Obsessing over Fingering

[conserv]

Greetings!

tl:dr- how do you learn to let go and just stick to one fingering when there are multiple possibilities that fit your hand well

I'm currently pursuing a degree in piano performance at a conservatory on the East Coast.

Something has been bugging me lately, and that is that I find myself obsessing endlessly about fingerings.

I realize that there can never and will never be a "perfect" fingering, but what i mean is that i'm always questioning whether i could be playing something in a more ergonomic/legato (or staccato)-oriented/effective/etc way...

 Normally this constant striving for betterment would be considered an admirable quality. But i've found it to become a hindrance when i'm constantly double checking passages i've fingered long ago, endlessly playing it two different (and usually both manageable) ways, as this inevitably confuses me during performances.

My teacher is amazing but on this subject he simply says "i can never decide either, whatever feels best!"

The problem is of course that by the time i've narrowed it down to 2 possibilities, they both feel great! And don't even get me started on Bach, where different fingerings bring out the voices so differently. I feel like i'm going crazy and need a lesson in just letting go and accepting what i've come up with so far.

My only fear is following a fingering for years then deciding that it's really crap compared to some alternative. (Which has happened for example with pieces I've come to which I learned as child)

I realize that technique develops over the years, but at this point i feel as if i have a solid command of the technical aspect of playing the keyboard, so now rather than avoiding inefficient fingerings, i'm wondering how you CHOOSE?

tl:dr- how do you learn to let go and just stick to one fingering when there are multiple possibilities that fit your hand well

[j_menz]

The problem is of course that by the time i've narrowed it down to 2 possibilities, they both feel great!

But do they both sound great? Pick the better sounding one. If they are equal, toss a coin and stick to it.

[faulty_damper]

If I come across two fingerings that are both equal, I learn and ingrain both. It is only afterward that one will become obviously more correct than the other. 

[bobert]

I rarely ever come down to two equivalent fingerings, as one or the other is almost always superior, taken as a whole.  But say the two candidate fingerings were roughly equivalent in that they had more or less equal, but different, pluses and minuses.  In that case I would, invariably, choose the one that was easiest to remember.  In fact, I often fashion my fingerings with the goal of them being easy to retain, which typically means I apply similar patterns to similar passages if at all possible.  Piano isn't the only instrument with this dilemma by the way.  The stringed instruments, particularly violin, have many fingering possibilities for a given passage, and each variation has it's merit and downside in terms of ease, intonation, articulation, etc.

[conserv]

Interesting responses, thank you for your input. I think i just have to practice letting go and accepting that there will always be another possibility for fingering, but unless one is truly uncomfortable with one, one should just decide on one and stick to it.

the constant self questioning as to HOW much one could improve the sound by changing the fingering kills me though... sometimes ill discover this amazing new fingering for a passage, wake up the next morning and think "what in god's name was i thinking this will never work"

My usual test method is to play the passage with the fingering in question AT tempo (hands separately of course) to see how it will hold up at tempo,

this of course make slow movements of pieces so much harder because there are MANY more options

[j_menz]

HOW much one could improve the sound by changing the fingering

Ultimately, it should make no difference. Spend your time worrying about how to make each finger equally capable of producing whatever result you want.

[outin]

Ultimately, it should make no difference. Spend your time worrying about how to make each finger equally capable of producing whatever result you want.

Did I just hear some dead guy disagreeing with that?

[j_menz]

Did I just hear some dead guy disagreeing with that?

I'm missing your reference, unfortunately. 

[outin]

I'm missing your reference, unfortunately. 

Well, it seems that our friend Fred thought that while the fingers should become individual, they don't have to be trained to be equal...and from this it follows that one must find the right fingering for each passage.

[j_menz]

Well, it seems that our friend Fred thought that while the fingers should become individual, they don't have to be trained to be equal...and from this it follows that one must find the right fingering for each passage.

I said equally capable of producing a result, not equal. You may have to operate them differently to the same end.

Oh, and having spent the previous few hours murdering him, I suspect he's more your Freddy than "our" Freddy.

[outin]

I said equally capable of producing a result, not equal. You may have to operate them differently to the same end.

Oh, and having spent the previous few hours murdering him, I suspect he's more your Freddy than "our" Freddy.

I mostly prefer leaving him alone, he's that type of a guy

Wouldn't choosing a workable fingering still be essential? How would it be even possible to achieve the same end with any chosen fingering?  That would suggest there's always a solution to achieve perfection whatever fingering you choose. Which simply is not the case unless you have some magic hands...Normally people have very different hand shapes and even the tendons can be attached differently and there are physical limitations that cannot be changed by just practicing.

[j_menz]

Wouldn't choosing a workable fingering still be essential?

Of course. I didn't mean to suggest any old fingering would do - there's mostly one that works best from a practical point of view (getting to the right keys safely, most easily  and in time).

I only meant that it shouldn't matter which one gets to a key in terms of what it can produce when it does. I also posit it as an ideal to aim for - all too often it actually does make a difference, but it is better to work to overcome it than to rely on it in terms of sound production, because one does not always have the luxury of choosing a finger.

[outin]

I only meant that it shouldn't matter which one gets to a key in terms of what it can produce when it does.

Well, if I interpret you correctly, then I just have to disagree. There's just no way that any finger can land on the key and produce the same articulation from any starting position (other fingers engaged).

[j_menz]

There's just no way that any finger can land on the key and produce the same articulation from any starting position (other fingers engaged).

Same result, by different means. It is possible, always, and frequently required. I don't suggest it is always easy.

[keypeg]

Reading the original post - What I'm learning is that often, as you say, more than one fingering will work, and neither may be best.  In that case you should choose one of them and stick with it, because, as you described yourself, otherwise you may get confused during a performance.  How does one stick with one of them?  - I think by choosing to do so.

In regards to the argument in the post: I don't think it's about making fingers equally strong or not, but about the functioning of the entire hand.

[outin]

Same result, by different means. It is possible, always, and frequently required. I don't suggest it is always easy.

If by different means you mean something else than choosing a better fingering, I still must disagree. Since people's hands can be fundamentally different it may not only be not easy but impossible.  Not all of those differences are eradicable by practicing.

It seems people with average size male hands don't need to spend so much time searching for workable fingerings and therefore assume that it is less important for everyone else as well.