WHICH FINGER DOES WHAT (BEST)

[♔Chello]

WHICH FINGER DOES WHAT (BEST)

Few people think about the fact that our fingers all have different properties.
However, most musicians are aware of this to some extent, because their fingers have to perform musical tasks, and they learn a fingering early on.

It is also the case that some fingers work well together; others do not.

For example, it is easy to press 121 quickly one after the other with the index and middle fingers, while the thumb and index finger are less suitable.

The vast majority of musicians use a fingering where all fingers are included, with an active thumb that is often used for 121 movements.

I have always thought that this is unfortunate, because the thumb is only an auxiliary finger that is not suitable for 121 movements, which can actually often be heard along the way; you hear that the performer has technical problems.

Even Alois Müller cannot do all the movements without technical problems, but he knows it.
Still, he uses his thumb, even though he shouldn't have.

I only use my thumb as a helping finger, when I HAVE to.
My father (and many others) have always criticized me for this, because I will never be able to play all the etudes without an active thumb.
They are right; but I can still play etudes they never manage to play..!

My brother had a "correct" fingering, but didn't have a chance to play smoothly like I did.
So what is correct..?
I'm pretty sure that if he had found his own fingering like I have, he would have performed much better.

[✪welsh wizard]

Very interesting and there are players ,who like me have lost a finger or thumb theres one that comes to mind.. Russ Conway a famous piano player

[♔Chello]

Very interesting  and there are players ,who like me have lost a finger or thumb  theres one that comes to mind.. Russ Conway a famous piano player

✪welsh wizard


Thanks for finding this short article interesting.
One less finger doesn't have to be a handicap, Russ Conway is a good example of that. He couldn't read music either.
Django Reinhardt cut off a finger, and became better than ever.
My uncle cut off all his fingers, but continued to play guitar..!

I myself cut off a bit of my thumb, and was incredibly lucky not to lose my hand. I almost lost both hands once, and have worked with dangerous machinery all my life, but learned to take care of my hands.


I see that most people use their thumbs when they surf on their mobile, which I find impossible with my thumbs.
It's difficult enough with the other fingers, because I have unusually wide nails and fingertips.

People's little fingers are usually pretty useless, but I've trained mine with 121 exercises together with my ring fingers so that they are about as good as the rest.

I also practice 1234-321 exercises with all my fingers except my thumbs, which I keep ready but never use in these exercises.

[✪aprilla]

The strength, and control, we have in our fingers is really amazing when we are practised, actively playing. I never considered it much then, but since it has been many years since I played, my fingers do not understand or listen to what I'm asking them to do now, unless very slowly and deliberately. And I thought I'd be fine as I type daily, as a type setter. But since I started doing exercises, especially with the 5th and 4th fingers (oh the 4th is so bad!) I can feel and see the strength returning. It's like relearning a language.

But I never considered not using my thumb. I appreciate it, especially for reach. But it might also be giving me some balance, having more strength than the others.

I wonder if early accordion training has anything to do with being so comfortable not using the thumb.

[♔Chello]

The strength, and control, we have in our fingers is really amazing when we are practised, actively playing. I never considered it much then, but since it has been many years since I played, my fingers do not understand or listen to what I'm asking them to do now, unless very slowly and deliberately. And I thought I'd be fine as I type daily, as a type setter. But since I started doing exercises, especially with the 5th and 4th fingers (oh the 4th is so bad!) I can feel and see the strength returning. It's like relearning a language.

But I never considered not using my thumb. I appreciate it, especially for reach. But it might also be giving me some balance, having more strength than the others.

I wonder if early accordion training has anything to do with being so comfortable not using the thumb.

✪aprilla


Thank you very much for your interesting observation.
Typing actually helps very little, because the fingering is very different from the keyboard/accordion.
I have been typing since I was 15.

However, there is something else that is relevant, and this is what can be called the memory of the fingers (RAM..!).

Bodybuilders know that all muscles have a memory, which allows the athlete to be away from all training for a long time and suddenly start again, and the muscles regain muscle mass very quickly.

And here comes something really interesting:
Although I have hardly played the accordion since 1998, I can play a complex melody at any time, because my fingers remember the fingering.
Of course, I get tired quickly, but only a few hours of playing are needed for everything to be the same as when I played every day..!

And my 4th finger is today one of my best, because I have trained it regularly with 121 exercises, and especially the index finger and this one work very well together today, as well as the index finger and 5th finger.


Most people have a natural tendency to use their thumbs effectively, while I have always had an aversion to using my thumbs.

Anyway - many of the world's most skilled musicians hardly use their thumbs..!


Also, watch this video - this man can do something that no one else can !
He hardly uses his thumbs either, but does almost everything with his three middle fingers, which are the ones that work best together.