Playing hands together
To play hands together, learn each hand alone until it is easy, then put them together far slower than either hand alone, one or two measures at a time, reading the notes that line up as one moment. Start with music where one hand holds while the other moves, and work up to different rhythms in each hand. It feels impossible at first for nearly everyone, and it gets easier in steps.
Why it feels impossible
Playing with one hand is one pattern. Playing with two is not two patterns side by side: it is a new, combined pattern, and the brain has to learn it as one. Until it has, one hand keeps copying the other, or waits for it, or stops.
That's normal, and it doesn't mean you lack coordination. It means this particular combination is new. Each new kind of combination (a held note, then repeated notes, then different rhythms) goes through the same stages: impossible, then slow and careful, then easy.
Easiest to hardest
Take the steps in this order. Each one is a small stretch from the one before.
- One hand holds, the other moves. The left hand plays one long note while the right plays a tune. This is where piano music for beginners starts.
- Both hands on the same beat. One note in each hand, struck together, then the next pair.
- A chord on the first beat. The left hand plays a chord or a single note at the start of each measure while the right plays the tune.
- Parallel and contrary motion. Both hands move by step at the same time, in the same direction or in opposite directions (contrary is often easier: the thumbs mirror each other).
- Different rhythms. The right hand plays quarter notes while the left plays half notes, or the other way round.
- Melody over an accompaniment. The left hand plays a broken-chord pattern while the right hand plays a tune.
If a piece feels impossible, it is usually a step or two past where you are. Go back one step for a few days.
How to learn a new piece hands together
- Right hand alone, until it is easy at a slow tempo.
- Left hand alone, until it is just as easy. Give it more time than you think it needs: it usually carries the rhythm, and it is the hand that falls apart first.
- Together, much slower. Half your one-hand speed, or slower. One or two measures only.
- Read vertically. Notes that line up on the two staves are played together. See each pair as one moment, one shape, rather than a note on top and a note below. The grand staff explains why they line up.
- Find the landing points. Mark the places where both hands play at once. Aim for those; the notes between them fill in.
- Count out loud. The count is what both hands share. If you can't count and play, slow down until you can.
- Join sections. When two measures are right three times, add the next two.
- Speed up in small steps. Only once it is right, slowly.
Exercises
A few minutes a day of any of these helps every piece:
- Five fingers, both hands. Both thumbs on C, an octave apart. Play C D E F G and back, both hands together, slowly. Then in contrary motion: both thumbs on middle C, one hand going up, the other down.
- Hold and move. Hold a note with the left hand for four beats while the right plays four quarter notes. Then swap hands.
- Two rhythms, no piano. Tap quarter notes with the right hand on your knee and half notes with the left. Then swap.
- Repeat a left-hand pattern. A simple repeated bass (C G C G) while the right hand plays any tune you know.
Common mistakes
- Practicing only the right hand. The tune is more fun, so it gets the practice. Then the left hand can't keep up.
- Joining the hands at full speed. Hands together at the speed of one hand alone is the most common way to practice mistakes.
- Always from the top. The hard measure gets the least practice. Start there.
- Looking down at your hands. Every look down loses your place on the page. Find keys by feel and by the black-key groups.
- Stopping one hand to fix the other. Let a wrong note go and keep both hands in time; fix it on the next pass.
How Octotune helps
Octotune's adult path brings the hands together in Unit 5, after each hand has read its own staff: first the left hand's own five-finger position, then one note in each hand struck together, then tunes with a simple bass. In Wait mode the music waits until you have played every note of a moment, so two-hand reading can start with no clock at all.
In Songs, every piece can be played one hand at a time, with the app playing the hand you aren't. Many songs come in levels: the tune alone, the tune over a simple bass, then the piece in full. You can slow a piece to 25% and loop a few measures. Open Octotune to try it.
Next: The grand staff: how the two staves line up, note for note.
Questions
Why is it so hard to play piano with both hands?
Because each hand has to do something different at the same moment, and your brain has to learn to coordinate the two as one movement. It feels impossible at first for almost everyone, and it improves with slow, short, repeated practice.
How do I practice hands together?
Learn each hand alone until it is easy, then put them together at a much slower speed, one or two measures at a time. Think of the notes that line up as one moment, and count out loud so both hands share the beat.
Should I practice the left hand alone?
Yes, and more than feels necessary. The left hand usually gets less practice and holds the rhythm, so it is often the one that breaks down when the hands join.
How long does hand independence take?
It comes in stages rather than all at once. Simple pieces where one hand holds while the other moves come within weeks; different rhythms in each hand take longer. Each new pattern feels hard at first and then settles.