Intermediate Exercises for Strengthening Hands in Piano Playing

            For all you piano players or SOON-TO-BE piano players, you will probably find that one hand or the other (the left, if you are right-handed, or the right hand, if you are left-handed), is much weaker than the other.  Therefore, you need to do specialized exercises to try to strengthen that “other” hand.  Here are exercises that are specified for the left-hand BUT all you have to do is substitute the right hand if you are left-handed and so, want to strengthen your right hand instead.  Here are some ideas:

            The left hand provides important support for any musical piece.  Rhythm, tempo, and control are all contributed when the left hand is added.  In a “band” situation, the BASS PLAYER would provide important anchoring bottom notes.  The left-hand or bass notes also add to “note understanding” and the overall feel and success of the music.  Most “lead sheets” or chord charts of songs do not make a specific indication regarding what to play with the left-hand.  Under ordinary circumstances, the correct left-hand choice is simply the note name of the chord (e. g., if the chord written is “C”, you play a “C” one to two octaves below Middle C; if the chord written is “Fm”, you play an “F” one to two octaves below Middle C; if the chord says F/A, you play an “F” major chord with your right hand and an “A” one to two octaves below Middle C with the left hand).  Rhythm is established either by repeating a rhythmic pattern using the specified Chord Name, by playing between the Tonic and Fifth of the specified Chord, or by “walking” between chords and their Bass/Left-Hand notes.

            The right hand USUALLY carries the melody of a piece and/or the structure of the chord itself, whether a triad or extended chord.  It is not WRONG to play the melody and the chord with the left hand but it is NOT customary, and you HAVE to remember how important it is to provide the needed musical support provided by the Tonic Note or designated Bass Note.  If you don’t play the Bass Note with your Left Hand, you must provide it another way.  If at all possible, play the Bass Notes with your Left hand, and the melody and/or chords with the Right hand.

            The “Hand Strengthening Exercises” post from August 6, 2016 provides good “general” exercises but here are some additional ones, and some that are specifically for stretching, or for strengthening the weaker hand or fingers:

·      Scales – From the beginning of time, as long as there have been pianos and piano lessons, players have practiced scales with one and both hands to build flexibility, strength, dexterity, and coordination.  They are not fun; they are rather tedious and boring.  However, the results that scale practice bear are far-reaching.  When you perform scales, you must use both sides of your brain and utilize different fingering for each hand.  Scales can and should be practiced in a number of different ways – legato, where the notes were connected smoothly; staccato, where the notes are played shortly, quickly, and sharply; and then, with different styles of rhythms, whether regular rhythms or alternatively accenting various specific notes, such as every other note or every third note; once advanced, one hand plays ascending scale while the other hand plays the same scale in a descending fashion.

·      Stretches – These exercises should be approached carefully, especially for younger students.  There are many small muscles, ligaments, and tendons in the hands, wrists, and forearms, so you want to work these areas cautiously.  In this way, you will, hopefully, avoid straining, pulling, or damaging any of the intricate mechanisms that allow articulation of each played note.  Exercises include playing one note with the thumb of either hand and stretching down or up to play the same note one octave higher or lower; Arpeggiate the notes of each scale, 1-3-5-8-5-3-1 (practice this in a legato, staccato, and a combination fashion); Arpeggiate scale elements but only play the 1-5-8-5-1 or 1-3-8-3-1, to continue stretching but to keep things interesting; Play the Tonic of an arpeggio, and while holding that note with your thumb, play the remaining notes of the arpeggio in a staccato fashion.

·      Work Your Weaker Hand – As mentioned above, working scales is probably the best method for strengthening a weaker hand but to alleviate boredom and vary the process a little, “change hands” with your music.  By this, I mean to play the music intended for the right hand with the left hand instead, and music intended for the left hand, played by the right hand instead.  If this is too difficult because it becomes too confusing, simply play the more difficult music with the weaker hand.  Once again, this will not be easy or necessarily fun BUT anything worth doing is worth doing WELL.

·      Work Your Weaker Fingers and Combinations of Fingers – For almost all players, the “ring” finger and “little” or 5^th finger are much weaker than the other stronger fingers.  As mentioned in the General Piano Exercises of August 6, 2016, practicing finger “isolations” by having them independently tap a table or other level area while the hands are in a relaxed, parallel position above the area.  #1 - Playing exercises include, of course, scales, trying to make certain the volume and touch of each of the notes is exactly the same.  It is also a great idea to simply work back and forth between one weak finger and one strong finger.  Again, try to assure that the volume and the rhythm are identical with both fingers.  Additionally, you can then build your exercises to 3, 4, and 5 notes, including both weak and strong fingers, always making sure the rhythm and volume are even, consistent, and strong (or growing stronger all the time).  #2 – REPETITION EXERCISES – I recognize that students just beginning to play will, understandably, feel tense, probably through the shoulders and neck, all down the arms, and especially into the arms and fingers.  This needs to be AVOIDED!  So, first and foremost, SLOW DOWN, BREATHE.  If you feel yourself tensing up, STOP!  This is NOT going to happen overnight, so try to give yourself grace to learn develop strength and flexibility with these exercises and your playing.  SO, for this exercise, begin with just one hand and just one finger of that hand, such as your right thumb, if you are right-handed.  We’ll label the fingers with numbers for these exercises.  The Thumb is “1”; the Pointer is “2”; the Middle finger is “3”; the Ring finger is “4”; and the Little finger or Pinky is “5”.   For this exercise, begin by playing 1-1-1-1 and then, take a break, to begin with.  The goal is to play these “quadruplets” smoothly, consistently, and FAST.  1-1-1-1, 1-1-1-1, 1-1-1-1, 1-1-1-1…  Especially for beginning students, DON’T overdo these exercises!  The thumb SHOULD be fairly strong but after you have practiced this exercise for a little while, your thumb will be tired.  Therefore, rather than stopping all your piano practicing, change fingers.  THIS time, choose one of your weaker fingers, like your 5 or 4 fingers.  You can also change hands.  Ultimately, you want to work EVERY finger on both hands until it is of equal strength and flexibility, as well as both hands together.  As I said, this process is gradual but you have to work regularly, persistently, patiently, and you WILL see results that make this investment worthwhile.  #3 – This is done with BOTH HANDS SIMULTANEOUSLY, using fingers 2 and 3.  Once again, the goal here is to play the two notes smoothly, consistently, and FAST BUT because you are now using two different fingers, even though they are each usually fairly strong fingers.  This is played in the same “quadruplet” format as above, 2-3-2-3-2-3-2-3, 2-3-2-3-2-3-2-3, 2-3-2-3-2-3-2-3…  As you find that you are able to play without tension, evenly, play the exercise once emphasizing the “2” and the next time, emphasize the “3”.  TAKE YOUR TIME!  Think of it like you might a diet.  If you drop a bunch of weight really fast, it never stays off but if you take your time and slowly but steadily take the weight off, you have a much better chance of keeping the weight off.  NEXT, instead of playing the 2 and 3 separately, play them together like a chord but still as a quadruplet – 23,23,23,23… Continue this exercise until you can perform 4 quadruplets in a row.  Then, repeat both part of this exercise using fingers 1 and 2, then, 3 and 4, the 4 and 5, playing them singly in dyads, and then, as chords.  Lastly, practice this exercise DESCENDING, using fingers 5 and 4, 4 and 3, 3 and 2, and 2 and 1.

            This may seem like way too much work just to play the piano but it’s the best way to create multiple “tools” to aid you in playing the piano.  You probably think all you need to play the piano is a keyboard and your hands, and MAYBE a piece of music, and “simplistically” you’d be correct.  If you’ve ever purchased a piece of “do-it-yourself” furniture, like a bookcase, you understand that what is SUPPOSED to be simple, may not always be that easy.  That’s all I’m saying about playing the piano.  If you want it to be easy, you need all the “tools” you can get your hands on (no pun intended).  I’m gonna put a comma in our discussion for now to allow everyone time to practice these.  Once you feel pretty confident with THESE exercises, check out the next post for even more advanced exercises.  Thanks for reading!  Please check my website for any questions about my lessons or me at www.SingitForward.net.  I welcome any and all your questions, comments, and ideas for future blog post ideas.  You are very much appreciated.  Sing it forward!