Some questions about scales

[skeys]

Hey everyone, I just started playing keyboard recently and I had some questions about scales and finger technique. I asked my friend who has been playing for about 15 years and he gave me some tips but I wanted to get some other opinions because I know there isn't ever a real consensus on "proper" technique. So the main points that he told me were.....

- Keep all your fingers down lightly touching the keys and only lift them to change to a new position

- When you change to a new position make sure you instantly have all your fingers ready on the new keys rather than allowing them to stay lifted

- Keep your fingers as far down as they can be while still touching the black keys

So my question is do you guys agree or disagree with this and do you have anything to add? I would greatly appreciate your help as I don't want to spend a bunch of time practicing it that way only to figure out it's not optimal. I am able to play my scales this way from C to B major but once I hit F sharp major it becomes kind of hard to keep your fingers touching the keys: I'm finding it very tempting to lift them. Again any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!!

Edit: By the way, sorry I put this in the teaching section I just realized there is a student section.

[mcdiddy1]

This is good general technique advice for playing scales. The pedagogical points are the importance of having the muscles of the hands active and ready to react in a efficient, healthy way. Lifting fingers too high tends to overwork tendons in the hand and create an excess of tension which prevents you from playing as quickly and as comfortable as you can. Technique is relative to the musical effect you want. If your goal is to play a scale of strong accented notes then some lifting of the fingers would be required. I don't think you should feel there rules you should blindly follow. I think it is better to understand why the rule exist so you know when you can and cannot break it. An example is the "rule" to keep your finger curved like you are holding a ball which is commonly taught. There are a number of pianist who often do not stick to this rule but achieve great success without it. While in general the advice given to you is good, you want to consider on what it feels like and what the results are for you rather than what it should looks like.

[ajspiano]

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,2449.msg21204.html#msg21204

^this is an excellent way to gain technique in scale/arpeggio type passages - learn how to do it, don't skip steps..  you will be doing a lot of this if you intend to get good at piano. Apply this to your scale practice instead of just trying to play the whole thing up and down straight away.

This procedure will teach you how to use your playing apparatus efficiently without the need to consciously think in too much detail about how to move, instead you will just have a basic aim of how you want the notes to sound and how to be comfortable while playing just by "feel".

I don't want to spend a bunch of time practicing it that way only to figure out it's not optimal.

I might add that while direction does help, you can't just be told how to do it and practice it that way and end up with something optimal. Direction re movement helps point you in the right direction - but as a beginner you are essentially blinded as to what it should feel like to play with a good technique.

You have to discover how it works through appropriate practice methods.

You will learn sub-optimal playing habits because you don't know any better - you can't know any better because you're blind to them, and not attempting to play things that require an optimal technique.

You will have to fix them later you discover that you have a problem in the first place, this will happen bit by bit as the repertoire you attempt gets harder, and must be guided by the sound you are trying to create. You must be conscious of that all the time, in order to become aware that the technique you currently possess is not capable of producing the desired effect comfortably.

[skeys]

Thank you guys for your help, I really appreciate it! I guess i'm just a stickler for proper technique because my old guitar teacher pedagogically speaking seemed to believe in trying to get it right from the beginning, but now that I've been playing long enough to have my own opinions on music i'm not sure I agree with him anymore, but of course I still respect him. Anyway, thanks again! ill be sure to check those steps out.

[ajspiano]

I guess i'm just a stickler for proper technique

Nothing wrong with that, assuming you keep a musical aim at the forefront of your decisions... - you may like to get yourself acquainted with books such as..

What Every Pianist Needs to Know About the Body - Thomas Mark
Mastering Piano Technique - Seymour Fink
On Piano Playing - Gyorgy Sandor

...many others. Depending how serious you are..