Piano: Voicing Exercise #1

This article is primarily for some students I'm working with at present.  For anyone else, the piece should be self-explanatory, despite my covering of certain aspects relatively quickly (i.e. already discussed with students, no need to write up here).  

Video illustration Here.

Exercise is in the manner of Tausig/Thalberg/Liszt etc.

Repeats on YT vid are x4; when performing the exercise with full musical variations, x2 is likely more useful.

I'll make another recording, with the first 24 fingering variations (see the bottom of the article): dull, but it'll illustrate the point/will be useful for reference.  

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I'm sitting on the blacks (beginning on Gb) purely for illustration purposes - but the best method of practise is to start in C position (C D E F G), and play the pattern on:

C major, C minor, C diminished

After this, repeat the sequence one semitone lower (i.e. B major, B minor, B diminished etc).  No break when transitioning.

The image below illustrates the positioning:

  

Continue the descending pattern through every semitone until reaching C one octave lower from where you began.  

This is what we'd class as the Musical/Harmonic Variation. 

 - Remember - only do this for the first exercise.  The final exercise on the video is a technical variation.  

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Technical Variations

There are 120 fingering sequences in total for this exercise.

Included below is every exercise beginning on finger 1 (RH fingering only included below, but the LH fingering can be derived i.e. mirror it):

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5

1 - 2 - 3 - 5 - 4 

1 - 2 - 4 - 3 - 5

1 - 2 - 4 - 5 - 3

1 - 2 - 5 - 3 - 4

1 - 2 - 5 - 4 - 3

1 - 3 - 2 - 4 - 5

1 - 3 - 2 - 5 - 4

1 - 3 - 4 - 2 - 5

1 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 2

1 - 3 - 5 - 2 - 4

1 - 3 - 5 - 4 - 2

1 - 4 - 2 - 3 - 5

1 - 4 - 2 - 5 - 3

1 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 5

1 - 4 - 3 - 5 - 2

1 - 4 - 5 - 2 - 3 

1 - 4 - 5 - 3 - 2

1 - 5 - 2 - 3 - 4 

1 - 5 - 2 - 4 - 3

1 - 5 - 3 - 2 - 4

1 - 5 - 3 - 4 - 2

1 - 5 - 4 - 2 - 3

1 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2

* The final exercise in the video is actually exercise #24 (i.e. the last exercise from the above list).

Remember to practise the other 100 fingering variations.

3 per day for the entire set (i.e. including the above variations) = just under 1 1/2 months to play through all variations.  Add to your warm-up.

Exercises up until this point in history haven't utilised mathematics to yield every possible variation.  Therefore, it could be said that there has been no 'complete pianist' - mathematical oversights lead to technical oversights (i.e. omitted sequences).  

Regards

Kris