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I'm not sure what you're asking Pete.

Depending on what key the music is played in the fingering is going to be different.

Most music you buy will have fingering in it for you, sometimes you have to insert your fingering in some places on the pieces and you figure it out the more you've taken lessons.

For instance you'll automatically know when to do thumb under sometimes to get the fingers further up on the keyboard according to the music played.

I'm still not sure what the question is but as I mentioned most music you run into will have the fingering outlined.

Pete, are you asking if you play a note, say C, with a different finger from another piece?

If that's your question, then the answer is yea. Don't think of a finger "owning" a key. Depending on what you just played and what you will play next, the fingering may be different for notes from song to song.

Once you get the hang of it, it is not a problem, and as you play more and more, you don't even notice....

Oh I hope you weren't thinking that only certain fingers play certain keys as gmm1 mentioned . No such thing with the piano.

That kind of thing is true for the flute, recorder and tin whistle, those kind of instruments but for the Piano anything goes if I could use my toes I would. he he he he

Sometimes I have to figure out my own fingering in some situations and you have to do it logically by seeing what the highest note is in that measure will kind of tell you what finger to use for that first note and use thumb under if necessary and stretches etc.

Thats exactly what I am asking So a finger doesnt own a key (like I said I am sure Ill learn this in my next lesson hehe I am just curious). I am on lonstar waltz now in the book...and from what I see the positions are all totally different from all the previous songs.

It's going very slow now. On about page 99 or so with Cafe Viena and Lullaby (don't have the book in front of me so I may have mispelled). Does it get slower as you progress towards the end?

yes...I was doing a piece a week on average unless it just clicked and then once in a while two pieces. The pieces get longer as the book progresses too...

If your doing other stuff like side pieces that will slow you down too.

Indeed it will. After polishing up Greensleeves I decided to go outside the book and work on Bach's Minuet in G. It looks pretty easy, so I thought "What the heck." I worked on the first section (page 1) for a few days and was very pleased with myself for getting it "under my fingers". I proudly played it for my teacher. Now, I've got all kinds of work to make it more musical. I'll work on Scarborough Fair simultaneously but I'm guessing to really play the Minuet well will take a bit of time.

I've written it before, but it's worth repeating: There are things you (at least I) learn from a teacher that might never pick up on your own.

Hi Pete,

This is something that I've been grappling with recently too. Once you get away from the beginner books it's common to have to work out fingering for yourself, and there are always several options. Not everybody will finger the same piece in an identical way.

For instance, I have some simple versions of songs that I can play on guitar, so I want to try them out on piano. But no fingering is shown on the scores.

As others have said, on some instruments it's pre-set - each finger always performs the same task. Either that, or there are general rules or guidelines to suggest which finger plays each note, or covers all the notes across each fret.

But on piano you need to make many more decision about which finger to use on each note, and when to change hand position for a while. Sometimes it's no more than a simple extra stretch and at other times it's a complete change of hand position. It seems that the most effective choices can depend on your hand size, general skills, and even musical style.

I was struggling recently with working out the fingering for what had been a very simple piece on guitar - a basic melody line for Loch Lomond - and asked a friend for advice. The problem was that no matter which position I started from, the same logic and 'scale style' fingering would always collapse at some point, either going up or down, depending on the way the notes followed each other. It was intriguing to note that (despite her undoubtedly advanced skills) she still spent a considerable amount of time experimenting with a variety of possibilities before she settled on the one she felt was most efficient, and suited her best. I eventually ended up using something similar, but still a bit different.

There are lots of little tricks and twiddles, and although there are probably a great deal of of wrong ways, there can also be more than one 'right way'. For instance, another experienced teacher told me that if you need to play the same note more than once in succession it often pays to change fingers. I think his reason on that occasion was more to doing with control, expression or smoothness of playing, but it certainly fixed my 'change position' problem with Loch Lomond. I was able to play the same note in quick succession with different fingers, and my hand was then set up to avoid what had been a problem further along the line. But there are always opportunities to move your basic hand position for as long as needed. It feels a bit odd at first, but you soon get used to it.

Cheers,

Chris

Thats why I'm totally dedicated to finishing Alfred and do minimal side work. Since I've taken this approach my progress in Alfred has increase markedly...and hopefully my piano skills

Well my book arrived today so I'm starting right from the very basics. Anyone else out there starting from scratch?

Hi BazC, Welcome, We all started from basics here on Alfred's and many thanks to Mark for starting this thread. If you meet problems as you progress through Alfred's just post it here and you will be overwhelmed with advice.

After a year and a half of mostly theory lessons, I am taking a break from lessons due to financial and time constraints. So I guess it’s back to Alfred’s for a while!!

Thanks Crusader, I'm probably going to need all the help I can get!

After recommendations from people around here I placed an order with amazon.com for the first 3 books. I know I don't need more than the first one right now but I'd hate to get through the first one in a year or so then order the next one and find they changed the cover or what have you. I'm a stickler for things matching if they're in a set.
MULLY

Yep me
Got books 1 & 2 (inc theory) so 4 books for Xmas so I intent to open them up this week now work has died down a little..

Good luck

Cool! Good to know I'm not alone best of luck to you!

Thats why I'm totally dedicated to finishing Alfred and do minimal side work.

Thanks Mark, In the absence of a teacher I was in need of guidance, for an objective, I'm going to adopt the same policy.

I enjoy adding a piece a week and watching the book come to an end. By March, I should be hitting book 3...

Book one Dec 2006-June 2007
Book two June 2007-March 2008
Book three March 2008-probably close to a year...

I may have mentioned earlier in this thread that the pedaling, more advanced pedaling, is the thing holding me back from finishing book 1, and I don't won't to move onto Book 2 until I've squeezed the last drop of knowledge from Book 1. Reading The more advanced pedaling is sort of like reading another stave/line of music.

Which brings me to the pedaling shown in "O Sole Mio", bars 4,5,6&7, I feel the pedal is held down too long, I think it sounds better if the pedal is lifted off after the first chord(C7) beginning bar 5, applied again at the first chord(C7)in bar 6....I could be wrong...again.

Hiya, I've tried it a few times both ways, and hear what you mean. It is also the only place in the score where the pedalling is carried across bass clef rests. I think pedalling as you suggest accentuates the melody in those 3 notes. Nice one.

just my 'alfpenny worth