Anticipatory Replacement Fingers

Anticipatory Replacement Fingers (ARF's)

You will definitely want to review Replacement Fingers before continuing with this lesson.

Anticipatory Replacement Fingers are replacement fingers which anticipate a problem and take steps to head it off. Think of it as an ounce of prevention. ARF's are a tremendous help to the left hand, but sometimes can be a problem when it comes to sightreading or memorization. The reason for this is that when you come to an ARF, there is seemingly no reason for that fingering to exist because the problem has yet to occur. Still ARF's are well worth the mental effort due to the physical problems they allow you to avoid.

Here are some examples:

Example 1

In the first measure, the A is fingered with 3 instead of the usual 2.
This ARF allows the 2 to be available for the bass note B on the third beat.

Example 2

In this example, the ARF is more than two measures away from the problem it is solving.
Anticipating the need for the 2 in the third measure, 1 becomes an ARF on the very first note of the piece.

Example 3

Here is an example of a double ARF. Even though the left hand is still in First Position, the fourth finger takes the F in the third fret AND the third finger takes the A in the second fret. The reason for this is not revealed until the third measure, where the 2 is now available to take the bass note E on the first beat.