Fingering in general

[samthegreat4]

Hey fellow pianists,

I'v got a question about fingering in general.
I recently started paying close attention to the fingering in pieces (if any), because oftentimes I can't find really comfortable fingerings, and it's easier to just play what's there. This is specifically in some scales and arpeggio's, because I started out with the saxophone had lessons, added the piano to my instruments but never really had classical lessons. Hence my technique is a bit rusty. But as I'm now playing the piano for something like 5.5 years, I find that you learn scales automatically through playing runs in pieces (based on scales of course) with the fingering given in the piece. My question: should I follow the fingering in pieces strictly, or more loosely? Because I was thinking: the fingering isn't there for fun, someone thought about it.

Greetings from Holland,
Sam

PS: I'm gonna start on some lessons this month, I hope..

[becky8898]

Hi Sam. Everyone is so different that to say any one fingering is right for everyone would be silly.  Fingering as written is a very good starting point.  It isnt always the best for you. That is where a good teacher comes in handy.  My teacher and I spend lots of time going over fingering.  I cant tell in how many places we change things, but its alot.  My hands are  a little small still and for me to get a really nice sounding legato, we have to add tons of finger substitutions.  The fingering in the piece ,  is a good guide, but its not the final word.

with a 12345 - cheers, Becky

[jimbo320]

I agree Becky. You do what YOU can. Read through the score and decide the fingering that is needed to play it. In my opinion it's the final result that counts....

Musically, Jimbo