Chopin used to place his pupil's hand on these five notes - E, F#, G#, A#, B# . They represent the most convenient, the most natural, the most relaxed position of the hand and fingers on the keyboard, since the shorter fingers - the thumb and little finger - are on the white keys which are lower and the longer fingers (index, middle and ring) are on the black keys which are higher. Anyone can see how much less convenient is the position of the five fingers on only the white keys: C, D, E, F, G.
Thanks to this simple exercise the beginner immediately makes friends with the instrument, and feels that the piano is not an alien, dangerous and even hostile machine but a familiar, friendly being ready to meet you if you treat it lovingly and freely.
Instead of this, how many hundreds and thousands of pitiful beginners, when brought by their teachers into contact with the keyboard for the first time, tried to turn their living hand with its nerves, muscles, flexible joints and pulsating blood, into a piece of wood with curved hooks, to extract with these hooks offensive combinations of sound...
Heinrich Neuhaus - The Art of Piano Playing
*he!he!he!! I apologize to each and everyone under my charge whose hand I turned into a piece of wood with curved hooks!*
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