6 Simple Tips to Fix a Clumsy Thumb in Piano Playing

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The thumb is the heaviest and the clumsiest finger in piano playing. But here are a few tips that might help you to resolve the most common issues that happen to many piano students.

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[roadguide]

Excellent...you deserve a lot more subscribers...I’m glad I found your channel
I wish you make a video on the little finger
Thanks

[nataliasarchizov]

This is especially forJonathan whose thumb bends in a wrong direction

[ElinaAkselrud]

It was cool to take part :) And another tip I just remembered - try to only play with the tip/side of the thumb, but never with the 'bony' part/knuckle, or you risk it to be too heavy/loud, uncontrollable, and physically inefficient (too 'far' into the finger). The bone/knuckle has to remain lifted at all times. This is the way! (c) :-D

[homamellersh]

I do all the wrong things that you suggest should not be done 😩, so I will have to adopt new ways .thank you Denis .

[ranblake]

Wonderful thinking and ability to communicate ! I hope must of us will have chance to have at least a couple of private lessons and to buy you a drink
I think it would be helpful if you selected a few piano pieces sequenced on easier to Changeling

[homamellersh]

Thank you very much Elina, that is very helpful.

[RolandHuettmann]

You have a surprise guest in this lesson...). 😎
All is very clear and understandable. I also learned the preferred exact default position of the thumb when hitting white keys, and recently when hitting black keys (sometimes unavoidable).
And there is a huge discussion about "thumb over" or "thumb under" in forums. I still do not understand what people mean with "thumb over". Probably never I use my thumb to go "over" or above other fingers in any passage. But I prepare my thumb in advance when moving fast. (I will study your advanced lessons for subsribers in Patreon...)
Thank you again, and I hope that the information given will stick while actually playing. 😊

[IvoryStrings]

Thank you for this video !
The two things in general that helped me the most, and that you mentioned here, were :
1 - the release of the thumb in order to conserve agility (essential in any fast passages)
2 - what Elina talked about, though I don't think of it as "moving the thumb" but more as "playing through the key". That way of thinking has helped me a lot in the descending arpeggios of Chopin 10/1 for instance.

[Titurel]

My left thumb tends to stick out when I play.

[patrickshanahan]

If you were a guitarist, you'd have a MILLION subs. Nice work!

[aloirmolin]

Parabéns pelo excelente video, qual é esta musica que voce toca aos 2, 44 minutos do video?

[cesartalves]

What do I do if I need to play fortissimo with the thumb after going under my hand to make sure I have enough strength / momentum?

Great tips, by the way 😊

[ericastier]

Hi Denis, i summarily studied the human thumb anatomy to understand how it works with the hope I could elucidate my inexplicable right thumb piano playing weird issue possibly from an injury sequel i suffered three decades ago (no proof). I've always thought that it left no sequel (no pain and no apparent range limitation) but lately i have come back on that. I saw that there are two main tendons involved when bending to curve the thumb in reverse outward. They are connected to muscles in the forearm and must slide over the thumb 2nd joint and attach to the last bone. They're easily visible for anyone. For the reverse movement to close or bend the thumb in there are local shorter muscles between the thumb and the base bones of the hand and other fingers. And last, the finger bones are held together by a complicated set of short ligaments at the endings of bones attaching them with some freedom for movement. Using my other hand's finger i palpated my right thumb skin with light pressure to find any anomaly and found a small bump 1-2 mm thick where ligament would connect bones at the 2nd joint. It is most felt when the thumb is curved in, it's not visible without touching but it's definitively not there in my other hand. I actually remember that this came from the injury but I always ignored it as I thought it had zero consequences. I have not been able to determine by simple self observation and manipulation any connection between that slight bump and the piano playing issue i have with this thumb. But that is suspicious because my left hand does not have it.
I read one hand specialists doctor webpage and they deal 100% only with musician with pain, all sorts of pain. But i have zero pain, so i am more than reticent to see them and i have no confidence in modern medecine based on what i have seen in my life with other people around me and doctors.
So i don't know what to do, i'll keep practicing.

[Piano-Love]

Small hands have to stretch to play octaves. I think the technique needed to play piano with small hands is an area very under-studied.

[ranblake]

Your audio on little finger has great audio,