COORDINATION (Fingering) IN KABALEVSKY'S SONATINA: Another Case of the Evil Twin at Work

     My adult student brought this familiar foray into 20th-century classical style. He stumbled often, but not always, at the two scale passages, G minor as shown here (Ex. 1) and the same passage on C minor a few measures later. Notice that nothing could be more innocent harmonically: a G minor scale over a first-inversion arpeggio, also G minor: 

Kabalevsky Sonatina, Op. 13, No. 1, Third Movement

     Reliable fluency seemed unattainable. So, we set out to solve this mystery. Two issues are in play here: the musical objective and the technical means, which are at odds with each other. I know. I know. What else is new? I point this out because my student fell victim to the musical objective as indicated in the score, trying for a “whoosh” without first solving the technique, which is about noticing the milestones along the way. One hand attempted to lead the other astray. This passage is, of course, a rudimentary example. But it behooves us all to notice groupings in extended passages in order to facilitate the technique. The hand can sometimes be a little stupid; it can't conceive of a seemingly endless array of notes without stepping stones along the way. 

     Step one is to notice which fingers of each hand partner each other and encourage them to cooperate by feeling a slight down together. Do this very slowly. (I've indicated these fingerings in Ex. 2.) Feel these pairs first on each eighth. Then, moving on to step two, feel the pairs on each quarter—still very slowly. Then comes the crucial third step: Notice the pair of fingers on the downbeat of measure two. Aha! This is not the beginning of the scale. Feel a secure starting place here. Gradually work up the tempo feeling, though not hearing, the pulses. Go ahead. Try it. It's fun. Twins should work together.