finger position for sight reading

[drazh]

hi
I'mworking on sight reading now,  when I am looking on musicsheet my fingers move on  middle 1/3rd of keys because I should palpate the keys.  where is your finger position on piano keys
thank you

[the89thkey]

Give me a break. There is no such thing as "finger position." You are clearly a beginner who shouldn't be sight reading, or indeed posting in this forum (I quote: Please note: This board is primarily intended for professional pianists and piano teachers as well as piano students and amateures at an advanced level. If you are not part of this group, consider posting in the Student's Corner instead.).

[j_menz]

It is possible that you keep your fingers there so you have a better feel for where you are (you can brush the black notes, without having to actually navigate between them). If you play from memory and look at your hands, that may not be necessary, though I think there's some advantage in using a similar position for both. In the end, though, some passages need to be deeper in, or closer to the edge, regardless of whether you're reading or not - as long as you are not hampering your ability to do these, you should be fine.

[the89thkey]

What is the point of fixing your hands in a particular position "into" the keys? Watch any professional; it varies enormously as they play at different volumes and with different textures

[j_menz]

What is the point of fixing your hands in a particular position "into" the keys? Watch any professional; it varies enormously as they play at different volumes and with different textures

I don't think it's about "fixing" the hands in that position so much as homing them there. The purpose is, as I said, to give a better feel of where on the keyboard you are, since you can't look at your hands when reading.

I agree that they should be free to move from there as required.

[drazh]

dear j-menz
my teacher says finger should move on the edge of keys. that is possible when i am looking to the keyboard but with sight reading is impossible.

[j_menz]

dear j-menz
my teacher says finger should move on the edge of keys. that is possible when i am looking to the keyboard but with sight reading is impossible.

It's not impossible, but it is more difficult, especially at the beginning, because you have less feedback as to where you are.  I don't see the advantage of moving at the edge of the keys generally, I must say - it seems less flexible in terms of moving into them when you need to.  Certainly some things should be played at the edge, but as long as you can do that, having them more usually in the middle would seem fine to me.

[p2u_]

While sight reading, you move your hands such that you can easily play what you planned in your head while reading. Please, forget about standard or fixed positions. The only parameter is that you should feel with your fingertips where you are in terms of black and white.

Paul

[drazh]

dear p2u
I didnt mean fixed postion  I meant rest position of hand.
Because my teacher insists that I should play on the edge of keys except for pieces with lots of black notes .

[p2u_]

dear p2u
I didnt mean fixed postion  I meant rest position of hand.
Because my teacher insists that I should play on the edge of keys except for pieces with lots of black notes .

Not losing your orientation on the white keys may turn out to be very difficult sometimes. I can only speak for myself: my fingertips need to "feel" the presence of the black keys close by, otherwise I'll surely make mistakes if the music moves a lot and I don't have the time to check with my eyes. Therefore, I would never give such standard guidelines. Read/scan without playing and judge. If the music allows you to do what your teacher says, just do it. But it doesn't work in all cases.

Paul