Some tips on writing in fingerings

[3dspacecadet]

Need some advice on writing fingerings? Check it out:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cD2WPO082Dw

This is a part of a web series by pianist Eliran Avni and I. We have two other episodes, one on mozart and one using technical analysis to play a piece from the game Undertale. More to come!

[lostinidlewonder]

I don't like the idea of changing fingering just because it might not feel right, how are you to add new fingering technique to your library of known tools if you give bais to what feels most comfortable initially? In that repeated note example of Ravel's Tocatta where it is shared one note LH and then three in the RH, if you change the fingering you change the implied articulation (which is echoed in bar 9 solely in the RH), there must be a reason why the notes where written in this manner and we shouldn't mutate that to suit us.

[3dspacecadet]

I studied almost my whole undergrad focusing on finger strength- after a while, i ended up injured because of how badly I was straining my hands- just to follow a specific technique. After restructuring my playing based off of the taubman technique, playing, memorizing, etc. became so much easier. Playing was more about ease which made performance easier and practicing more efficient. Imo there’s no reason to get stuck in the dogma of old piano techniques. Everyone has different sized hands where edited-in fingerings may not work. In terms of articulation, if its really necessary to be played a certain way I think that articulation markings are more common.

[lostinidlewonder]

Taking specifically the opening repeated notes of Ravel's Tocatta into account, what is the reason to avoid the ability of the RH being able to do the repeated notes? You must be capable of doing it later on anyway further down the track so avoiding it at the beginning seems to break the continuity of the fingering.

[anacrusis]

Imo there’s no reason to get stuck in the dogma of old piano techniques.

I admire Taubman for helping pianists get back to playing without injury, but I have issues when they oppose so-called "dogma" of old technique. The people in the 1800's and early 1900's were fabulous virtuosos, just as skilled as today's greatest players, so they knew what they were doing, including when it came to subtle differences in musical results depending on what fignerings you use or how you distribute it between the hands.

I have not experience with taubman, but I hear they oppose fingering octaves with 345 and advice just using 5. But at least in my experience, using those other fingers just helps with the legato and speed a great deal, so I do not think its a good idea to categorically avoid it, if your hand can reach it.

[3dspacecadet]

I don't religiously follow the taubman technique either. It's an influence on my technique. The point of the video is that you should do what's comfortable or what works. We actually discuss using 3 4 and 5 fingering in the video. So in some cases yes, you will need it.

Today we are not all virtuosos. So if you can execute the same kind of articulation with different fingerings, then go for it.

Also, for the toccata, yes you do need it later on, but it was just an example.

[lostinidlewonder]

Ok if it is an example isolated from the rest of the work it doesn't matter what fingers you use. There is a danger in suggesting that you can pick and choose fingering in a piece given that the overall fingering landscape needs that unity where possible. In fact changing the fingering may make playing it more difficult since you are using varying fingering techniques. The way in which Ravel wrote the opening strongly suggests that we are capable of repeated notes in one hand, there is afterall many ways in which that could have been represented we should be curious as to why it is written the way it is.

Sure there are instances where you can change the fingering and it is totally ok but I think it should be encouraged to understand fingerings that may not be intuitive to your hands. Once you have experience playing the piano it can be only too tempting to change things to suit what you are accustomed to. The problem I find with this is that you miss out on the many fingering options that are out there and thus limit your technical awareness/capability.