Finger independence exercices

[BuyBuy]

What do you guys think of finger independence exercices ? Like the ones where you hold a finger down as you play and articulate the others ?

Some say that they are very dangerous, they won't help you, only hurt you. However, many piano players pedagogues recommand them (Leschetizki, Philipps, Schmitt, Czerny...). How should I consider them ?

[piglet]

A good wake-up for a sleepy finger is playing it while holding others down. Though this tiny move isn't an exrcise, it still is a nice way to bring your fellows back to earth.  
But that of course isn't exactly what you meant...

[redberry]

Hello you!
For me I do this exercise frequently, when my fingers is stiff to make my fingers more flexible and loose up the stiffness. I recommend not to press down fingers- only lift it up and down naturally..I hope that will be a good advise.  

[robert_henry]

Yes, they are dangerous if done incorrectly, as are most exercises.  One can play a single note "dangerously" if done incorrectly.  When teachers refer to an exercise as dangerous, they simply mean that the exercise should be initially observed by a pro to get the student off on the right foot.  The greater the chance for tension, the more dangerous the exercise.

If you allow and permit tension to build up, then you aren't doing anything but practicing becoming tense.  As you are doing these exercises, make sure your "held" fingers aren't a conduit for tension throughout the bridge of your hand and particularly your wrist.

Robert Henry

[rachfan]

The classic book for independence, of course, is Alloys Schmitt.  Having said that, if one proceeds with those exercises, it has to be with constant caution and due care.  Even those of us who can play with adequate independence of the fingers (understanding that 3 and 4 cannot physiologically be completely independent and are actually interdependent), find that independence can become less than crisp if we don't pay attention to it.  Here's an easier, safer, and equally beneficial way, while bypassing the intricacies of Schmitt:

RH: Play and hold C with the thumb, and while doing that play D-E-F-G with the remaining fingers and lifting each having played each tone, then descend in that partial scale still holding down the thumb constantly, and repeat a few times slowly.  

Next, play the C with the thumb and lift it, play the D with 2 holding it down like glue, then play  E-F-G, then descend F-E-C still holding  the D with 2 and repeat a few times.

Then play C-D with thumb and 2 lifting each immediately, play and hold the E with 3, play F-G with 4 and 5 lifting each.  Descend holding the E with 3.  Repeat.

Play C-D-E with thumb, 2 and 3 lifting each, play F with 4 holding that note and play G with 5, descend all the way still holding F with 4, and repeat.  (This is the hardest iteration for most people.)

Play C-D-E-F with thumb, 2, 3, 4 lifting each, and play/hold the G with 5. then descend the same way still holding the G with 5, and repeat a few times again.

Still with RH alone, continue this exercise from the top down rather than the bottom up until you are back down at the starting point holding the C with the thumb again.

LH alone:  Mirror the exact same sequence as described above.

Once you get the hang of it, you can certainly put both hands together, although I believe there is greater value in doing it hands alone to really focus on smooth execution and to monitor the exercise closely.

Once you can execute this flawlessly, you'll find a new evenness in your playing that was missing previously.  This routine blends well too with scales and arpeggios.  

[Beethoven87]

That's basically what happens in the Phillipe exercises, but they do all sorts of variations, and instead of CDEFG, it does a diminished seventh figure (I.E c, e flat, g flat, a, and c), and it has stuff where you'd hold all those notes down and then take your second and fourth fingers and just play those notes strongly and firmly about five times, then move it all up a half step and repeat playing the chord and then the two and four.  That's just an example, but there's other things they have like doing that with the three and five instead of two and four, etc.