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Glite Dictionary
five-finger exercise

five-finger exercise

7.4
A simple practice using all five fingers to improve their speed and control
  • noun
  • /ˈfaɪv ˈfɪŋɡər ˈɛksərˌsaɪz/
translation icon : ejercicio de cinco dedos
  • A five-finger exercise can help improve your piano skills.

Examples

  • Regularly practicing five-finger exercises can greatly benefit beginner musicians.

  • Expect your teacher to assign five-finger exercises to help improve hand coordination.

  • To warm up, the pianist started with a few five-finger exercises.

  • Do you practice a five-finger exercise regularly?

  • The pianist practiced a five-finger exercise to improve her dexterity.

  • Before the recital, he warmed up with a simple five-finger exercise.

  • The guitar teacher introduced a five-finger exercise to help students with their coordination.

Synonyms

fingerwork
vsfive-finger exercise
1 7.1

Careful, skilled finger movement used in music, tricks, and fine work

is a simple practice to build dexterity and coordination for all five digits

Surface Forms

five-finger exercise singular
five-finger exercises plural

Morphology

five-finger + exercise

The meaning is directly derivable from the parts: 'five-finger' indicates involvement of the five fingers and 'exercise' means a practice drill, so together they clearly denote a simple finger drill. This compositional pattern is common in many languages and in musical contexts (e.g., piano practice), so an average B1 learner who knows the constituent words would understand it.

Etymology

Five-finger exercise comes from music teaching: teachers give a short pattern that uses all five fingers so each finger gets practice. That's why the phrase means 'a simple practice to improve finger skill'.