Finger articulation, placing and extended techniques
- Play with fingers 2 and 3 articulating fully into hand and thumb closing over at upper joint
- Play 2 and 3-finger placings, hands together and passing from hand to hand avoiding raising the wrist
- Play 2 notes simultaneously with fully closing hands
- Play, at a steady pulse, passages hands separately and together – melody in right hand and simple accompaniment in left hand.
- Play rhythmically, arpeggiated passages using 2 or 3 fingers which pass between hands
- Use appropriate fingering for single notes, octave scales, and arpeggios.
- Follow appropriate finger-placing within pieces
- Play a single finger glissando with a legato sound
Begin with learners playing finger 2, articulating fully into the hand. Ask learners to play both hands separately and together.
Introduce the thumb and how it bends over completely at both the upper and lower joint when playing a note. Practise playing 2- and 3-note intervals with thumb and second finger, 1–2 and 2–1.
Introduce placing of the fingers. Show how brackets written over the fingerings relate to placing ahead.
Some simple interconnecting of placing might be used at this point.
Introduce the third finger and reiterate the importance of closing fingers fully into the hand after playing a note.
Ask learners to play placed notes passing between hands and simultaneously, up to an interval of a fourth.
Demonstrate how an ascending and descending glissando merges at the top. Ask learners to try sliding the second finger up with the thumb up ready to slide downwards. Simple bass notes could be added to keep the pulse steady.
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