4 Ways to Strengthen the 4th Finger | Piano Tutorial

This piano tutorial is for everyone who is having trouble controlling or getting their 4th finger to play along. In this lesson, I have four exercises designed to help get better control of your wayward finger and at the same time, build strength. See if you can do all the 4 exercises I listed and let me know in the comments below.

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🕘 Timestamps
0:00 Intro
1:35 First Exercise
2:38 Second Exercise
4:05 Third Exercise
5:51 Fourth Exercise

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[jazerleepiano]

Handy 🕘 Timestamps for you:
0:00 Intro
1:35 First Exercise
2:38 Second Exercise
4:05 Third Exercise
5:51 Fourth Exercise

[pamjones]

Thank you, I’m a 71 year old beginner and am very grateful for tips like this!

[scottev]

Just tried these variations, my 4 and 5 fingers definitely need the work.

[Empatiaa]

Hey, Jazer. I just want to say thank you for your free piano lessons and tips. I've been a musician for 21 years (acoustic guitar player), and I'm doing a major in music. Also want to follow a career in conducting. So, I decided to learn the piano. But right now I don't have the money to pay for a teacher.
So, I just want to say thank you a lot for your kindness of sharing your knowledge with us! ❤ Is helping me a lot.

[elissahunt]

As a clarinet/sax player, I have a lot of experience with uncooperative fourth fingers. Mine are probably in better shape than most piano beginners, but that doesn't make them great. To everyone struggling with this I say, don't give up. It takes time, but if you persevere, you'll get there.

[lawrencetaylor]

I started early on doing a variation of your fingers down exercise.
I put LH 1 and 2 on C and B, RH 1 and 2 on D and E and hold them down. I then play F, G and A with my 3, 4 and 5 in all combinations. The first time I tried I had a burn in the forearm, but massage helps.
I've had strong fingers from years of treating people after having to adapt my Chiropractic techniques due to a shoulder injury. But that led me to learn how to treat other people's shoulder, as well as my own. Grabbing a shoulder blade and massaging the interior muscles will do that. It's the same technique that vetenarians have to do to untwist an ovary on a cow. They suffer at first since they don't have finger strength, but after several years of practice, if they succeed they can then treat farm animals. Otherwise they stay in town and treat small animals.

[Tiger-sgzj]

My copy of Hanon Book 1 tells you above each exercise which fingers that exercise was designed to help: No. 7 "Exercise of the greatest importance for the 3rd. 4th and 5th fingers"

[andreasmaier]

Hi Jazer! This tutorial came just right in time! I tried this morning the C6 where I have to use right hand finger 1 on C, 3 on E, 4 on G and the pinky on A. I became aware that my finger number 4 is a complete disaster.

[AmandaKMason]

Thanks so much for these. I've been playing a long time, but not until starting to accompany a choir and really work Hanon through for strength, did I realize how weak my left 4th is. Now I just need to remember to employ these regularly.

[foowishamewican]

finger 4 feels horrible to do this exercise....makes me feel odd in my body lol

[pianomelloyt]

have you made a video on how and when to use the sustain pedal

[Elppp]

Might be a bit late but another thing that really helped with left hand weakness specifically is to mirror passages you’re playing on the keyboard and to practice it with the left hand this means you’re playing with all the same fingerings so don’t have to change anything about it and can help with allowing the hands to become both equally strong without allowing the right hand (which for most people is more developed) to out pace the left hand

[joeb]

As you mention, raising all fingers as much as possible is beneficial. Good tutorial !

[annedwyer]

Thank you, this was a very useful video and good reminders to help with the weaker fingers😊

[piano-harpsolos]

Omg Jazer!! Love these exercises....l'll start practicing these trills and scales like this. Keep the videos coming!

[anabelsuerodegonzalez]

Great lesson, thank you! I’ll put it to practice, that 4th. finger is indeed the weakest. I appreciate your lessons and attention to detail problems in playing. Best!

[kyana_adelia]

Wow this video came out at the right time for me! About 3 days ago I had some trouble doing one of your finger independence exercises from like two years ago just because my 4th finger didn't want to cooperate. This was very coincidental thank you!

[PianoMatronNeeNee]

Thanks Jazer! I’m a player at 55 and finger weaknesses is a struggle. Great advice. Sending many thanks from Miami.

[damarisfuenteslorenzo]

I was told fingers does not have muscles, but tendons, so if i wanted to have better movenents i should involve the wrist, to facilitate the work to 4th and 5th fingers. Is that correct?

[santodomingo]

The title here is a misnomer - you can’t strengthen any fingers since there are no muscles in the fingers to strengthen. The nearest muscles are in the hand: the interosseous, which allows spreading the fingers and the lumbricals, which flex the metacarpophalangeal joints and extend the interphalangeal joints. Experienced pianists will exhibit thick pads on the palm side of the hand where the interosseous muscles (between the fingers) have been developed. Many will not have developed the lumbricals to the same extent.
The fourth and fifth digits (the ulnar digits) are more stable and secure than the other digits due to the ulna bone being ‘fixed’ and unable to rotate as does the radius. For this reason it’s a good idea to develop a kinaesthetic awareness of movement anchored around the little finger and not around the thumb.
A better question would be why the fourth digit has less agility and independence rather than describe it as weak. There are many online articles explaining why this is so and however much effort one expends in training the 4th finger without consciously using the lumbricals you can’t overcome human anatomy. What you can do, however, is develop the lumbricals both physically and kinaesthetically. These muscles work independently of each other, allowing true individual finger movement. Place a curved (not curled) hand over the keyboard with a digit over adjacent keys. Excluding the thumb, extend (lengthen) each finger in turn into the key three or four times and then let the key push the finger back up again keeping key contact with all digits all the time. Do NOT raise the fingers above the keys as you are relying on the intrinsic muscles of the hand only and not the flexors/extensors in the forearm so keep skin contact with all fingers. After a while try extending each finger in turn into the key, up and down, slowly to start with. I suspect many who attempt this will realise how grossly under-developed these muscles are, but they allow for genuine finger independence – including the ring-finger.
This article by Richard Beauchamp is illuminating.