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9. Arpeggio exercise - C major arpeggio

1

Essentially an extended broken chord, this C major arpeggio exercise is another great one for speed and dexterity as it involves a larger thumb tuck than just playing the scale. Because of this, it uses a different fingering for the notes – thumb on C, finger 2 on E and finger 3 on G. Play these notes one after the other. 2

Using finger 3 as a pivot off the G key, and keeping your hand horizontal, pass your thumb under your palm to play the C key an octave up from where you started. This super thumb tuck is a stretch, but stick with it – the idea is to get your hand in position to be able to continue the arpeggio through the next octave. 3

As you play C, swing the rest of your hand back over the thumb to play the next notes E and G smoothly, using fingers 2 and 3 as before, then hit the high C with finger 5. Go down again, using the same fingering, but now pivot off the C and pass your hand over your thumb to hit G with finger 3, and continue down to finish on C.