Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Need help with fingering for Minuet in G

Hello everyone,

I'm new here and just returning to the piano. I want to be very particular about my fingering in order to develop a good foundation because I am going to be going back to school for music.

I'm beginning with Minuet in G (JS Bach/Christian Petzold) and having difficulty figuring out the correct fingering for the left hand. The sheet music I have has the right hand fingering, but not the left. (sheet music pdf)

Thanks in advance.

Krystal

Start with LH fingers 5&3 on the first measure, then go to 4 in the next note, then 3 in measure 2. That hand position (G major position) will do well until you reach measure 8. There, play the first D with finger 1, then go down the octave finger 5, then back to Middle C with finger 1, then step down in consecutive fingers. The next measure, be sure to return to fingers 5&3 like you started out with.

I could go on, but perhaps it would be best if you'd ask about specific measures if there's anywhere else that gives you a hard time. Also, this makes a great case for owning a good edition. It provides you with excellent fingering suggestions, as well as articulations. This free one that you have has no indication that the LH quarter notes should be played detached (non-legato), but that is definitely how it should be played.

I recommend getting Celebration Series Perspectives Book3. It contains this piece plus several others from different style periods that you will really enjoy and it will help you progress. These editions are very clean and well-edited:

http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/Celebration-Series-Perspectives-Piano-Repertoire-3/18355193

This is the Repertoire book, but there's also the Student Workbook and the Etudes in that same level that will be useful as well.

If you're going back to school for music, however, why not get a teacher to help you? It will make such things much easier.

Thank you!

Yes, that book does look really useful, and it seems close to my current level.

You're right, it would be best if I could find a teacher. The thing is, right now I'm living in an area where it is difficult to find a piano teacher, nevertheless one that uses a method I would respect. There is a bit of a language barrier as well, so at least for now, it's self-teaching for me, so I really appreciate this forum.

I just got my piano two days ago, and I'm hoping with some daily scales, sheet music reading, and that awesome book you guys link to here (pianopractice.org - thanks for that!) a lot more will come back to me over the next couple weeks.

Back to the music - I wasn't sure if I was to go back to G position in measure 9, but it makes sense not to now that I play it through to measure 13 where the F is the bottom note. The online preview of that book helped me with the rest of the first page as well.

Again, thanks a lot!

Krystal

There are versions of this piece with an f# under the b in the fifth measure.

How should one finger the left hand in the f# under the b version?

http://www.scribd.com/doc/49923623/The-Anna-Magdalena-Bach-Book-of-1725-sheet-music

That PDF has fingering for Anh. 114.

I just learned this piece myself, still polishing though. May post a video soon.

I disagree with Morodiene's fingerings here. Much easier is 2/4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 1 - 2 - 4 - 1 - 5 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 2/4 and so on.

Morodiene - you say "back to Middle C with finger 1, the step down in consecutive fingers." That leaves 2 on the B and 3 on the A, and then a very awkward jump to return to 5&3 on G/B as you suggested.

This sheet has more clear fingering: http://gmajormusictheory.org/Freebies/Intermediate/Bach/BachMinuAll.pdf

Agreed.

(On a side note, I noticed 'poco rit.' placed between the staves, but that's a whole other topic )

Why are there so many different variations of this piece out there?

Isn't the original manuscript still extant?

I find it more natural to start on a 3/5 personally.

And why is that? You don't find that the fingers closer to your thumb tend to be stronger than those farther from it?

By "original manuscript" I guess we mean the Anna Magdalena Notebooks, rather than Petzold's original. But, in any case, we have many "versions" because the originals were mostly bare of ornamentation, dynamics, fingering, etc. and editors can't resist adding them. And in this case, I agree with that - unless you want to learn all the rules of ornamentation, better they have them. There are urtext versions if you want.

I think best fingering bases on large or small of the hand. If the hand is small, 3/5.

Your hand would have to be pretty darn small to make a third with 2-4 uncomfortable.

The version I play (and I play it often- my kids take Suzuki violin and I'm the studio's accompanist- this is a book 1 song) has a I chord instead of g/b. So I never use a 2/4 at the beginning of that minuet. Since either 3/5 or 2/4 will work, so just go with whatever feels more comfortable. It's personal preference.