Technical Regimen, Part 8: Arpeggios
Technical Regimen, Part 8: Arpeggios
Technical Regimen, Part 8: Arpeggios
ARPEGGIOS
JEFFREY BIEGEL – INSTRUCTOR
Many books write out arpeggios in four octaves, across the entire range of the
piano. Biegel recommends taking your time a bit more with arpeggios,
beginning with one-octave arpeggios in each hand. Play the one-octave
arpeggio four times, then a two-octave arpeggio twice, followed by a three-
octave arpeggio twice and a four-octave arpeggio twice.
By the time he gets to the four octave arpeggio, there is much more security in
the motion, so missed notes are less common. When a long arpeggio shows up
in a piece of music, it’s beneficial to practice a condensed version to create
more of a shape.
This way, you cover every major and minor arpeggio over a series of four days.
While Biegel feels strongly that there is no perfect way to finger arpeggios, he
tends to follow certain patterns.
When moving exclusively between white keys, he plays 5-4-2-1 in the left hand.
This fingering would apply to arpeggios containing only natural notes: C Major, D
Minor, E Minor, F Major, G Major, and A Minor.
For C Minor, Biegel uses his third finger to play the E-flat (5-3-2-1). Some
students, however, prefer to use their fourth finger on the E-flat. Again, every
hand is different.
To help find the best fingering for you, drop your hand over a chord and see
where your fingers naturally fit. While playing over the black keys, such as G-flat
major or E-flat minor, the fingers are often flatter and not as curved.
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.