Using Piano Exercises To Help Strengthen Your Fingers

When you first start playing the piano it is important to understand that you not only need to practice often but that you need to perform piano exercises to be able to strengthen your fingers. These also will help you become more familiar with the keyboard and how it is set up. You need to start off learning the bare basics and that starts with the scales of a keyboard. The first thing you will notice is the keyboard is comprised of 88 keys with a pattern that repeats. That pattern is a grouping of two black keys that are followed by another grouping of three black keys all along the length of the keyboard. Finding the middle of the keyboard is important and that would be the middle white key which represents the key of C.

Once you have found that middle key, your warm ups and exercises can begin. The easiest and most common scale to learn is based on the first 7 letters of the alphabet of the English language. So, you would start with the middle C and moving to the right is the D key, the next one is the E. When you get here you will see you are at a group of 3 black keys and the white key there is the F. Next would be the G. After G follows the end of the scale with the A, B and C keys. The scale begins with the middle C and will end on a C that is higher.

You should make sure that your hands and fingers are warmed up before you start doing the scale. You can do this by first taking your right hand and putting it into a tight ball and then releasing it. You should do this several times and then switch to the left hand and do the same thing. Now make your right hand into an open ended curve and place it on the keyboard beginning at the middle C position. You will place your thumb on that C key. Then your index finger will be the D with the rest of your fingers over the rest of the keys.

Your fingers should be located on all the keys from C to G. When ready, you can play all of the notes starting from left to right. Once you get to the E, you should tuck your thumb so it goes under the palm of your hand and reaches the F note and then finish the scale with your four fingers. In other words your thumb would be C, index is D, middle finger is E, then the thumb under your palm to the F, index is then G, middle finger then becomes A, ring finger is the B and your pinky will play the C.

Now take the left hand and place it over the keyboard. This time you will play the C scale but the fingers will be placed different. Again, beginning at the middle C you will use the little finger. The other four fingers will be playing the D, E, F and the G keys. Continue to play the scale until you feel at ease with it.

Note again the left fingers are on different keys than the right. Your little finger is the middle C, the ring finger will be D, middle is E, index is the F key while the thumb is the G. The middle finger will need to cross over your hand to hit the A key and then the ring finger will hit the B while the thumb will take care of the higher C.

Practicing this scale will lead to other more complicated scales but it is important to master this one first. Your goal should also include making you more accurate with your placement and movement of your fingers as well as picking up speed playing the different keys.

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