4 Ways to Strengthen the 4th Finger | Piano Tutorial 

Handy 🕘 Timestamps for you: 0:00 Intro 1:35 First Exercise 2:38 Second Exercise 4:05 Third Exercise 5:51 Fourth Exercise

Just tried these variations, my 4 and 5 fingers definitely need the work.

As a clarinet/sax player, I have a lot of experience with uncooperative fourth fingers. Mine are probably in better shape than most piano beginners, but that doesn't make them great. To everyone struggling with this I say, don't give up. It takes time, but if you persevere, you'll get there.

Hey, Jazer. I just want to say thank you for your free piano lessons and tips. I've been a musician for 21 years (acoustic guitar player), and I'm doing a major in music. Also want to follow a career in conducting. So, I decided to learn the piano. But right now I don't have the money to pay for a teacher. So, I just want to say thank you a lot for your kindness of sharing your knowledge with us! ❤ Is helping me a lot.

I started early on doing a variation of your fingers down exercise. I put LH 1 and 2 on C and B, RH 1 and 2 on D and E and hold them down. I then play F, G and A with my 3, 4 and 5 in all combinations. The first time I tried I had a burn in the forearm, but massage helps. I've had strong fingers from years of treating people after having to adapt my Chiropractic techniques due to a shoulder injury. But that led me to learn how to treat other people's shoulder, as well as my own. Grabbing a shoulder blade and massaging the interior muscles will do that. It's the same technique that vetenarians have to do to untwist an ovary on a cow. They suffer at first since they don't have finger strength, but after several years of practice, if they succeed they can then treat farm animals. Otherwise they stay in town and treat small animals.

Omg Jazer!! Love these exercises....l'll start practicing these trills and scales like this. Keep the videos coming!

My copy of Hanon Book 1 tells you above each exercise which fingers that exercise was designed to help: No. 7 "Exercise of the greatest importance for the 3rd. 4th and 5th fingers"

Great tutorial! Thanks! Jazer

Hi Jazer! This tutorial came just right in time! I tried this morning the C6 where I have to use right hand finger 1 on C, 3 on E, 4 on G and the pinky on A. I became aware that my finger number 4 is a complete disaster.

Wow this video came out at the right time for me! About 3 days ago I had some trouble doing one of your finger independence exercises from like two years ago just because my 4th finger didn't want to cooperate. This was very coincidental thank you!

As you mention, raising all fingers as much as possible is beneficial. Good tutorial !

Great lesson, thank you! I’ll put it to practice, that 4th. finger is indeed the weakest. I appreciate your lessons and attention to detail problems in playing. Best!

Thank you for your amazing free lessons! I would love to see a video about how to play maj7 and min7 arpeggios over more than 1 octave!

Thank you, this was a very useful video and good reminders to help with the weaker fingers😊

Thank you for making this very helpful video. 💙

finger 4 feels horrible to do this exercise....makes me feel odd in my body lol

This helped me a lot! Thank you very much!!!

Great! Thanks!

Thank you!

I would say, Hanon 19 and 20 are most useful in this spite, IMHO. Thanks for the tips, Jazer!

Thanks alot❤

Hi Jazer ! I really love all your tutorial. I got stuck with song "Flower Dance" for a month because I always misses or failed when playing the whole song. After change the way of practice as you suggested, Magical things has happenned. I can play in self-confident way and sometimes autopilot but surely my fingers knew the way :D Can you suggest more how to play the sound soft and like wind/misty ? I practiced on electric piano, but mostly performed on Grand piano. The sound seems heavy than usual and it's not good for dynamic. Thank you for your reading and all your tutorials !

Thanks 🎉

Thanks, Jazer.

I just started learning piano for 2-3 months, and your youtube channel really help me out, thought I didn't practice any of ur excercise, but the way that you explain in the logical way in all of your excercise and the advice that you told bring me a good basis knowledge, If I was living in ur country I would registry your class :3. Btw, It's be really nice of you if you give me some advance tips, like I really want to practive diversity in chords, but I dunno which way is really effective, like pick random song which is little above your skill, or practice using 'Circle of Fifth' with 3 to 4 Chords in row.

❤ lovely artist of piano

Thanks

Nice!

I'm right handed but have 'played' guitar (very basic chord strumming) for 40 years. I finally decided to learn piano. My left finger 4 can lift and play almost higher than 3! My right is so weak by comparison.. Hopefully these exercise will improve things - but I don't have 40 years left!

As a left-handed, it found this extreme helpful. Most songs, especially the beginner's ones are right hand focus, and I can barely play them at all because my RH 4th simply refuse to move. I can't even life it up high enough clear the key.

Might be a bit late but another thing that really helped with left hand weakness specifically is to mirror passages you’re playing on the keyboard and to practice it with the left hand this means you’re playing with all the same fingerings so don’t have to change anything about it and can help with allowing the hands to become both equally strong without allowing the right hand (which for most people is more developed) to out pace the left hand

I learn many thing about piano playing from your videos.. Please make a video on harmony notes exercise.. Thank you..

have you made a video on how and when to use the sustain pedal

You’re young man I agree, Thanks

I will try all of these. I've played piano for years but I would love to improve. Also, do you have suggestions for playing Chopin with small hands? I've been slowly working on Fantasie Impromptu and I'm wondering if this piece is just not for me.

I was told fingers does not have muscles, but tendons, so if i wanted to have better movenents i should involve the wrist, to facilitate the work to 4th and 5th fingers. Is that correct?

Please help to share Hanan sheets for practice. Thank you 🙇

What can be done to reduce tension in particular fingers? I have a student whose left 5th finger gets very tense, stiff, and sore and tends to stick up when she plays.

Thanks Jazer! I’m a player at 55 and finger weaknesses is a struggle. Great advice. Sending many thanks from Miami.

Can you recommend a structured course and book for adults beginning to learn the piano?

I would like to know where to start on your page? I want to start learning and the reality of working 45 to 60 hours a wekk in a kitchen gets in the way of lessons. what video do you recommend someone start with?

Which book would you recommend for a person who wants to learn how to play piano together with sheet music?

The trill is ver difficult to do. Do you have an exercise to do to avoid the pinky finger to going up when hit the key with the fourth finger.

Could you please make a video about how exactly to press buttons? I have a pain in my right wrist like all the time. Some channels on youtube suggests that a button should not be pushed but rather "grabbed". It enables other muscle groups . But I don't understand wjat it is - to "grab" a button. Where my fingers should press? How to avoid wrist pain?

hey jazer,you are truly awesome at playing piano.........could you please make a tutorial on bach prelude 2 in c minor

learning how the 4th finger is really nothing, until you teach it to play hard enough, it becomes something usable in anything like the piano

Might actually need this tutorial, as I am currently practicing the Hungarian Rhapsody no 6 by Liszt...

Hello Jazzer, do you think it is better on the first 36 exercises in Hannon, to play them hands separate. I am a self taught (struggling) adult and have just started Czerny book 740 (177 pages) and have got to no. 6 but can only play 3-4-5 slowly with some mistakes. Is this a good practice repertoire and how do you rate it with Brahms (I have not looked at it yet)? Thanks.

Can you please look into narrow keyboards for us smaller hands players? That would be extremely helpful and a topic that isn't discussed enough. Love your videos! You've helped so many people improve.🙂

i have 4th and 5th fingers problem, when i play both of this finger sounds together(second) and my 5th finger do not move up properly.It is lazy finger.How could i solve this problem? could you record the video about this problem?

does practicing chromatic scale with 3, 4, 5 fingrrs help?

Re the second exercise, the trill. Will you please let the ambulance pass.

Great video and channel, you have a very clear presenting style with great information. As an addition can i recommend Dohnanyi finger exercise number 1, its a great combination of holding down fingers and trilling - well worth a look.

It's 3 & 4 for me. 5 is ok. But I can still play a little bit.

I'm right handed but my left is so much better for some reason. Probably cos I'm used to reaching when playing arpeggio

Where’s Milo? Also I was trying to find the video where you suggested some preludes and fugues that were good to begin with, but I went through all the videos listed and couldn’t find it.

Thanks for the excercises. I will certainly try them. I just wonder how much it will take for a 53yo "boy" to improve the 4th finger. I assume that if you start young, when your bones are not yet fossilised ;-) it will be faster.

i actually did quite good in it

Y las salmas donde las llevan?

Can you teach us how to read notes?

Best exercise for 4th is Chopin 10-8 :)

My word just did the fingers on the arm and unreal how little i can move that 4th finger

the amount of frustration I get from my fourth finger

How Can I improve my piano skill with a tablet

I'm right handed, but my left hands 4th finger is way stronger than my right hand. I played the guitar for 8 years before picking up piano so my struggle is actually with the right hand

Ring finger of my right hand is markedly less flexible than on my left hand (I’m right handed)

Arm rotation takes care of all of that

Using the guitar finger grip helps also right, I use it for my 🎷

Hanon

Excellent tips kid... Thank you, I truly appreciate them.

The trill using my 4th & 5th fingers sounds tragic😢

My hands get more weakness every time I try make some hard things like the 4th finger I feel i can't play piano well because of this

The title here is a misnomer - you can’t strengthen any fingers since there are no muscles in the fingers to strengthen. The nearest muscles are in the hand: the interosseous, which allows spreading the fingers and the lumbricals, which flex the metacarpophalangeal joints and extend the interphalangeal joints. Experienced pianists will exhibit thick pads on the palm side of the hand where the interosseous muscles (between the fingers) have been developed. Many will not have developed the lumbricals to the same extent. The fourth and fifth digits (the ulnar digits) are more stable and secure than the other digits due to the ulna bone being ‘fixed’ and unable to rotate as does the radius. For this reason it’s a good idea to develop a kinaesthetic awareness of movement anchored around the little finger and not around the thumb. A better question would be why the fourth digit has less agility and independence rather than describe it as weak. There are many online articles explaining why this is so and however much effort one expends in training the 4th finger without consciously using the lumbricals you can’t overcome human anatomy. What you can do, however, is develop the lumbricals both physically and kinaesthetically. These muscles work independently of each other, allowing true individual finger movement. Place a curved (not curled) hand over the keyboard with a digit over adjacent keys. Excluding the thumb, extend (lengthen) each finger in turn into the key three or four times and then let the key push the finger back up again keeping key contact with all digits all the time. Do NOT raise the fingers above the keys as you are relying on the intrinsic muscles of the hand only and not the flexors/extensors in the forearm so keep skin contact with all fingers. After a while try extending each finger in turn into the key, up and down, slowly to start with. I suspect many who attempt this will realise how grossly under-developed these muscles are, but they allow for genuine finger independence - including the ring-finger. This article by Richard Beauchamp is illuminating. www.musicandhealth.co.uk/articles/tension.html

Interestingly the ring finger is the easiest finger to do vibrato on the violin

My arms are tired because I push my fingers hard. 😂

Fourth finger while the pinky down.

What if you don’t have a red ring finger?

Whenever I learn a new song after like one day I tend to get bored and after that ai don’t play it anymore.

I caaaaan’t use my both hands I’ve tried alooot but I can’t 😤

Early

…I have watched numerous RU-vidrs sharing their practice techniques and ALL of them inevitably refer to the LEFT hand as the weakest. I’m here to tell you as a LEFT handler it is NOT the weaker of the two. Presumed prejudices prevail 😮…

Left hand 4th finger is even weaker and less movement and i am left handed

Kid named ring finger

Please. You make it stronger because it has to do with Cuba. That's all.

To any beginner out there watching this - there is literally no such thing as "finger strength" when it comes to successful piano playing. The idea of "strengthening fingers" will just cause you injury. Look up Dorothy Taubman's work on Tonebase.

Absolutely unnecessary! Explore rotation and interdependence of the fingers as taught by Dorothy Taubman.

Step 1, don't isolate the 4th finger.

Why would you use the fourth finger in such an unnatural way? Begging for an injury. Use the finger as it is made and left it with its neighbors without any stress.

piano is not for me