Questions tagged [fingering]
Choosing which finger(s) to use to press a key (of a keyboard) or to stop a string, or the set of fingers to use to produce a particular note or chord.
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How or What to Practice to Get Consistent?
This might seem like a strange question. I've read a lot of books about deliberate practice and the history of music pedagogy, and I'm still a bit puzzled by this:
How do I get more consistent?
For ...
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Keyboard fingering: jumps vs spread fingers
In short and in general, my question is:
When choosing the best fingering, is it better to add more jumps to avoid fingers spreading, or spread fingers to reduce amount of jumps?
There are particular ...
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Suite Venezolana, I Registro by Antonio Lauro notations & fingerings [for classical (nylon strings) guitar]
As shown in the attached image,
(i) What do the numbers written in the circles indicate?
(ii)What do the numbers above the beams/below the "arm" notation indicate?
(iii) Does "arm" ...
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What are these playing instructions for classical guitar?
Throughout the score there are various CX, CVII signs and the alla breve sign (which is obviously not Alla Breve). From what I could gather, these are fingering instructions for the pinky (C), but I ...
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Can someone explain what those numbers mean? [duplicate]
Beginning of bar 2
Why are there numbers above and below the notes?
Are those two different fingerings?
What does the 14 under the half note mean?
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (First two bars):
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Piano fingering for left hand figure
What would be the generally recommended fingering for the following left hand figure?
(5-2-1-3-2-3-1-2 works nicely starting on a white key, but not so much on a black key.)
Thanks!
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Controlling finger reaction
This is a follow up question of Guitar Muscle memory lesson plan for fine motor skill deficit
While melodies get longer, I'm confusing, and especially if finger path are crosssing itself a lot such as
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Playing multiple notes with different duration on the same key simultaneously? [duplicate]
My son wanted to learn the Wellerman song on piano, so I looked up a sheet on MuseScore which I thought he could do, but is still a bit of a challenge. Now I have some trouble understanding it myself.
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How do I teach high positions for double bass?
I am self-taught on electric bass and I'm currently working with a double bassist who learned to play in a much more conventional sense than I did. My musical education consists of watching videos of ...
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Is it difficult to transition from German fingering to Baroque fingering?
Just for fun, I am looking into learning how to play the recorder. I might be able to get a soprano recorder from a friend who doesn't play it anymore, but it seems like it requires German fingering. ...
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How can I find out which woodwind instruments have the same (or almost the same) fingering so it makes transitioning between those instruments easier?
Just for fun, I want to begin learning woodwind instruments. Unfortunately, I have to put some financial constraints on that project. Therefore, I am looking into learning how to play the recorder, ...
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Which instruments have the same (or almost the same) fingering? (In other words, which instruments can you play if you know how to play one of them?) [closed]
First of all, I fully realize that to know how to actually play an instrument, there is more to it than just the fingering. Yet, I feel like it has to make things easier, right?
What about recorder, ...
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Are 4 part chorales supposed to be played on piano using 2 voices for each hand?
Sometimes the bass and tenor have a 10th or 12th interval so obviously I cant reach that with one hand on some chords but is the general way to play a chorale on piano using two notes per hand? Most ...
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Trying to learn Ab Scale on Piano, and can't make sense of the fingers [duplicate]
I am trying to learn Ab Scale, and fingers are tripping me up. I only know C Major till now and a beginner, so please help.
For right hand : Its suppose to be 2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3 but I am starting Ab on 2 ...
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Fingerings in Rachmaninoff's Prelude in G minor, Op. 23 Nr. 5
According to the sheet music, the G minor chord and the octaves in the beginning of the piece should be split between both hands
And I see most people performing the piece like this as well (for ...
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alternative F# clarinet fingering
On my Schreiber clarinet with Oehler key system (or german system) the alternative F# fingering (right side of the image) produces not a F# but a slightly flat G instead while the normal fingering (...
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3 octave A Major violin scale fingerings?
What are some common fingerings for a 3 octave A major scale on violin?
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Bach Invention 2 Bar 13 overlapping keys for both hands while playing mordent
I know there are related previous discussions (I had asked one here, which , interestingly, was also a Bar "13"), but they concerned one individual key overlap. In this case, left hand plays ...
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How to improve my technique while learning Yann Tiersen's "Pern"?
I'm a self learner, unfortunately I did not have any lessons. I try to work on scales, keys, articulation, tempo, etc. myself. And I also try to curve my fingers whenever I can.
I can't read notes ...
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Piano fingering in Un Sospiro
For the tall left-hand arpeggio that descends two and a half octaves in the first bar, my first thought for fingering (for my hands which can only span an octave comfortably) would be starting from ...
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Guitar: finger position question
My professor asked me to practice the following on any string: index finger on fret 1, ring finger on fret 3, little finger on fret 5. I keep practicing but this is pretty painful and hard for me to ...
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Are there different rules for double notes fingering (piano) for legato vs. staccato?
If the double notes are legato, is it a rule not to involve the same finger when playing two double notes in a row? If so, is staccato subject to such rule?
In particular, in the following Bar 45 of ...
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This bar has notes spanning farther than my fingers can reach on piano. How should it be played? [duplicate]
On the following bar of music from "Thank You for Being a Friend", I don't know how to play the specified notes with my limited human hands, particularly the first two beats. I don't see a ...
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Fingering - Chopin Waltz in a minor - measure 21
Need some suggestions with the following.
I am playing the first 3 notes - E, G♯, B with fingers 1,2, and 4, then I am shifting my hand, then playing the next octave up with the same fingering.
The ...
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How am I meant to hold my fingers for this chord?
I am currently learning how to play guitar. I haven't found a proper guitar teacher yet due to the current lockdown situation, so I have to learn from YouTube videos and other online exercises. ...
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Two sets of fingerings printed for one same bar?
2nd movement of Beethoven's sonata Op. 49, No. 2. Bar 7. One edition seems to show two sets of fingering numbers: 4-3-2, and 4-4-2? What does it mean?
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How Do I Know Which Piano Hand Position in the Following Exercise?
In the book "300 Progressive Sight Reading Exercises for Piano", we're taught to put our right thumb on "middle C" and the left pinky finger on "lower C". But exercise #...
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Lilypond: modifying woodwind diagrams
Regarding woodwind diagram in LilyPond as:
\markup {
\center-column {
\override #'(size . 0.7) {
\woodwind-diagram #'flute #'((cc . (oneF two three four five six))
(lh . (...
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Slurs and Finger Substitution
In ABRSM "The AB Guide to Music Theory, Part I, Ch 11.2" on "The Slur": they show the following example (Bartok, For Children, Vol. 1 No. 3)
And they say that the end of a slur ...
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Double thirds, fourths, fifths and sixths piano fingering?
I have absolutely no idea how to finger things like this. I don't really know what sort of guidelines to follow or what books to practice that combine double thirds, fourths and fifths consecutively ...
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Do the music examination bodies like trinity mandate playing the triads with with only (5-3-1) in Left Hand and (1-3-5) in Right Hand?
My music teacher has always told me to use only pinky, middle finger and thumb (5-3-1) while practicing the triad chords. Though I am trying to use it, it becomes difficult on the black keys. ...
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"Impossible" piano fingering in Sondheim
Here is a bit from the standard piano arrangement of Sondheim's "Loving You" (from the Musical "PASSION").
This is near the start of the song (measure 9). The key is D-flat major (...
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Four-note arpeggio on string instrument
Consider following excerpt of the first movement of Mendelssohn's Violin concerto:
It contains a series of arpeggios.
What are the rules to write such arpeggios?
Are the four notes always played on ...
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The use of finger substitution to execute a slurred fifth
Upon performing the theme from the 2nd movement of the Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 (1st violin) part, I came upon a slur that went from a B flat on the D string with a fourth finger to an F on the A ...
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What's the difference between EWI fingering and saxophone fingering?
I recently purchased an Akai EWI Solo - it's an electronic woodwind instrument that mimics a saxophone. As I watched several videos of experienced EWI players unboxing the EWI Solo, I heard advice ...
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Pachelbel's Canon in D, arpeggio's fingering
In measure 5 to 12 of this R. Schultz arr. of Pachelbel's "Canon in D", the left hand plays the arpeggios.
I have seen various fingering for the left hand:
(a) 5 5 3 1 | 5 5 3 1 | 5 5 3 1 |...
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How to know what string to play on the violin if it does not show it on the sheet? [duplicate]
How to know what string to play on the violin and hand position for a classical piece if it’s not shown on the music sheet especially seen in these old music sheet pieces?
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Left hand fingering on arpeggio G-E-G-E-B-E on Piano keyboard [closed]
I'm absolutely new to piano and really want to learn piano myself at home without teacher. I've got a new sheet for a song, and I'm trying to figure out left hand fingering for the arpeggio G-E-G-B. ...
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What fingering do you think is better for "bass/chord" left-hand line?
Here is one of million piano arrangements of Ed Sheeran's "Perfect" that I've chosen for learning. And now I'm stuck trying to choose between two fingerings for left-hand line in this part (...
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Use of 3rd or 4th finger for bends
My son has two guitar teachers that disagree on something. I'd like to know your opinion to help my son make a decision which way to go.
On rock songs on the electric guitar, when your hand is in a ...
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Fingering for Bach piano sinfonia n.1 BWV787
Second measure of Bach piano sinfonia N.1 BWV787.
What's the usual piano fingering for the highlighted excerpt? If I'm not wrong you tend to avoid pedal on Bach pieces and C-E' interval is pretty ...
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When to use open note or closed note for solo on acoustic guitar for the same pitch?
Suppose you want to hit E5 (which is 0 fret on 1st string) in a passage of your solo, what are the reasons you'd pick the open note or the closed note on 5th fret 2nd string?
In general for electric ...
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What is the best fingering for this passage of "fluttering intervals"?
What is the best fingering to use for the following passage from "La Plage" by Yann Tiersen (section "B", mm. 7–12)?
It seems to me that the first measure should alternate 14-25, ...
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Why does my clarinet play a "Bb" when the music shows a "C" and I finger for a "C"? [duplicate]
I am trying to learn to play the clarinet and was doing fairly well until I tried to play a tune with my granddaughters on flute and piano. My clarinet was not in tune with their instruments. I have ...
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Is it safe to use thumb position in lower positions on cello?
A piece I've been playing has a notation to use the thumb in 2nd position on cello (with thumb on the D-string F# specifically, where first finger would go in normal 2nd position). I tried it out but ...
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Where should I press white keys - between black keys or below them?
I've been learning to play piano for couple of weeks, and I've faced a question that has some controversial answers on the internet:
What is the correct position of 2-3-4 fingers on white keys (WK) ...
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Piano fingering question
What is the best fingering for the attached sheet music marked in blue (right hand part)?
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Why is my flute squeaking when moving bottom finger
I just bought a Native American flute and it plays beautifully with one problem. When I remove the finger from the bottom hole, sometimes there is a loud squeaking and the flute goes high pitched. I ...
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Piano - Reaching arpeggios in Beethoven's Pathetique 3rd movement measure 107
If I start the piece from a neutral position in relation to my left hand I find that when I get to the arpeggios in measure 107 I can't comfortably reach them with my right hand. If I start the piece ...
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Why finger 4 on G-sharp, finger 5 on Fx=G in Moonlight Sonata mvmt. 3?
This is the Casella edition of Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata (Op. 27, No. 2) from IMSLP, and the text recommends fingering 1-4(G#4-G#5) and 1-5(A4-F##5), since G# is farther than F##(G), ...
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