River Flows in You looks simple on the page, but its right hand leans heavily on the fourth and fifth fingers, which many pianists haven't developed. Consistent fingering, good alignment and a light touch are what let it flow.

Start with the key

Three sharps: the piece is in A major. Play the A major scale, and the perfect cadence if you know it, to orient your ear to where the music rests.

Choose your fingering from the phrase

Many editions print no finger numbers, but technique only improves when your fingering is consistent. Look at the highest and lowest notes of each phrase to decide which finger to start on. The opening starts on finger 5.

Align your arm with your fifth finger

Instead of keeping your hand stretched over every key, let fingers 1, 2 and 3 leave their notes and lean your wrist and forearm toward fingers 4 and 5. Moving toward the fifth finger, the hand gets a little flatter; coming back to the thumb, it rounds again.

Stay closed and light

In the best-known section, keep your hand in a closed position rather than spreading it in advance. When fast repeated notes come, keep them light instead of grabbing.

Keep the left hand simple

The piece is built on four chords: F♯ minor, D, A and E. Simple fifths in the left hand let you focus on technique and sound. Simplifying isn't cheating: Yiruma didn't play it the same way every time either.

The video demonstrates each movement at the keyboard, with finger numbers for the opening and the middle section. Watch the full lesson above.

Key ideas in this lesson

• Find the key first and play its scale and cadence.
• Choose fingering from the highest and lowest notes of each phrase, then keep it consistent.
• Align your wrist and forearm with the finger that's playing, especially fingers 4 and 5.
• Keep your hand closed, not stretched, and keep repeated notes light.
• A simpler left hand can mean better technique and better sound.

Related lessons

Free download: The Piano Technique Checklist: the essentials from my technique lessons on two pages, to keep by your piano

Piano technique

• Piano Technique 101 – What to Do and What Not to Do: quiet hand and alignment, the two things to remember
• Nails & Knuckles – Piano Technique 102: the flatter-and-rounder hand shape used in this piece
• Attack, Throw, Release – Piano Technique 103: the motion behind each note
• Most Asked Piano Technique Questions: answers to the questions I hear most
• The Role of the Thumb Explained: what the thumb does, and doesn't do

Harmony

• 3 Ways to Practice Chord Inversions: the perfect cadence I recommend practicing in A major before you start
• The Four Most Important Cadences Explained: how chords end a phrase