How to Play Accidentals on the Piano
When playing piano scales and warm-ups with accidentals, use the following techniques:
- Keep thumb and pinky off black keys when playing scales.
- Scales beginning with a black key begin with one of the long fingers (2-3-4).
- The thumb may cross under finger 4 instead of finger 3, as suggested earlier in this lesson:
- In the scale above, the B flat is played with the 4th finger, then the thumb crosses under to touch C.
- In the second set of notes in the first measure, this technique is used in anticipation of touching the high G with finger 5.
