The Art Of Piano Fingering: A New Approach to Scales and Arpeggios

By Penelope Roskell

Contains unique and enlightening explanations of how to finger in the most natural and musical way, with entirely new fingerings suggested for many scales and arpeggios. Essential reading for all pianists, piano teachers and piano students.

Includes:
- Complete fingering charts of all scales and arpeggios for reference, practice and examination preparation
- Clear explanations of the principles of good fingering
- Exercises
- Musical examples

"A mammoth undertaking is displayed by Penelope Roskell in her new Art of Piano Fingering. Roskell goes deeply and intelligently way beyond any point reached before, carefully considering the practicalities and alternatives, laying ground rules, giving copious examples from the great pianists. I like the presentation, the premise and the price."
- Classical Piano

"The book is succinct, easy to read and packed with well-chosen examples. It brings a fresh approach to an integral part of piano playing and teaching and should be read by everyone who does either or both. It could well be called the “Thinking Person’s Guide to Fingering” and as such will be particularly helpful to adult beginners who need to think things through for themselves rather than simply do what they’re told."
- Piano Journal

"A thought-provoking read calculated to stimulate every open-minded teacher – a highly recommendable rethink."
- Michael Round, Music Teacher

"This is a very exciting book, challenging many traditional concepts of fingering for the piano. It is based on logical principles, but gives alternatives allowing for individual choice according to size and shape of hand, or just plain personal preference. Amply illustrated and including exercises to encourage students to think for themselves, it is a most valuable and thought-provoking work."
- European Piano Teachers Association Newsletter

"The book is a provocation to consider all possible fingerings in order to choose the one that best reflects the idiosyncracies of the individual’s hand as well as the desired musical effect. While most of the space is devoted to scales and arpeggios, Roskell always remains focused on the musical result. This is certainly a lifelong search …the Art of Piano Fingering provides a fine beginning."
- Piano and Keyboard USA

"Penelope Roskell’s The Art of Piano Fingering is written with all the insight of an experienced performer and is an invaluable book for pianists of all ages whose ears and minds are still open to new ways of thinking in this essential art Imogen Cooper Stimulating, provoking the mind into questioning many established but clumsier fingerings. This book is long overdue and would prove a valuable addition to the literature of the piano student."
- John Lill

• Language: English
• Publisher: Informance
• Release date: Feb 3, 2018

Book preview

Fingering

Introduction

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THIS MANUAL differs from other fingering manuals in two fundamental respects. Firstly, the emphasis is on understanding the principles of fingering, rather than on memorising. Secondly, the suggested fingerings aim to use the hand on the keyboard in the most natural way, thereby avoiding the clumsy, uneven effect which often results from fingerings recommended in other manuals.

The manual explains clearly and concisely all the main principles of fingering as they relate to scales and arpeggios. It is very important to read the introductory chapters before working on the scales. The fingering charts given at the end of each chapter are intended only for reference and are not to be memorised. Once you have thoroughly understood the basic principles of fingering, you will find yourself able to work out your own fingerings as and when you need them, without having to rely solely on memory. As your fingers become increasingly familiar with good, natural fingerings, they will instinctively start to find the best solution to any fingering problem - an invaluable ability both in sight-reading and in learning new pieces.

When practising scales and arpeggios it is important to concentrate fully and listen intently to every nuance of sound. Mechanical practice is not only a waste of time: it is actually a negative process, encouraging an insensitive, detached style of performance.

The manual includes all the scales and arpeggios required for examinations up to and including diploma standard. It can be used by pianists of any standard, from beginners through to professionals.

Scales and arpeggios are the backbone of most music, and an essential part of the pianist’s craft. A good understanding of the principles of fingering scales and arpeggios is the best possible introduction to fingering pieces of music, as shown in the musical examples at the end of each chapter. However, in performance, the most obvious or most simple fingering is not always the best for achieving a particular subtlety of phrasing or expression, and fingerings need to be adapted to suit the special character of each piece. The final chapter therefore aims to open the door to a wider understanding of the fascinating art of fingering as a vehicle for the highest form of musical expression.

Major Scales

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A

MAJOR SCALE

is a series of notes linked together by the following intervals:

tone   tone   semitone   tone   tone tone   semitone

The arrangement of these intervals remains the same in every key.

For purposes of fingering, the seven notes are grouped into two hand positions, one of three notes, the other of four, using the basic fingering