1. Read the instruction before choosing a finger
Purpose: make the guide’s conventions clear enough that you can concentrate on playing. The printed pitches, clefs, durations, and finger numbers describe different things; check each before starting.
Finger numbers are 1 thumb, 2 index, 3 middle, 4 ring, 5 little finger in either hand. RH and LH label the hands. A hand can read either clef, so the clef determines pitch even when it differs from the usual treble/RH and bass/LH arrangement.
Middle C is C4. C3 is an octave below and C5 an octave above. Captions give sounding ranges where useful. An 8va line above a passage asks for an octave above the written notes until the line ends. Ledger lines extend the staff without changing the clef.
What the markings ask for
- Finger number: a proposed route through the notes. A terminal finger at the top of a scale may differ from the finger used to continue through an internal tonic.
- Slur: treat the group as connected and shaped. Its precise musical meaning depends on context; it is not an instruction to add pedal automatically.
- Dot above or below a note: staccato, a separated articulation. This differs from a dot placed after the notehead, which changes duration.
- Accent sign: give that attack an emphasis within the phrase. In this reading example, hear the change without turning it into a harsh attack.
- p: soft. Dynamic markings describe the intended sound, not a fixed amount of force.
Play the example once with one hand, naming the markings. Then play it again listening for the connected first group, emphasized G, and detached final C. The written half-note values still occupy two beats each, even when the final note is released earlier for its articulation.
2. Count the duration, then plan the repetition
A tempo marking needs a beat unit. At quarter note = 60, there is one quarter-note beat each second. In 4/4, four such beats fill a measure; two eighth notes or four sixteenth notes fit one beat. A faster subdivision does not by itself imply a faster beat.
| Written values | Duration in quarter-note beats |
|---|---|
| Whole note | 4 |
| Half note | 2 |
| Quarter note | 1 |
| Eighth note | 1/2 |
| Sixteenth note | 1/4 |
| Dotted eighth + sixteenth | 3/4 + 1/4 = 1 |
| Three eighth notes under a triplet 3 | Together fill 1 beat |
A tie joins adjacent notes of the same pitch into one sustained sound; do not attack the second note. A slur groups notes into a phrase or articulation unit and can join different pitches. Their similar curves have different jobs.
Repeats and turning points
Repeat barlines ask you to return to the corresponding repeat start, or to the beginning if no opening repeat is given. A double barline alone does not mean repeat. Follow any numbered endings in order when they appear.
The ascending-and-descending scale examples usually print their top note once. Do not add a second attack at the turn unless the notation shows one. The final longer note completes the written measure; it is part of the exercise rather than unused space.
Editorial directions
When prose asks for long–short rhythm, a displaced accent, or separate-hand practice, it names a temporary variation. Return to the printed version afterwards. Fingerings in original studies are editorial suggestions; adapted repertoire identifies its source and any added markings in the source notes.
Movement words such as “shift,” “release,” or “rotation” describe the task in context. They do not prescribe a fixed angle or require an exaggerated gesture. The detailed movement chapters remain under development.
Checkpoint: before an exercise, identify the starting register, beat unit, subdivision, first finger in each hand, and where the pattern ends or repeats.