Yep, these are quick and "to the point!"
1. You have five fingers - use them all!
Now most folks use all fingers rather instinctively but I've seen folks NOT use either their pinky or both the pinky and ring finger, sometimes with only one hand (they use all fingers on the other hand!) but sometimes with both. I've asked these people if I can simply cut off the other fingers, because after all, they ain't using them! No far no takers. Hey, if we had more fingers we could play better. So use all five even though two are short (the pinky and the thumb) if this applies to you.
2. Use your ring finger although it's lousy.
I knew the ring finger was not the best finger on the hand but it took a student trained in anatomy to explain why. Here's why: the ring finger is not supposed to used without the middle or the pinky. It's designed to be what you might call "a helper finger" in that it assists the ones on either side of it to work. It even has tendons running to those fingers. It's the only finger set up this way, but it's very, VERY important to your ability on the keyboard. You have an entire lifetime of avoiding it or simply hanging rings on it! I can tell you more if you will only ask me: danstarrorg410@gmail.com
3. To play well the hand must spread out and reach for notes.
The adult hand span is actually 6 keys wide. Children, the normal target of keyboard training, have much smaller hands. That, I suspect, is the reason for the "5 finger position" idea. Their hands only cover 5 keys due to their small size. Regardless of your age, shake out your hand and place it over the keyboard. This will tell you what the norm is for you. Don't let your thumb move at all to form a five finger position. Keep your hand relaxed.
Luckily, most tunes have many more than just C - G notes in them. that means that most songs require more than plunking your hand down in a five finger position and never moving it.
For example, when you are playing Middle C with your thumb and need to play the C above it, you should REACH (spread your hand) your pinky for that C note. What you don't want to do is to move the entire hand and arm structure so you cover that C with a finger. This will make you look at your hand so you can place it properly (see immediately below!)
4. One thing that folks have a lot of trouble with is "losing their place" in the music.
One glance down at the hand and you don't know where you are. Also "muscle memory" eventually kicks in and you aren't really looking at the notes anymore. Thus, it's easy to lose your place in the music.
Every teacher draws a line in the sand. MY line is designed for the person who does NOT want to become a professional musician! I demand my students never watch their fingers when it is the fingers that are all that is moving. However, I also tell them to look (if they need to) at any motion in which the entire hand/arm structure is moved.
The only downside to this is that they have to be able to find their place in the music once they have glanced at their hands. Some find this hard to learn.
Practice this: follow the music with your eyes not really processing the notes, their durations, etc. even on the parts of the music that are handled by muscle memory. Then, when you do need to look at your hands, you will be able to look up to the the music and know where you left off.
Another way that has helped is to run through the music one hand at a time and HIGHLIGHT all those spots where it is necessary to look at the hand. This way, if you see one coming, you can be ready for it!
Got a problem with fingering your pieces? Email me and I'll help you: danstarrorg410@gmail.com
