Piano without proper fingering

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Hello, I've dabbled around on the piano since I was 10 or 11, lost insterest for a few years, and have recently picked it up again. I've always played the piano without really paying attention to where my fingers are. It seems to me they find the keys quite well without thinking whether or not if my finger is on the right key. If something feels awkward I try to find an alternate fingering position and practice the song that way. I read notes, although very slowly, and don't practice my scales but have been able to get through Chopin's Nocturne, Fur Elise, and the Entertainer with some difficulty but I got through them none the less and can play these songs with a fair amount of accuracy considering I'm a novice. I have witnesses! I find that whenever I try to play the piano starting out with the simple songs made for beginners I get so bored I end up not practicing. I'm just curious if this approach is totally wrong or if anyone else out there has taken the same approach with relative success....

Any comments/suggestions would be great. Thanks! Fred

-- Fred (fjabre@hotmail.com), July 31, 2002

Answers

I started out this way too. I taught myself and became bored with simple songs so I moved on without regard to scales, fingering etc... I got quite good playing a few Chopin's Nocturnes and and Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata 2nd Movement. However, I realized that all great pianists had a teacher at some point so I got one. She helped me with my fingering , even though I still tend to use my own, but didn't make me do any scales which I don't think i could have done due to boredom, but she constatyl insists that they are ssential for a good pianist. (any reasons why?). But my point is I feel that I've gotten better with a teacher and at least some help with fingering. She hasn't told me that it was wrong or bad to do this so I assume it's alright, and I now play stuff like ravel's pavane for a dead princess and chopin's scherzo in b-flat minor...The same probably applies to you regarding the fingering so don't think to much about it...which of Chopin's nocturnes have you played?

-- Alan (xxchscrazyguyxx@aol.com), August 01, 2002.

I had no concern for fingering before I lerned about phrasing. In my opinion, fingering is an architectuaral foundation for constructing a good musical phrase. Most fingering on the score is suggested by editor according to their best choice.Try to use the suggestion, you will find out how each editor think of the slur, phrase and articulation of the music. Purchase different editions and compare the fingerings, you might find the commons and differences in their analysis. Your teacher probably try to analysize the structure of the music in order to relate it to the construction of fingering. Strike the right keys is the first step to make a right sound. But in order to make the right music, the structure of music must be conveyed.

-- ellena yong (ellenayong@hotmail.com), August 14, 2002.

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