Place Your Fingers Properly on Piano Keys

Are you starting to learn playing the piano by yourself, but can't quite figure out how to properly place your fingers on the piano keys? This article will guide you through the recommended proper finger placement on the keyboard.

Steps

  1. Memorize the piano finger numbering system. Fingers are numbered to make it easier to write down finger placement on sheet music. It also helps explaining proper piano finger placement. The numbering of fingers is the same for both left and right hands. The numbering system is as follows:
    • The thumb finger is number 1.
    • The index finger is number 2.
    • The middle finger is number 3.
    • The ring finger is number 4.
    • The pinky finger is number 5.

Right-hand fingers placement

  1. Start at Middle C.
  2. Put finger 1 on the middle C note key.
  3. Put finger 2 on D, 3 on E, 4 on F, 5 on G. This is known as the Going up pattern.
  4. Play the notes C-D-E-F-G using the current finger placement.
  5. Move finger 1 to the right, and below the other fingers just when your finger 5 starts to go down to hit the G note key.
  6. Pass finger 1 under finger 5 to play the next A note.
  7. Repeat the five finger order outlined before so that finger 2 presses B, 3 on C5, 4 on D5, and 5 on E5.
  8. Repeat the previous pattern until you reach the end of the keyboard.

Left-hand fingers placement

  1. Start at Middle C.
  2. Put finger 1 on the middle C note key.
  3. Put finger 2 on B3, 3 on A3, 4 on G3, 5 on F3. This is known as the Going down pattern.
  4. Play the notes C4-B3-A3-G3-F3 using the current finger placement.
  5. Move finger 1 to the left, and below the other fingers just when your finger 5 starts to go down to hit the F note key.
  6. Pass finger 1 under finger 5 to play the next E3 note.
  7. Repeat the five finger order outlined before so that finger 2 presses D3, 3 on C3, 4 on B2, and 5 on A2.
  8. Repeat the previous pattern until you reach the end of the keyboard.

Playing Scales

  1. Your 5th finger should generally only be used for starting or ending a scale, not passing tones. In other words, you should cross your 1st finger under your 3rd or 4th finger, not the 5th.
  2. For a C scale, right hand example, you will play C, D, and E with fingers 1, 2, and 3, then pass finger 1 under the 3rd to play F, G, A, B, and C with 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Reverse this coming back down. (Note that ending on your 5th finger here is fine.)
  3. If you are continuing up more than one octave, you will cross your 1st finger under the 4th, changing from B to C ready to start over with the same pattern on the next octave.
  4. For the left hand going up, you want to cross your 3rd finger over your first going from G to A. Continuing another octave, you'll cross your 4th over the 1st from C to D. It makes more sense to think of the mirrored fingerings, but playing up with your right and down with your left is not the norm. (Note that beginning on your 5th finger here is perfectly acceptable.)
  5. This crossing under fingers 3 and 4 (or over with fingers 3 and 4) may not seem important on the all-white-keys C scale, but when you start working on other keys, its importance becomes clear, so starting these good habits while learning this easy scale will pay off in the long run. (In most keys, you will always begin with your left hand on your 5th finger and end with your right hand on your 5th finger.)

Tips

  • Start first by only using the five fingers to play either C-D-E-F-G (right hand), or C-B-A-G-F (left hand). Practice playing the notes going upward (to the right), then downward (to the left) then both. After your fingers are loose enough, start practicing going 10 notes up or down.
  • When you place your hand on the keyboard, make sure your fingers form a paw-like shape instead of being flattened out. That would give you more flexibility and help you create better sounds.
  • When you play black keys, it is, however, advisable to flatten your fingers out, and at times, push your fingers forward. This would help you reach out to play more notes with proper dynamics, especially when you want to play a chord with 4 or 5 notes.

Things You'll Need

  • Piano
  • Stickers or a key sheet for knowing the keys (if needed, for young beginners only)

Related Articles

You may like

Retrieved from "https://kipkis.com/index.php?title=Place_Your_Fingers_Properly_on_Piano_Keys&oldid=282333"