Basic technical training for the early level student.

I started this session by having the audience imagine that they were 7-year-old beginning piano students. The group was led in a variety of warm-ups and finger/hand calisthenics. These included:

1. "stretch-grabs" (fingers widely extended and then fingers clasped around the thumbs.

2. "Os" (forming a perfect circle between the thumb and each finger tip

3. raising the shoulders to touch the ears

4. "fly swatters" (slow forearm movement from the elbow)

5. "knocks" (moving the hand from the wrist in a knocking motion)

6. "clusters" (finger nails lined in a row with the thumb gently curved and touching the side of finger 2)

7. numbering the fingers ("Which are fingers number __?" First with the palms of the hands together, then in traditional playing position.

8. "Trip Around the Hand" ("Start on finger 1; up a skip; down a step; up another skip" and so forth)

I suggested that beginning technique should start with large arm and hand gestures. I taught the "class" (the audience) two rote songs that first-week students can play.

* "Engine, Engine, Number 9" is played on the black keys and illustrates upward/downward/same pitch motion. Children readily opt to play this with the larger "fly swatter" technique.

* "Ebeneezer Sneezer," a full octave scale up and down, is a faster piece utilizing repeated tones This is played with "knocks."

Each of the early assignments includes the basic warm-up gestures cited above, as well as a "Finger Twister of the Week," a series of finger numbers to be played in either hand. The earliest of these "Finger Twisters" encourages rotation movement.

 1    3    1  3   1    3    1
rock the hand to play the skips

The students first rehearse this with hands in the air, singing the words as they rock the hand back and forth. This is also done with fingers 2 and 4, and 3 and 5. Their acquaintance with the cluster position teaches them to contact the keys with the fingertip. I pointed out the advantage of this exercise for teaching early-level legato transfer of weight from one fingertip to the next.

A further development of this "Finger Twister" takes the form of:

 1    3   1   3   1    3    1     1   2    3    2   1
rock the hand to play the skips: Fin-gers play the steps.

When students learn whole steps and half steps, they are introduced to major five-finger positions. A helpful guideline when building these positions is to find the half step above finger 3 (same for both hands). The five-finger pattens are to be played with a crescendo-diminuendo dynamic plan and a I-V-I (single tones) "tag" at the end. The positions are taught around the circle of fifths on white keys (C-G-D-A-E-B) and, when one starts with the F position, all of the white keys are covered. When the patterns starting on black keys are learned, a major goal in the student's technique and keyboard skills is to play the patterns chromatically with eyes closed.

Several further developments of five-finger patterns were suggested:

1. Playing one hand twice as fast as the other

RH: C D E F G F E D C D E F G F E D C
LH: C   D   E    F   G   F   E   D   C

2. Playing one hand legato, the other staccato.

3. Playing one hand forte, the other piano.

4. Accompany the pattern with intervals of a 5th and 6th representing I and V.

5. "Major Key Study" in which the RH plays the five-finger pattern and the LH crosses over to play the 6th scale degree.

The RH then plays the descending pattern and the LH adds the 7th scale degree below the tonic.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

This is followed by a "summary" in which hands play together the intervals of

                 5th-6th-5th-6th-5th
(in C Major)     G   A   G   G   G
                 C   C   C   B   C

The "summary" establishes the outline for traditional cadence patterns.

The "Major Key Study" also helps students learn key signatures, for all seven tones of a key are employed.

6. Building a good hand shape for the playing of triads can also be a by-product of five-finger patterns. 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 5 3 (Hold the final three tones as if playing long tied notes.)

For the elementary student, this is much easier than playing blocked triads, yet the end result is holding three tones together.

Chord exercises that highlight I, IV and V were suggested.

a. Name a key and the I, IV, and V in that key.

b. Holding the pedal, play a low octave establishing the root of the chord.

c. Play that chord up and down three octaves.

When chord inversions are learned, this exercise can be enhanced to include all positions of the triad.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

For the traditional fingering of these chords, students chant when playing hands together 3s together, 2 in the R, 2 in the L, 3s together

Two chord exercises were suggested to stimulate growth in keyboard theory.

1. Select a key and play up and down the keyboard (hands together) chanting: I is major; ii is minor; iii is minor; IV is major; V is major, vi is minor, vii is diminished, I is major.

Play a second time identifying the chords, chanting (for example, in D Major) D Major; E Minor; F-sharp Minor; G Major; A Major; B Minor; C-sharp diminished; D Major.

2. Play the six major and minor chords in which a given tone appears. Example: (chanting)

   C's the root of C Major
   C's the root of C Minor
   C's the 3rd of Ab Major
   C's the 3rd of A Minor
   C's the 5th of F Major
   C's the 5th of F Minor
   (back to C)

The easier version is to play

   C as the bottom tone when it is the root.
   C as the middle tone when it is the 3rd.
   C as the top tone when it is the 5th.

A more advanced version is to keep C as the bottom tone and add the appropriate chord tones above it. The student will be playing

   C 5/3 (major and minor)
   C 6/3 (major and minor)
   C 6/4 (major and minor)

In summary, it was suggested that effective elementary technique is the product of proper position of body, arms, hands and fingertips. Position becomes Technical Priority #1.

Keyboard drills help establish correct fingering habits. Establishing good fingering and following the fingering indicated in the music is Technical Priority #2.

Fluency will be the natural result of proper hand shape and good sitting position with relaxed shoulders and arms.

Marvin Blickenstaff, NCTM, teaches in his home studio, at The College of New Jersey and The New School for Music Study. He serves as board president of The Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy