C. P. E. Bach, Versuch über die wahre Art das Clavier zu spielen (Berlin, 1753).
This is C.P. E. Bach’s Figure 1 from his fingering examples. He says: “Figure 1 represents the ascending scale of C major with three fingerings for each hand. None of them is impracticable, although those in which the third finger of the right hand crosses the fourth [i.e., the middle pattern for the right hand above the notes], the second of the left hand crosses the thumb [i.e., the bottom pattern in the left hand below the notes], and the thumbs strike F are perhaps more usual than the others.”
The surprise, of course, is that the standard pattern of fingerings dating back to the 16th century, if not earlier, is still described by C. P. E. Bach as “more usual” than the others, even though the fingerings immediately above and below the notes are essentially the modern scale standards. It is obviously possible to achieve great fluency using such patterns, although it must be remembered that the right hand pattern almost certainly required the hand to turn so that the fingers were “walking” up the keyboard. It is also important to remember that keys were slightly narrower than on the modern piano and took less weight to depress. Still, the pairing of fingers is analogous to patterns shown in articulation on other instruments.
