Piano Tips: Fifth Finger. Last but not Least

[@SuzanneKirshPianist]

"Stand on the finger" (as if it's a leg!)....that is very helpful. I will think that from now on. Thank you kindly.

[@robbbmm]

Watched this video a few weeks ago, and applied the "stable pinky" in my playing. It really works, and is very useful in voicing! Excellent tip.

[@cranberryw5608]

This is exactly what I am looking for! I noticed some great pianists play octaves with a fifth finger angled and almost straight like yours. The sound produced is magnificent. This is a very helpful video to understanding this technique. Thank you very much!

[@aenema22]

Crazy synchronicity. I've been working hard on improving my technique for the past years, filming my hands while playing and scrutinizing every motion. With finger 5 I've just mastered the art of "standing on" the finger over the 5th knuckle, swinging that knuckle like a hip, and using that motion to throw the whole 5th finger. I've been working on learning Chopin Op. 10 no. 1 and in certain places I became self conscious looking at my 5 and wondering if I'm doing it right. Very fortuitous that you feature that exact piece in this video. Thank you so much! My questions are answered.

[@lizweekes8076]

Thanks

[@paulsp1ano]

This is gold! The pinky technique has been a mystery to me for years. Thank you so much for the video. :)

[@PianoWeekends.-.68]

Denis, where have you been when I needed a teacher like you 10 years ago? Your teaching has perfectly logical reasonings. A question, I have recently (about a few months ago) started using the pinky knuckle to make a stable sound with my pinky. But the other fingers have hard time remaining in relaxed and naturally curved shape like yours in this video. What should I do?

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Thanks for you feedback! There are some exercises for strengthening the hand muscles so the knuckle bridge would remain solid. I mention some in the video kzbin.info/www/bejne/fpnLaaOGfbGbfJI

[@PianoWeekends.-.68]

@@DenZhdanovPianist thank you for your prompt response! ❤️ I did notice that part you mentioned exercises to strengthen your pinky. I guess my question was more specifically about keeping other fingers(1,2,3, and 4) relaxed 😎 while you play ‘in’ with the pinky using the pinky knuckle. Sorry my question wasn’t clearer. What goes in the mechanism of the entire hand meanwhile? Do you keep your hand closed naturally, for example? I do understand that like everything else, it’ll come to me eventually with more practice.

[@RolandHuettmann]

I have shared your last lesson with already first nice feedbacks and will share this too, and I hope that more people will share. Thank you, Denis.

[@rodrigogb6022]

This is gold in its purest form. Thanks, Denis !!!

[@vincenzotabone7167]

Ich werde den 5. Finger jetzt so üben! Vielen Dank für das sehr interessante Video!

[@dumainemarcel9112]

Amazing trick 👍👍 Never heard before

[@mehrab123]

Amazing and classy tips 💎👌🏻

[@andrewanderson6121]

Thank you, thank you Denis! I have always found your advice and analysis completely reliable and helpful. Have I missed one on Chopin's "stride" etude op. 25, a minor?

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Thanks for your feedback, Andrew! No, I didn’t cover it yet!

[@nanonano03]

Exactly what i was looking for. Thanks so much!

[@homamellersh8446]

Denis this is an amazing useful and very clear demonstration , thank you soooo much.

[@ChalumeauLOL]

Do you use this technique everytime, there is a pinky passage? If you are playing for example some fast Czerny etude with a lot of pinky notes, do you still use it?

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Actually, I use this type of technique quite a lot, especially in brilliant passages, where the top notes have to be clear and bright.

[@ChalumeauLOL]

@@DenZhdanovPianist nice, I am trying to do it, but its so akward 😢

[@anesthesiabeyond8519]

Awesome 👍👍👍 Super helpful! Thank you 🙏 🙏🙏

[@sorbusogvrsgo4465]

Wow! This stabbing technique is awesome - I went straight to my piano and tried it out, and it totally works. And what is even more important to me, is the supported stab at 2:52: It never occured to me to play the black key with 5th and 4th finger together. It is so much easier! Thank you very much, Denis! 😄

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Happy to help! Thanks for commenting!

[@sorbusogvrsgo4465]

@@DenZhdanovPianist You are very welcome! I find it very generous of you to share such gems of information on your channel - these are in that respect, wonderful times to be alive! Greetings from Copenhagen :)

[@lorenzomorgoni524]

Video is very interesting :) Could this tech advice be relevant even for players with quite small hands (like me...)? Always a problem not to touch neighbouring keys esp with 1st and 5th fingers.

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Sure. Just avoid stretch when playing smth like broken octaves, allow your hand “fly over” and approach the 5th finger from rather above, don’t reach horisontally

[@lorenzomorgoni524]

@@DenZhdanovPianist will try for sure :) always struggling with narrow span between fingers, but well, I'm stuck with it I know :/ gotta subscribe your channel btw! :) thanks a lot

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Keep up and good luck!

[@RUT812]

Oh to have longer fingers! 😢

[@hshlom]

This sounds great and feels good (and you have Amazing technique). But does this conflict with the (Taubman or other) theory of forearm rotation?

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

No, it works great specifically for forearm rotation

[@Darkosa1234]

Just... Thank you for doing this!

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

My pleasure!

[@normaformanek1120]

really enjoying this series of tutorials! Very well explained & excellent quality of the video/visuals!

[@danielbarbu1513]

Yes this approach definitely makes my pinky feel stable and accurate. BUT that hand twisting that's required concerns me quite a bit. I've been diving deep into Taubman technique lately. She identified twisting as one of the biggest causes of injury. Any thoughts on that?

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

If you want to completely avoid the twisting between the hand palm and the forearm, then you’d need to completely give up on any intervals wider than a sixth.

[@subjectline]

This is super helpful, just what I was looking for - thank you.

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

You're very welcome!

[@mikechen6796]

Thank you so much Denis! I was working on this and it felt quite uncomfortable so I was hesitating if I was in the good direction. This really made everything more clear! Great video!! 👌

[@footballislife4052]

Is this the correct technique? I’ve seen many different videos saying to curl your fingers and saying the opposite of this.

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

There are many technical approaches of course, and it’s not always a straightforward difference between “correct” and “not correct”. If you like watching videos of concert pianists, you can notice that this kind of technique is used by many finest players like Michelangeli, Horowitz, Argerich etc. On the contrary, there is a lot of misunderstanding about “curling” fingers; in fact if to speak about beginners, the best shape is not an intended curl, because it leads to tension and robotic way of playing, but a natural curl. Natural curl is a shape of your fingers when a hand hangs absolutely relaxed. However, when it comes to weaker fingers like 4-5, there are some ways to avoid unnecessary tension gaining stability in them, and this technique is one of them, that’s why it is so frequent among most prominent piano players. However, some others for example Nikolayeva, or also my wife who has a similar type of the hand, don’t use it, really curling the 5th finger what you can see from their videos. Does it answer your question?

[@SeanMcVail]

ok, that lets me work over La valse d'Amélie (Yann Tiersen) one more time with another pinky-approach. I think it's worth it for some other pieces.

[@tequilabob0429]

Thank you very much Mr. Zhdanov! It really opens my mind about how to approach the pinky. And I’m wondering about in which way could I build up the melody line in the pinky while playing consistent chords? I’ve been working on this for a while, still has no clue

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

If you have a chord progression and want to voice the upper voice, played by pinky (is it what you mean?), imagine that you distribute the weight of the hand in such way that you apply more weight on the pinky. Using the technique described in the video it should be easy. You might try slightly rotating your wrist towards the fifth finger for that (clockwise for the right hand), so when playing a chord you will feel in your pinky a similar sensation to that one when you transfer the weight of the body to just one leg (while both your feet are in contact with the floor). Another way is to imagine that you hit the pinky faster, while other fingers rather dive into the keys more delicately.

[@serwoolsley]

Great tutorial as always, i was thinking: this position is good when you play something like do re mi fa la with la being 5th finger, and generally is confortable when 5th finger is far from the 4th, but what happens when i play do re mi fa sol? I don't think it's possible to hold that position without going forward with my hand, how does this apply to this situation?

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Thanks for a good question This case I was demonstrating here, have a look (from 06 min 40 sek) kzbin.info/www/bejne/bWfKh3WorLOrZpo

[@IlsePastor]

Awesome video! I subscribed right away ❤️ 🎶

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Thanks!

[@vabelozorov]

Good! I watch a lot of this and I have to say the content is rather unique. So we have a strong fifth and we are able to make our octaves sound like a bell. But what if we have an octave on the first beat and then a jump (half an octave to a whole octave) on the 2nd (weak) beat (which should sound unaccesnted)? The whole LH 4/4 measure is an octave plus 7 notes higher for an arpeggio, totally 8 1/8 notes. Having an iron pinkie would make our jump precise, but the sound strong as well; having it relaxed would make us miss (which is where I am now). Could you please suggest how to approach such fragment?

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Thanks for the feedback and the question; You can reach any amount of sound and make it sound as soft as possible without loosing the stability of this joint - just hitting the key slower. Dive into the key slower instead of pushing it fast and you get a softer sound. For that you’d need to find a proper flexible hand/wrist movement between the first beat and the next octave that you want to play softer.

[@vabelozorov]

thanks! I was worried to get an answer 'never pinkie on weak beats')

[@paololucca1495]

Very interesting, thank you! But what about scales? The pinky in the position you show is very stable for octaves, chords, “hits”, but in that position is impossible to press and do a down-motion, right? The pinky is already at its maximum extension. I hope I’ve been clear.

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

I am not sure I fully understood what do you mean. If you'd watch some Michelangeli's performances, you'd notice that this was pretty much his "default" pinky position and he played scales also like that quite a lot. I think the key point here is a quick release of the finger when you play scales and other fast stuff.

[@paololucca1495]

@@DenZhdanovPianist thank you, I wil pay more attention watching other pianists. Keep your precious work. Bye!

[@a.a.dehulster7567]

This really helps a lot, thanks! When you apply this I notice there is skeletal resistance and the muscles of the 5th finger are relieved if I am correct. Gives a wonderfull feeling of stability. Can be used for the other fingers as well imo.

[@a.a.dehulster7567]

I think this skeletal resistance also applies in finger touch. If the three bones of the fingers (phalanges) are well aligned, and the knuckles behind them well positioned, less muscular effort of the flexors in the forearm (which tenses the wrist) is required. The bones “push” into each other. The touch seems to go forward and down into the keys instead of the muscles of the forearm (flexors) pulling the fingers backwards. What do you think about this?

[@arazseyfinezhad5444]

i ve been playing piano for 9 years (from second grade) and in one of my record i noticed my left 5th finger raises and i cant do anything to lower it, it just happens.my question is is it a problem and should it be fixed at all?

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Yes it’s possible to form a new habit, however usually it takes much time and patience.

[@townnet]

How to avoid pinky collapse?

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

05:10

[@earlem9771]

This is a safer technique because it prevents collapsing of the joint which can lead to injury over time

[@achilleantonelli8793]

Complimenti maestro .non capisco l'inglese però gli esempi sono speciali.graxie.se c'è un libro di tecnica tradotto in italiano.

[@joshuagarcia2642]

What if i have Boutonniere pinky deformity?😭🙏

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Than this might not be suitable for you, but you can successfully use a rounded pinky as well, many great pianists play that way

[@joshuagarcia2642]

@DenZhdanovPianist rounded pinky meaning that the nail joint is curved like a claw instead of bended backwards correct?

[@joshuagarcia2642]

@DenZhdanovPianist also have you heard of other pianist having this deformity and having surgery that allowed them to play normally? I want surgery, but afraid it'll weaken my hand

[@rc1982]

Third day practicing piano: it seemns impossible to use the 5th finger of the left hand correctly...

[@ImInTheMaking]

How's the progress after 3 years?

[@peteypablo2081]

Excellent! I was doing this but had a problem with some pain on the tip. Think its important to mention that standing up on the 5th fingers also means not collapsing the last joint? (Near the nail). Would you say that this is accurate? Keep up the great work!

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Any finger curling back is dangerous, that goes without saying, of course.

[@kunnu_4]

Snipe with the pinky

[@fitzaidan6487]

MY PINKY DOESNT LISTEN TO ME

[@bluedb2793]

Easy tip: do 20 finger push up a day

[@benjaminpearlman2625]

Put the pillow under your elbow in your will have same effect.

[@BeknurAlievvv]

Please double thirds

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Here you go kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZqbPY5iEbb-IfNE