Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 14 hours ago
Your scales sound bumpy because your hand is square to the keys and your thumb has nowhere to go.
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This is from my SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ course, built on "Asking You Out" by the Quinn Perry Trio.
"When your thumb comes under - don't do that. Flip your hand like that. Start with your hand kind of at an angle. See, a lot of people play scales this way, they go straight on and then they go - can't do that, there's no time to do that. Go ahead and start with it kind of angled. Then I don't have to change anything when my thumb comes under."
DO THIS AT THE PIANO TONIGHT
- Play any scale the way you play it now and WATCH your hand at the moment the thumb crosses under. If your knuckles are square to the keys, your wrist has to twist to make room. That twist is the bump you hear.
- Now set the hand up angled from the start - fingers pointing slightly toward the middle of the keyboard, elbow a touch away from your side - before you play a single note.
- Play the scale again. The thumb passes under with no adjustment at all, because the room it needs was already there.
- The whole point: you are not fixing the crossing when you get to it. There is no time to fix it when you get to it. You set the hand up so there is nothing to fix.
WHY THIS IS THE ONE THING HOLDING YOUR SCALES BACK
Most adult players were never told this. They were told which finger goes on which note, practiced the fingering until it was memorized, and still ended up with a lump in the middle of every scale. The fingering was never the problem. At speed there is no spare moment to rotate the hand out of the thumb's way, so the hand has to already be out of the way.
That is why this transfers to everything - jazz runs, classical scales, blues licks, worship fills, a fast chromatic line. Any time a thumb crosses under, the angle you started with decides whether it sounds smooth or bumpy.
WHAT IS IN THE SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ COURSE
51 numbered jazz licks, seven eight-bar chord progressions built only from chords that occur in the tune, and the whole of "Asking You Out" by the Quinn Perry Trio. Every lick comes with a backing track that stays on one chord as long as you need, so you can take your time and improvise over it instead of racing a metronome.
Piano lessons for adult beginners and returning players - chord piano, jazz piano, smooth jazz, piano scales, thumb under technique, scale fingering, hand position, wrist rotation, jazz licks, chord voicings, improvisation for beginners, learn piano at home, online piano lessons.
👍 Try 1,000 free lessons today on webpianoteacher.com ✅ Learn to play piano with Shawn’s revolutionary method
Read Google Reviews by Shawn’s actual students google.com/search?sca_esv=5009c1303de011b0&sca_upv=1&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS1008US1008&hl=en-US&q=web+piano+teacher+reviews&uds=ADvngMgvgkdrPGdvQSDLpEVP-ZodsumYvHbzDCPdZxu7y1dxdo5qqAYWcbG74nStvB1P7oPuKgMFxvRIzd_DZN3tMyxEyrPXSMvg62M7DhKnaOoXRrvMRlR2qOzpuVB5MFvbzhVxfpnLmeUii_UEMspRA9Sb2_UNlNmYcxD8gSa_9Y-ZrAhmC7PMo4dC-3yAW2NaRCTwbTkIJFF0zACFe0MmWygbXUnSyy4URj5yYn7f6Y92qL5F7C65sP-AwHchpQ_w3yruheB24nu-AvcfFQo-ckINkBqWAeio4R0dm9r8cmVn2A7RlUhPAPOZyHpYJ2DontEmnoCi9_eEmhwW9RpGrsajaR7u8_U58p0eD_M4AQtnaQce2g4_3U4ECJVG1OOQrlRFwR4byywOQYKXK-PF9b_wDOJ4wtlppDpfX1FhULjD2H_jbmF3keFLT-JjbHx5mU1wYAbm&si=ACC90nwjPmqJHrCEt6ewASzksVFQDX8zco_7MgBaIawvaF4-7tVxiqnhHYhqKwDDsP2tv6FAZ1fBoW06Zy-5I4bv_4sVUMNgTvp0JS4qCRvaokEGreiT-RV-opIxhvzKSE6856yE4kgwpddtdtU31HEpdWwEdq8gXg%3D%3D&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwik1uakreOIAxVxKkQIHU2mGhQQk8gLegQIKRAB&ictx=1&biw=390&bih=657&dpr=3
🎹 #learntoplaypiano #learnpiano #pianocover #pianolessons #pianoteacher #pianotutorial #easypiano #howtoplaypiano http:webpianoteacher.com
🎹 Testimonials from Shawn’s actual students: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bI83Iun0tmCk-4IOSVAxm6S
🔥Billy Joel Song Lessons: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bKGJ1HDqNoqdQ02-o579MQk
🔥Elton John Song Lessons: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bJV-8LhjXDcX5W4XRLhFhQZ
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Your scales sound bumpy because your hand is square to the keys and your thumb has nowhere to go.
Try every lesson for $1 for 7 days: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer
This is from my SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ course, built on "Asking You Out" by the Quinn Perry Trio.
"When your thumb comes under - don't do that. Flip your hand like that. Start with your hand kind of at an angle. See, a lot of people play scales this way, they go straight on and then they go - can't do that, there's no time to do that. Go ahead and start with it kind of angled. Then I don't have to change anything when my thumb comes under."
DO THIS AT THE PIANO TONIGHT
- Play any scale the way you play it now and WATCH your hand at the moment the thumb crosses under. If your knuckles are square to the keys, your wrist has to twist to make room. That twist is the bump you hear.
- Now set the hand up angled from the start - fingers pointing slightly toward the middle of the keyboard, elbow a touch away from your side - before you play a single note.
- Play the scale again. The thumb passes under with no adjustment at all, because the room it needs was already there.
- The whole point: you are not fixing the crossing when you get to it. There is no time to fix it when you get to it. You set the hand up so there is nothing to fix.
WHY THIS IS THE ONE THING HOLDING YOUR SCALES BACK
Most adult players were never told this. They were told which finger goes on which note, practiced the fingering until it was memorized, and still ended up with a lump in the middle of every scale. The fingering was never the problem. At speed there is no spare moment to rotate the hand out of the thumb's way, so the hand has to already be out of the way.
That is why this transfers to everything - jazz runs, classical scales, blues licks, worship fills, a fast chromatic line. Any time a thumb crosses under, the angle you started with decides whether it sounds smooth or bumpy.
WHAT IS IN THE SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ COURSE
51 numbered jazz licks, seven eight-bar chord progressions built only from chords that occur in the tune, and the whole of "Asking You Out" by the Quinn Perry Trio. Every lick comes with a backing track that stays on one chord as long as you need, so you can take your time and improvise over it instead of racing a metronome.
Piano lessons for adult beginners and returning players - chord piano, jazz piano, smooth jazz, piano scales, thumb under technique, scale fingering, hand position, wrist rotation, jazz licks, chord voicings, improvisation for beginners, learn piano at home, online piano lessons.
👍 Try 1,000 free lessons today on webpianoteacher.com ✅ Learn to play piano with Shawn’s revolutionary method
Read Google Reviews by Shawn’s actual students google.com/search?sca_esv=5009c1303de011b0&sca_upv=1&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS1008US1008&hl=en-US&q=web+piano+teacher+reviews&uds=ADvngMgvgkdrPGdvQSDLpEVP-ZodsumYvHbzDCPdZxu7y1dxdo5qqAYWcbG74nStvB1P7oPuKgMFxvRIzd_DZN3tMyxEyrPXSMvg62M7DhKnaOoXRrvMRlR2qOzpuVB5MFvbzhVxfpnLmeUii_UEMspRA9Sb2_UNlNmYcxD8gSa_9Y-ZrAhmC7PMo4dC-3yAW2NaRCTwbTkIJFF0zACFe0MmWygbXUnSyy4URj5yYn7f6Y92qL5F7C65sP-AwHchpQ_w3yruheB24nu-AvcfFQo-ckINkBqWAeio4R0dm9r8cmVn2A7RlUhPAPOZyHpYJ2DontEmnoCi9_eEmhwW9RpGrsajaR7u8_U58p0eD_M4AQtnaQce2g4_3U4ECJVG1OOQrlRFwR4byywOQYKXK-PF9b_wDOJ4wtlppDpfX1FhULjD2H_jbmF3keFLT-JjbHx5mU1wYAbm&si=ACC90nwjPmqJHrCEt6ewASzksVFQDX8zco_7MgBaIawvaF4-7tVxiqnhHYhqKwDDsP2tv6FAZ1fBoW06Zy-5I4bv_4sVUMNgTvp0JS4qCRvaokEGreiT-RV-opIxhvzKSE6856yE4kgwpddtdtU31HEpdWwEdq8gXg%3D%3D&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwik1uakreOIAxVxKkQIHU2mGhQQk8gLegQIKRAB&ictx=1&biw=390&bih=657&dpr=3
🎹 #learntoplaypiano #learnpiano #pianocover #pianolessons #pianoteacher #pianotutorial #easypiano #howtoplaypiano http:webpianoteacher.com
🎹 Testimonials from Shawn’s actual students: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bI83Iun0tmCk-4IOSVAxm6S
🔥Billy Joel Song Lessons: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bKGJ1HDqNoqdQ02-o579MQk
🔥Elton John Song Lessons: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bJV-8LhjXDcX5W4XRLhFhQZ
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