I have touched on this topic before but i am learning a litle more about it so i can provide a little more insight
first of all there are many different treatments for the thumb
in european schools they play the thumb on the tip much as you would a finger this requires you to cock the thumb in order to place it on the key at the very tip of the thumb
this allows quite a bit of accuracy and flexibility and quick placement of the thumb and renders it as fluid as all the other fingers
other schools have you place the thumb on the keys on the side of the thumb moving the whole thumb up and down like a lever being raised and lowered
in order to speed up this action when your scales are played it is important to tuck the thumb as soon as the first finger is struck
in the first method they ask that you keep the thumb open until it is ready to strike
is one better than the other
I certainly cannot say but i will say that it is important to stick with one of the methods under a qualified teacher so that you really understand how to do it
I learned both the second method first and was beginning to gain excellent mastery of my scales fluidity and evenness but then i fell off from the discipline
now my teacher is german and i am being taught the first method
i have to admit i am seeing very rapid results in terms of agility
and secondly the fastest runner i ever saw used the first method
but the second fastest runner i ever saw used the second method
and they were not that far apart in terms of technique
and speed so
pick one and stick to it
one exercise that i was given by this german teacher is
list each finger before it strikes
you of course have to play slowly but you do a little lift and relax then you play
so you lift rest down then play this goes for all the fingers
i dont know exactly what this does
but i am not the type of student that spends a lot of time asking my teachers why
i look at their ability and technique and if they are all that i just trust the process
i will only ask why if i must must know and for simple things i am patient enough to wait to let the exercise speak for itself
