Fifth Finger

[ilikepie]

Are there any specific etudes that target the fifth fingers(only, not talking about op.10no.2)
specifically in the left hand? I'm having problems with keeping my fifth finger stable on black keys esp. when there are wide jumps invovled. Any suggestions on how to overcome this? It doesn't have to be an etude, just an exercise.

[ilikepie]

Anyone? 

[dan101]

Hi there. We use 4th finger on black keys when possible, as it strikes the key at a diagonal angle, thus promoting less "slipping off the note". Of course, you will occasionall use 5th, and it is unavoidable in four note chords.

As for exercises, try holding a note down with your fourth L.H. finger, while playing a note repeatedly with your 5th. Then switch; hold your 5th finger down while repeatedly playing 4th. Good luck. 

[thalberg]

Get an anatomy book and look at how the fifth finger works.  It looks small but you're working with a lot more muscle than you realize.  Sometimes just knowing how your body actually works makes you use it better.

[tengstrand]

Thalbergs advice is excellent, and could be said about any movement in piano playing. Concerning the fifth finger: it needs to be more flexible in a sidewise direction in the "knuckle" joint, since we expand the hand with it. Since there is no support to it (it doesn't have one more finger on one of its sides) people tend to make up for that by kind of pushing down the fifth with the hand, sometimes falling on the side of the hand (a semi-karate position). This is easy to fix, and you don't even need a piano. Just put your hand on a table, very relaxed, and lift the fifth finger only from the knuckle and let the fingertip go in circles, get it smooth and controled.  To be able to control the movements of the fifth finger is really important, try to play the second theme in the Tchaikovsky Concerto without the independence of a "free" fifth...