arpeggio fingering

[themanwhowas]

hello

So playing arpeggios I always see them played with fingering (for right hand) 1,2,3 *tuck* 1,2,3. For me I always find it so much easier to play 2,3 *tuck* 1,2,3 *tuck* 1. So the tucking my thumb under is not on a larger stretch. Why do I never see other people do this?


Thanks

[nyiregyhazi]

hello

So playing arpeggios I always see them played with fingering (for right hand) 1,2,3 *tuck* 1,2,3. For me I always find it so much easier to play 2,3 *tuck* 1,2,3 *tuck* 1. So the tucking my thumb under is not on a larger stretch. Why do I never see other people do this?


Thanks

Because it involves an extra thumb passing and because many arpeggios are written in a context where this alternative will simply not fit to what is written. If you duck out of something that needs to become second nature, you'll only have bigger problems when you have no choice but to use the standard fingering. You need to learn to use the thumb on ANY note. Only then can you make departures from the norm, without limiting yourself.

[j_menz]

Also, your preferred fingering is likely to leave you on your thumb at the top of an arpeggio run.  This is not likely to be a useful place to be.  Even if what follows is a leap down, downward leaps from the thumb are less reliable (and further) than from the other fingers.

[brogers70]

For the white key arpeggios in the right hand starting on the tonic I usually use 2 1 2 4 1 2 4. It's smoother than 1 2 3 1 2 3. I haven't come across a lot of arpeggios in pieces which force me to use 1 2 3 1; when I do, I don't find that having practiced 2 1 2 4 prevents me from managing the 1 2 3 1. If you practice all your arpeggios 1 2 3 1, you'll eventually come across pieces where in the context forces you to go 2 1 2 4, anyway. There's an argument that if you can do 1 2 3 1 smoothly, then 2 1 2 4 will be easy; but if you take that argument to its logical conclusion then you could end up practicing all arpeggios in all keys 1 2 3 1, which I think is going overboard.

[nyiregyhazi]

For the white key arpeggios in the right hand starting on the tonic I usually use 2 1 2 4 1 2 4. It's smoother than 1 2 3 1 2 3. I haven't come across a lot of arpeggios in pieces which force me to use 1 2 3 1; when I do, I don't find that having practiced 2 1 2 4 prevents me from managing the 1 2 3 1. If you practice all your arpeggios 1 2 3 1, you'll eventually come across pieces where in the context forces you to go 2 1 2 4, anyway. There's an argument that if you can do 1 2 3 1 smoothly, then 2 1 2 4 will be easy; but if you take that argument to its logical conclusion then you could end up practicing all arpeggios in all keys 1 2 3 1, which I think is going overboard.

I don't see the logic here. The standard fingerings are founded on a simple principle- use the smallest number of thumb passes- unless that would have the thumb on black keys. So it's necessary to be equally adept at three different fingerings that have the thumb on each possible note of c major. The argument about being forced to use 2124 is a non-issue, because favouring standard root position fingering does not by extension mean neglecting to develop standard first inversion fingering. Versatile pianists have all three fingerings and, in the context of advanced repertoire there's no way you can hope to avoid regular use of all three. Trying to make do with just one of the three would be severely limiting. If you avoid root position fingering, it's no surprise that others feel smoother to you. However the difficulty of passing the thumb over a larger interval should be dealt with- not shied away from.

To pick an example that immediately comes to mind, I'm currently playing a tchaikovsky arrangement by pletnev. The wide root position arpeggios would not work with any other fingering. Neglecting the root position fingering elsewhere would make for a serious challenge to even survive them, nevermind feel comfortable. White note arpeggios are not easy, but ducking out of the regular fingering is simply going to bring problems even further to the forefront elsewhere. Basic necessities must be tackled.