SUPPLEMENT

TECHNICAL REGIMEN, PART 2

WATCH THE LESSON
AT TONEBASE.CO

FOURTH AND FIFTH FINGER STRETCH

JEFFREY BIEGEL – INSTRUCTOR

“Remember your posture, always make sure you’re centered,

playing with the piano, not at the piano.”

Following the diminished seventh

chord stretch, Biegel focuses on the
weaker part of the hand – the fourth
and fifth fingers. How can a student
gain energy in these fingers without
straining? Point all the fingers up and
out, stretching lightly.

Biegel recommends a very simple exercise to strengthen these two fingers:

Place your fourth finger on the G above middle C and your thumb low on the
wood below the keys. Be careful not to jut out your elbow. Lift your back
straight. Lift and drop the fourth finger. At the same moment you release the
fourth finger, aim your pinky for the C a perfect-fourth above and strike.

Next, play the A-flat with the fourth finger

while the pinky releases and begins
aiming for D-flat. Continue this pattern
chromatically, playing A with the fourth
finger, D with the pinky; then B-flat to E-
flat, B to E, and so on. It isn’t necessary to
go more than four or five repetitions.

Watch the lesson at tonebase.co Biegel 1

 Set a metronome to 66 bpm to begin the exercise. Release the fingers upward two
beats before beginning. Go through each movement on its own before playing the
exercise in time. Play each note for two beats.

Also try playing this exercise from C to F, moving up five notes until you play E-
flat to A-flat. Don't begin any lower, or your arms are forced to turn too much.

LEFT HAND
Prepare for this exercise by stretching your hand
outward. Start with the fifth finger on G2, one-
and-a-half octaves below middle C. Just like the
right hand, play the fourth finger on C (one
octave below middle C). Then move upward
chromatically until you reach B in the fifth finger.

If you are short on time, you can try

both hands together. This exercise
builds up strength in the fourth and
fifth fingers. A great example of this
can be found in Schumann’s
Toccata, Op. 7. Watch Jeffrey
Biegel’s tonebase lesson on this
piece for more!

Watch the lesson at tonebase.co Biegel 2

An heir to the
legacy of Josef
Lhévinne and Adele
Marcus, Jeffrey
Biegel has garnered
a reputation as a
prolific pianist and
sought-after
teacher.