A Closer Look at Major and Minor Scale Finger Patterns for the Piano by Dolly L Paul MA
Piano finger patterns used in major and minor scales are patterns that have been chosen because of their contribution to optimal playing. While playing scales, the hand needs to flow as smoothly and effortlessly as possible.
The ideal pattern for any scale is, what I call, standard fingering. This pattern allows the player to use adjacent fingers, one through five, in a continuous flow with only one turn after the third finger of each hand in the span of an octave. We know this pattern as the 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5 finger pattern ascending in the right hand, and the 5-4-3-2-1-3-2-1 pattern ascending in the left hand. However, when black keys need to be accessed, the flow of this pattern may not be optimal. Therefore, we must use alternate finger patterns for some piano scales.
One of the rules we want to consider, when playing a scale, is to avoid playing a black key with the thumb. Using the thumb on a black key alters the weight and balance as the hand plays through adjacent keys. This does not support fluid scale passage playing.
A second rule we want to consider is using the same finger pattern in the minor key scales (natural, harmonic, and melodic) as we have used in that key’s relative major key. However, again we must keep in mind that a thumb does play on a black key, and this is the area where many novice players struggle with patterns.
The last, or third, finger pattern consideration comes into play when we have scales that contain many black keys. When the area of the keyboard where two black keys are positioned between C-D-E, the flow of the pattern favors fingers two and three for the black keys on both hands. And the area of the keyboard where three black keys are grouped together between notes F-G-A-B, favors fingers two, three, and four on the black keys.
Scales that use standard fingering in both hands are:
C major and its relative a minor forms
G major and its relative e minor forms
D major
A major
E major
c minor forms
g minor forms
d minor forms
b minor, D major’s relative minor key, uses standard fingering in the right hand, but must shift the left-hand fingering to the pattern 4-3-2-1-4-3-2-1 in all forms (harmonic, melodic, and natural.)
f# minor, A major’s relative minor key, offers a confusing finger pattern. Logically the left hand would follow the same finger pattern as the A major scale. This would allow us to use the same pattern for all three forms of the minor scale in the left hand 3-2-1-4-3-2-1-3. Instead, the third rule is used: L.H. 4-3-2-1-3-2-1-4 all f# minor forms.
In the right hand of the f# minor scales, the fingering that would follow the A major pattern looks logical for the natural and harmonic forms and that fingering is used in those forms. However, in the f# melodic pattern ascending in the right hand, we would end up with a thumb on D#. To remedy this the fingering is altered from traditional patterns and the fourth finger is substituted to play the D# on the ascension of the scale with the thumb playing the E#. Then the third finger plays the top F# and the original pattern used in the natural and harmonic forms (which aligns with A major) returns on the descending scale pattern.
R.H. 3-4-1-2-3-1-2-3 harmonic and natural R.H. 3-4-1-2-3-4-1-3 melodic ascending
c# minor, E major’s relative key, follows the same trail as F# minor.
L.H. 3-2-1-4-3-2-1-3 for all C# minor forms (this follows the E major finger pattern)
R.H. 3-4-1-2-3-1-2-3 harmonic and natural R.H. 3-4-1-2-3-4-1-3 melodic ascending
B major uses standard fingering for the right hand. The left-hand pattern for B major must shift to 4-3-2-1-4-3-2-1 to avoid a thumb on a black key. (You may notice that B major and b minor keys use the same finger patterns in both hands. These keys are not relative to one another, they are parallel to one another.)
The g# minor right-hand pattern follows B major fingering for all forms starting on G#, 3-4-1-2-3-1-2-3. The left-hand pattern for the harmonic form and the ascending melodic form is 3-2-1-4-3-2-1-3 which differs from B major’s pattern. The natural pattern aligns with the B major finger pattern. Melodic ascending, natural descending: L.H. 3-2-1-4-3-2-1-3-4-1-2-3-1-2-3
Gb major follows the third rule for both hands (the key of F# is enharmonic to Gb)
R.H. 2-3-4-1-2-3-1-2 L.H. 4-3-2-1-3-2-1-4
eb minor, Gb major’s relative key, follows Gb major’s pattern in the right and the left hands:
R.H. 3-1-2-3-4-1-2-3 L.H. 2-1-4-3-2-1-3-2
Db major also follows the third rule in its scale finger pattern.
R.H. 2-3-1-2-3-4-1-2 L.H. 4-3-2-1-3-2-1-4
bb minor, Db major’s relative key, follow Db major’s finger pattern in all its minor forms starting on the Bb note:
R.H. 4-1-2-3-1-2-3-4 L.H. 2-1-3-2-1-4-3-2
Ab Major follows the third rule in the fingering pattern of the right hand. However, in the left hand the fingering pattern is shifted which offers more flow to the left-hand pattern.
R.H. 3-4-1-2-3-1-2-3 L.H. 3-2-1-4-3-2-1-3
f minor, Ab major’s relative key, uses the right-hand Ab scale pattern for all three minor forms: R.H. 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4. The left hand of f minor uses the standard finger pattern for all three forms.
Eb major uses an unfamiliar pattern in the right 3-1-2-3-4-1-2-3 and the left 3-2-1-4-3-2-1-3. The bright spot with this scale pattern is when played in contrary motion (hands together) the finger patterns are symmetrical.
Bb major is another unfamiliar finger pattern in both hands. The right-hand finger pattern is 4-1-2-3-1-2-3-4. The left-hand finger pattern 3-2-1-4-3-2-1-3. For some students it helps to remember that when the hands play in parallel motion, the R.H. finger 3 is on the note Bb, your left-hand finger 4 will be on Bb as well. Likewise, when your L.H. finger 4 is on Eb your R.H. finger 3 will be on Eb. Focusing on the finger 3-4 combinations can help you remember the finger patterns for this scale.
F major uses the standard finger pattern in the left hand. In the right hand the pattern shifts to 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4 to avoid using a thumb on the scale tone Bb. (Although unrelated, some like to compare F major’s finger patterns to the B major patterns because they are opposites. In B major the right hand has standard fingering, and the left hand uses the 4-3-2-1-4-3-2-1.)
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