Articles
FINGER TRAINING
Finger training is an important task of piano teaching.
Before explaining how to train the fingers, we must reinforce the two principles of training we had talked about in the previous articles:
1) Training must be on the foundation of the Arm-weight Method and
2) The ability of fingers must be kept. These two points are crucial to technical training as they are the aim of the training. Successful pianists and professors over the world cannot depart from these two principles. “All roads lead to Rome”, as long as they adhere to them. Piano professors are from many schools of piano training; their ways of training can be different, but the essentials are these same principles. Therefore, we must firmly remember the principles of Arm-weight Method and bring the capability of the fingers into full play.
Here, we would like to further elaborate on the Arm-weight Method. Arm-weight Method is: while playing, the weight of the arm goes directly to the fingertips; the weight of the arm and the support of the fingertip achieving balance. To put it simply, it is the unblocked and balanced state. The entire hand is in its most natural state when this state is reached, and only in this state the ability of the hand can be brought forth. We are to make use of the hand’s own ability to learn various techniques. Some might say, this is self-evident, why do we need to stress it repeatedly? This is because playing the piano is not easy; the hand’s maximum potential needs to be fully utilized and brought into full play. Any muscle of the hand in an unnatural condition will be an obstacle in playing. In other words, advance training can only be done when the hands are in their most natural state.
Therefore, it is necessary to recognize and understand the natural ability of the hands.
1) Fingers are connected with the arm. Any movement of the finger cannot be separated from the arm.
2) Fingers have weight. Those who do not play the piano do not need to know about the weight of their fingers. But pianists need to recognize that fingers have weight. When playing the piano, one must be able to use the weight of the fingers. So, we must be aware that the arm has weight, the palm has weight and the finger also has weight.
3) Fingers are agile. The fingers of those who do not play the piano are nimble too. In training, we must keep this agility and make full use of it.
4) Fingers can bend and can lift up from the palm knuckles. We can experience the weight of the fingers and fully utilize their function by lifting them up from the palm knuckles and in doing so give rein to their full play.
Everyone knows the hands have ability; fingers are connected to the arm; fingers are agile; fingers can lift from the palm knuckles. It is unnecessary to stress these common sense facts. What we need to emphasize is we must keep these abilities, and use them while playing the piano. They are the indispensible conditions for playing the piano well. Negligence of the fact is irrational. For example: to neglect the connection of the fingers and the arm will lead to isolation of the fingers in training. Also: to neglect the natural agility of the fingers, view them as static objects and thus start training the fingers from zero. If one neglects the fact that the fingers can lift from the palm knuckles, the fingers would be kept at and non-changeable curve, limiting the natural dynamics of the fingers.
To keep the ability of the hands is to make use of their merits which have always existed. Our hands have provided us with such advantage; we should use and guide it wisely and rationally so training will be simple, rapid, and easy. It is possible to even take a short cut.
The ability of the hands is known. But without necessary training, the hands do not know how to play the piano. How should we guide the hands to play? We need to define separately the weight of the fingers.
The weight of the finger(s): place the thumb onto the key bed, the other four fingers lift together from the palm knuckles, open up and straighten the second joints, then let each finger drop down lightly, this is the weight of each finger. To put it simply: the finger lift and drop from the palm knuckles.
According to the characteristic of the construction of our hands, placing the thumb onto the key bed as the points of support will not affect the agility of the other four fingers. As long as the palm is totally relaxed, the finger(s) will drop down naturally, without any effort on our part. When one finger drops down, the other three will go along naturally; this would not affect the natural weight of the finger that is going down. We need to avoid this incorrect way: when one finger drops down, the other three fingers keep lifting stiffly, as some finger exercises advocate. What we are doing now is to experience the weight of the fingers and not individual finger exercise. Such unnatural movement affects the natural drop of the finger and cannot feel the weight of the finger.
In daily activities, one does not need to think about whether the fingers have weight or not and the fingers will do their work. But a pianist needs to know the fingers have weight. Finger weight is very important in piano playing. The weight of the fingers is an objective reality; it is the natural ability of the hand itself. Our duty is to find it, to experience it so as to use it consciously.
It does not mean that when we have found the weight of the fingers, we can play the piano. We must now focus our attention on the fingertips. Fingertips are the points where we touch the keys. The expression of music and the realization of technique are all executed by the fingertips. In technical training, we must focus our attention and our energy on the fingertips. We must be able to control our fingertips and utilize our fingertips with freedom in playing piano and be a fine pianist.
What is the relationship between the weight of the finger and the fingertip? How can one focus his energy onto the fingertip? In order to explain further, we borrow two terms: the explosive force and the explosion point; the explosive force of the fingers and the explosive point of the fingertips. Specifically speaking, it is the explosive forceof the fingers’ natural weight focused on the explosive point, the fingertips. This is the most crucial step in technical training.
Some may say: “Lift fingers from the palm knuckles, drop to the fingertips and play to bottom of the key bed, isn’t this already playing the piano? What does it have to do with explosive force and explosive point?” We believe there is a difference between the two. They are two different concepts and it is a difference of quality: the difference of professional playing and amateurish playing; high quality or low quality of playing; the demarcation of good or bad tone quality. To explain more explicitly, we use the example of playing baseball. A good baseball player knows if he can focus his energy onto the point where the bat hits the ball, it will fly very far. This is the explosive force and the explosive point. He will become a good sportsman if he keeps on practicing on this foundation. But if he does not know how to focus his energy on the point where the ball is hit, he will not go anywhere even if he practices diligently. Another example is: A Chinese Qi (pronounced “chi”) Gong Master can utilize explosive force to focus his energy onto his hand and separate a brick neatly into two pieces with one strike.
The two examples above tell us to know how to use our energy; how to send the energy force rapidly in a split second; how to rapidly focus the energy onto the explosive point; although the amount of energy used is not big, its force is magical, it can let the ball go very far; it can separate the brick in two with just one hit. This is the explosive force. It asks our mind, our nerves and our muscles to be highly focused. As the saying goes: Know how to use force skillfully! In other words, use minimum force and get the maximum result; let us have sufficient vigor and confidence to make progress continuously.
Some say: “the natural weight of the finger is so small, how can it have explosive force?” Explosive force is not determined by the quantity of the energy, whether the energy is big or small, but depends on whether the pianist can focus his energy onto one point. Do not think explosive force is using a lot of force, which is an incorrect understanding. Some pianists use a lot of force to make the piano sound; this is not explosive force at all, and neither is it technique. Explosive force does not need big force; it is not really lifting the fingers high to strike from above. Explosive force needs to be experienced, and everyone can find it, because it exists universally in everyday life. Once you have found the explosive point of your fingertips, your hands know how to play the piano. Only when a pianist practices continuously on this foundation, can his technique advance effectively and his fingers gradually become stronger.
Explosive force and explosive point are two terms we borrow in order to explain the concepts. We only need to grasp the quintessence when teaching technique to students; it is not necessary to let the students know the two terms, explosive force and explosive point.
Training Method
1) Let the thumb rest on the bottom of the key bed, supporting the weight of the arm.
2) The other four fingers simultaneously lift from the palm knuckles, opening up the hand.
3) Let each finger drop down, the fingertip grip the key and bounce up.
The above is the entire training process and it looks simple and easy. When the thumb rests at the key bed, supporting the weight of the arm, the whole training is based on Arm-weight Method. Then let the other four fingers lift up relaxed and naturally, opening up the hand. The (1) and (2) above are the preparation for the fingers’ explosive force. The crucial point is (3), which is the exercises for the explosive force of the fingers and explosive point of the fingertips. When the fingers drop down, grip the keys and bounce up, the process is the fingers’ explosive force. Only when fingertips grip the keys, can the weight of the fingers go down to the key bed. Whether the hand and the fingers bounce up is a criterion of the explosive force. If excessive force is used, like a big iron ball dropping down, the keys will not be able to bounce the hand up. If the energy is not focused on the fingertips, the fingers will not go down to the key bed; the keys will also not be able to bounce the hand up, because none of the above is the explosive force. Therefore it is necessary to use the explosive force precisely and appropriately in order to attain the well-deserved result.
When the student can use the finger weightfreely, they can practice the C major scale staccato, at medium speed (quarter note = 88) continuously. (To play on all white keys is to avoid tension) Find the frequency of staccato, start lightly to play the scale in two octaves. If the technique is correct, the student can play for five minutes without feeling any pain. If the playing is incorrect, he will feel pain in one minute. In this case, he should stop and consider calmly the reason of the pain and correct the problem without delay. (Presumably, it is due to unnecessary muscle tension) This exercise is very good for strengthening the fingers and for improving the ability to play well.
After this exercise, it is necessary to do legato exercises for one minute. (There will be an article specifically on legato)
We all know that the training of piano technique is difficult and complicated. But if we had a correct point of departure, grasp the quintessential points and establish a correct approach, we can avoid detours in training and acquire technical ability very smoothly. One will discover that technique training is so easy and simple and that there is no need for painstaking hardship or tediousness.
This is the superiority of the Arm-weight Method, which opens up a healthy way of piano technique training.
