The Blog
Date: August 20, 2026
last updated on August 27, 2026
Taking One Hurdle at a Time in Scales Playing
My dear Piano Lovers,
It does not matter if you attempt a new piece or try to play a scale with both hands together for the first time. You may find it so discouraging that you might be tempted to close the piano (once and for all).
But we all face this problem. Playing with both hands together is colossal brain work—a cognitive challenge, however, that cannot be simulated by any other everyday practice.
The trick is to be as patient with yourself as you could possibly be, and to practise hands together only gradually and very slowly. Always remember the great Rachmaninoff, who was famous for his extremely slow practice tempo.
You may now ask: why, in piano’s name, why stop, and where to stop?
You ought to stop because your concentration is often not as sharp as you think. It has absolutely nothing to do with “being stupid” or anything of the sort; rather, our intense attention span for complex motor coordination is only about 30 to 40 seconds long. So, there is simply no use in practising a new piece for two minutes or more in one go, is there?
You should consider stopping the moment you have achieved something. In a new piece, it could be one bar and the very first beat of the following bar played faultlessly. In scale practice, it ought to be the first successfully executed hurdle which presents itself as thumb under.
Overcoming the First Hurdle in Ascending G Major at the First “C” for the Right Hand
To dismantle the dreaded ‘hands-together-block’, I am going to show you how “Doing it Cairns’ Style” could make all the difference for you.
Regard the scale as a structured hurdle race—where you deliberately pause after clearing the very first obstacle.
Let us analyse this first stage step-by-step from left to right:
The Synchronous Launch: You begin perfectly balanced with G5 in the left hand (LH) and G1 in the right hand (RH), followed smoothly by A4 (LH) and A2 (RH).
The Mental Anchor: On the third note, both hands reach a beautiful point of geometric symmetry—playing B3 (LH) and B3 (RH) together. This provides your brain with an immediate, relaxing anchor.
The First Hurdle: Now, the mechanical paths diverge. While the left hand flows continuously and comfortably to C2, the right hand must execute its first crucial thumb under to strike C1.
The Strategic Stop: The very millisecond both hands land on the C, you rest.
By implementing this conscious stop, your playing apparatus is prevented from tensing up. Your left hand has completed its initial run, and your right hand has cleared its first hurdle with absolute, relaxed precision.
Kindly practise this part until it becomes boring. Why is that? Because when you are bored, the formerly new hands-together-practice has lost its core difficulty, and your mind starts to wander.
But before the wandering mind gets too distracting, you should tackle the next hurdle in G Major, which appears when the left hand has reached its own thumb and must execute a finger over to continue playing on the third finger.
Mastering the Second Hurdle in Ascending G Major at the First “E” for the Left Hand
In order to successfully go about the next part, try
starting where you left off: C2 (LH) and C1 (RH), and gradually work your way up,
passing D1 (LH) and D2 (RH), andlanding, after a finger over thumb in the left hand, on E3 (LH) and E3 (RH),
providing you with another secure landing place, as both hands rest on an “E”.
I can almost imagine you shaking your head. Why should you practise so few keys together?
The reason is that you ought to give your brain time to process it all. Three to five keys with both hands together seems too tame to be considered. Yes, it is tame at the moment, but it gets more daunting when, after practising the last part (from "C" to "E") a few times, you start from the beginning again.
The beautiful thing about these parallel motion scales is that you play the exact same keys together, allowing you to hear instantly when you go wrong.
And—careful: spoiler—after just one octave, scale history repeats itself. After two more hurdles, you are one octave higher than you started, but you are facing an already known challenge.
Tackling the Third Hurdle in Ascending G Major at the Second “G” for the Right Hand
Just embarking upon the third hurdle, you
start on E3 with both hands,reach "F-sharp" with 2 (LH) and 4 (RH), and
you find yourself on "G" with both thumbs.
Mastering the Tiny Fourth Hurdle in Ascending G Major at the Second “A” for the Left Hand
The ultimate hurdle—if you can still call it that after all the progress you have already made—is
the finger over from G1 to A4 in the left hand
while the right hand continues its way up from G1 to A2 undaunted.
This scale pattern for one octave can be repeated as often as you find keys under your fingers to practise, but usually, two octaves are enough to get on with.
In G Major, we end triumphantly on G5 (LH) and G1 (RH).
Do you already feel the difference...?
Yours truly,
{Doing it Cairns' Style | Comfort in Every Bar & Certain in Every Key}
P.S. The three pictures feature parts of my very own "invention" called Visual KeyScales.