COURSE SUPPLEMENT

WARMING UP THE FINGERS

WATCH THE LESSON
AT TONEBASE.CO

KEYBOARD CHOREOGRAPHY: LESSON 1

SEYMOUR BERNSTEIN – INSTRUCTOR

“With every piece we play, our fingers, wrists, and arms perform
dance on the keyboard”.

Emotion, intellect, and physical know-how are the key components of a

communicative performance. Bernstein is going to share how to use the warm-
up to prepare the body for an effective performance without stress or injury.

The first warm-up he likes to do

involves 2 fingers on the notes C
and E. Make the fingers flat on the
keys, point all the other fingers
down, and roll them side-to-side.

Depending on the size of your hand,

stretch the middle finger to F (or G
if you can) and repeat. Do the same
exercise in the left hand. Be sure
not to hurt yourself. Repeat the
exercises with other combinations
of fingers, as well.

Watch the lesson at tonebase.co Bernstein 1

 Play fingers 2 and 4 on the
notes F and C and move the
middle finger (3) around the
notes in between. Repeat in
both hands, and with fingers 3
and 5, with 4 in the middle.

The thumb is a troublesome finger because it often juts out from the hand. The
thumb should only jut out perpendicularly when striking a black key. Bernstein
developed an exercise to flex the bottom-most joint of the thumb. Start with
your four fingers on black keys, separated in each hand by several octaves, and
play around with the thumb, alternating nearby notes without jutting sideways.

There are three ways of interacting with a key. You can rest "on" the key, lower
the key halfway down on what's called the "escapement level" of the key, or
lower the key down to the "keybed", at the very bottom. Some music, like Bach,
requires you to position your hand "above" the key. Accompanying figures are
generally only at the escapement level. Dynamics are a function of speed at
which the key is depressed.

Regardless of the length of the fifth finger, it should be stabilized. Point it

upwards, like the image on the left, and push backward on it. It should not
collapse at the first joint. With this muscle control, poke across the keyboard. 

Watch the lesson at tonebase.co Bernstein 2