A Minor 5-Finger Pattern (A Minor Position)

The pattern is short enough that the difficulty is not in the notes. What tends to go wrong is evenness: the thumb lands heavily, the 4th and 5th fingers come out softer and a little late, and the line has bumps in it. Let’s work on it in a few stages.

• The 4th finger: With every note on a white key, there is no landmark between the thumb and the 5th finger, and the 4th finger is the one most likely to come out weak or late. Playing just C–D–C in the right hand (3-4-3) and B–C–B in the left (4-3-4) a few times before the whole pattern helps it even out.
• Hands separately, slowly: We play each hand on its own at a slow, steady pulse, listening for five notes of equal weight. If one note stands out, we play just that finger and its neighbors until the difference evens out.
• Fingers resting on the keys: With all five fingers on their keys, we play one finger at a time while the others stay in light contact with the surface. This shows which fingers tend to lift or tighten when they aren’t playing.
• Hands together: Once each hand is steady, we put them together. The right hand plays 1 while the left plays 5, so following the fingering of one hand and letting the other follow by ear tends to work better than tracking both at once.
• Changing the touch: When the notes feel even, we try the pattern legato, then staccato, then with a small crescendo to the top and a diminuendo back down. Each version asks the fingers for a different kind of control.