Scale fingering rules – free course

Why practise scales? Because tonal music is literally made of them: fragments of scales and arpeggios hide in almost every piece, from Bach to Chopin, from jazz to pop. A pianist who knows their scales "in the fingers" sight-reads faster, memorises more easily and plays with an evenness no other exercise delivers as efficiently. But they must be played with the right fingering. Rather than learning 24 fingerings by rote, let us understand the logic behind them.

Rule 1: two groups, 1-2-3 and 1-2-3-4

An octave has seven different notes. They are shared between a group of three fingers (1-2-3) and a group of four (1-2-3-4), joined by thumb crossings. Only the final octave note adds finger 5 (right hand at the top, left hand at the bottom).

Rule 2: the thumb avoids black keys

The thumb is short: on a black key it forces the whole hand to pull back and twist. In scales, the thumb therefore goes on white keys, ideally just after a black key (the crossing is then very comfortable, because the long fingers are on the black keys, which are higher and further back).

Rule 3: only one 4 per octave — find it!

The surest way to memorise a scale: know which note the 4th finger falls on, since it appears only once per octave. Right hand: in C, G, D, A and E, finger 4 falls on the leading note (7th degree); in all the flat keys for the right hand (F, B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭), finger 4 falls on B♭. Left hand: in the scales "like C" (C, G, D, A, E), finger 4 falls on the 2nd degree.

Rule 4: scales starting on a black key

You do not start with the thumb: you start with the finger that will let the thumb land on the first white key. In E♭ major right hand, for instance: E♭ (3), F (1)… Finger 3 plays the first note and the thumb takes F.

M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=66
K:E
!1!E!2!F!3!G!1!A !2!B!3!c!4!d!5!e | !5!e!4!d!3!c!2!B !1!A!3!G!2!F!1!E |]

E major right hand: 1-2-3 on E F♯ G♯, the thumb passes under to A, then 1-2-3-4-5. Notice that finger 4 lands on D♯ (the leading note).

The chromatic scale

Twelve semitones in a row. A simple rule: 3 on every black key, 1 on white keys, and 2 where two white keys are next to each other (E-F, B-C). Right hand going up from C: 1 3 1 3 1 2 3 1 3 1 3 1 2 (2 on F and on C). Left hand going up from C: 1 3 1 3 2 1 3 1 3 1 3 2 1 (2 on E and on B).

Common mistakes:

Improvising a different fingering every time: the scale never becomes automatic.
Putting the thumb on a black key "because it's handier" at that exact spot: you pay for it three notes later.
Forgetting that the left hand is symmetrical: its 4 does not fall in the same place as the right hand's.

Tip: before playing a scale, say aloud "4 on…" for each hand. This little ritual prevents 90% of fingering accidents.