This video deals with the correct fingering in scales and arpeggios on the piano as found in Charles Louis Hanon’s The Virtuoso Pianist. Last week we covered the basics and a good routine for the first lessons of his text: Learning Hanon Part 1 – The First Lessons.
When it comes to playing other instruments, fingering for scales can differ greatly. For the violin or the French horn (which I also play) or other woodwind instruments, there are a number of different fingerings for scales and everyone’s approach can be quite different. Fortunately for the piano there is a resource that everyone pretty much adheres to – which is Hanon.
Hanon is a great resource for fingerings for scales and arpeggios. The problem of fingering on the pianos is that we have 10 fingers and two hands yet there are 88 keys that will require you to jump up and down the keyboard. Finger crossings are inevitable and can be effortless with the right fingering!
For each scale there are a total of eight fingerings which you must memorize. You can see examples in the accompanying video.
This might sound formidable. After all, how can you memorize eight finger patterns for each of your major and minor scales and arpeggios? While it might seem impossible it’s really not as difficult as you may think. A lot of the scales and arpeggios have the same basic patterns so you will be repeating what you already know. There are some unique scales but it’s not an insurmountable task.
There is one other method of fingering beyond Hanon that I thought I would mention. It’s called mirror fingering. I personally don’t know anybody who uses this technique – The idea of mirror fingering is to have the thumbs play on the same notes in both hands on all scales and arpeggios. If anyone out there uses this techniquewood I would love to hear more about it.
Thanks again for joining me Robert Estrin: Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729
7 thoughts on “Learning Hanon Part 2 – Scales and Arpeggios”
I really enjoy your mini-lessons. Why is this called Scales and Arpeggios, when there is no mention of arpeggios or how to play them?
I also have used the mirror scale fingering technic since studying with Roy Bogas at Holy Names University in Oakland. It makes teaching the 12 major and minor hands together scales to students so much easier and they have success at a much earlier level than with traditional fingerings. I also teach them the traditional fingerings as an alternative choice when playing one hand alone scales, such as in a sonatina. Thumbs automatically like playing together and it makes it so much easier to teach about the wrists being flexible and moving down when thumbs play and up a little when the fingers play.
The fingerings are explained in our Music Teachers’ Association of California Certificate of Merit syllabus and are accepted at all adjudications. Check them out. They really are a fabulous idea.
Thanks for sharing your experience with mirror fingering.
!. I find it very useful to practice with the hands two octaves apart. This makes it easier to hear each hand.
2. I also practice with the hands moving in opposite direction, that is; parallel for one octave then in opposite directions for the next then reverse direction for the next and so forth. (Ex. the r.h. up 2 octs while the l.h. plays up 1 and then down 1.)
I thoroughly enjoy your emails. Thank you.
NOT for posting, please.
Re mirror fingering:
I used the mirror fingering for about 2-3 years.
All scales are fingered like the B and other “black key” ones.
C would be
RH 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1
LH 1 3 2 1 4 3 2 1
Always 2 and 3 around the 2 black key group, and 2, 3, 4 around the 3 black key group. Easy to learn, but the problem arises because of printed music having traditional fingerings. This becomes confusing to elementary students.
For intermediate students there are ways to change fingerings in parallel scales in sonatinas, etc, and I do that if I can find an easier mirror solution.
I have used mirrored fingering for at least 20 years since I was first introduced to it at a Music Teachers State Convention in California when Roy Bogus (I hope that’s the correct spelling) introduced it in a seminar. I loved it immediately and teach it to all my students. It’s so much easier than to remember which hand crosses when. It was accepted by the MTAC for adjudications; although I usually had to mention its use to the adjudicator so that eyebrows weren’t raised! I must admit it’s been very hard for ME to change the fingering I’ve used all my life, but I manage to demonstrate it to my students (if I don’t try to go too fast!) Anyway, I love it and thought you would like to know.
As a student of Roy Bogas, I learned the mirrored (or “thumbs together”) fingering. It was especially helpful for learning to “drop” on thumbs and relax the wrist at the same time in both hands and keep good hand position. I teach it to my students now, and it is included in the MTAC Syllabus for the Certificate of Merit program scale fingering options.