Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
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Secondary Piano Program

Scales need to be performed with a pianistic fingering that allows for fluent execution of the exercise. The determination of what is an acceptable fingering is at the discretion of the examiner. The fingerings below are acceptable, as are those found in "The Brown Scale Book" (Frederick Harris HS1) available at your local sheet music dealer.

Fingering Guide

	Scale		Blocked/Broken	Tonic Arpeggio	Dom 7		Dim 7
MAJOR			Chords				Arpegg.		Arpegg.

	Black-key groups


D-flat	RH 2312341	RH 135 125 135	RH 412		RH 4123		RH 4123
C#	LH 3214321	LH 531 531 521	LH 214		LH 4321		LH 3214

G-flat	RH 2341231	RH	"	RH  1 23	RH 2341		RH  "
/F#	LH 4321321	LH	"	LH (1)32	LH 4321		LH  "

C-flat	RH  1 231234	RH	"	RH  "		RH  1 234     	R 1 234
/B	LH (1)321432	LH	"	LH  "		LH (1)432       L(1)432

	C Major fingering

C	RH  1 231234	RH	"	RH  1 23	RH   "	 	RH  "
	LH (1)432132	LH	"	LH (1)42	LH   "		LH  "

G	RH	"	RH	"	RH  "		RH   "  	RH  "
	LH	" 	LH	"	LH  "		LH   "		LH  "

D	RH	"  	RH	"	RH  1 23	RH   "		RH  "
	LH	"	LH	"	LH (1)32	LH   "		LH  "

A	RH	"	RH	"	RH  "		RH   "		RH  "
	LH	"	LH	"	LH  "		LH   "		LH  "

E	RH	"	RH	"	RH  "		RH   "		RH 1234
	LH	"	LH	"	LH  "		LH   "		LH 2143

A-flat	RH 3412312	RH	"	RH 412		RH 4123		RH 4123
	LH 3214321	LH	"	LH 214		LH 2143		LH 4321

	Others

E-flat	RH 3123412	RH	"	RH  "		RH   "		RH 3412
	LH 3214321	LH	"	LH  "		LH   "		LH 4321
	
B-flat	RH 4123123	RH	"	RH 412		RH 4123		RH  "
	LH 3214321	LH	"	LH 321		LH 3214		LH  "

F	RH  1 234123	RH	"	RH  1 23	RH 1234		R 1 234
	LH (1)432132  	LH	"	LH (1)42	LH 3214		L(1)432


HARMONIC MINOR

	C major fingering

C	RH  1 231234	RH 135 125 135	RH  1 23	RH  1 234	R 1 234
	LH (1)432132	LH 531 531 521	LH (1)42	LH (1)432	L(1)432

D	RH	"	RH	"	RH  "		RH   "		RH  "
	LH	"	LH	"	LH  "		LH   "		LH  "
				
G	RH	"	RH	"	RH  "		RH   "		RH  "
	LH	"	LH	"	LH  "		LH   "		LH  "

A	RH	"	RH	"	RH  "		RH   "		RH  "
	LH	"	LH	"	LH  "		LH   "		LH  "

E	RH	"	RH	"	RH  "		RH   "		RH 1234
	LH	"	LH	"	LH  "		LH   "		LH 2143

G#	RH 3412312	RH	"	RH 412		RH 4123		RH 4123
/A flat	LH 3214321	LH	"	LH 214		LH 2143		LH 4321
	
C#	RH	"	RH	"	RH  "		RH 4123		RH 4123
	LH	"	LH	"	LH  "		LH 4321		LH 3214
	
F#	RH 3412312  	RH	"	RH  "		RH 2341		RH  "
	LH 4321321	LH	"	LH  "		LH 4321		LH  "


	Black-key groups

B-flat	RH 4123123	RH	"	RH 231		RH 4123		RH 3412
	LH 2132143	LH	"	LH 321		LH 3214		LH 4321

E-flat	RH 3123412	RH	"	RH  1 23	RH 4123		RH  "
/D#	LH 2143213	LH	"	LH (1)42	LH 2143		LH  "

	Others

F	RH  1 234123	RH	"	RH  "	 	RH 1234		R 1 234
	LH (1)432132	LH	"	LH  "		LH 3214		L(1)432

B	RH  1 231234	RH	"	RH  "		RH  1 234	RH  "
	LH (1)321432	LH	"	LH  "		LH (1)432	LH  "

The above fingerings are to be extrapolated for the appropriate number of octaves - if a (1) occurs in the LH, the student is expected to substitute the 5th finger at the beginning of the exercise, and the RH requires the use of the 5th finger at the top Other substitutions are possible which make playing the first note(s) of some exercises (before the regular physical pattern begins) more comfortable - use your imagination! The dominant seventh and diminished seventh arpeggios merely represent those respective sonorities built above the tonic note; thus, they are the same for parallel keys.

* The fingering for cross-hand arpeggios is:

LH 531 RH 135 LH 531 RH 135 LH 2 RH 531 LH 135 RH 531 LH 135

by Peter Henderson, 1994



Indiana University
Jacobs School of Music