"Correct" fingering

[stillofthenight]

What is the benefit of correct fingering? I just play how I feel comfortable. Is there some method where on the left hand fingers 5 and 4 only play 2nds and 3rds...fingers 5, 3, and 1 only play fourths etc. ?

I just try my best to keep things consistent and comfortable.

I am originally a guitar player and have sort of came to ignoring what was considered correct and playing what felt comfortable and worked for me, so I was just going to apply that approach to piano. Just wondering what your opinions were.

I know the correct fingerings of the basic scales just to get into to initial habit of correct fingering and to become acquainted with piano a bit easier...it wasn't too long though before I started playing what felt comfortable.

If I was to play a G7/D (closed position) or a 3,4,6 above D in figured bass notation I would finger it as 5,4,3,1 in the left hand. Fingers 5 and 4 playing the interval of a 3rd etc...

[iansinclair]

In my humble (?) opinion... I wish folks would use the term "suggested" fingering, rather than "correct" fingering.  There are indeed suggested fingerings for things.  However, that is just what they are: suggestions, which probably should be tried first -- for many people they will probably work well, if not best.  No one is going to slam the fall board on your fingers if you find that something else is more comfortable or easier for you to do in a given passage or chord, however.

[j_menz]

In my humble (?) opinion... I wish folks would use the term "suggested" fingering, rather than "correct" fingering.  There are indeed suggested fingerings for things.  However, that is just what they are: suggestions, which probably should be tried first -- for many people they will probably work well, if not best.  No one is going to slam the fall board on your fingers if you find that something else is more comfortable or easier for you to do in a given passage or chord, however.

Agreed. For stuff well within your technical grasp, you probably have an autopilot fingering that (assuming it works) really doesn't need to be investigated.  If you're making consistent mistakes, you probably should investigate and try out (and possibly modify) the suggested way. There are occasions in a score though where you go "how on earth am I supposed to do that    ", and it is here that suggested fingerings are likely to be most illuminating.

Soft fall fallboards have rendered good old fashioned slamming much more difficult. 

[timothy42b]

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Soft fall fallboards have rendered good old fashioned slamming much more difficult. 

Some of the digitals have no fallboard at all.

That can become a punishment in itself. 

Sooner or later you end up playing an acoustic which does have a fallboard, and you find out the hard way it is not good to let your hands get too far forward.  On the digital you can let a finger pass the ends of the keys without pain, not so on an acoustic.