5 Pro Tips on Piano Fingerings

Today's video tutorial focuses on piano fingering guidelines. In this lesson, I also touch on some principles or tests on how I figure out the proper fingering for a piece. Watch until the end where I also list 5 very important items to learn for proper finger techniques.

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🕘 Timestamps
0:00 Intro
0:34 3 Principles
2:55 Tip Number 1
3:40 Tip Number 2
5:19 Important Items to Learn
6:20 Tip Number 3
7:22 Tip Number 4
8:18 Tip Number 5

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Tutorials and Tips:

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#PianoLessons #JazerLee #PianoTips #PianoTutorials #MusicTheory #AcousticLessons #MusicNotes #BeginnersPiano #MusicForBeginners

[jazerleepiano]

Your Handy Dandy 🕘 Timestamps
0:00 Intro
0:34 3 Principles
2:55 Tip Number 1
3:40 Tip Number 2
5:19 Important Items to Learn
6:20 Tip Number 3
7:22 Tip Number 4
8:18 Tip Number 5

[slhppmm]

As always, brilliant. Thanks Jazer. One of the many reasons you are such a brilliant teacher is, that your words are combined with illustrations and demonstrations that makes the understanding complete. When one is told to do scales, one is not motivated. But when one understand why to practise scales, one is super motivated. Your gift is that you can make people understand and be motivated. A gift from the gods to all of us ;-)

[tiffcat]

‘if a piece isn’t flowing properly …’ Bless you, nothing has ever yet ‘flowed’ but I live in hope 😊

[adamyohan]

Some of my favorite tips:
- If you had to stretch your hand a little bit, let go of the tension as soon as you can. Don't hold onto it.
- Find the breaks in the music that allow you to move into comfortable hand positions.
- Never be afraid to experiment with fingering.

[usagi]

I think Jazer just read my mind, this is exactly what I'm looking for!

[purpleglitter]

I love the song you played, just read that it’s an original composition. I need it on my playlist!

[johncubbin]

I’ve needed this for quite a while. Not all tune sources have recommended fingerings and spelling out these principles will provide a practical guide.

Thanks for yet another superb well-condensed video.

[billbowdoin]

This lesson was very very helpful!! You are a great teacher. Thank you 🙏

[baldy]

Thank you Jazer. I have been hitting a wall of non-progress for some time and needed this video to revitalize me passion for playing. I will take your advice on scales and arpregios really seriously. Appreciate your gentle method of teaching

[bunnyhollowcrafts]

Thanks! Student at Berklee Online School of Music. My professor remarked on one of my videos that my fingering was “cumbersome”. This video is wonderfully thoughtful. Thank you so much!!

[codentia___]

Game changer for me since I struggle with arpeggiation. Much appreciated!

[unclemick-synths]

4:22 now _this_ way of playing scales opened my eyes. I'm absolutely adopting it. Playing scales smoothly and evenly takes the attention away from those little runs.

The question I had when I started watching this video was about improvisation where there's not the option of figuring out the optimal fingering. This will definitely help me get my hands prepared even if I'm just playing fragments of those runs - at least I will have led with a good finger and thumb-under will keep things moving where necessary!

Excellent video 👍

[suemoyers]

Thank you. I’m struggling with the fingering (marked on the score) so this video is just what I needed today to enable me to re-assess it and hopefully find what is best for me.

[GuanglayKangyi]

as someone who started a week ago this is incredibly helpful!! you're awesome man

[merandabubbles]

I so very much appreciate your videos. It seems that most times, when I have a question about something, I find you have made a video on it. Your students are very lucky and blessed to have you.

[larrygraham]

Thanks Jazer for another splendid lession. Struggled with this a lot now you have made things so much easier.
Again, Thanks a whole bunch !!! 🙌

[binhannguyen]

Thank you so much. Can you do a video to train all the scales and arpeggios as well? It would be awesome

[angenalaschka]

Hello Jazer Lee, thank you very much!
I can take so much from you and also from Lionel Yu for my piano practice process. You are really a great help and inspiration! Thank you very much for your time. Your videos are also very motivating, especially when I sometimes think I'm not making any progress.
Best regards

[lawrencetaylor]

I just watched this video 3 weeks ago, and I'm watching it again, since the message is so important.
I'm still in preparation to be a beginner, and I've started doing exercises that I've always done but by studying music theory, they take on a new meaning.
Thoroughbass used to be how they taught all keyboard students, and they didn't teach chord inversions but instead cadences. There are finger movements that happen as you move up and down on the bassline. Two weeks ago, my piano teacher hadn't heard of Rule of the Octave. This week he watched as I progressed through the Circle of the Fifths and commented that I had only made one mistake. As he watched me do different exercises with the bass moving up a fourth or down a third that my fingers were learning what to do. That should be the goal. He encouraged that I continue.
In the meantime I found the cadences taught by Nadia Boulanger. She is one of the last that taught in the Partimento/Thoroughbass tradition at the Paris Conservatory. I'm learning Major triads, and then will tackle the minor trio of triads.
Jazer has a special place for me in my piano journey. I watched one of his videos a year and a half ago, went out and bought a piano and finished the video. Merci beaucoup for being my inspiration, Jason.

[Sage-ighk]

I’ve noticed something very funny as I learn to play piano. I grew up taking classical singing lessons, so every week I’d spend an hour next to my teacher watching her play the piano, then when I was 16 I fell in love with an amazing pianist, and we would spend hours where he would sit and play whatever and I’d sit in a chair next to him just staring mesmerized at his hands. I’ve noticed that I have a very intuitive sense for fingering now, (I’m 18) and I think a lot of that has to do with just how much I’ve watched people play piano. So I guess my tip would be if you are struggling with fingering, just watch people playing!!