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.
2
votes
1answer
43 views
Alto saxophone fingering for notes written below the staff
I am a beginner on the alto saxophone. I understand the fingering for playing notes on the staff but I do not understand the fingering for playing notes below the staff. Sometimes there are two extra ...
2
votes
2answers
85 views
G chord guitar fingering - one finger?
I bought a guitar course on DVD and am puzzled by the way they have begun teaching the chords, specifically the G major. In the first lesson we were taught to put our third (ring) finger on the E ...
1
vote
2answers
88 views
Why does flute fingering have to be so complicated?
So, I have progressed on my flute. I'm now getting the notes that I am supposed to be getting. Here is what I noticed during my last flute practice as far as fingerings:
All open: C#
1 key down(...
4
votes
1answer
58 views
Fingering in Unsquare Dance
I'm an intermediate piano player and learning to play Dave Brubeck's Unsquare Dance. I'm doing alright in terms of rhythm and coordinating my hands despite the unusual meter, but I'm really struggling ...
17
votes
1answer
2k views
What does this 7 mean above the f flat
It seems to look like a fingering number but I don’t have 7 fingers and the note is already marked with a fingering number.
0
votes
2answers
87 views
Arm pain and endurance when playing Revolution by Chopin on piano
I know this piece is mostly meant as a technical exercise for the left hand, but every time I practice it my arm gets too tired to continue after the first page. I've been practicing it regularly (30 ...
1
vote
3answers
73 views
Piano - Playing scales efficiently
I have just started playing the piano, enjoy playing scales on it. When I play a scale one handed (C major for example), after I finish playing the note with my pinky finger, I have to lift my hand up ...
1
vote
1answer
32 views
Which Bansuri Fingering Chart to use with Practicing Saptak (both Beginners and Experienced)
I totally appreciate the nuances of Bansuri notation. And I am starting to notice subtle differences when practicing half-notes (i.e. Komal)
Is it best practice to use simple Bansuri fingering chart ...
0
votes
1answer
51 views
How can I practice/utilize bigger and more emotional hand movements when playing the piano?
Whenever I watch a good piano player, I notice their arms and hands move a lot and it looks very smooth and emotional. Then when I record myself playing, I notice my hands often look stiff and they ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views
Learning to quickly identify valid fingering for piano?
I have identified three main problems holding back my piano sight-reading, and this is the second biggest.
I can work out fingerings by trial and error, but some very experienced pianists just devise ...
0
votes
2answers
40 views
How to play upper voices of this piano arrangement part of Pachelbel's Canon
I am not quite sure how to play best the upper two voices of measures 2 and 3 in the picture below in a piano arrangement of Pachelbel's Canon in D. My first idea was to use the left hand and play the ...
2
votes
4answers
125 views
Piano: Ring finger goes down with pinky [duplicate]
I'm a beginner to Piano and when I'm playing the C chord, I'm placing my thumb on C, middle finger on E, and my pinky on G. Only thing is, whenever I bring my pinky down, my ring finger comes down ...
2
votes
0answers
27 views
Viola Pinky Pain
I've watched carefully both how my instructor uses her pinky, and how others do so, and it seems to universally be comparatively straight at the second joint to make the stretch, with the first bent ...
5
votes
9answers
1k views
Is the fingering of thirds flexible or do I have to follow the rules?
In the exercises of thirds instead of playing it 1/3 2/4 3/5 can I play it 1/3 2/4 1/5 or it's not advisable? It's really hard for me to raise the fourth finger when going to play 3/5; are there ...
1
vote
1answer
53 views
Differences in Bansuri Fingering Chart
I have been practicing little over a month roughly 30 minutes a day. Bansuri is A scale, almost 23.5"
So far I am practicing SA RE GA MA PA DHA NI SA, and using higher octave when doing PA DHA NI SA.
...
7
votes
2answers
135 views
Are there specific injury concerns I should watch out for with piano tremolo exercises?
Based on Cortot exercies like these...
...I've been practicing patterns like this for seventh chords...
...and left hand...
The spacing of the fingers with these major seventh chords feels ...
1
vote
1answer
68 views
How should I position fingers 1 and 5 in these preparatory exercises from Cortot?
The first two are from Cortot's preparatory exercises for Chopin Etude opus10/1...
My hand cannot reach a 10th so I have to reach ...
2
votes
1answer
47 views
How should I correct my wrist motion when trying to do this preparatory exercise of Cortot?
From Cortot's preparatory exercises for Chopin Etude Op.10/2...
Apologies in advance for a bad recording and my piano's bad tuning and my bad playing. At least Cortot says play it in a slow tempo. ...
5
votes
4answers
711 views
Trouble with thumb placement when practicing arpeggios on a piano
I'm just now learning the correct fingering for when practicing scales and arpeggios. Scales are going quite well, but when I practice arpeggios, I seem to have a lot of trouble with my thumb ...
1
vote
0answers
75 views
Piano fingering for basic triads in B flat major
I'm trying to re-train my hand to use better fingerings. Recently I looked at my fingering for something very basic: primary triads.
I want to adapt the fingering for all 24 keys and both hands.
I ...
1
vote
1answer
67 views
Why does each key have different fingering on the erhu?
Why does each key ...playing the erhu have different fingering ? Is there a way to understand why and if I understand the logic, I might be able to figure out what fingering I should be using. I have ...
2
votes
2answers
132 views
Learning piano by song tutorials
I started learning piano few years ago. I did not spend too much time on theory as it seemed straightforward to me, but easy to forget. I However practiced a couple of songs over and over. I looked at ...
1
vote
1answer
74 views
Sometimes when i focus my attention to strumming i struggle with proper fingering speed and precision
I'm fairly new to guitar and i need some help.
First off, i'm playing an acoustic guitar. I'm not a beginner yet not a master. I've been playing for a few months, i know a few scales, a dozen of ...
1
vote
3answers
91 views
Why are some alternate sax fingerings harder to play than the normal fingerings?
I've found that on my alto sax, some alternate fingerings require much more air to play than the normal fingerings. For example, A# can be played with either of these fingerings:
However, the second ...
2
votes
1answer
48 views
Balalaika strummed by finger or thumb?
I bought myself a balalaika and started to play with it. As I watched my first video here:
it tells that I have to use my index finger for stroking it.
But that is ...
1
vote
0answers
71 views
Pinky finger cracking while playing guitar
While exercising my pinky at playing the guitar I noticed a huge problem which I am not able to find on the internet. My pinky kind of cracks when trying to bend it from its flat state. I tested it on ...
1
vote
2answers
76 views
How to stop a 5-string capo blocking my fretting of the bottom E string?
I want to play a fingerstyle guitar based on open-voiced chords in the key of D, capoed to be in D, Eb or E for performance. I'd love to have the low D from a drop-D tuning but this messes up some ...
1
vote
1answer
166 views
Where do you place your fingers (y-axis) on keys when your thumb or pinky is on a black key or white key?
I'd like some feedback on some keyboard diagrams I'm making. I'd like to indicate where you would put your fingertip (fingers 1-5) on the y-axis if you were to play certain chords depending on if the ...
2
votes
2answers
164 views
Left hand Fingering for G Root Position Dominant 7th Chord?
I notice that a lot of people recommend playing a G root position dominant 7th chord in the left hand with the fingers 5, 3, 2, 1. But to me, 5, 4, 2, 1 is more comfortable.
Is it considered "bad" ...
0
votes
2answers
229 views
2
votes
3answers
223 views
How to know when to play what note on what string on the violin?
I'm teaching myself to play the violin and only just starting on the notes and how to read the music, but i am getting a little stuck on knowing what note to play on what string from reading the sheet ...
2
votes
0answers
85 views
Fingerings for Chromatic Third Scales on the Piano
Can someone enumerate the main fingerings for major (... → C-E → C♯-F → …) and minor (... → C-E♭ → C♯-E → …) chromatic third scales? I've heard that Czerny, Moszkowski, Chopin and Godowski each had ...
1
vote
2answers
156 views
Fingering for long arpeggio
I seek fingering advice for the arpeggio in the image shown. It’s in A Major..
2
votes
1answer
333 views
Descending trill in Chopin's Military Polonaise?
I looked at the sheet music of the Military Polonaise by Chopin that I have. I saw something which looks more difficult than even the fast speed or the octaves. I saw a descending trill. I have never ...
2
votes
3answers
511 views
What is the proper piano fingering for playing scales in thirds?
I've been learning scales and I love to play them in this fashion.
I can't seem to find a description anywhere of "proper" fingerings where there isn't a bunch of overlap. Proper is contained in ...
13
votes
7answers
3k views
Is there a reason not to play A/C# as x42225?
I'm having a hard time fingering A/C# as this sheet suggests: x42220. I've tried:
barring with the first finger, but it's difficult for me not to touch the high E.
barring with the first finger and ...
1
vote
2answers
229 views
Descending thirds fingering (Zorba’s dance)
I found an arrangement of Zorba’s dance. But there is a passage I don’t like because I think there are thirds originally which sound much better. The arrangement is in the second picture.
The thirds ...
2
votes
1answer
275 views
Fantasie Impromptu and hand flexibility
I am thinking of perhaps learning Fantasie Impromptu soon. I have played a 4:3 polyrhythm before but not for longer than a measure. The piece in which I have encountered this polyrhythm is Nocturne Op....
2
votes
3answers
568 views
Keyboard fingering for pentatonic scale
I always find it difficult to play pentatonic scales on a keyboard. For example, I have been trying to play a scale containing the following notes:
F G G# A# D.
(I am not sure about the scale ...
2
votes
0answers
299 views
Piano Fingering for Jazz
Nice party you got here at Stack Exchange. Let me join.
My goal is to become a jazz pianist/improviser. I’m currently learning through Blake Neely’s How to Play from a Fake Book and I’m stuck at ...
1
vote
2answers
134 views
3-4-3-4 fingering in BMV994
I was recently looking through Bach sheet music to find something new for training and I found BMV994 which made me a bit confused:
This does not look like any "modern" fingerings I have seen. I have ...
1
vote
1answer
195 views
Is my fingering correct for F major to G major chord change?
I just started taking keyboard lessons. I have a song which has F major to G major chord change.
F = C F A [Finger 5 2 1]
G = B D G [Finger 5 3 1]
I placed my fingers on C F A [5 2 1] but now while ...
3
votes
1answer
76 views
Should I bother to learn the correct fingering or transpositions by default when playing a second instrument?
I have been playing the Soprano recorder for some time now, and also the Alto for a while as well.
The thing is, I never bothered learning the correct fingering for the Alto. That is, the fingering ...
4
votes
3answers
994 views
D7 piano left hand fingering
What could be the most efficient left hand fingering for D7 chord when the previous stroke is 5-finger (left hand). I was told by a teacher it's not efficient to use 5-finger bass (l.h.) and then ...
-1
votes
1answer
99 views
Piano finger numbers for the attached measure
I was wondering if anyone could add finger numbers above each note on the measure below. I can't really seem to find a way to play the whole thing and still manage play it in legato (notice the slurs ...
11
votes
6answers
2k views
Should I avoid using my index finger on non-barre chords?
I'm a guitar beginner who knows the basic, non-barre chords and is now learning some barre chords.
I've noticed that, usually, barre chord shapes are just like non-barre chords but shifted. For ...
4
votes
2answers
166 views
Guitar - fingering for playing multiple consecutive notes on a string cleanly
Let's say I need to play
10 13 12 13 - 10 13 12 13 - ...
quickly on a single string. Label my fingers as index 1, middle 2, ring 3, and pinky 4.
If I put 1, pick, lift 1, put 4, pick, lift 4, ... ...
3
votes
1answer
187 views
Reaching Low 1 on Violin
When learning where to place your fingers on the violin, common advice I hear (especially if you have a short pinky) is to first place the 4th finger down so you know you can reach it comfortably, and ...
4
votes
3answers
566 views
Fingering of cello double stops
Could someone provide me with the fingering for this sequence of double-stops (it's bass clef)? I put together a quick shot on "When I'm 64" for my daughter, but since I can't play cello, I can't ...
1
vote
2answers
184 views
Rage Over A Lost Penny: Getting better at left hand section
I am currently learning Beethoven's "Rage Over A Lost Penny", and I am finding it very hard to play this particular section:
The right hand is pretty easy for me here, but it's the left hand that I ...
