Grouping Fingers and Keys

Transcription

1 Grouping Fingers and Keys A Visual Approach to Fingering Scales and Arpeggios Major and Minor Keys A Tutorial for the Beginning Pianist Rosalie A. Gregory

2 Cover Art: Courtesy of Art Explosion by Nova and design by Flo Bessac Interior book design by Lindsay Bartels Copyright 2009 by Rosalie Gregory All rights reserved. Published by Pearson Learning Solutions Permission in writing must be obtained from the publisher before any part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system. All trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, and registered service marks are the property of their respective owners and are used herein for identification purposes only. Printed in the United States of America LA ISBN 10: ISBN 13:

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS About the Author...V Introduction...VI Acknowledgements...VI To the Student: How to Use this Book...VII Student Testimonials VIII How to Build the Major Scale...1 Understanding the Essentials of Grouping Fingers and Keys in SCALE Playing...3 Understanding the Essentials of Grouping Fingers and Keys in ARPEGGIO Playing...5 Key Signatures... 6 MAJOR SCALES and ARPEGGIOS C Major...10 G Major D Major A Major E Major B Major...30 F Major C Major...38 III

4 F Major B Major E Major...50 A Major D Major G Major How to Build the Minor Scale Relative Major and Minor Keys...70 MINOR SCALES and ARPEGGIOS A Minor...72 E Minor B Minor...80 F Minor C Minor...88 G Minor D Minor...96 G Minor C Minor F Minor B Minor E Minor Grouping Scales using the same fingering Grouping Arpeggios using the same fingering IV

5 ABOUT THE AUTHOR ROSALIE GREGORY brings over 28 years of hands-on piano teaching experience to this publication, Grouping Fingers and Keys A Visual Approach to Fingering Scales and Arpeggios. Her unique insight and solutions in this particular area of scale structure and scale playing have evolved from her diagnostic approach in all aspects of her teaching and performing career. Ms. Gregory has earned a Fellowship Diploma from the Trinity College of Music in London, England. Her musical training also includes two years of studies in Keyboard Harmony at The Juilliard School's Extension Division, New York City. Ms. Gregory has also earned both Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees in Piano Performance from the University of Miami in Miami, Florida, where she studied under renowned pianist, Ivan Davis, the University s Artist-in-Residence. Rosalie Gregory was a frequent performer on radio and television in her native country of Jamaica before moving to the United States. She has since served as an adjunct piano instructor on the Music Faculty of Broward College in South Florida since 1980, as well as at Palm Beach Community College for a number of years in the same capacity. She maintains a private piano studio in Coral Springs, Florida where she currently resides. V

6 INTRODUCTION The family of keyboard instruments, i.e., the piano, organ, and electronic keyboard, is unique among all instruments. These instruments, built on a horizontal plane, not only encompass the entire range of eighty-eight musical pitches, but also are easily accessible to the player both physically and visually. Since the diatonic scale is the alphabet from which the language of Western music is expressed, it is the purpose of this book to present sufficient instruction for the student to recognize the importance of understanding this aspect of music study. Scales and arpeggios (extended chords) must become the building blocks from which this musical knowledge of melody and harmony will evolve. The concepts and practical theory presented in this book will provide the beginning pianist with a full understanding of the why and the how of scale and arpeggio construction and playing. Particular emphasis is placed on the visual aspect of scale and arpeggio playing as it relates to the importance of seeing and feeling the finger groupings that are distinguished by contrasting colors. Fingering the scales and arpeggios directly onto the keyboard ensures correct home practice and gives the student a quick and easy reference when working independently. A comprehensive reference for the student can be found in the pages Grouping the Scales using the same fingerings. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Lindsay Bartels for your outstanding computer skills and enduring patience to do and re do - thank you! Sharon Gregory for being the talented editor - you went above and beyond and surpassed my expectations! Dr. Loretta Scherperel for your enthusiasm and continued encouragement to get the job completed. Dr. Michael Caldwell for your nod of approval. THS for continued inspiration and sound wisdom and for bringing the vision to pass. VI II

7 To the Student: How to Use this Book The most important feature of this book is the visual aspect of grouping fingers, clearly defined by contrasting colors and written directly onto the keys. Your visual relationship to the groups of two and three black keys must become an integral part of your scale and arpeggio study. Before you begin to learn to play any scale, be sure that you fully grasp the concept of how the scale is constructed, by following the pattern of whole and half steps, whether you are studying the major or minor scale - see pages 1-2 and pages Having this understanding, you should be able to correctly construct the scale yourself at the piano, using one finger, if necessary, before you attempt to play with correct fingering. Your aim is to understand the scale before you begin to play. Next, you must grasp the concept of fingering both the scale and arpeggio as explained on pages 3-5. Every group of fingers illustrated in blue indicates the use of fingers 1-2-3, whether applied in scale playing or arpeggio playing. Every group of or illustrated in red indicates the use of the 4th finger in that group, whether playing the scale or arpeggio. For instance, no arpeggio will combine fingers 3 and 4. It s either or Fingering illustrated in green are those fingers which play the first or final note of the scale or arpeggio (the 8th scale step) whether you re playing one octave or several octaves. Some one-octave scales or arpeggios which begin on a black key will end with an incomplete group. However, in playing two or more octaves the complete finger group is played at the point where one octave links to the next; e.g., see pages 54 and 56. The illustrated hands below each scale or arpeggio will further enhance your visual experience as you approach the study of each scale and arpeggio. Pages 120 and 121 are especially helpful in seeing which scales or arpeggios use the same fingering, so that you will have better clarity when practicing in several different keys. You might want to refer to these pages frequently to help keep things in some type of order and structure. LET S BEGIN!! III VII

8 STUDENT TESTIMONIALS Broward College, Davie, Florida I have used other books and guides in the past, and have found them to be tedious and hard to understand. Gregory s book provides a simple methodic approach to learning the scales and arpeggios by using finger groupings. Once you know the groupings, the scales come naturally even without much musical knowledge or experience. It is far more than just notes and numbers. This book is a great advantage for the beginner pianist. Camilo Velez This book has a very simple, yet straight forward method for learning the scales and arpeggios on the piano; especially due to its easy-to-follow visual illustrations of the keyboard with the correct fingering positions of each scale. The numbered groups of fingering positions are very helpful for memorizing each scale and arpeggio, and they help develop the correct approach to playing scales up and down the keyboard. Personally, being able to see the notes and fingering positions for each scale on the piano have made learning and memorizing the scales and arpeggios very easy and fast. Rodrigo Zuniga The book, Grouping Fingers and Keys by Rosalie Gregory has been very useful to me. Not only does it give a different approach to memorizing the scales, it is also very visual. The most helpful aspects of this book to me are the colors that distinguish the various finger groupings. Since I am a visual learner, this picture stays imprinted in my mind as I practice scales on the piano, and it helps me remember where my fingers go. Katrina Casta This book has become a tremendous resource where I can quickly look up the correct way of playing any scale and/or arpeggio. For instance, the images of colored finger patterns above a keyboard, or the right and left hand separately showing the fingers used for a designated arpeggio are a quick study. Lourdes Crosby In this book I have found that I can visualize the scales a lot better. I like being able to see the finger groups in different colors because it makes it easier to recognize the patterns. Ms. Gregory s book is easy for me to understand because it is well organized and laid out. Joseph Devolin VIII IV