How to adjust to new playing positions on the piano as a beginner
A lot of piano method books have you spend a long time in specific hand positions - like C position - to get you familiar with reading a small set of notes and to develop other musical skills within a simple hand position. The issue with this approach is that you may end up mentally stuck in C position even when you move your hands to other parts of the keys. For example, when playing a step above C position in D position (thumb on D), every time you see an E you may try to play it with finger 3 because that’s how you’ve been trained to play that note in C position. Eventually, you will be playing music that ventures way outside of these simpler five-finger positions, so overcoming this first hurdle of changing positions is important. Here are a few activities to help you overcome this common issue for beginners.
Strengthen out of context note reading. Get comfortable with reading ANY note on the staff on sight. Memorize the line and space names - F-A-C-E, Every Good Boy Does Fine, etc. Flashcards are great for practicing this type of reading; you can make your own or purchase them. If you’re more tech-savvy, I recommend musictheory.net which is totally customizable to your needs. (Here’s a custom link for reading line and space notes on the grand staff.) When you’re comfortable with the note names, practice finding them on your keyboard or piano, using a random finger every time. Detach from the idea that middle C is always played with the thumb, or that G is always played with 5.
Practice 5-finger warm-ups. Start incorporating five-finger position warm-ups into your practice routine in various (and eventually ALL) keys. (Download the white key major pentascales for free HERE!) It’s important to approach this in a specific way. Use notation every time you play these, and keep your eyes on the music once your hands are in place. Additionally, name EVERY note out loud as you play - singing the note names is even better! This helps your brain make the connection to the notes you’re seeing on the page as you’re establishing the hand position for this particular key with an easy fingering pattern. Again, five finger positions are NOT the only positions you’ll use when studying piano, but knowing all of them in major/minor keys is a great way to establish a baseline understanding of note reading, note recognition, and dexterity, among other things. You can apply these same methods to playing scales if you’re looking for more of a challenge.
Name the notes and the finger numbers as you play a new song in a new position. As you’re first reading through a new piece in a new position, just work through it note by note, hands separately, as you say aloud BOTH the note name and the finger number. For example: “3 on B,” play the note, “1 on G,” play the note, etc. It won’t sound musical, but the idea here is to establish the new hand position and which finger is playing which key as you’re getting the notes “in your fingers.” After doing this once or twice, stop saying it out loud but make sure you’re still focusing on connecting the note and finger number in your mind as you continue to practice.
Play songs in different positions during the same practice session. Train your brain and your fingers to get used to moving around the keyboard by planning to practice songs in multiple different positions within a given practice session. For example, if you’re working through a method book and studying G position, make sure you go back and practice C position or Middle C position songs from earlier in your book during the same session to challenge yourself and review what the notes look and feel like in these various positions.
I hope some of these suggestions will help you feel more confident in reading notes in ANY position on the piano!