Piano Video Lesson: Is There a Basic Technique for Playing Piano?

The issue of solving technical problems usually comes down to one thing, fingering.

Welcome to Living Pianos, Robert Estrin here with the most fundamental aspect of piano technique. The biggest challenge, there are 88 keys and only 10 fingers.

And this is really what the whole crux of the issue is in playing the piano.

And I had a follower ask, Dana said, I want to know if each piece has a specific technique or it's all about scales, arpeggios, chords for the piece. So I want to talk about hand positions and finger patterns. I made a video years ago about this very subject and it's so essential to understand this fact.

If any of you play a wind instrument, let's say the saxophone or the clarinet or the flute, you know that you learn the positions and with very little variation, there are some occasionally alternative fingering, but that's it. This is where your fingers go, this is where you play this note, this is where you play that note. Not so with the piano. Well, what about these fundamental techniques? Does that kind of do it for you? You know all the fingerings for all major and minor scales and arpeggios, you've got certain other techniques, wrist technique, arm technique.

You think, would that do it? How about thirds, sixths, tenths? You know the list goes on and on. The reality is even with the fundamental toolkit of all the basic techniques on the piano, each new piece presents new technical and musical challenges that must be solved.

And the issue of solving technical problems usually comes down to one thing, fingering.

Fingering is the holy grail of piano technique.

You know, if you study a concert pianist and the fingerings they use or look at really fine editions of piano music, fingered editions, you learn a tremendous amount. I know that when I'm having a technical problem with something, a passage just isn't secure. I will investigate fingering. Sometimes I'll go on IMSLP where you can download several different editions of the same piece and see what fingering suggestions are there.

So that has to do with how you negotiate your ten fingers over these 88 keys.

So the answer is sadly, no. You can't just have a basic technique and be able to play the piano effectively.

I will say I also play the French horn in fact in conservatory and major in both.

And the French horn, you know the fingering is, you know you've got four valves, the three valves are your thumb valve.

And while generally people use the same fingering for each note, there was a French hornist, Louis Stout, who had a whole methodology based upon alternative fingering on the French horn to facilitate speed and easy combinations because certain valve combinations are very difficult. For example, cross valves when you're going from, with the third, the second valve is down and you're going from the first and second valve down to the second and third valve down, that's very difficult.

And so I never really had a huge problem with fingering on the French horn because after the piano it isn't that hard. But on the piano, fingering is in the essential element. Assuming you have a well-developed technique with your basic patterns of scales and arpeggios, perhaps broken seventh chords and other things of that nature along with a good solid wrist technique and octaves and thirds, good staccato, good arm technique, it's a matter of mastering the fingering at any piece. Great question and any insights any of you have about this, leave them here at livingpianos.com. We are your online piano resource. Again, I'm Robert Estrin. Thanks again for joining me.

Find the original source of this video at this link: https://livingpianos.com/is-there-a-basic-technique-for-playing-piano/

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