Introduction

The Akousunesis recognises exercises are extremely useful to develop finger rigidity and independence, however exercises tend to become boring if students are unable to make the connection with their real time playing. Here at the Akousunesis school of music, we endeavour to create exercises to support melody creation to be used within your improvisations and compositions. The idea is to build a database of patterns in your head, so you may apply these patterns with your improvisations and compositions. Creating your own patterns will be the goal, which will involve listening to the interval combinations you create and assessing the emotional feeling of the pattern, because patterns are melodies and all melodies invoke emotional feelings.

Instructions on how to play finger placement exercises.

Advantages using Akousunesis finger placement exercises.

• Ear note recognition, you'll listen to the exercise and try to work it out on the piano before you reveal the solution.

• Interval recognition, being able to find the relative intervals quickly on the piano.

• Train your hands to follow the relative pitch movement which is completely inline with what you hear, rather than trying to do an absolute note translation from sheet music, this method is going to accelerate your learning big time.

• Exact finger placements  save beginners time when working out the exercise.

• Develop finger strength, rigidity, mobility, using finger combinations you don't exercise often.

• Improves your improvisation and composition skills. As an optional bonus, you'll understand the modal placement inside key signatures in order to develop a good ear for improvisation and composition.

•  Easy to work out, once you understand how to locate intervals. If your theoretical knowledge is somewhat limited, you can still perform the exercises. Once you work out the finger placement,  don't use the exercises as a visual crutch, you need to remember the exercise and reproduce it by looking at your fingers.

• Improve your memory. Your ability to remember sequences of interval patterns is going to improve dramatically the more finger placement exercises you practice. 

• You'll have fun. Some exercise will be developed from famous compositions, so you're not learning a boring exercise, they'll help you learn songs.