Should you learn fingerings for blues scales on piano?

Should you learn fingerings for playing the blues scales on piano?

I get this question all the time and while I know that there are books out there that give strict fingerings for all 12 blues scales, I’ve never used them.

In general, the question of pre-determined fingerings all depends on what and how you want to play. If you’re learning a Chopin piece then yes, you may want to learn a particular fingering for a passage since that’s the only way you’ll be able to rely on playing it fast. It can be the same thing with complex jazz, blues, and rock licks. Especially progressive rock.

But I was never interested in learning licks like that. Some patterns have evolved in my playing over the years because we all have our own particular tendencies and patterns of thinking, but I’ve never sat down and practiced fingerings on licks or runs. Especially not on pentatonic or blues scales.

I’ve always preferred to “wing it” and let my fingers fumble around at times if need be. It’s actually helped keep my playing fresh in the long run.

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2 thoughts on “Should you learn fingerings for blues scales on piano?”

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