Chapter 5: Left-Hand Songs in C Position

Fingers and Finger Numbers

Now we'll start to play some songs using the left hand. Again, we'll be using the finger numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 to refer to the fingers (thumb through pinkie). Here's a visual reference of these numbers, for the left hand:

Quite a lot of beginners and self-taught players have a much weaker left hand than right hand, in terms of technique and dexterity (not to mention note recognition in bass clef!). So it's good that we start working on your left hand right away, in order for you to stay on track and develop both hands at the same pace.

Like most right-handed people, I would normally use my right hand for the mouse or trackball when working on the computer. Anyway, several years ago I noticed that the combination of my piano playing with all the work I was doing on the computer, was making my right hand and wrist very fatigued and sore. So I made a conscious decision to switch all my mouse and trackball operations to my left hand. This felt very weird at first, but it soon became natural, and now it feels odd doing these things with my right hand! Anyway, this helped to “even out the load” between my hands, and was a major benefit. You may wish to consider switching tasks to your left hand, to build up independence and strength in your left hand, and also to lighten the load for the right hand, if needed!

The Left-Hand C Position

Next, we'll put the left hand in C Position. For this, you'll rest the pinkie of the left hand on the C below middle C, and the thumb on the G below middle C, with the other fingers evenly spread out on the white keys in between:

Now we're going to play our first song in left-hand C Position, “Dry Bones.” Look it over, then get your hand into place and give it a go, remembering all the same things we concentrated on with the right-hand songs: fingering, counting, even tempo, singing along, etc. After that, have a listen to track 5 and then play along.

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Notice that at the beginning of this song we again have a “pickup measure.” Even though the normal 4/4 time signature is shown at the beginning of the first line, there is only one beat in the first measure. This note is, therefore, the 4th beat of the measure, so we're actually resting for the first three beats.

Now on to our next song using the left-hand C Position, “Home Sweet Home.” Give it a whirl, and then listen to track 6:

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Yup, you guessed it—there's another pickup measure at the start of this song, this time we have C and D being played on beats 3 and 4.

All of these songs have fingerings added, so make sure that you use them, and stay within the hand position shown. Have fun!