FINGERING TECHNICS

What Is Piano Fingering?

Piano fingering refers to finger placement on the piano keyboard, and the hand techniques used to play the piano.

Fingered piano music marks each note with a number that corresponds to one of the five fingers.
Reading Fingered Piano Music

You will see numbers 1-5 written above or below notes in scales and songs. These numbers correspond to your five fingers, and tell you which finger presses which key. Finger numbering for both hands goes as follows:

Thumb: 1
Index Finger: 2
Middle Finger: 3
Ring Finger: 4
Pinky Finger: 5

When you begin playing with your left hand, you’ll notice that the fingering is often the same for both hands. Look at picture #2: The same fingers play the same notes in both triad scales, but the numbers are inverted.


Fingered Practice Scales

Good fingering is a valuable skill to have as a pianist. When you practice piano fingering, you’re enabling your fingers to execute new techniques, master awkward positions, and exercise speed and flexibility. Practicing fingering may seem tedious at first, but stick with it; your fingers will adjust quickly.
ASCENDING PIANO SCALES


The thumb (finger 1) slips under finger 3 in most ascending piano scales.
Image © Brandy Kraemer
Fingering for Ascending Piano Scales


Practicing certain piano finger techniques can improve speed, agility, and your relationship with the keyboard. Once you become comfortable with these techniques, you’ll be able to tailor them to suit whatever piano music you wish to play. For now, concentrate on making proper piano fingering second-nature.

In order to read the fingered scale above, you should get to know the piano fingering essentials.

How to Play Ascending Piano Scales:

On ascending piano scales beginning with a white key (or “natural”), start with your thumb (finger 1).

In the middle of a scale, your thumb should cross under your middle finger (finger 3). In the scale above, this happens between the E and the F.

Fingers 1 and 5 are ideal for use on the white keys. When playing in a key signature with few sharps or flats, try to keep them off of the black keys.

Look at the C major scale above. As you probably know, the key of C has no accidentals, so every note is played with a white key. Play the C major scale slowly – while paying attention to the fingering – and repeat it until it feels natural.

How to Play Descending Piano Scales


When playing descending piano scales, you should start with a higher finger (5 or 4) so that you have fingers to spare for the lower notes. However, since this scale is a continuation of the ascending C scale, we can simply reverse that fingering.

How to Play 5-Note Piano Scales


Play this 5-note (or “pentatonic”) scale beginning on each note — after you play the C scale, play it again starting with D, then E, etc. Remain in the key of C (don’t play any black keys) even if the scale sounds strange.


Tip: The last C in the scale is a half-note, which takes up two beats of the measure. It will last as long as four eighth notes, so count one-and-two-and. (Learn more about note lengths).
Pay attention to your wrist positions. Don’t bend your hand into the upper notes; keep your wrist fairly still and loose.

Playing Longer Piano Scales


When dealing with longer piano scales, your thumb will jump around and lead your higher fingers to the higher notes.

Begin this scale with a slow tempo to stay in rhythm; then adjust accordingly.

How to Play Accidentals on the Piano


When playing piano scales and warm-ups with accidentals, use the following techniques:


Keep thumb and pinky off black keys when playing scales.

Scales beginning with a black key begin with one of the long fingers (2-3-4).

The thumb may cross under finger 4 instead of finger 3, as suggested earlier in this lesson:

In the scale above, the B flat is played with the 4th finger, then the thumb crosses under to touch C.

In the second set of notes in the first measure, this technique is used in anticipation of touching the high G with finger 5.

How to the Play Black Piano Keys


The G-flat major scale has a flat on every note except F (see key signature for Gb).

Notice how the above scale begins with the index finger: the long fingers are best suited for the black piano keys, so avoid hitting the accidentals with your thumb or pinky.


Tip: When starting a scale with a long finger, try to place your thumb on the next white key possible. For example, in the G-flat major scale above, the thumb hits the fourth note (a Cb flat), which is a white key. *


* C flat and B are essentially the same note: Learn about the piano keyboard’s hidden accidentals.

How to Play Simple Piano Chords

Triad chords in root position are most often formed with fingers 1-3-5.

Tetrad (4-note) chords are formed with fingers 1-2-3-5, but the formation 1-2-4-5 is also acceptable.

Larger chords test the flexibility of your fingers, so hand formation is ultimately up to you. Use discretion; consider the notes or chords that follow, and make sure you’ll be able to strike them efficiently.

Play the above song slowly, using these fingering guidelines. Take your time, and practice until you are comfortable playing it with a steady tempo.

Tip: A 3/4 time signature holds 3 quarter-note beats per measure. To get the rhythm down, count one-two-three, one-two-three.

Learn the Notes of the Piano Keyboard

In this lesson you will learn:

Notes of the white piano keys.
How to find sharps and flats on the piano keyboard.

Notes of the White Piano Keys

White piano keys are called naturals. They sound a natural (♮) note when pressed, as opposed to a sharp or flat.

There are seven naturals on the keyboard: C-D-E-F-G-A-B

After the B, the scale repeats itself on the next C. This means you only have to memorize seven notes!


Take note of the pattern in picture #1. Observe:

● The alphabetical order from left to right.

● There is no H note!*
After G, the letters start back at A.
* (Some Northern European countries use H to signify a B natural, and B to signify B flat.)

Try It: Find a C note on your keyboard, and identify each white key until you reach the next C. Do this until you feel comfortable enough with the keyboard to name the notes in random order.


Notes of the Black Piano Keys

Black piano keys are called accidentals, and they are just that: the sharps and flats of the piano.

On the keyboard, there are five black accidentals per octave. They can be either sharp or flat, and are named after the notes they modify:


Sharp (#)
A sharp makes a note a half step higher in pitch.
On the keyboard, a note’s sharp is the black key directly to its right (See picture #2).

Try It: Find a C note on your keyboard, and identify its sharp. *


Flat (b)
A flat makes a note a half step lower in pitch.
On the keyboard, a note’s flat is the black key directly to its left.

Try It: Find a D note and identify its flat on the keyboard. *
* Both examples point to the same black key. When notes go by more than one name, it’s called “enharmony.”


Memorize the Notes on the Piano Keyboard

Identify the white keys individually, and practice naming them until you can find each note without counting from C.

You don’t need to memorize each sharp and flat by name just yet, but remember how to locate them on the keyboard using the natural keys.

How to Always Locate the Piano's Middle C

You’re going to hear a lot about middle C (also called C4), so it’s important to know how to find it. The area around middle C will be the starting point for many piano songs, and it’s also a general border between keys played with the left hand, and keys played with the right hand.


Find Middle C on the Piano

To find middle C on your keyboard, position yourself at the center of the piano. The middle C will be the closest C to the middle of the keyboard.

Try It: Locate and play the middle C on your keyboard (check your location here); take note of how many black key groups precede it to help you remember.


Finding Middle C on an Electric Keyboard

You can easily locate middle C by counting the C’s on your keyboard. Start from the left-hand side, and use the following guidelines based on your keyboard size.

Some keyboards have fewer than 88 keys; here is how to find them on all sizes:

88-key – Middle C is the fourth C you count.
76-key – Is the third C.
61-key – Is the third C.
49-key – Is the third C.

Tip: If you’re unsure about the size of your keyboard, you can simply count, just be sure to also count the black keys.

You can also find your keyboard’s size by counting the total amount of C’s:

88-key – You will count eight C’s (including the very last key on the board).
76-key – Has six C’s.
61-key – Has six C’s (including the very last key).
49-key – Has five C’s (including the very last key).

Consult the Illustrated Middle C Guides for a visual example of C4 on each of the above keyboard sizes.

KEY BOARD LESSON-LAYOUT OF PIANO

In this lesson, you will learn:

The layout of the piano keys.
How to find the piano’s C note, and use it as your compass.
Layout of the Piano Keys

Don’t be intimidated by the length of your piano keyboard, it’s a lot simpler than it looks.
Take a look at the keys – do you notice a repeating pattern?

There are sets of two black keys, and sets of three black keys. The black keys are going to help you find the notes you want. Without them, it would be nearly impossible to tell the white keys apart. Use the black keys to point you to the most crucial note on the board, the C.

Finding the C Note on Your Piano

Your life is going to revolve around C from now on, so let’s get you introduced.

The C note is always the white key right before the two black keys. This is the same throughout the entire piano keyboard; the pattern repeats itself.

Try It: Locate and play every C on your keyboard, using the two black keys as your guide. In picture #1, each C note is highlighted.


Tip: Remembering C's location can be tricky; it comes before a group of black keys just like the F key. Remember:
C comes before the group of two black keys.
F comes before the group of three black keys.
Take a look at picture #2 to observe the difference.Question: Why are there only five black piano keys per octave?
Don’t all piano notes have sharps and flats?
Answer:
They do. Every note can have a sharp or flat, which is what a black piano key is; but there are fewer black piano keys than white piano keys.

The C-note in picture #1 appears to have no flat, because there is no black key directly to the left of it. C has a flat; it’s just disguised as B. Here’s why:


The musical scale on which the piano keyboard is based is called the diatonic scale. This scale has intervals of whole steps and half steps. Th

e interval layout of the C major scale is as follows:

C –whole- D –whole- E –half- F –whole- G –whole- A –whole- B –half- C


There are two half step intervals in a major scale. In C major, they’re between B-C, and E-F. Since there is already a half step between these notes, adding a black key – which lowers a note by a half step – would be unnecessary.

Tip: Because of this interval layout, B can also be written as C flat … depending on the key. These notes are just two examples of enharmonic notes.

KEYBOARD

Piano Lessons and Your Instrument
Whether you have a full size piano or an electronic keyboard, or
even an organ, these lessons will teach you how to play your
keyboard instrument.
What kind of keyboard instrument are you using for these lessons?
If you are using an electric keyboard, how many keys (including
the black ones) does it have?
I recommend a keyboard instrument with at least 61 keys on it.
For simplicity, I will now start to refer to "your keyboard
instrument" as "your piano."
White Keys, Black Keys...Where do I begin?
????????????????????????????
Just looking at your piano can be overwhelming! You may
wonder, "How am I ever going to learn all these notes?"
Well, you have come to the right place.
I am going to teach you how to "shrink" your piano and become
familiar with all the keys.
1

Groups of Two and Three Black Keys
Look at your piano and find the black keys that are grouped in
two‘s. You will see groups of two and groups of three.
Find each group of two, and play them. The first groups of two are
shown with a circle around them. Find and play all of the groups
of two your piano, then circle the remaining groups of two on the
piano diagram shown below.
When you find each group, play it with the hand that is closest to
the group that you find. For example, when you find the groups of
two that are easy to reach with your left hand, then play them with
your left hand. When you find the groups of two that are closest
to your right hand, then play them with your right hand.
You may use any fingers you are comfortable with.
Now do the same exercise except find and play all the groups of
three black keys, again, using the hand closest to the groups
that you find.
2

Middle C
Now that you are comfortable with finding the groups of two black
keys and the groups of three black keys, it's time to talk about the
white keys.
As you look at the piano on this page, you will notice that there is a
letter "C" on the white key that is found on the left side of each
group of two black
keys.
Now look at your piano and find and play all the C's.
After you have done that, find the C that is closest to the exact
middle of your piano and that one is called
MIDDLE C.
Continue to practice finding all the C's on your piano and finding
Middle C until it is very easy for you.
C CCC
Middle C
3























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Piano Sections
Here you will see that I divided the white keys to signify different
sections. Look closely, can you figure out how I divided the piano
into sections?
C CCC
Each section starts with a C and includes the next 6 white keys,
making 7 keys in a section.
Notice that each section of 7 keys includes a group of 2 black
keys and a group of 3 black keys.
The piano is made up of the same 7 keys, over and over and over
again.
Now look at your piano and instead of feeling like there are A
LOT of keys, look at it in sections, kind of like a puzzle. An easy
way to see the piano in sections is to look at the groups of 2 black
keys.
Each group of two black keys starts with a C and represents a —7
key“ section of the piano.
4



3 4
3
4
2
2
5
5
1
1
LEFT
RIGHT
HAND
HAND
Are you ready to start having some fun? Let's play the piano!
First we are going to give each of your fingers a number....
Your thumb is number 1,
your next finger is number 2,
next is number 3, then number 4 and finally your little finger is
number 5.
Place your
RIGHT
HAND THUMB
on
MIDDLE C
.
Then place each of your fingers, one at a time, on the next 4 white
keys. If you did it right, your thumb (remember to use your right
hand only) will be on MIDDLE C and each one of your other 4
fingers will be resting on one key each. You should be covering 5
keys in a row with 5 fingers.
The next page will show you if you did it right.
5


Middle C
C4
25
3
C C
C
1
Right
Hand
Did you do it right? Look at the piano on this page and see if you
have your fingers resting on the correct keys.
If your fingers are in the correct position, congratulations!
The position you are in is called
Middle C Position
.
Now, one at a time, play each key once. Do not move your hand
and do not move your fingers.
You should be playing Middle C with your
thumb
,
the next key with your
#2 finger
,
the next key with
#3 finger
,
next key with
#4 finger
,
the last key with
#5 finger
.
If you played it right, with the correct fingers, then go ahead and
play it over and over and over again. (Only use your right hand!)
Get really comfortable with it. Play it fast, play it slow, play it
backwards, and play it out of order.
ALWAYS
play each key
with the finger that is assigned to it!
6

Right Hand Practice
With your
right hand
in Middle C position, play the following
three patterns.
Play C with your thumb.
Play the keys the finger numbers are resting on.
DO NOT MOVE OUT OF MIDDLE C POSITION!
DO NOT LOOK AT YOUR FINGERS WHILE PLAYING!
C 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 C
3 5 3 3 2 4 2 2 C
5 3 4 2 3 C 2 5 C
7

Which hand do I use and when?
Notice on the piano below that there is a dot with arrows pointing
in opposite directions. This is showing you that whenever you play
keys that are below Middle C, you will play with your left hand
and whenever you play keys that are above Middle C, you will
play with your right hand. (You were playing keys on and above
Middle C on the previous page, that is why you were instructed to
use your right hand.)
Use Left Hand Use Right Hand
C
C
C C
Middle C
This is a rule with exceptions.
There are times when the right hand will play below Middle C
and times when the left hand will play above Middle C.
However, for now, we are going to follow the general rule until
later.
8


Left Hand C Position
On the piano below, you will see that I shaded a C position section
below Middle C.
Look closely at the numbers:
C 4 3 2 1
are written on the keys
instead of
C 2 3 4 5
.
You will see why when you place your LEFT hand on the shaded
section, matching the fingers indicated. Notice that when your left
hand is in C position, your thumb is
not
the finger that you would
use on the C.
Place your
LEFT
hand in C position on your piano. PLAY:
C 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 C
Use Left Hand
4321
C
C
C C
Middle C
1
Left Hand
9

Shrinking Your Piano
Here is the final step to "shrinking your piano" and getting familiar
with playing all over the piano.
YOUR ASSIGNMENT IS:
1. Place your right hand in Middle C position with your thumb on
Middle C. Play any patterns you like and at different speeds. When
finished, move your right hand up (to the right) to a different C
section of the piano (the notes will sound higher) and with your
thumb on C (will not be Middle C), again play all the patterns that
you like. Continue to move your right hand to different sections
and play whatever you like.
(Make sure that the sections you choose are
above
Middle C)
2. Do the same as above, except do it with your left hand.
Remember, your left hand will be placed in a C position with your
#5 finger on the C. Again, move your hand around and play in
different C sections of the
lower
part of the piano,
(below Middle C).
3. If you are very brave and want to try something new, place both
hands on the piano, each in a different C section and play both
hands at the same time. Make sure you match the same key with
the same key in each hand. (Not same finger numbers)
EXAMPLE:
When playing with both hands, C with your right hand thumb will
match the C with your left hand #5 finger, and so forth. It‘s a
little tricky at first, but you can do it!
Have fun and good luck! I’ll see you in Lesson 2!
10

Marching
1. Which finger do you place on the first note?
2. There are several position changes. Highlight the circled changes.
3. The numbers in parenthesis are for you to double check your position.
4. Make sure when playing the quarter note chords in each measure that you let go
after 1 count and rest (see the quarter rests?) for 1 count.
5. Count out loud and keep your eyes on the music.
3
3 3
(1)
(1) (5)
&
œ œ œ œ
w
œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ
œ
œ
œ
w
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
?
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
œ Œ œ
œ Œ
œ Œ
œ Œ œ
œ Œ
œ Œ œ
w
œ
œ
œ
w
œ
œ
œ
3 4
(2) (1)
&
œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ
w
œ
œ
œ
w
?
œ Œ œ
œ Œ
œ Œ œ
œ Œ
œ Œ œ
œ Œ
w
œ
œ
œ
œ
w
œ
œ
Lesson 4 - 7e
11

కీబోర్డ్ పాఠాలు-1 KEYBOARD LAY OUTS