How To Know What Fingers To Use When Playing Piano

[@jazerleepiano]

🕘 Timestamps 0:00 Intro 0:56 Pro Piano Fingering Principle 1 2:45 Pro Piano Fingering Principle 2 4:17 Pro Piano Fingering Principle 3 5:50 Pro Piano Fingering Principle 4 7:40 Pro Piano Fingering Principle 5

[@o_o825]

Jazer, do you have an OnlyFans? I think you'd do quite well.

[@stubusby7818]

Tip: I like to look ahead a few measures to see where my hand and fingers should land, and then work backwards from there to see how my hand and fingers should coordinate to get there. Said another way: If you know where you're going to end up, it's easier to know how to get there! (This ties into the tip about being cleverly lazy) GREAT video!

[@BenHazKoom]

indeed

[@dawnjohnson9726]

But what if ypu cant read music because you're blind!?!? Then what? Does anyone have tips for those of us who are unable to read music. I have to memorize every piece I play, and I get complicated pieces mixed up sometimes.

[@ajmacconville1]

I've been playing guitar and piano for over 35 years since a child and have had multiple teachers including top professional performers. None have explained a practice method as well as this. I really wish I had had this explanation as a kid! Thank you Jazer, I will be using this!

[@ReligionAndMaterialismDebunked]

Great to know! Hehe. I used to do a lot of music from middle school and earlier.

[@ReligionAndMaterialismDebunked]

Shalom.

[@CaseyCrouse24]

Really great tips. Fingerings are definitely something that I have struggled with and felt this video was super helpful, thanks!

[@Erinkyan]

Oh man this was so reassuring for me. I'm a beginner with musculoskeletal issues and struggle with some fingerings because they're so painful for me. I often find less painful ways to do things but worry that I'm not doing them the "right" way.

[@gerdasmeding68]

I find piano fingering very difficult. So I am very pleased with your tips! Thank you!

[@jennybinmb6158]

So many great and practical suggestions about the fingerings. Also, your tips are very easy to follow and understand. Thank you so much, Jazer.

[@denisehill7769]

I didn't know that about Chopin - something I used to say to my teacher was that B Major was by far the easiest scale to get your hands (literally) around. C Major hasn't got the "landmarks" of the black keys. One of my biggest gripes with fingerings has been with chords containing an octave - if I can manage the octave I can't always reach the centre notes.

[@hollymelville462]

When first learning, I always thought C is easiest because black keys are "scary" lol. Nope! My current teacher kept saying C is not the easiest for the same reason Jazer and you say, and now I have come around. I like B, but also A feels so natural to me. Whenever that scale comes around in my practice, it is virtually effortless for me.😊

[@denisehill7769]

Yes! I have short arthritic fingers too so up and down on the black keys is very therapeutic! @@hollymelville462

[@hollymelville462]

I love your videos, Jazer. I have an excellent piano teacher (also last name Lee 😊), but I still follow you closely. You most often reinforce what my teacher says, sometimes in a different way, sometimes with more detail about why something works well. This tutorial features a piece I did for a recital, so as you showed the various parts I was very familiar, which was really cool!

[@porkeyminch8044]

I've spent a few hours practicing tonight, and while watching some of your videos I just thinking about piano fingerings, so this video being uploaded 4 hours ago was absolutely perfect timing!

[@stevenkaiser3837]

Thank you, Jazer. This has been very helpful. Being the perfectionist that I am, I always want to play pieces as "correctly" as possible. Your statement that there is not necessarily only one "best" way to approach fingerings was a great anxiety reliever! Thanks again!!

[@Zoomfreaky]

Very helpful video. Always a pleasure to learn from you. You make it fun!

[@adpeace2181]

Thank you. 😊👍

[@davidlammermeier4884]

Your videos are excellent. Thanks for sharing your knowledge

[@paulanorris9722]

When I do a first run thru on a song with 1 hand, I try not to look at my hand & feel my way. This forces me to use the best fingering (less looking at my hand position) when playing! And Jazer- your a great teacher!

[@fabiancosster2992]

I have a lot of problem with piano fingering i hope this video can help me with tips what is the best finger to use i feel overwhelmed with this

[@rexen24]

broo same i have a question tho how much did u progress in piano today

[@Brenda-j2z]

Thank you so much for commenting not to use the thumb for playing sharps! So liberating 😊

[@ryptoll4801]

These are great tips! One thing that works well for me is to whenever I learn a new song, just experiment with different fingering until I find what works best for me for each segment, and to also always think one step ahead. The next segment is more on my mind than the one I'm currently playing. That way it helps me feel more prepared, more in control, and more likely to make a soft transition even when there's a bigger gap between notes. Sometimes this means ending on my ringfinger instead of the pinkie, because I want for my next next step to end on the thumb instead of the index finger. For ex when I learned to play an easy version of My Heart Will Go On, there's a recurring segment (4 times) where you go from F, G down to C and then up an octave to C, and then down to Bb, A and G. What makes most sense for me then is to go 2, 3, then leap 1, 4, 3, 2, 1. Even though doing a big leap like that (an octave) seems to be encouraged to use fingers 1 and 5. Sometimes you just need to reach as far as possible, I get that, but I've noticed that I don't actually lose much finger space going 1 to 4, if any. It's really just a slight change of angle, which actually makes me more likely to hit the right note, probably because my ringfinger is longer. So actually I tend to avoid ending with my pinkie, and starting with my thumb. But I often prefer starting with my pinkie and ending with my thumb. In general that is. There are exceptions. I also avoid playing black keys with my thumb, as you suggest. For chords, I avoid using my thumb altogether unless I absolutely have to, because that angle always fucks me up. That, however, is probably the fault of the design of my piano thugh, actually.

[@shays7011]

This was very helpful and informative. I bought a Hanon book recently and realized it includes exercises for scales, chords, and arpeggios. Super excited to work on this!

[@williamschickling6702]

Another great video. I played accordion and horn in my youth, but didn't continue. When I retired, I switched to learning piano. I worked with a teacher for about a year and learned the fingering techniques you mentioned here. My teacher retired, so I'm presently working on my own. One of the issues with which I struggle is hand and forearm fatigue/inflammation. I'd like to be able to play 4+ hours/day because I really enjoy playing and want to get better. But I usually can't get past 2 or 3 hours - and that's with breaking the playing into 2 or 3 sessions to allow recovery between them. I try to play with the least amount of tension as possible, use comfortable fingering, and mix easier material with more demanding so I don't spend too much time in one session working on material that really taxes my fingering (e.g., lots of scales or pieces like the first movement of the Moonlight which I've just started and which contains "endless" arpeggiated octaves and 9ths - which are a bit of a stretch for me). I would appreciate your doing a video that addresses techniques to deal with hand fatigue, therapy, recovery, etc. I apologize if you've already done one and I missed it. I only discovered your videos a few weeks ago, and haven't yet made it through all of them. Thanks for what you do!

[@marciahorton2203]

Ages ago a couple piano teachers would never answer my question of what fingers to use right from the start but now I see why but it really turned me off to learning to play.

[@ornanventura5581]

Always appreciate your insight to help me improve my piano skills.

[@_RabbitLeader]

Fingering has been one of my great struggles as a self teaching learner! I often wonder if I am over analysing this and wonder if this will ever just click at some point where I will not need to think about it.

[@johnsamuel3]

Thanks for your explanation. I will try and digest what you have suggested.

[@WittichWolf]

Your video about fingering answers all of my questions about this topic, that I‘ve had before watching this. Thank you very much! For me as a beginner, your videos are very, very useful. There are many videos out there, but yours are on the point, straight forward, targeted and packed with good examples, showing the most important facts about one specific topic. I like your videos, cause they are very useful to improve my abilities playing the keys. Again: Thank you very much for your work!

[@jazerleepiano]

I am glad to be of help!

[@AlexBall03]

Thank you for the tips! I definitely need to take fingerings more seriously and get a better understanding of them!

[@SURYA-cm2yb]

Best piano Teacher i have ❤Thank u Brother

[@BlurredTrees]

This is a great lesson. Excellent to know they’re suggestions that can be altered for your own hands. I can rock out on chords and jam but I can’t do scale runs… yet.

[@nestorreyes5253]

Thank you so much for posting. I think this method would also work for learning by ear. Really excellent! I think this will tremendously help by-ear only players/ enthusiasts.

[@jarrettpang1020]

tks for the wonderful video

[@elissahunt]

This is incredibly helpful. Fingerings are still a mystery to me. Your advice will go a long way toward helping me solve those mysteries. 😁

[@colleensmith6655]

Jazer, you are awesome 👏

[@jarrettpang1020]

I am really impressed

[@johnbalao9582]

very informative and insightful

[@luisbalderas-ariza2644]

Thank you very much. This answers most of the question I posted sometime ago.

[@joseph2832]

Very important video for beginners! Thanks!

[@Practicalmusicministryskil4906]

Such helpful information-thank you! I just started sharing videos on my KZbin channel in the hopes of making basic music literacy accessible to all.

[@23dior23]

Great video Jazer! I wrote every note in, trying to remove any possibility of making an error, and to get that muscle memory going for the piece.

[@HorsehairBraider]

These are great tips. This is something I really struggle with, and often my piano teacher helps me out by working on this with me and marking my score. Some of the songs I'm working on don't have any fingers indicated at all, they figure you should be able to work it out for yourself, so it's great to have some principles to work with. When stuff does have the finger numbers indicated, I've found that most of the time it is wise to heed them!

[@jarrettpang1020]

Yes Jazer your videos are very interesting good job

[@cecilly59]

I so appreciate how you break things down in such a logical way. I have always struggled with fingerings in music of Bach (esp. fugues). Any tricks to make it not feel like I'm doing finger gymnastics? btw I'm a private piano instructor and I have relatively small hands.

[@Wootwootwooton]

Great tips, as always! I learned this piece while taking lessons as a teen, and have tried it this year, too. I notice at measure 11, you didn't change fingers on the staccato notes from 5 to 4 to 5, as written -- Hallelujah!! I never understood why, but my teacher insisted I play it that way.

[@Wootwootwooton]

One other thing I've experienced - classical publishers include fingerings, but the pop music books don't. I make it a point now to work out fingerings and stick with them.

[@elissahunt]

I noticed that on those staccatos, too. I had hoped Jazer would point that out as an instance where following the printed fingerings might not be the best way to do it.

[@anabelsuerodegonzalez3061]

Thank you so much Jazer, I am actually learning this Sonatina and I will apply your 5 tips consciously, see if I was following your advice. I believe I am because what you say makes a lot of sense and hands like good sense when playing. I always have my pencil handy to correct fingerings if my hands do not agree with the given one. Thank you for sharing your thoughtful expertise.

[@aaronlinsdaupiano]

Thank you for the book tip, that way I don’t have to claw through YT videos for every little detail. 😊

[@jarrettpang1020]

Tks 🎉

[@BrieleKilionski]

Thank you Jazer! Off topic question! Do you have a video on what a few good Christmas songs are for beginners?

[@caryheuchert]

Superb lesson! Thank you.

[@deanjones5229]

I've been a self taught pianist for awhile and started to learn other pieces to improve my playing. I'm currently learning Debussy Claire De Lune and noticed that youtube tutorials have certain fingering. I'm used to my own play style and wondered if my habit is now hard to get out of. I can play the piece better in my usual way. Learning it the 'correct' way is very difficult. Should I try and stick with the correct way or adapt it to my own playing? Many thanks for the video it's helping me massively.

[@superstarvonhouston1]

Can’t wait

[@marciahorton2203]

Thank you so much for this video, it is brilliant!!!!!!

[@boredwarlock5216]

This is just what I needed! Thanks man

[@musicisspecial1]

Great video - thanks. Another tip (perhaps counter-intuitive): use different fingers to repeat the same note.

[@mercedessarabia8501]

Thank you, Jazer. Very good tips 🎹

[@cartaparaperu]

Hey guys, I’m looking for a pdf with the fingerings for all inversions of all major, minor, diminished and augmented chords. I’ve been looking for a while but couldn’t find it. Sharing would be appreciated a lot!!

[@josephnwakelu2894]

Okay Send me a direct message so i can send it

[@TwenOalley]

I love this channel, thanks so much for these lessons :) I've been following you and playing piano for about 18 months now and it feels like the videos are advancing at the same pace as I am going from "how to use the pedal" to specific tips on the piece I happen to be learning😆

[@chanm7033]

Thanks for sharing

[@tallguym4m]

another great video - thanks! Sometime please share your thoughts on changing fingers on repeated notes. I find that for really fast repeated notes it's pretty necessary but for other times I often don't hear any difference. I practice both ways a lot! :) An example from the Clementi is when it was marked 5 4 5 on the high C and you chose 5 5 5. :) Thanks again! tg

[@sandralima8777]

Smart video advice! Thanks

[@Al0habeautiful]

Thank you! 🤩🇧🇻

[@jazerleepiano]

You’re welcome 😊

[@leiliramin6480]

Thank you very much for this video. how about when there is no numbering on the sheet note at all? What do you recommend then?

[@sandrafrancis3631]

Great tips and very helpful!👍what's your view on putting all the numbers in on every note or most notes? Some tutors say don't put every number in, because then you end up playing by numbers, other tutors say put them in if you want to or need to. Or...put them in in the early stages of learning, but learn to put less numbers in as you progress? What do professionals do?? 🎶🤔👍

[@gabrieleannadr.lorenz-meye8545]

Danke!

[@christineschlupmann4626]

Thank you

[@Musicsharmony]

Useful information 🎉

[@raycody]

More stuff like this!

[@seraphritt1733]

Thank you so much!

[@unclemick-synths]

Excellent 👍

[@jarrettpang1020]

Nice video Jazer!

[@CanavanOfficial]

Hey jazer, are you aware of piano vision for the meta quest VR? An amazing way to learn piano for VR users, i think you should do a video about this subject as its a really cool way to help your audience out 😁

[@walterschock1270]

You are fantastic!!! What trills - fantastic!!! But there are one big problem! The piano keyboard is wrong constructed. (English language is not my strong side)

[@_RabbitLeader]

Thanks. Great tips. I have had an obsession with trying to avoid the thumb on black notes but I keep coming across sheet music I am learning where despite analysing to avoid use of thumbs on black notes seems impossible or there is finger stretching and not comfortable. Do you never use thumbs on black notes or is this just a general rule?

[@nerdyabbyes7804]

I've been learning for 3 weeks and have just started lessons, i have notice that when I'm trying to play something my little finger often gets suck down on the key, is there a good tip to stop this happening. Thank you.

[@Iamkhunjenba]

Sir what is the next lesson after completing fingering would you please reply me back

[@jarrettpang1020]

Jazer when are you gonna post the pdf

[@tommykim4999]

Hi, hope you're doing well. I just got some question. So basically I can play entrance from phyx ion. But I have a big fingering problem which reside in the following with the left hand. Fa, do, Fa, sol, la b, sol, fa, do, fa, sol, si b, la b, fa, do, sol. (all notes on the same 8th) And that at 260 tempo. So what's the position you would suggest. I got used to 2,5,2,1,2,1,2,5,2,1,2,1,2,5,2,1. But that really don't work with such hight tempo. Anyone who'll answer this will be my hero! ❤

[@vinnyoorsprong62]

Jazer hoiihoi, again I like to follow your advice.... plaese give some info for a beginner, were or whichs book has fingering on the muziekpages??? Jazer, thanks youu for your ime

[@3213470]

You should make do atutotual on how to do jumps properly cause sometimes there’s no option you need to jump. For example La Campanella by Lizzi

[@Random-Dud]

Piano fingering.. im good with that

[@lettiehorn6145]

Jason, what is the reason for the following? I can play a piece well but the moment that I want to record it or play for my teacher I became blank and can not play it without making a mess of it. I am frustrated at the moment. Any advice from you?

[@grandiosa86]

Damn, im not even here yet mate. Thanks for the upload, very much appreciated.

[@missmoo7663]

Thank you so much for the helpful lesson!!! I like being more lazy 😉

[@ryanschultz9037]

Ok. But Beethoven's Tempest Sonata, third movement. How much flexibility should I allow from the intended fingering?

[@mallikaj3240]

How many types of pianos are there ?

[@hineko_]

Learning Bmajor instead of Cmajor is fine because it is also a Si major

[@martinepeters9891]

I do what feels best and sometimes go back and start where i need to end. Once i got it how i want it, ill write it down and stick to it.

[@malekhicham7277]

It's so helpful but my problem is it's a hard piece with no fingers

[@AtTheEnd1000]

I always find it funny how a C major scale can be hardest to learn/play, when I started to play the piano I quickly discovered

[@michelprimeau4531]

I have 2 tips 1- If you can't play it legato, reconsider your fingering 2- Forget about tip 1, not everything can be play legato...

[@BerthaEnchill-jg3eg]

I don't know how to mix the black keys with the white keys

[@tiffcat1100]

💜❤️💜

[@marclafontaine6996]

From a Reading perspective - what level is this Sonata considered? 30 pages long!! Ouch!

[@AdrianLittoc]

What if there are no numbers as in none

[@gisellebehaylo7169]

what if the music piece doesn’t have any number to begin with

[@jekrenzguzmana181]

my mind😂😂😂

[@yahyakhazbak4713]

sonata in c major 10 mozart destroyed my brain

[@patriciasaldanha7243]

🎶■□THANKS 🙏 FOR 🔹️THE👍👍🔹️ GREAT 🔹️☀️🔹️LESSON 🎞🪷〰️🎶🎹🎹■☆☆☆♡🎹🐚■♡

[@redacteddoggo]

I have a professor who exclusively uses what she thinks is the best pattern and it just doesn’t work for me😢

[@th3xact]

I know I cant be the only one who's wondering why th its called "piano FINGERING"????

[@swaminathan_r1]

I think I have been disillusioned. I just started learning thinking that after I have learned scales, chords, etc. i should be able to just read the notes and play any music right away, because I would already know which fingers for which keys!! (Like typewriting) Correct me if I am wrong here, but it looks like no one can do that!!

[@archiethebold2000]

it is said that JS Bach did scales with just two (2) fingers. could you replicate that?