --> 00:17:45.150 they're called cat fingers. So to answer your 00:17:45.150 --> 00:17:49.809 question, if someone is playing Beethoven, you 00:17:49.809 --> 00:17:52.970 can, for example, see, okay, what sound do I 00:17:52.970 --> 00:17:58.200 want to create? and what finger positions I want 00:17:58.200 --> 00:18:03.339 to use at certain points and it's not again let's 00:18:03.339 --> 00:18:06.460 talk about pathetic so it starts with the chords 00:18:06.460 --> 00:18:10.099 yes very slow start first movement so it's more 00:18:10.099 --> 00:18:13.599 dark movements it's a weight you want the length 00:18:13.599 --> 00:18:16.720 of the sound you want that heaviness now when 00:18:16.720 --> 00:18:21.319 you get to page three or the far section yeah 00:18:21.319 --> 00:18:24.700 it's cat fingers especially when you have you 00:18:24.700 --> 00:18:29.240 want little you know so that's what piano yoga 00:18:29.240 --> 00:18:32.599 does so it gives a lot of think about it if you're 00:18:32.599 --> 00:18:35.019 a painter and you have a palette with lots of 00:18:35.019 --> 00:18:38.819 colors once you know what each color is doing 00:18:38.819 --> 00:18:41.599 what each technique is doing then you're just 00:18:41.599 --> 00:18:46.839 applying it that's what it does It's very, very, 00:18:46.859 --> 00:18:50.460 very interesting. And you say that sometimes 00:18:50.460 --> 00:18:53.900 within seconds, a pianist can transform their 00:18:53.900 --> 00:18:56.339 technique by making one small physical adjustment. 00:18:56.740 --> 00:19:01.259 Correct. Correct. Exactly. Very often, for example, 00:19:01.259 --> 00:19:04.000 when people play, you know, when people are nervous, 00:19:04.680 --> 00:19:09.680 especially I notice it in, well, in both, but 00:19:09.680 --> 00:19:12.599 female players even more. When they're stressed, 00:19:12.779 --> 00:19:15.900 their shoulders go inwards. And they're a little 00:19:15.900 --> 00:19:19.240 bit like bending like this. And they play piano 00:19:19.240 --> 00:19:21.400 and they're not sure if they're doing right or 00:19:21.400 --> 00:19:24.420 wrong. So when they do that, immediately what 00:19:24.420 --> 00:19:27.900 happens is that there's a lot of tension built 00:19:27.900 --> 00:19:31.900 up in the forearm, in the hands. The sound is 00:19:31.900 --> 00:19:36.339 not clear. And even wrong notes because the whole 00:19:36.339 --> 00:19:39.900 position is wrong. So I said, okay, let's just 00:19:39.900 --> 00:19:42.220 start again. And we always start from the feet. 00:19:43.640 --> 00:19:47.079 very precise piano yoga position because by the 00:19:47.079 --> 00:19:49.880 way i also have this thing how to find the right 00:19:49.880 --> 00:19:52.960 position at the piano and it's not about the 00:19:52.960 --> 00:19:55.420 height because as i said height is different 00:19:55.420 --> 00:19:58.640 from for everyone yeah it's how you build it 00:19:58.640 --> 00:20:01.140 according to your body and you start from the 00:20:01.140 --> 00:20:05.099 feet so i say to these people i said okay let's 00:20:05.099 --> 00:20:07.720 put you in the correct position let's open your 00:20:08.519 --> 00:20:13.640 back and immediately immediately the sound is 00:20:13.640 --> 00:20:18.920 different you see the weight of the how the fingers 00:20:18.920 --> 00:20:22.900 touching the keys is different yes and you can 00:20:22.900 --> 00:20:25.559 do it really quickly sometimes with people what 00:20:25.559 --> 00:20:28.839 it is they may sit correctly but their left shoulder 00:20:28.839 --> 00:20:32.279 may be rolling forward for example all i do i 00:20:32.279 --> 00:20:35.730 just put my fingers slightly on their shoulder 00:20:35.730 --> 00:20:40.910 it goes literally maybe 10 degrees it opens up 00:20:40.910 --> 00:20:46.509 and sound changes so stuff like that and you 00:20:46.509 --> 00:20:49.369 see once people know it about their own body 00:20:49.369 --> 00:20:53.289 then they can do it themselves i was going to 00:20:53.289 --> 00:20:56.390 say let's say somebody's already got a teacher 00:20:56.390 --> 00:20:58.470 you know they're studying with their teacher 00:20:58.470 --> 00:21:02.470 they can implement it can't they even if they've 00:21:02.470 --> 00:21:06.200 got another teacher absolutely i mean piano yoga 00:21:06.200 --> 00:21:10.220 works with any any school of piano players absolutely 00:21:10.220 --> 00:21:16.480 and um by the way i also also encourage uh students 00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:20.880 to not in the past it was a record but now we 00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:24.779 have this amazing opportunity we can video ourselves 00:21:24.779 --> 00:21:28.819 and do you know how many people are afraid to 00:21:28.819 --> 00:21:33.450 do this Because how often I say to pupils, I 00:21:33.450 --> 00:21:35.589 said, look, you're coming here. But actually, 00:21:35.769 --> 00:21:39.890 I know that if you saw what I see when you play, 00:21:40.210 --> 00:21:43.210 you would have come because you now know about 00:21:43.210 --> 00:21:46.309 piano. You could have come to the same conclusion. 00:21:46.549 --> 00:21:49.569 You would have saved yourself a trip and money. 00:21:49.809 --> 00:21:53.289 But people sometimes afraid, you know, they're 00:21:53.289 --> 00:21:55.710 literally afraid. And I said, don't be afraid. 00:21:55.809 --> 00:22:00.680 Just do it. And once they film themselves, they 00:22:00.680 --> 00:22:04.660 have this knowledge of basic piano yoga palette. 00:22:05.240 --> 00:22:07.799 They can do a lot. They can do really a lot. 00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:15.680 So interesting. And so one doesn't really do 00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:17.059 you have to do it every day? Well, obviously, 00:22:17.119 --> 00:22:21.200 this is a philosophy almost, isn't it? Yes. Yeah. 00:22:21.339 --> 00:22:26.210 So, wow. It's so interesting. And you. have retreats, 00:22:26.210 --> 00:22:28.849 masterclasses, workshops. I was going to ask. 00:22:28.970 --> 00:22:33.349 Yes. So for some people who are listening, this 00:22:33.349 --> 00:22:35.089 is totally new. They've never heard about this 00:22:35.089 --> 00:22:39.130 before. How do they dive in? You're not nearby. 00:22:39.990 --> 00:22:42.509 They can't just call you up. How do they find 00:22:42.509 --> 00:22:46.750 out about piano yoga? Well, there's many resources. 00:22:47.890 --> 00:22:50.960 We have, by the way, a big YouTube channel. with 00:22:50.960 --> 00:22:53.819 a lot of free resources so people can just try 00:22:53.819 --> 00:22:58.559 it okay okay uh then we have also digital uh 00:22:58.559 --> 00:23:01.980 online courses which again they can try it and 00:23:01.980 --> 00:23:05.039 see if it's something they like one is based 00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:07.900 on piano yoga book so it's basically they can 00:23:07.900 --> 00:23:11.680 have me at any time there and study with me they 00:23:11.680 --> 00:23:15.960 have 36 episodes on the book and i think three 00:23:15.960 --> 00:23:19.400 bonuses as well so 39 episodes of piano yoga 00:23:19.400 --> 00:23:23.099 book yes and another we have four and a half 00:23:23.099 --> 00:23:28.920 hour really big um like it's a project on how 00:23:28.920 --> 00:23:32.500 to organize your piano practice and it gives 00:23:32.500 --> 00:23:35.720 people everything it gives people practice plans 00:23:35.720 --> 00:23:39.420 and again it encourages people to think it doesn't 00:23:39.420 --> 00:23:41.519 say you need to do this this and this and this 00:23:42.119 --> 00:23:45.240 it says people okay let's talk about it what's 00:23:45.240 --> 00:23:48.859 your priorities how you want to what is important 00:23:48.859 --> 00:23:52.380 to you how much time do you have when when are 00:23:52.380 --> 00:23:54.880 you best so people kind of with self -analysis 00:23:54.880 --> 00:23:58.500 with a lot of support materials and then they 00:23:58.500 --> 00:24:01.500 can take all this and i think their piano teachers 00:24:01.500 --> 00:24:03.960 will be very happy because people will be much 00:24:03.960 --> 00:24:06.920 better prepared for their piano lessons it's 00:24:06.920 --> 00:24:10.140 like a conscious practice preparation so we have 00:24:10.140 --> 00:24:13.359 this kind of we have this course but separately 00:24:13.359 --> 00:24:17.900 of course I organize workshops which are half 00:24:17.900 --> 00:24:22.079 a day things and retreats so the first one I 00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:24.079 don't know when this will be published we have 00:24:24.079 --> 00:24:28.319 in London on the 2nd of August on Sunday just 00:24:28.319 --> 00:24:31.509 three hours in Kensington And then, of course, 00:24:31.589 --> 00:24:34.650 the most important one is Introduction to Piano 00:24:34.650 --> 00:24:37.049 Yoga, which we're doing at Steinway together 00:24:37.049 --> 00:24:41.549 with Pianist Magazine on the 12th of September 00:24:41.549 --> 00:24:45.930 at 2 .30. And it's a free event and people can 00:24:45.930 --> 00:24:50.609 really come and dive in. And I will try to, we 00:24:50.609 --> 00:24:53.710 have an hour, but I will try to be concise, but 00:24:53.710 --> 00:24:56.150 give people something they can not only see, 00:24:56.190 --> 00:25:00.420 they can try while they're there. Do they? Is 00:25:00.420 --> 00:25:04.160 this yoga as in do they get on a mat or is this 00:25:04.160 --> 00:25:07.000 at the piano? This one would be without the mat 00:25:07.000 --> 00:25:09.519 because it will be sitting. But you can do a 00:25:09.519 --> 00:25:12.440 lot of yoga because yoga, it doesn't mean necessarily 00:25:12.440 --> 00:25:15.640 yoga on the mat. You know, what you do with hands 00:25:15.640 --> 00:25:18.519 and the body, you can sit on a chair and do yoga. 00:25:18.720 --> 00:25:22.180 And that's actually what we will be doing. I 00:25:22.180 --> 00:25:24.799 want to give something to people, something which 00:25:24.799 --> 00:25:26.980 they can use straight away. They can go to this 00:25:26.980 --> 00:25:29.619 workshop, come out and say, okay, I've learned 00:25:29.619 --> 00:25:32.359 this, this and this, and I can implement it now. 00:25:33.359 --> 00:25:36.880 Interesting. And can piano yoga help pianists 00:25:36.880 --> 00:25:41.319 who have hand injuries or problems? Big time, 00:25:41.400 --> 00:25:44.099 because you know what? I broke my right hand 00:25:44.099 --> 00:25:49.839 in 2018. And it was, I remember it, it was in 00:25:49.839 --> 00:25:53.789 middle of May. And the 2nd of August, I had a 00:25:53.789 --> 00:25:57.430 concert. And I was in a cast. And I remember 00:25:57.430 --> 00:26:01.349 my manager called me and he said, oh, we really 00:26:01.349 --> 00:26:04.069 need to do this concert. I said, look, it's a 00:26:04.069 --> 00:26:06.450 timeout festival. I said, look, I can't do it 00:26:06.450 --> 00:26:10.609 because I broke my hand. And he wasn't even listening 00:26:10.609 --> 00:26:13.089 to me. He said, it's a really important event. 00:26:13.230 --> 00:26:15.289 You really need to play. And I said, are you 00:26:15.289 --> 00:26:17.630 listening to me? He said, but you need... I said, 00:26:17.650 --> 00:26:20.329 okay, look. I am not canceling it. What I will 00:26:20.329 --> 00:26:23.289 do, because I'm also a composer, I will rearrange 00:26:23.289 --> 00:26:27.450 it for left hand. I will show up. So I start 00:26:27.450 --> 00:26:29.930 preparing for this. But of course, meanwhile, 00:26:30.349 --> 00:26:34.130 I wanted to play. And to cut the long story short, 00:26:34.289 --> 00:26:38.740 when they took my cast, it was... Second week 00:26:38.740 --> 00:26:42.819 of June, I remember I could just bend my right 00:26:42.819 --> 00:26:46.160 hand literally maybe five degrees. It was terrible. 00:26:46.559 --> 00:26:50.039 On the 2nd of August, I played 50 minutes concert 00:26:50.039 --> 00:26:53.500 with both hands. That's remarkable. And I was 00:26:53.500 --> 00:26:57.400 doing piano yoga. I was doing every day. I started 00:26:57.400 --> 00:27:01.160 with a really, really weak, awful looking hand. 00:27:01.200 --> 00:27:04.000 I couldn't even look at it, you know. But this 00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:06.339 is what piano yoga does. You can start it with 00:27:06.339 --> 00:27:09.660 very light touch when you're injured, really, 00:27:09.920 --> 00:27:13.799 really softly. And again, the main thing is not 00:27:13.799 --> 00:27:18.900 to push. So basically, my whole idea and philosophy, 00:27:19.220 --> 00:27:22.559 you are the master of your playing, but also 00:27:22.559 --> 00:27:27.140 you need to take responsibility, you know, for 00:27:27.140 --> 00:27:32.819 what you're doing. And follow your... for your 00:27:32.819 --> 00:27:38.240 development. Yeah. I mean, aside from the poor 00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:41.700 breaking of the hand, do you yourself have any 00:27:41.700 --> 00:27:45.240 technical struggles aside from... Oh, like everyone. 00:27:45.480 --> 00:27:48.240 Of course, of course, like everyone, like everyone. 00:27:48.420 --> 00:27:51.380 So, for example, my right hand, despite the fact 00:27:51.380 --> 00:27:53.700 that it was broken, is unbelievably flexible. 00:27:54.059 --> 00:27:56.500 So when I do octaves, like do -do -do -do -do, 00:27:56.579 --> 00:28:00.000 it's very easy for me. My left hand, I think, 00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:05.579 is 25 % less flexible. So it's always hard for 00:28:05.579 --> 00:28:08.720 me. So I always had to do extra and, you know, 00:28:08.759 --> 00:28:11.420 copy my right hand and use lots of different 00:28:11.420 --> 00:28:14.940 exercises. So that's maybe one thing, like flexibility 00:28:14.940 --> 00:28:19.319 of my left hand. Another, again, is double swords 00:28:19.319 --> 00:28:22.359 is not much. I know my weaknesses, I know. And 00:28:22.359 --> 00:28:25.839 I always work on them, always. I think it's very 00:28:25.839 --> 00:28:29.380 important, actually. And I think, like, for me, 00:28:29.400 --> 00:28:32.940 I always pick up a piece of music which I can't 00:28:32.940 --> 00:28:35.119 initially play. I always want to play something 00:28:35.119 --> 00:28:38.160 which is a bit more than I get. Yeah, always. 00:28:38.500 --> 00:28:41.660 Because otherwise you stagnate, you know. Good 00:28:41.660 --> 00:28:43.940 for you. Yeah. So what are you working on at 00:28:43.940 --> 00:28:46.480 the moment? Are you giving any concerto performances? 00:28:47.440 --> 00:28:52.079 Well, right now, yes, I'm working on a very interesting 00:28:52.079 --> 00:28:57.720 project in Paris where, yes, it actually involves 00:28:57.720 --> 00:29:01.960 a piano yoga with the body and everything. It's 00:29:01.960 --> 00:29:05.660 very, like, interesting. I just played Bach concerto, 00:29:05.660 --> 00:29:09.619 literally, last month. I premiered, for me, premiered 00:29:09.619 --> 00:29:13.140 a Bach keyboard concerto number one with orchestra, 00:29:13.339 --> 00:29:17.519 and that was amazing. I just discovered how Mordenbach 00:29:17.519 --> 00:29:22.000 sounded. Totally. You know? And then, of course, 00:29:22.059 --> 00:29:24.920 because I'm also a composer, I am releasing my 00:29:24.920 --> 00:29:28.740 album Exhale in a few months, so everything is 00:29:28.740 --> 00:29:32.059 targeted to that. But when I do my own concerts, 00:29:32.380 --> 00:29:36.339 I don't just play my own music. I always mix 00:29:36.339 --> 00:29:39.460 it, and I like mixing it with a classical repertoire. 00:29:40.569 --> 00:29:43.650 which works for whatever music i play so it's 00:29:43.650 --> 00:29:46.390 still i hope it's quite tasteful so if it's a 00:29:46.390 --> 00:29:49.349 for example slightly minimalist concert i would 00:29:49.349 --> 00:29:53.650 play Bach with it yes If the music is a bit more 00:29:53.650 --> 00:29:57.789 flirty, I might play, I had my own arrangement 00:29:57.789 --> 00:30:00.630 of Piazzolla, but in the beginning I can put 00:30:00.630 --> 00:30:03.410 some Chopin Nocturnes because that's kind of 00:30:03.410 --> 00:30:07.529 a link, you know, from Chopin Nocturnes to love 00:30:07.529 --> 00:30:10.089 songs of Piazzolla. You can kind of make it. 00:30:10.130 --> 00:30:15.089 So I like doing it like that. Nice. Seems that 00:30:15.089 --> 00:30:19.430 your repertoire is very diverse. It is. It is. 00:30:19.589 --> 00:30:22.390 Because I think, look, we are so blessed that 00:30:22.390 --> 00:30:26.630 we have so much amazing music around us. Yes. 00:30:26.930 --> 00:30:31.490 So why not? It's much better than to be, you 00:30:31.490 --> 00:30:35.829 know, stuck in something once. I love playing 00:30:35.829 --> 00:30:38.589 Beethoven. I love playing Beethoven. You know, 00:30:38.630 --> 00:30:41.809 that's another thing. But it's also very important 00:30:41.809 --> 00:30:45.809 how you present, how you mix it. Yes. You know, 00:30:45.809 --> 00:30:49.230 so it stylistically makes sense because the audience 00:30:49.230 --> 00:30:53.450 who will come for Piazzolla, they may not enjoy 00:30:53.450 --> 00:30:56.869 Beethoven and why worse so? Do you see what I 00:30:56.869 --> 00:31:00.170 mean? Interesting, but then you can introduce 00:31:00.170 --> 00:31:03.750 them to something new. Yes, yes, like a little 00:31:03.750 --> 00:31:07.069 drops. Yes. Like a little drops. Little drops 00:31:07.069 --> 00:31:09.950 is good, that's absolutely true. Yes. Yeah. But 00:31:09.950 --> 00:31:12.289 then having said that, you know, going and play 00:31:12.289 --> 00:31:16.839 the full Bach concerto. It was amazing. It was 00:31:16.839 --> 00:31:19.180 rewarding. And I think, my God, this is such 00:31:19.180 --> 00:31:23.619 a beautiful music. Bach is, you know, a lot of 00:31:23.619 --> 00:31:26.559 people, when I speak to them, a lot of pianists, 00:31:26.660 --> 00:31:28.619 concert pianists will tell me it's either Bach 00:31:28.619 --> 00:31:31.480 or Beethoven that they can't live without, you 00:31:31.480 --> 00:31:34.339 know. And you can understand, if, you know, a 00:31:34.339 --> 00:31:36.299 desert island, if you could only take one composer, 00:31:36.480 --> 00:31:39.180 a lot of them will say Beethoven or Bach. Yes, 00:31:39.220 --> 00:31:42.509 yes. Absolutely. There is something about that. 00:31:42.630 --> 00:31:46.809 I mean, do you have any pearls of wisdom, advice 00:31:46.809 --> 00:31:49.910 that you could give to an amateur pianist listening 00:31:49.910 --> 00:31:54.170 in here about how to improve? Well, I think if 00:31:54.170 --> 00:31:57.950 people want to improve, first, I think they need 00:31:57.950 --> 00:32:02.650 to, for themselves, really decide what they want 00:32:02.650 --> 00:32:05.869 to improve. Because so often people come to me 00:32:05.869 --> 00:32:08.250 and say, we want to improve. But they actually 00:32:08.250 --> 00:32:12.630 have very vague idea what they want. And I always 00:32:12.630 --> 00:32:15.049 say to them, okay, let's actually decide what 00:32:15.049 --> 00:32:18.789 does it mean? Oh, I want to play better. What 00:32:18.789 --> 00:32:22.710 does exactly this mean? Do you want to master 00:32:22.710 --> 00:32:25.230 a particular piece of music? Or do you want to 00:32:25.230 --> 00:32:28.089 master a particular skill, like memorizing? Do 00:32:28.089 --> 00:32:31.410 you want to give your... public performance or 00:32:31.410 --> 00:32:34.869 do so it's very important i think to to really 00:32:34.869 --> 00:32:39.490 uh finalize even write on a piece of paper what 00:32:39.490 --> 00:32:42.470 you want because once it's done it might be much 00:32:42.470 --> 00:32:46.069 easier to get there even it could be three things 00:32:46.069 --> 00:32:48.529 it doesn't matter as long as they're very clearly 00:32:48.529 --> 00:32:52.529 for the mind needs to be very clear you know 00:32:52.529 --> 00:32:56.119 this is a really good idea really good idea I 00:32:56.119 --> 00:32:58.519 remember that. That's very good. But listen, 00:32:58.559 --> 00:33:03.859 Jenny, we're out of time now. And it's just been 00:33:03.859 --> 00:33:07.839 so interesting listening to you and telling us 00:33:07.839 --> 00:33:09.960 about, you know, if anybody's listening in and 00:33:09.960 --> 00:33:13.619 they live in London or near London, come to the 00:33:13.619 --> 00:33:16.920 Steinway event on the 12th of September. Yes. 00:33:16.940 --> 00:33:20.299 And then they can meet you. and they can ask 00:33:20.299 --> 00:33:23.799 me all the questions of course absolutely and 00:33:23.799 --> 00:33:26.640 we also have social media we're on instagram 00:33:26.640 --> 00:33:31.000 piano yoga studio yeah so they can you know get 00:33:31.000 --> 00:33:33.720 in touch i'm quite active on social media so 00:33:33.720 --> 00:33:38.359 okay yes Oh, I think that it's been very, very 00:33:38.359 --> 00:33:41.539 interesting to hear this. I'll be there on the 00:33:41.539 --> 00:33:44.980 12th of September. And I hope to see others there. 00:33:45.099 --> 00:33:47.599 But Zhenya, it's been a pleasure speaking to 00:33:47.599 --> 00:33:50.980 you today. Thank you. Thank you for having me, 00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:53.339 Erica. Thank you. You're very welcome, Zhenya. 00:33:53.500 --> 00:34:34.659 Thank you. Thank you. That was Voyage Francais 00:34:34.659 --> 00:34:38.360 and it was composed and performed by Genia. Pianist 00:34:38.360 --> 00:34:40.679 podcasts are free and a really good way to support 00:34:40.679 --> 00:34:43.980 what we do is by subscribing to Pianist. Visit 00:34:43.980 --> 00:34:47.179 our website at pianistmagazine .com and listen 00:34:47.179 --> 00:34:49.739 to us on YouTube by searching Pianist Magazine. 00:34:50.320 --> 00:34:52.639 And don't forget to sign up to our newsletter 00:34:52.639 --> 00:34:55.619 which is full of extra playing tips and useful 00:34:55.619 --> 00:34:59.760 information. 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