I Practiced Nothing But La Campanella For 5 Days Straight | Life Vlog
In this video, I practiced nothing but La Campanella for 5 days (from March 3 to March 7), 120 hours. Besides scales and Hanon, I did not let myself practice anything else on the piano, culminating in a final recording made on Day 5. I made this Vlog to document my journey, which also includes some perspective into my story and personal life. I hope my longtime fans who have supported me for so many years, will enjoy this Vlog as this is the first one I have ever done.
My exact promise to myself: After making the recording on March 7, I will never practice La Campanella again or record it in a studio setting. I will however perform La Campanella during my concert performances or livestream concerts (but not practice or casual livestreams), and before those performances, will allow myself to runthrough La Campanella twice at a modest tempo, but cannot work on any individual sections.
Why did I create this challenge for myself? The reason is because for years, I have wanted to record La Campanella, a truly legendary piece, but I also kept getting distracted by other projects. But I have found over my life that it is not good to work on multiple projects at once, but rather, it is better to dedicate myself 100% to one project and finish it, if it is important to me.
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Standalone Video ►► • Liszt - La Campanella
TWITCH ►► / musicalbasics
DISCORD ►► / discord
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Thank you to my supporters on Patreon ►► bit.ly/MB_Patreon
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Timestamps -
0:00 Day 1 Intro
0:45 Day 1 Initial Playthrough
5:39 Day 1 Practice Thoughts
6:02 Day 2 Intro
7:35 Day 2 Gym
8:53 Day 2 Practice Thoughts
10:08 Day 3 Intro
11:02 Day 3 Practice Thoughts
12:12 Day 3 Nature Walk
12:34 Day 4 Intro
13:07 Day 4 24-Hour Livestream - Practicing La Campanella
18:06 Day 5 Intro (24-hr livestream cont'd)
19:38 Day 5 Final Practice
20:52 Day 5 Final Recording Session
22:11 Day 5 FINAL HOUR
23:47 Official La Campanella Recording - MusicalBasics
28:21 Concluding thoughts
I'm doing my first public concert this year, and tickets are officially on sale! Limited seats available. bit.ly/2021GermanyConcert
Hi
I love how he says “for this part there’s not much you can do about it, but practice a lot and hope for the best”
I’ve been stuck on that place for 3 weeks now
@@gamecenterjerry Can you play it now?
That part is my favorite part of the whole piece. It feels very natural to play after you practice the jumps. I find the triplets and "trills" with the fourth finger much more difficult, because it is not natural to the hand, and it's still uncomftable after you have practised a lot
Story time. So I actually had to do something similar to this once, I really wanted to join an orchestra so I naturally wanted to impress them. But like the idiot I was, I told them I was going to play La Camapanella ( you had to tell them in advance the piece you were gonna play). The audition was only 3 weeks away, and for the first few days I entered a panicked state thinking I screwed up. But then I started to practice for 7-8 hours every day, and let me tell you, those 3 weeks were the most miserable days of my life. I basically woke up, practiced, got breakfast, practiced, got lunch, practiced, skipped dinner, practiced, then slept on the keyboard. I was practically a husk by the end, but I sure did impress the judges. I got my role, and then I was told the first piece I was gonna play was gonna be beethoven symphony no.5. I even cannot begin to describe the joy I got from knowing that I had a relatively easy piece to play (3rd movement).
Nice
lol congrats man la campanella sure is one hell of a piece
“Easy piece” Beethoven symphony no.5 Me: 👁👄👁
Congrats dude
Great idea.I might try that myself.
Your dedication is inspiring.
Same thoughts here.
Indeed
I really like your pieces dude you're an inspiration
When Lionel talks about a song being difficult you know it's damn difficult!
I think it is called a Composition or a piece. I dont know for some reason Lionel Yu calls his pieces 'songs' for some reason when there aren't any lyrics. Except for one of his videos where he said he would compose a song with lyrics. So is he composing Songs without words like Felix Mendelssohn? Or doesn't he know that he composes pieces with different themes?
@@yashbspianoandcompositions1042 I mean you're not wrong, but song or piece he plays the piano damn well ;P
Yup
@@jimilordofwar he plays piano well. But as a composer, he over elaborates his pieces where he tries to express himself when he accents and bangs chords along with repeated arpeggios, but it creates too much momentum in his pieces. This style of his, works in few pieces such as his Fires of a Revolution and Colours of the Soul. I even liked Herobine's lullaby, but there was point in his pieces where he accents his notes to show some kind of tension but it almost sounded like he was rushing too much (This also happens in another composition of his known as A Single Tarot Card in his dark 'song' video.) He should work on how to not over elaborate his pieces and keep a balance.
@@yashbspianoandcompositions1042 it’s just personal preference
Then there is me, who didn't notice anything wrong in the very first try :/
same...hes a god at piano
I'm pretty new, but I think I noticed some mistakes
@Oliver Erz ok maybe I'm just imagining them, but if he wanted to practice it because it wasn't good enough then there must be some mistakes right?
@Oliver Erz ok I'm just dumb
05:17 pay attention
Growing up i never thought i could play this amazing piece. 7 years later, I still cannot play this piece.
Inspiring, truly.
So motivational
😂😂😂
When a piece is fast paced and I continue to mess up, my dad says “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast” if you can play it slowly, eventually you’ll be able to play it at its regular pace. It helped a lot. Also, loved the “vlog” styled video!
Two set fans where u at
if you can play it slowly, you can play it fast 😏
@@stcrmiq_ :😳
@@stcrmiq_ YES
if you can play it slowly, you can play it quickly!!
Frans Liszt was like: I bought a whole piano, let’s use the whole piano.
Lmao
Me be like: STOLEN COMMENT!!!!
Overused joke
For real
Overused
Lionel is *filled with determination* (UNDERTALE reference) Jokes aside, Lionel iam very proud of you and I think Andreas is too. Lionel you have inspired many pianists and composers in dark times. I would never be able to do something as significant as you did to my life. The only thing I can do is thank you 💖. (pls never stop :)
Ik zie kaas is lekker ik zie Nederlander als ik nederlander zie zeg ik gekoloniseerd
@@kiplescrtp2361 what language is that?
@@Kipuu_ dutch
Geweldige naam 😂
@@thibomeurkens2296 oh ok
Respect. Ling Ling practice 40 hours So go practice if you haven’t yet today!
ok
Ling ling insurance
You watch twoset?
@@yongxiangbian9163 yup, do u?
She knows all of us are watching this instead of practicing 😂😂😂😂
this is true dedication to your craft
Him: wakes up at 2:30 am and practices 40 hours a day Also him: “I didn’t practice enough” Me: wakes up at 1 in the afternoon and practices for 1 hour Also me: “I’m so sick of playing the piano I’m gonna die if I press another note”
Bruh
Oml that’s me as well- Except that I don’t wake up at 1 :/
“40 hours a day”... I feel like something is wrong here... I don’t know though Lol
@@DeepFriedWxffles Nothing is wrong here. Ling Ling disapproves of everything BUT 40 hours of practice.
@@miriamtong But he said 40 H O U R S A D A Y
Practice makes perfect!
This shows that pianists are still human
*partly human
perhaps
Nah bro I've already ascended past human boundaries after learning little little star
The 3:4 pair up in KV:330 took my soul ages ago.
Nah bro pianists popped out of vaginas immediately knowing how to play Winter Wind.
and here i am cant even concentrate on something for 5 minutes ;-;
At first I was like, "a 30 minute video? nah" but when I started watching, I didn't notice that I was about to finish it. Man, you're the living embodiment of dedication itself. You've taught me a very important life lesson I never thought I needed. Thank you for existing.
"There's nothing else you can do about it except practice a lot and hope for the best" how mtotivating lmao
The effort this man has put in this video is just limitless
I never thought that i would see the day where Lionel will actually call a piece difficult Good job man, you were phenomenal
5 days straight is more than 40 hours. I'd call that a success.
Ling ling 40 hours
*that is pure dedication*
This guy’s motivation level📈📈📈
Thank you for documenting this effort. Most of us will never be able to muster the determination you have, and your achievement is wonderful. Man is not perfect. If you want perfection, all you have to do is program a computer to do it for you. Your music expresses the wonderful human being you are, and I wish you every success.
we love Lionel for HIS uniqueness...he brings such joy...many of us don't mind a few wrong notes...his special style is what attracts us...speaks & instantly invades us.... utterly EPIC
With how emotional he got at the end you can feel how proud he really is and it really makes me appreciate how much work he put into this
bro, I know the feeling of trying to get the perfect take and when trying to do that you are so critical of every little detail, EVERY SINGLE ONE. You're focused on things that most people won't even notice. We musicians aren't performing it perfectly for other people (unless in competition) but for the self-satisfaction of knowing we did.
True, completely agree
“I just hope that I can wake up in time” -Lionel (around the 20:45 mark) I would never be able understand what he went through, or why he felt so pressured. Amazed by this video
Mistakes? No. You're pouring your life out before us on the keyboard. It's wonderful to see and hear. When I was a child my mother told me several times that I was a mistake. She was quite specific and clear about it. When a teenager she told me, 'don't have children, they only break your heart".
There's such a big difference! Not only did his technique improve drastically, but also his voicing and rhythm
He is man of focus, commitment, and sheer fcking will
I'm not a professional, bit I think that you did a pretty good job. I hope that this marks an upward trajectory for you future circumstances and endeavors.
i'm a beginner and still have a long journey till i get there but this is the piece i want to play in the future :) thank you for sharing this, you did great!
I wish u the very best!
@@vid1500 thank you☺️
I suggest you start practicing early if you haven't already, even if it's outside your skill level. I'm probably gonna start practicing this piece sometime within the next few days, just to try getting the hang of it. If your not confident with practicing this piece then try some slightly easier ones or play the piece at the your own pace.
I’m a beginner aswell, I hope to play this aswell when I’m like 30
@@KyrusR You also have to remember that there is nothing wrong with playing it very slowly. That is how you, or at least I, learn.
I love the key mashing part with both hands and your left hand leaves and the right hand’s like “fine, I’ll do it myself”
Unsolicited advice time, just since I never thought I’d see a video featuring you doing doing something that I know better than you: you flare your elbows too much when you bench press. Imagine you are bending the bar forward and rotate your upper arms such that they form a roughly 45 degree angle with your torso. During bent over rows, imagine you are bending the bar toward your body and, during the motion, think about nothing other than pulling your elbows in the direction of your hips. If you keep these two tips in mind, you will achieve far better activation in the chest and back, respectively, and your range of motion in both lifts will improve, plus your shoulders will be better protected. Btw, you are a phenomenal pianist. Love your channel. Edit: forgot to mention, great job with la Campanella!
This is great advice, and yeah, I've improved my form a lot more, and I appreciate your help!
Just rewatching some videos- realizing more and more how amazing you are. You’re one hell of a pianist. The improvement over the years is insane. Proud of you man
His dedication is inspiring. He is the reasons I started learning the piano. Thank you Lionel for inspiring me about a hobby I absolutely love now.
This shows that practice, practice, practice is the key to getting this difficult piece.
Wow, 🎹🎶🎼🎵👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
You did it!!! You documented an achievement of a lifetime! How amazing, well done! Congratulations!!
It is NEVER “too late”! You are an amazing pianist and artist! Most importantly and inspirationally, you are living your purpose and you are letting your inner wisdom shine! So many people have passion but lack courage! You are amazing!!! I celebrate you!!! Much love! 💕💕💕
WHAT AN ABSOLUTE LEGEND!
The cellist in your Twich subscriber's piece was my old roommate at Indiana University Summer String Academy! Wild the way the music community is so connected!
Seeing him practice so much definetly motivates me to do it
Honestly, I can't imagine such dedication to a goal. Waking up crazy early, staying with the 5-day plan instead of giving yourself another day, having a hard deadline rather than just pushing it to the next day if needed... I mean, I stress myself out over my own deadlines, too, and actually in quite similar ways, to be honest. But, from a student's perspective, I guess I just find it unusual seeing someone do something like that for something that's not for school (this is probably unhealthy on my part...).
Life is about perfection, it is about progress! Well done! Amazing! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
I just want to say that trill section was so clean in the final direction and your control of over its volume is awesome. The fact that that trill doesn’t drown out any of the melody *muah*
Nothing comes easy, your dedication inspired many people!
I only discovered you a month ago. And now I watch and listen to you almost exclusively non stop. AT 77 I've played the piano longer than you''ve been alive. I'm terrible and make money from people paying me NOT to play. But I enjoy it and listening to you makes me want to keep living. So thank you. It is so rare that one get an inside look at genius and talent. I've loved every moment.
This video & Tiffany Poon's video show us that we're all struggling. So don't be so hard on yourself when seeing someone plays better than you because they're also practicing hard & making mistakes. Just keep going & never give up.
Wow, I think I experienced a bit of PTSD from my days playing intensive classical piano! Power to you for tackling this intense piece, and congrats on achieving an outstanding performance and mini documentary. I felt like you captured the struggle and passion of the classical pianist very well! Great video!
Dude, your videos are inspiring. I played piano for 8 years when I was a kid, played 2 hours every day and it was just like doing the homework(Not really enjoyed it). Now, I start to really like playing piano in my spare time, and I really appreciate my parents forced me to learn when I was a kid, so it makes it a lot easier for me to pick it up. Your plays are incredible, thanks for sharing all these fabulous pieces!
thank you, you inspired me to learn it after 7-9 months of piano playing.
So inspiring!
I am telling you, the first day would be all what i will reach in my intire life:D
I give you my respect not only due to the fact that you have my dream skill since i was a kid but you also go to the gym. I mean congrats on being a top tier human. I admire you and want to become just like you when I grow up.
I love how you put this video into a Vlog, and explain the different practice you focus on for each Day, it was very interresting to watch ! And obviously i'm not good enough to track the error and miss you are doing at your last recording session, but I can manage to see the improvement about the clearness of the note and the precision in comparaison of Day1. i like so much the dedication you have about the piano and you playing and I hope the best for you about this full time pianist work. Too bad that for my time zone, you are generally streaming in middle of the night haha.
Great stuff Lionel, very inspiring, open and honest!
Yo this is awesome. I love how you walk us through you practice process. Also, it's good to see that you have a life outside of music.
Great video! This video has given me the motivation to practice La Campanella and every time I want to quit I say”well at least he had it worse”
It’s so cool hearing it gradually getting better!! The voicing in the final recording was done beautifully
👏 yay!!! I was hoping you were going to do this song! This is my fav song, and I first heard it when I saw Nobuyuki Tsujii (blind pianist). I usually compare any version of this song up against his, and yours is the only one I like next to his. Incredibly awesome job Lionel! So proud of you and all the work you put into mastering it. Have a peek at Nobuyuki's, just for the sheer amazement of watching him do it blind. Thank you for doing this!!❣
AMAZING result. This is one of my favourite pieces and it sounds great!
Difficulty level: Asian. Dude you are absolutely fantastic, kudos. It takes a tremendous amount of patience, practice and practice to play like you do. Admire your dedication.
Thank you so much for sharing the practice process. I am currently struggling with this piece, too. Learned a lot from you.
Wow the final result is unbelievable!! Comparing to when you started. I am so happy for you Lionel❤️
It's amazing to see. On day 2 you said your brain was hurting but you were gonna push through at your own pace and what feels best for you.. .Then on day 5, you bring this absolute masterclass out. This was such a nice video to watch as you progress
Oooof I loved your play through of La Campanella. Nice to see this blog. And NEFFIX in the video too 🤟
Your dedication is *incomparable*. You are so godamn hardworking- I mean- SO HARDWORKING. This is why you are my biggest inspiration.
I really appreciate the way you took care of yourself, don't let your body down!
Props for pushing yourself and growing. Your reflections are very insightful.
I'm actually impressed I watched the whole thing. Quality content. 🖤.
YOO YOU KILLED IT!!!!
I'm so proud of you dude, truly an amazing job and so much dedication.
3:27 i don’t even now how that’s possible 😭 I personally struggle with repeated movements. I don’t know why, but I’ll completely forget how to move my hands. This is absolutely amazing. Wouldn’t even dream of trying this 😂
That's literally the easiest part
Same!
They say the hand Is quicker then eye...you sure prove this! Omg! This is phenomenal 👏 Amazing!!! 💙 Piano skills...God level!
I am a guitarist but after hearing this piece I fell in love with piano for some reason and I started learning it just to play this piece, I hope I will learn it 🤞
WOW what a journey bravo!!
I remember learning Clair de Lune the first day. My birthday. Had nothing to do that day, played piano for 10 hours
It’s so interesting to see the hard graft behind effortless playing. The ability to hear that Elliott shouldn’t be playing the note with the fourth finger on the right hand and the third finger on the left hand (or whatever it was) at the same time astounded me, my musical ear is very much in its infancy. Well done Lionel, it is a joy to hear your playing.
wow , wow , and again wow , especially the last part , utmost respect ,big ups , you're an amazing inspiration ,thank you
sooooo impresive man, one of the hardest pieces ever made, you smashed it according to me!
You are an inspiration to us all! And your performance at the end was amazing. Like, none of us are ever going to play like Evgeny Kissin, but to play well enough to even be comparable is an astonishing achievement. I feel motivated to start practising my Chopin etude, again, and I will feel darn proud if anyone ever tells me that I play anywhere near as well as you!
Gotta love your determination man !
One piece for five days of practice, straight... That's insane. Good job! 👏👏👏
I feel inspired by your dedication!
This video is very motivating. I am playing the piano since I was 5 (so I'm playing for almost 20 years) but I was always self-conscious. Hopefully, I met you and this video and you gave me the motivation to gain my willingness to play better and not avoid it ( I love playing the piano but I have some technical problems which I thought is impossible for me to train. Also, I thought the best pianist are never struggling with pieces and I see that it is normal for everybody). Thank you! You did a great job and you are still doing it.
Congratulations with the result of all the hard work! It's wonderful 👍 Hopefully, in the meantime you have recovered from this exhausting exercise.
Watching your initial playthrough just reinforces (for me) how insane Evgeny Kissin is Great work man, your dedication is amazing
I thought ill never be able to play this piece. And now here we are, 6 years later. I was right Edit: lmao ppl gettin mad at me cuz they read this somewhere else aswell
When ur comment is only 5 years to old
Not even an attempt to change this copy paste
Stolen comment.
This is like the from the first 5 comments shown on Rousseau's video
@@sahilyadav32 yes
Subscribed for the humility, notification bell’d for the drive
I appreciate you effort and your time You will always be a PIANIST!!!!
That’s a spectacular plan and it was well carried through, I am inspired to make changes and leap in to the gap in my playing.
what a beautiful composition and amazing performance
Wow! Nice work Lionel!!!
Just amazing!
So impressive, and inspiring! 👍👍👍
You're a beast! Well done!
This is top tier content. Good shit
Your persistance and determination is inspiring..
This is Awesome! Such an inspiration, now i have to go practice!