October 14, 2025: Tuesday Upbeat
Teachers: Happy Tuesday!
Piano: Start with the 3rd Finger; Say No To “Hand Positions”
Beginner piano students develop most favorably when they start playing with their 3rd finger (middle finger, tall finger) in each hand.
The first two songs in the Presto! It’s Piano Magic, Book 1, curriculum encourage the use of the 3rd finger in the right hand, and a combination of 3rd finger and 1st finger (thumb) in the left hand. Subsequent songs such as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Cuckoo Song, and Hooray!, also recommend significant 3rd finger usage.
Students will benefit if we encourage them to use their 3rd finger, rather than their 2nd (pointer) finger, from the start. On the left hand, 1 & 3 are much better than 1 & 2 or 2 & 4. However, children with tiny hands are okay to use 1 & 5 (pinky finger) in the beginning, until their hands grow a bit.
Some students will object to using these fingerings. That’s okay. Allow them to use the fingerings of their choice, and also encourage them to use the recommended fingerings, too. Do it both ways. After a while, even if it takes months, they will be playing with the better finger usages.
Note that Twinkle Twinkle Little Star introduces hand crossing. This is a wonderful strategy that encourages good development at the piano from early on. Have them use their 3rd fingers in each hand, alternating notes and crossing over as needed (see the fingerings and hand references in the music notation). If they insist on playing with one hand, have them play the whole song with each hand – first with the RH and then with the LH, all the way through. You can even have them play two-handed octaves, too. Then, once they are really good at the notes, encourage them to start using the alternating hand technique.
These early songs help students avoid what some methods call “hand positions.” They refer to “C position” and “G position,” etc. We do not use these strategies. Our perspective is that there is no such thing as hand positions on the piano. Teaching make-believe “hand positions” to beginner students is among the popular yet harmful strategies that cause anxieties, traumas, and long-term problems with students and require significant effort to heal and undo. Please do not use any strategy related to hand positions on the piano.
Next week I will recommend more detailed strategies to teach the hand-crossing in Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
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Have a magical Tuesday, a musical week, and enjoy happy, healthy and tension-free teaching and learning with your students.
Thank you,
Dennis Frayne
"Dr. Dennis"
Laguna Niguel School of Music
Dennis Frayne Music Studios
30110 Crown Valley Pkwy, Suites 105/107/108
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
(949) 844-9051 (office cell)
(949) 468-8040 (personal cell)
www.lagunaniguelschoolofmusic.com
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