5 Fingering Do’s and Don'ts

“To change the fingering or not to change it; that is the question.”

If Hamlet had been a harpist, his famous speech might have started with those words.

We harpists often struggle with the fingering markings printed in our music. Sometimes the fingering choices of the composer or arranger feel clumsy and awkward; at others they threaten to tie our fingers in knots. Often instilling the correct fingering habits slows our learning speed. In fact, following the printed fingering can appear to thwart progress rather than facilitate it.  

When does a harpist change the printed fingering to one that is more manageable? When is it important to stick to the printed fingering even if there is another that would be much easier to play?

Naturally, there are no hard and fast rules. Fingering is part of every harpist’s personal technical vocabulary, the way their fingers work best. The larger your technical vocabulary, the more flexibility and agility you will have and the more choices you will have to play your music fluidly and expressively. 

This is precisely why following the printed fingering is important for harpists who are still developing their technique. Those printed fingerings may not be comfortable for you now, but they might be fingerings that would be helpful for you to have as part of your growing vocabulary.

It is tempting to decide each fingering question when you first come to it, but that may provide a short term solution that won’t serve well in the long run. It is crucial to consider the overarching goals, both for the player’s technique development and for the best musical outcome for the piece. The guidelines below will help you keep both in mind.

1. DO follow the printed fingering at first.  The printed fingerings were likely marked by a harpist with years of expertise, and they were certainly marked with the end musical performance in mind. A fingering recommendation from a master harpist is surely worth some practice effort. Also, a fingering that seems ideal at a half-tempo practice speed may not work efficiently when the piece is played at the correct tempo. Re-learning a fingering when you thought you were nearly finished with a piece is never fun.
2. DON’T write in all your fingering. If you regularly write in all the fingering in a piece, you run the risk of learning to read the fingering rather than the notes. You won’t learn to instantly recognize and play patterns in your music, which will prevent you from developing your reading skills and your technical skills.
3. DO practice exercises that use all your fingers so they develop equally in terms of independence and strength. Generations of harpists have used technical exercises and etudes to develop flexibility and reliability in their fingers. As your technique becomes stronger, you will find that increasingly few fingerings feel awkward or uncomfortable.
4. DON’T persist with any fingering that causes you physical discomfort. A twisty or unfamiliar fingering is a challenge to be overcome. A fingering that causes pain in your hand or fingers is unhealthy. Change it immediately. In time your hand may become more flexible and you may not find that fingering painful. But for now, change it.
5. DO make your fingering choices with the music in mind. The composer or arranger did. Fingering isn’t only for smooth execution of the notes. A good fingering also promotes the musical intention of the composer. Fingering can help express phrasing, articulation, musical mood or historical style. Fingering isn’t just about playing the notes; it’s about making the music.