buh-THUMP-buh-THUMP-buh-THUMP-buh-THUMP…sound familiar?
If not, think of the “THUMP” as being a heavy thumb in an Alberti Bass pattern and you have the sort of thing that haunts piano teachers in their sleep. However, resist the urge to just turn that page in your student’s book. Don’t skip the piece, but don’t let the thump slide either… we piano teachers need our sleep!
Read on to find out how you can help your young piano students avoid a “thumping thumb” when playing an Alberti Bass Pattern.
4 Tips For Fixing A “Thumping Thumb” In Young Piano Students
There are ways you can approach Alberti Bass patterns to help your students find a great sense of legato and hand balance that will have them racing through those Mozart Sonatinas in no time.
To help fix a Thumping Thumb in Alberti Bass patterns, try the following:
1. Check for tension – but obviously check the obvious first: are they positioned correctly at the piano at the right height and distance from the keys? Little ones need a stool for their feet so they feel grounded. Now, check for arm and wrist tension (and sometimes even shoulder!). A student with tension will have a difficult time finding a sense of balance in their hand.
2. Practice the Alberti Bass sections in a piece as a solid chord exercise first. If your student can play the left hand comfortably as solid chords then you’ve eliminated any issues with “note-searching”. This helps the hand to achieve balance as the student has developed the muscle memory needed and isn’t searching as they play. The second part of this is to encourage slow practice once you break free from the solid chords. Speed without adequate preparation produces tension and then you’re back to square one again.
3. Teach them to rotate – Your student’s hand should be in motion (not just their fingers) while executing an Alberti Bass pattern. If only their fingers are moving then you are very likely to hear the Thumping Thumb (it is, after all, a rather large finger!). Allow the wrist to rotate so that the thumb is not reaching (and therefore thumping). There is a difference between rotation and rocking. Rocking is a Thumping Thumb’s best friend.
4. Listen – Spend some time having your student play only the first note of each set of 4 notes. Can they shape a melody using just these first notes? Doing so will train their ears to listen to the underlying progression that is taking place, and will bring the emphasis away from the thumb. Ideally, if they can play these bottom notes on their own with a sense of legato and phrasing it should carry through once they add the remaining 3 notes of each set. Students often look at an Alberti pattern as being simply a set of 4 notes… each note having equal importance. You’ll achieve beautiful results if you can have them instead look at each set as a bass note with three supporting notes. To put it in simple terms, the first note should be somewhat louder than the other three (emphasis on somewhat!). Go for the gusto by having them then continue to shape these bottom notes once they return to playing the full pattern. This not only takes away a thumpy thumb but also produces a beautifully phrased performance.
5. Finally, expose your student to lots of recordings of great pianists playing Alberti Bass. Through listening to good examples in the context of great pieces your students will absorb the desired sound and learn to listen to their own playing to compare. In their lessons, play the left hand along with them to allow them to mimic your hand shape and movements.
By giving students a few simple tools you’ll set them up for success when approaching a piece with an Alberti Bass. The techniques learned in doing so will transfer over to other areas of their playing as well… and your sleep will no longer be haunted by the dreaded Thumping Thumb.
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Liz Pierce says
You can also have them “ghost” the thumb notes in the pattern. That means to not actually play the thumb notes, but place the thumb silently atop the key. Play the other two notes and ghost the thumb. 😀
Andrea says
Hi Liz- yes, this works too! It achieves that same result of changing the emphasis away from the thumb to the bottom of the hand instead. Thank you for commenting and adding that!
Happy Teaching 🙂
Rebecca Brown says
What a helpful post! I’ve used the block chord approach with a lot of success. And I use the rotation with Alberti bass and with octave patterns. But I hadn’t tried having them play just the first note, or the ‘ghosting’ that the other user suggested. I can’t wait to try these!
Trevor says
Hi Rebecca,
Great! Glad it was helpful 🙂 A student who plays Alberti Bass well really gets noticed in festivals, competitions and exams. The little bit of extra effort on the teachers’ part is really worth it. This ability is so transferable to other ares of their playing as well.
Happy Teaching 🙂
Miss Wendi says
To introduce Alberti Bass, I start off the bench with a Toes, Head, Waist, Head activity. If the student can beat me after a few repetitions, they get a treat. Then we go to the piano and try with our fingers. They never forget the pattern, and I almost never have to correct the “thumb” issue.