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"Waste Effort in Piano Practice" by Julia W. Wolfe

Faithful workers among piano students lavish their energies on technical exercises to induce finger equality. Unfortunately, countless hours of diligent practice have too often widened the gulf already existing between the strong and the weak fingers. In many valuable technical exercises precisely the same exertion is required of each finger, while in others a large proportion of the work is addressed to the strong fingers, that is the thumb, forefinger, and the middle finger. Comparitively little reference is made to the advisability of extra diligence where common sense would instintively prove it is needed.

In examining any page of five-finger exercises it will be observed that strong and weak fingers share equally in the labor required. The lion's portion in scales and arpeggios or broken chords is assigned to the strong fingers. In practicing the average scale two octaves, up and down, the thumb, forefinger, and middle finger are each used eight times, while the next to little finger is used but once. It is the same with the left hand, except the thumb is used seven times and the little finger but once.

A similar report may be made in regard to the minor scales. In certain scales both major and minor, the little finger is not employed at all in the right hand, in others it is not employed in the left. The usual fingering for the chromatic scale gives all the black keys to the forefinger or middle finger and all the white keys save two in each octave to the thumb. Throughout arpeggio practice, except that of chords of the seventh, thumb, forefinger and middle finger have the bulk of the labor.

Scales and chords are properly viewed as the groundwork of piano-playing; their practice is imperative; but since they slight weak fingers, other technical exercises should be addressed to these. There are such exercises, but too little emphasis is placed upon their use. Even in regard to the admirable two-finger exercises that have been provided for piano students, too little attention has been called to the advisability of singling out the weak fingers for special activity.

When pupils seek advice, who, through false application of their endeavors have had the natural difference between the strong and the weak fingers increased instead of lessened, they should be directed to begin their daily practice with slow, cautious use of the two weak fingers in whole tones, half tones, and major and minor thirds. Each hand should be studied separately, and then both together; slowly at first, then with gradually increasing speed.

The thumb being the pivot on which the hand turns, it is best to direct also the passing of each of the weak fingers over the thumb many times in succession, each hand separately and the two together. A splendid exercise for the thumb is to strike a given key for the fourth finger and to follow this by the thumb striking the next lower key, if the right hand used, and the next one if the left hand, and for the two keys to be struck in succession with increasing speed until a pretty rapid trill is formed. The same exercise may be tried with the thumb and little finger.

Another excellent exercise consists of the chromatic scale played by the two weak fingers, with the relief of the middle finger in two notes of each octave. The more one tries this the more admirable it seems. A magnificent means of equalizing the fingers and making them independent is afforded by the arpeggio form of chords of the seventh. Their frequent use is recommended.

About this article

This article, written by Julia W. Wolfe, was taken from the May 1923 issue of "Etude Musical Magazine."

Emily Sigers
emily@thepianopages.com