Piano Practice
Primary 6 · Creative Arts
Piano Practice
Lesson 3 of 5
30 min
Let's begin
Niyonzima's left hand feels clumsy. "It's like writing with the wrong hand!" he groans.
"Then it needs its own practice," says his teacher. "Every good pianist trains both hands, a little every day."
Put your left little finger (5) on the C below middle C. On the bass staff, that C is in space 2. Fingers 4 3 2 1 rest on D E F G, and your thumb's G is in space 4.
Going up: play C D E F G with 5 4 3 2 1. While your thumb holds G, cross finger 3 over the thumb to play A. Then play B with 2 and C with 1. That top C is middle C.
Coming down: play C B A with 1 2 3. While finger 3 holds A, tuck your thumb under to play G with 1. Then play F E D C with 2 3 4 5.
The left hand is a mirror of the right. The right hand tucks its thumb under on the way up, but the left hand tucks its thumb under on the way down.
For the left hand, the finger numbers are written below the staff. The scale climbs from space 2 up to middle C on its ledger line, then comes back down. The red numbers show the cross-over (A, going up) and the thumb tuck (G, coming down).
Play each warm-up slowly, counting four beats in a bar, before you play the whole scale.
Tip
Left hand going up: 5 4 3 2 1, cross 3, 2 1. Coming down: 1 2 3, tuck, 1 2 3 4 5.
Try each one first, then tap Show answer to check.
Which left-hand finger plays the C in space 2 of the bass staff?
Answer: Finger 5, the little finger.
In the left-hand scale going up, which finger crosses over the thumb, and onto which note?
Answer: Finger 3, onto A.
Coming down, which note does the left thumb play after it tucks under?
Answer: G.
Where is the top note of the left-hand scale written?
Answer: On the ledger line just above the bass staff. It is middle C.
Which left-hand finger plays E, going up and coming down?
Answer: Finger 3 both times.
What you learned today
Sources and credits
The fingering shown is the standard fingering for the C major scale. The story, the keyboard and staff diagrams, the warm-ups and the practice questions were written by Ganzaa. The bass clef in the diagrams was drawn by Ganzaa.
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Quick check
The left hand tucks its thumb under on the way up, just like the right hand.
