Fingering - A False Economy?

[steve jones]

Today I having a practice with the third movement of Mozart's K570. Its not to difficult, but does have a few pretty quick scale runs, some of which with ascending arpeggios on the end. Learning to play stuff like this should open alot of doors for me, as its my scale work that is preventing me from moving up a notch. For example, Im avoiding some of favorite Beethoven movements, and Chopin Nocturnes because of the odd fast scale run.

So  although I like this piece and find it fun to play, Im using it first and foremost for technical development.

Now, I have found that I can manage some passages much easier by modifying the fingering. My fingerings are not more effecient, but they do make it easier for me play (hence, making my performance of the passage better). The reason for this is because by altering the fingering, I am avoiding a tricky technical motion that Iv not encountered before.

Question is, am I doing the right thing?

Even though it is more difficult for me to play it with the standard fingering, surely Id be better off sticking with it and learning the new technique?

Well, this is what Im doing right now - spending extra time working on these passages with the standard fingering in an effort to overcome my difficulties.

Steve Jones

[faulty_damper]

You should use the fingering that achieves the best results.  Keep in mind that the editor's fingerings are an opinion, usually depending on how he trained.

 If you have learned how to use your forearm, wrist, and fingers to play a passage that suits your body proportions, then you will have learned one of the most difficult of techniques that most people must constantly practice to maintain.  The reason for this is that most people are mentally lazy and would rather use a more "logical" fingering than one that allows their body greater comfort.  If you prioritize comfort of the body to comfort of the mind, you will learn quickly and end up practicing less because there requires less need to condition the body to do something that is inefficient so that the technique can be efficient. (sorry for run-on sentence.)

Right thing?  If you can play it more efficiently and it sounds better, then it is the "right thing".

Something to note about this "new technique" you are practicing on, if what you are doing is more difficult, then you are wasting more time learning a "new technique" which may very well be incorrect from what you describe.

[donjuan]

I don't see a problem with using your own fingering, if there is no disadvantage to doing so.  I make up innovations all the time to make the music easier for me.  However, in the long run, you will find it better to choose a way (that works for all situations) and stick with it.  People have dabbled in this stuff for centuries, and typically, you may as well save yourself the trouble of inventing your own stuff by following what was done in the past.  Usually, it works pretty well, once you get to know it.

Can you describe the alternate path you have taken in this Mozart piece?

[bearzinthehood]

Well there are two ways to think about this.  The first is, find the best fingering that allows you to maximize the quality of your performance.  However, there's another way to think about it.  If you always change fingerings to make things easier, when will you have time to get accustomed to alternative fingerings that may end up being easier in the long run?  We can never assume that because one method is easier than another at first inspection, that is necessarily superior.