How to Play The Piano Better with These Easy Finger Exercises

To play piano with skill, the fingers require flexibility exercises. Proper hand technique is not only important for a smooth and even sound - it is mandatory. The fingers must be flexible and strong enough to handle fast and difficult passages and scales. The weight and balance of the finger as it strikes the key, affects the volume, evenness and ease in playing.

For beginners the following exercise will help you to remember to strike each key with the fingers in a curved position.

• Sit down in a straight backed chair, facing a kitchen or dining room table. Your forearms will be resting on the table with your wrists and hands positioned as though you are playing the piano.
• Make sure your finger tips touch the table so that your hands are rounded as though you have a golf ball under the palm of each hand. Don't tense the hands too much as you continue through the rest of the exercises.

• With the finger tips and wrist resting on the table, lift both thumbs up while keeping all of the remaining fingers in a curved position. The wrist must always be touching the table top. The idea is to avoid collapsing the knuckles of the other fingers as you concentrate on lifting one finger at a time. After lifting the finger bring it back down while holding it in a curved position until it rests on the table top.
  Next you will lift the "pointer" finger (finger 2), while keeping the other fingers in a curved position resting on the table. Continue this exercise with the middle finger(finger 3), the ring finger (finger 4) and the pinky finger (finger 5). Repeat the whole exercise several times.

• Continue to do this several times every day making sure the knuckles are not collapsing. This is a great way to build strong fingers for piano performance. When you feel that you have mastered this exercise, go to the piano and play a scale or five finger pattern making sure you use strong knuckles. This is a an exercise for anyone to practice, especially beginning piano students and children. You will soon be able to play piano music with a lovely legato (smooth and connected) touch. This is how you make beautiful music.

• A good test to see if the hand is in proper alignment, is to place a quarter on the back of each hand and play a few keys, balancing the quarter. The quarter should remain balanced on the hand and not fall off as you play (slowly). Keep the wrist level with the hand and do not bob it up and down.
  It is the function of the forearm to move the hand when striking the piano keyes.
  Once you master this exercise, you will be surprised at the difference in both sound, improved flexibility and speed.

• When seated at the piano, do not pull the piano bench too close to the keyboard. Allow enough room between you and the instrument to give you freedom to move from the lowest to highest area of the keyboard. Sitting too close inhibits your space. Maintain proper posture and keep the spine straight by sitting tall.

A metronome may be used when practicing in order to maintain a constant tempo. Tempo is most always measured in beats per minute (BPM); metronomes can be set to variable tempi, usually ranging from 40 to 208 BPM; another marking denoting metronome tempi is M.M., or Mälzel's Metronome.

To increase speed for scales and other exercises set the metronome at a slow tempo. Continue practicing slow until the scale is perfectly mastered, then gradually increase the tempo until a faster speed is reached and easy to play.

Studying classical music such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin require constant dedication and superb technique. Much of the worlds most beautiful music was introduced by these great composers. Regardless of which musical genre you prefer, studying these masters (and a great many others), provides the pianist with a challange that can take months to reach.

Once the pianist is secure in playing classical music, the bar is set for all other genres. Because great skill is required, it makes all other music easier to understand and play.

The piano is the most enticing of instruments. Even though the process involves persistence and hard work, the rewards bring a lifetime of joy and fulfillment. Only you, the pianist, can unlock the piano's potential.

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