Fingering is your key to control. If you’ve found the best fingering-solution to a particular passage, you’ll have better precision and consistency. And with precision and consistency, you can focus on balance and tone.

I thought it’d be interesting to post some fingering exercises for pianists interested in exploring double-note scales. Posts will deal with things that I’ve worked on over that last two years. The exercises are derived from experimenting with Moszkowski’s book Scales & Double Notes Book II. Thanks to Gary Williamson for introducing me to this book!

Side Note: If anybody comes across Book III or Book IV, PLEASE let me know! I’m seriously interested in checking them out. I haven’t been able to find them.

Most important with double note scales is strengthening your third, fourth and fifth fingers. This is especially important because more often than not, these fingers will be playing melodies. Check out this exercise:



You can use the same fingering descending. Of course, there are many variations. So I would encourage pianists to practice ascending and descending with fingering alternating 3-4, 3-5, 4-5 and 3-4-5. This should prepare you for all of them! Example:



I should also mention that you shouldn’t limit yourself to the chromatic scale. Be sure to apply this to major scales, minor scales (melodic & harmonic), bop scales, diminished scales and any other scales you can think of. The above fingering variations will hopefully prepare you for the problems faced in these scales, but be sure to put them to the test!

Stay tuned for part 2!