Sometimes I mess up the fingering on scales, but they still sound fluent. Would the examiner penalise you for using the wrong fingering? Do they watch for mistakes?

No, the fingering doesn't matter, as long as it sounds right.

Ha ha! - my teacher told me it did - I suspected at the time she might have been fibbing to make sure I practise hard to get the fingering right!

Well - as a teacher I would say fingering does matter - because if it's not systematic it can fall apart under pressure - eg an exam situation. There is more than one way to finger scales and the fingering in the scale books is not the only version which will work - but fingering which is haphazard is usually not safe.

Your examiner probably will not actually watch your hands as you play - but slight unevennesses due to wonky fingering may well be picked up.

Fingering does matter - just not (much) for exams

The thing about fingering is that there is often not just one correct pattern - it depends on hand shape and size, the shape of the phrase, tempo, all sorts of things.

As far as scales in exams are concerned, it does specifically say somewhere (in the blue scales and arpeggios book, or perhaps These Music Exams - or both) that candidates will not be penalised for using alternative fingering so long as this does not effect evenness of playing (that's not a direct quotation, but it says something like that).

As others have said you don't have to stick with the 'conventional' fingering but you do need to be consistant.
Consistant fingering (once you've sorted out the best for you) is important in everything you play.

I'm quite relieved - I do practise hard to make sure the fingering is right, but sometimes I have a lapse of concentration and it deviates a little. My teacher told me the examiner watched one's fingers!

Add my agreement with the others. The fingering needs to be systematic and consistent, but does not have to be what is in the scale book. I tell my pupils that if they make a slip in the exam and find they've lost their fingering, then to carry on using any fingering as long as it sounds smooth and even. The examiner is not looking at your fingers. I do stress that the fingering is very important though and we do try to get it systematic in the lessons, often trying different fingerings to find what suits the pupil.

I don't think the examiner will be staring at your hands or anything, but it's still a good idea to use the recommended fingering, to make sure you don't have any jumps between keys or uneveness.

Though if your current fingering is fine, and you're completely used to it, there's no reason you shouldn't keep it.

I agree that fingering is extremely important......it needs to be the same every time (whether you use the one printed or another suitable fingering) - mistakes in fingering are like wrong notes.....although in the exam I tell my pupils to carry on whatever happens, I still try to get them to use the correct fingering in practice every time, as if you constantly change it, it will come apart under pressure, (it's like concrete that hasn't set properly and becomes like quicksand....) and later on in the grades scales like 3rd apart or 6th apart will fall apart if the fingering hasn't been thoroughly learned earlier on.........

I agree with most of the posts. As long as it is fluent and sounds right, it doesn't matter that much if you are comfortable with it. the fingering they give is the one that they feel appropriate to use but you should be fine

I've always had problems with fingering for scales, despite being told numerous times by my teachers to use the correct fingering for certain scales it just doesn't feel right. I think the best thing you can do is find the fingering that works best for you and try to stick to it as much as possible. As others have said, consistency is the most important thing because on the day of the exam you need to be able to play them without thinking too much (if that makes sense) because if your like me you'll be nervous and not quite thinking straight! As long as the scales sound smooth and the fingering works for you, just stick to what you know.

Good luck!

I would not worry.

The "standard" fingering is pretty stupid for a lot of scales anyway, and does not use the hand well. (e.g. LH of C minor 543213214321 - Using the thumb on C and bringing the fourth finger to take the D is insane. This works much better: 543214321321 etc. ... taking maximum advantage of where the black keys occur. You will find similar stupidities in many more of the orthodox fingerings.

When you meet fast scale passages in pieces you often have to devise a more sensible fingering for them, whether for phrasing, speed, comfort ... or all three.

If you read the small print on the scales book it says fingering doesn't matter as long as it doesn't affect the flow; although I would advise following the fingering to avoid getting in a tangle!

I wonder how some of the standard fingerings ever got to be standard. For those with teachers less hidebound by convention (or no teacher) it's worth checking out Penelope Roskell's "The Art of Piano Fingering".