# Drills — wake up your hands (appendix)

Interactive version: [`drills.html`](drills.html). Part of [Theory and Practice](theory.md).

Before any real playing, spend a few minutes on tiny patterns that wake up each finger, teach
the two hands to move together, and build the habits that make scales and songs easy later.
**Start slow — evenness beats speed.** Every drill on the interactive page plays at the tempo set
in the metronome bar (start ~60 BPM). All drills stay in **C** — when you want other keys, use the
[Exercises](exercises.md) lab (12 roots × major/minor).

> **Posture first:** sit tall, elbows level with the keys, wrists loose and floating, fingers
> curved as if holding a small ball.

## Meet your fingers

Piano fingering uses the same numbers for **both** hands — and both **thumbs are 1**. That mirror
is why the hands often use the same number at the same time (you feel it in contrary motion).

| Number | Finger |
|:------:|--------|
| 1 | Thumb |
| 2 | Index |
| 3 | Middle |
| 4 | Ring *(weakest — give it extra attention)* |
| 5 | Pinky |

## The drills

Notes are shown in C position (Middle C = C4). On the interactive page you pick a drill from the
**Drill** menu, then tick **L**, **R**, or **both** to choose which hand(s) to practise — so the
menu stays short and every drill works for either hand. Ticking both hands turns it into a
two-hand (follow-along) version. The finger number appears under each note, keys glow as they play
(**gold** = right hand, **blue** = left hand; shared keys split both colours),
and single-hand drills have a **Play along** mode that unlocks once you connect a **USB MIDI
keyboard** or your piano's **microphone**. Each play button is its own stop: while it is running,
**Play** (and **Play along**) turn into a **■ Stop** button, so there is no separate stop control.
Tick **Loop** to repeat **Play** continuously; a **×N** counter shows how many times it has run.
The note read-out under the keyboard is **grouped into each repeated block** (pairs, three-finger
groups, trills…), with the first note of every group highlighted so you can see which note to
switch to when the pattern moves on.

### 1. Five-finger warm-up
Thumb (right) or pinky (left) on Middle C, one finger per white key up to G, then back.
Right **1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1** · Left **5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5**. Tick both hands to play them together, one
octave apart, moving the same way — every pair should land at exactly the same instant.

### 2. Five-finger warm-up · doubles
Same shape, but strike each note **twice** before moving on (C C, D D, E E …). Keep both taps even.
Right **1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 …** · Left **5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 …**. With both hands, line up the two
taps so each pair sounds as one.

### 3. Rolling three-finger groups
Walk up the hand in overlapping three-finger groups. Right **1 2 3 · 2 3 4 · 3 4 5** (C D E, D E F,
E F G); Left **5 4 3 · 4 3 2 · 3 2 1** (same notes, mirror fingers). Each group shares two notes with
the next, so the hand shifts smoothly — keep every finger even, especially the weaker 4 and 5.
Ticking both hands walks them up together, one octave apart.

### 4. Rolling three-finger groups · reversed
The same rolling groups going the other way — walk **down** the hand. Right **5 4 3 · 4 3 2 · 3 2 1**
(G F E, F E D, E D C); Left **1 2 3 · 2 3 4 · 3 4 5** (same notes, mirror fingers), falling G→C.
Overlapping groups keep the shifts smooth. Ticking both hands walks them down together, one octave apart.

### 5. Broken thirds — finger skips
Skip a key each time with alternating finger pairs. Right **1 3 · 2 4 · 3 5** (C-E, D-F, E-G);
Left **5 3 · 4 2 · 3 1** (same notes, mirror fingers). This is the shape behind thirds and
arpeggios — keep the skipped-over finger relaxed and both notes even. Ticking both hands plays
them together, one octave apart.

### 6. Broken thirds — finger skips · reversed
The broken thirds going the other way — skip **down** a key each time. Right **5 3 · 4 2 · 3 1**
(G-E, F-D, E-C); Left **1 3 · 2 4 · 3 5** (same notes, mirror fingers). Keep the skipped-over finger
relaxed and both notes even. Ticking both hands plays them together, one octave apart.

### 7. Contrary (mirror) motion
Both thumbs share Middle C, then the hands move apart and back. Because the hands mirror each other,
the **same finger number** plays in both at once — the easiest way to feel coordination. Both hands
· **1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1**. (On its own, one hand is just a five-finger run up or down from Middle C.)

### 8. Trill ladder
Wake each finger pair with a small, even trill. Right: pairs **1-2 · 2-3 · 3-4 · 4-5**. Left:
**5-4 · 4-3 · 3-2 · 2-1**. Tiny motions, steady speed. With both hands ticked they trill together,
one octave apart (right 1-2→4-5 while the left mirrors 5-4→2-1) — keep the two trills perfectly in sync.

### 9. Weak-finger focus (3·4·5)
Isolate the weakest fingers: `3-4-5-4-3` up and down, then a steady **4-5** tremolo. Match the
volume of every note — the pinky wants to be too soft, the thumb too loud. Works for either hand;
with both hands ticked the hands move as mirror images.

## Daily wake-up (about 5–7 minutes)

Work through the Drill menu in order. For each item, tick **R**, then **L**, then both when
you’re ready. Keep the metronome slow — evenness beats speed.

1. **Five-finger warm-up** — R, L, then both. Add **· doubles** if you want extra evenness (about 1 min).
2. **Rolling three-finger groups** — up the hand, then **· reversed** down; each hand (about 1 min).
3. **Broken thirds — finger skips** — up, then **· reversed**; each hand (about 1 min).
4. **Contrary (mirror) motion** — both hands; feel the matching finger numbers (about 1 min).
5. **Trill ladder**, then **Weak-finger focus (3·4·5)** — wake the weak pairs and pinky (about 1–2 min).

When these feel loose, move on to the [Exercises](exercises.md) lab (any key, major or minor) for
scales, arpeggios, and coordination.