Wassup Demonz!
Ah gotz t’zay ah def’nitely enjoyz dis webzite, lotz mo’ fun ovah uthah piannah forumz wit all their ztuck-up zhit! Mass props all ‘roun’ fo’ th’ demonz!
In dat spirit, ah’m wunnerin’ if th’ youngah set be innerested fo’ a short diddy ‘bout l’gato doublah-thirds? Not tryin’ t’brag o’ nuthin’, jes passin’ ‘long zum zhit ah wuz learned way-back-when. T’be sho’, ah’ll writez it wit th’ proppah Inglitch lingo zo’s ever’body kin unnerstan’, def’nitely ain’t ‘cause ah’m salutin’ high-falutin’, knowz whaddahmzayin’?
Zo, in a previous life, ah wuz learned, uh, I meanz, I was taught there are three primary approaches to fingering thirds and everything else is a variant: “the Chopin” (aka “Mikuli” aka “the Hummel”), “the von Bulow” (aka “the Tausig” aka “the Czerny”), and “the Godowsky”.
Mikuli/Chopin fingering
C#-E 24 15 32 14 13 24 13 24 15 23 14 13
von Bulow (aka Tausig, aka Czerny) fingering
C#-E 35 13 24 13 24 35 13 24 13 24 13 24
Godowsky fingering
C#-E 24 15 23 24 13 24 13 24 15 23 24 13
I’ll call these approaches, respectively, the “1-1 thumb slide”, the “13-35 cross-over”, and the “2-2 black-key white-key slide”.
Proponents of the
1-1 thumb slide
Chopin
Mkiuli
Klindworth
Kullak
Hummel
13-35 cross-over
von Bulow
Tausig
Dreyschock
Czerny
2-2 black-key white-key slide
Godowsky
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Based on personal experience, the primary advantages/disadvantages:
Mikuli/Chopin 1-1 thumb slide
Easiest to play fast once you figure out the “thumb angle”.
von Bulow 13-35 cross-over
The cross-over can be awkward because of the repeated “3-3” and crowding of the fingers; better legatissimo than the Mikuli/Chopin.
Godowsky 2-2 black-key white-key slide
Very fast fingering, difficult to control uniform tone quality during the 2-2 slide; closest thing to total legatissimo.
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The 1-1 thumb slide and 13-35 cross-over are further discussed in “Auserlesen Klavier-Etuden von Fr. Chopin” (roughly translated as “Selected Bad-Ass Chopets”) by Hans von Bulow, published in 1880; and “Chopin: The Man And His Music” by James Huneker, published in 1900; for the 2-2 black-key white-key slide see “Studien uber die Etuden von Chopin” (roughly translated as “Chopets on 'Roids”) by Leopold Godowsky.
Incidentally, von Bulow (who also cited Tausig and Dreyschock in agreement) believed the 13-35 cross-over was superior to the 1-1 thumb slide because the 13-35 cross-over on the modern piano allows for legatissimo, whereas the 1-1 thumb slide allows a mere legato.
As an aside, I started with the von Bulow 13-35 cross-over way-back-when; later as a young adult I switched to the Mikuli/Chopin 1-1 thumb slide because I found it easier and faster, at the expense of the legatissimo (How 'bout that, those giants of the keyboard really knew something!). I didn’t use the Godowsky much because I found it hard to control the tone during the slide; maybe I just needed more practice, ha!
Flash forward a lifetime, my preference “all else being equal” tends to the Mikuli/Chopin, then the Godowsky with a slight edge over the von Bulow.
Ironically, for non-legato I often prefer the von Bulow!
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We-ell, ah hopes dis heps a lil’ bit da youngah set who be startin’ out wit da doublah-notez… You may have diff’r’nt eggzperienzez mebbe notz; ‘leas’ y’try! G’luck 'n zhit.
See all y’allz aroun’ muh fave muthafuckas!