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10. Two-handed contrary motion scale

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To hone your left/right coordination skills, this variation of the five finger scale focuses on playing different note lengths in different hands. Start by playing the two-handed version of the five-finger scale as before, right hand thumb on middle C, left hand finger 5 on the C an octave below. 2

After playing a few times with both hands together, keep the left hand playing as normal, nice and flowing, but shorten the notes in the right hand so they’re played staccato – ie short, spiky notes with gaps between, so the right hand notes are lifting off early while the left hand ones are still held down. 3

Play through like this a few times, then swap over so that the right hand is playing smooth, legato notes with no gaps between, while the left hand is playing short, spiky staccato notes with gaps. The timing of the notes as you play them should still coincide, it’s just the durations of each hand that are different.