Technical Regimen, Part 1: Diminished Seventh Chord Stretch

SUPPLEMENT
WATCH THE LESSON

TECHNICAL REGIMEN, PART 1 AT TONEBASE.CO
DIMINISHED SEVENTH CHORD STRETCH

JEFFREY BIEGEL – INSTRUCTOR
“The secret to developing these movements is total relaxation in

all of the body.”
Biegel begins every lesson by

addressing his students’ posture
at the keyboard. Sit on the front
half of the bench, so you can reach
the extreme ends of the keyboard.
Your bench should neither be too

high nor too low.
Stand up, play a C Major chord in both hands, and then sit down while still
playing the chord. It should never feel like you’re straining. Your arms should
hang at your sides as if in slings. Keep your feet near the pedals.
Watch the lesson at tonebase.co Biegel 1

DIMINISHED SEVENTH CHORD STRETCH
With your right hand, put your thumb on
the C above middle C and your pinky on
the C above that.
In between the C octave, complete a

fully-diminished seventh chord using 2,
3, and 4 on D-sharp, F-sharp, and A.
For smaller hands, see below.
Set a metronome to somewhere between 56-60 bpm. Slower tempos are better for
beginners. Practice each step individually, very slowly before playing them in time.
Beginning with the right hand, play the

diminished chord on beat one.
On the second beat, put the thumb on the
wood behind keys. This helps the hand
stretch.
On the third beat, raise the pinky straight

up into the air.
Two beats later, lower the pinky onto the
key. Raise it again after another two
beats.
Repeat this measure of raising and

lowering four times.
On the fourth repeat, raise the fourth
finger instead. Repeat this four times.
“Notice that the pinky bends upward, but the fourth finger comes
out straight. The stretch should be felt in the back of the hand.”

Continue by raising and lowering
the third finger four times – two
beats each, in tempo. The third
finger should stick up and out, like
an airplane taking off.
Repeat with the second finger.
Repeat one last time with the
thumb. Stick out the thumb like a
hitchiker!
If your hand is large enough, set
the thumb back down on the A or B
key.
The wrist is the most important

part of exercise. Lift your wrist
upward to stay relaxed and help
develop a stronger grip.
DOUBLE NOTES
These next exercises have the same
structure, but they involved lifting
two fingers at a time. These take a lot
of time to get used to!
Lift fingers three and five together.

Then use fingers four and two.
Finally, use fingers three and one.
Keep the other fingers still. When
you’re done, shake your hand out!

LEFT HAND
For the left hand version of this
exercise, Biegel likes to form a
diminished chord on A. Begin
with the thumb on the A below
middle C, then place 2, 3, 4, and
5 on F-sharp, D-sharp, C, and A,
respectively. This keeps the
same shape as the right hand.
Use the same exercise as the right hand, starting with the pinky. Then move on
to double notes. Biegel does this exercise each day before he begins practicing.
MODIFIED EXERCISE FOR SMALLER HANDS

If your hand is smaller and you need a shorter chord to play, use this “jazzy”
chord for the exercise:
Bring 4 and 5 down a half step to form this

chord: C, D-sharp, F-sharp, G-sharp, B. Play this
same chord two octaves down with the left hand.
Lay the fingers down in the opposite direction
from 1 to 5 (B, G-sharp, F-sharp, D-sharp, C).
When you first try this exercise, only lift each finger one or two times. Be careful
not to overstrain the fingers, wrist, or forearm! If you get bored with these chords
you can move to another diminished chord with the same shape. Try the same
exercise with G diminished (G, Bb, C#, E, G) in the right hand, or E diminished (E,
G, Bb, C#, E) in the left hand. Everyone’s arm is different, so you should use the
exercise that feels best. Whichever exercise you use, find a consistent daily
routine. You should start noticing a difference in just a few days.

An heir to the
legacy of Josef
Lhévinne and Adele
Marcus, Jeffrey
Biegel has garnered
a reputation as a
prolific pianist and
sought-after
teacher.

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SUPPLEMENT

WATCH THE LESSON

DIMINISHED SEVENTH CHORD STRETCH

“The secret to developing these movements is total relaxation in

Biegel begins every lesson by

Your bench should neither be too

Watch the lesson at tonebase.co Biegel 1

In between the C octave, complete a

Beginning with the right hand, play the

On the third beat, raise the pinky straight

Repeat this measure of raising and

Watch the lesson at tonebase.co Biegel 2

The wrist is the most important

Lift fingers three and five together.

Watch the lesson at tonebase.co Biegel 3

MODIFIED EXERCISE FOR SMALLER HANDS

Bring 4 and 5 down a half step to form this

Watch the lesson at tonebase.co Biegel 4

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