Is developing fingering an important skill?

[pianoman2]

Hi pianostreet. Currently I am learning Var. 1 of Mozart's Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Variations for fun. The fingerings are not included, and I am bad at coming up with them. When I do, they feel awkward and slower. So I often look at synesthesia channels with hands to write down their fingerings when they're not listed (i can read just fine, it's just the fingerings). Is this a bad habit or is it trivial?
-Thanks

[bethhughes]

Hi there,

I’m a piano teacher and learning good fingering is such an important skill. I don’t necessarily think it’s bad that you’re checking what others have done and are doing it yourself. You don’t just naturally know what fingers to use, it comes with guided practice. Take into consideration how the positions feel to you, do they feel comfortable? If so, they’re probably a good fingering position for you. Not all hands are the same and therefore not all fingering patterns are going to work for everyone. By learning correct fingering you are training yourself to get better at identifying how your hand should be moving across the keys.

Hanon exercises are a great way to build skill and cement correct fingering technique into your playing

[lelle]

I think studying what fingerings other skilled pianist use and trying them out yourself is how you learn how to come up with good fingerings yourself. When I go back to pieces I played 10 years ago, many of my fingerings feel awkward and weird compared to what I would use now. When you have played a hundred versions of the same fingering problem in different pieces you start building up knowledge of what works the best for you. A good teacher can also help you understand fingerings.

[lostinidlewonder]

Fingering is one of the most important parts of piano playing and a lot of people get it wrong. It is NOT about just doing what feels most comfortable for you otherwise you never will add new ideas to your fingering library. There are tons of fingering ideas which are not so intuitive and do not feel the best to begin with but become the best solution once you master it.

It would be best that you actually discuss what fingering you have chosen for certain passages, this is a much more intelligent discussion with actual musical context.

[ranjit]

Hi pianostreet. Currently I am learning Var. 1 of Mozart's Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Variations for fun. The fingerings are not included, and I am bad at coming up with them. When I do, they feel awkward and slower. So I often look at synesthesia channels with hands to write down their fingerings when they're not listed (i can read just fine, it's just the fingerings). Is this a bad habit or is it trivial?
-Thanks

It's what I used to do back in the day. I think it worked out well. Experienced pianists will look at a pianist's hands and automatically notice if there are some unusual fingerings.

[quantum]

Good fingering habits is one of the core skills in learning to improve as a pianist.  Everyone has different hands and one has to find the best fingering for one's own hand.  A good teacher can guide you through this.  Studying things like fingerings in scores, fingerings by composers (especially ones that may first seem non-intuitive), and videos of pianists.  There are also patterns that tend to recur in piano music, to which you may find a common fingering, such as: scales, chords, arpeggios, and figuration like Alberti bass. 

Along with fingering also comes the study of one's own hands, and what works best for them.  As you gain experience with fingerings that work for you, you can start to apply your own fingerings with a better judgment if it is a good choice for your hands.

Remain flexible in your use of fingerings.  As you gain skills at the piano, your technique will open up fingerings that in the past may have seemed awkward.  You may opt to switch fingerings in the future to something even more suited to your hands. 

[determined2learn]

Learning Musette in G Major, J S Bach. In the corner my teacher  has written one word... FINGERING
It has been my focus on the piece for a couple weeks (that and counting).

[lelle]

Learning Musette in G Major, J S Bach. In the corner my teacher  has written one word... FINGERING
It has been my focus on the piece for a couple weeks (that and counting).

Fingering is especially important in Bach, or else you run out of fingers in inconvenient spots in the more difficult pieces!