Hanon Scale method

[tullfan]

I am currently working my way through 'The Virtuoso Pianist' and have just finished the Major and minor Scale section towards the end of book 2. I was just wondering what the benefit of the perfect cadences at the end of each scale was. Is it just to make them sound better and therefore not really neccesary? Or does it help your technique in some way?

[nightingale11]

have a look here:

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/board,4/topic,4880.3.html#msg46319
(discusses how to acquire technique and what technique actually is)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,4385.msg41226.html#msg41226
(technique is personal and relative to the piece – Fosberry flop – the best books on technique)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,4734.msg44770.html#msg44770
(how to acquire virtuoso technique – aiming at 100 pieces in five years)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,5352.msg50998.html#msg50998
(Exercises x repertory – why technique cannot be isolated from music)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,3677.msg32879.html#msg32879
(What is the best practice diet?  The key to practice is familiarisation with the piece.  Schumann’s Remembrance)

https://www.pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,8981.msg91081.html#msg91081
(repertory x purely technical exercises to acquire technique)

https://www.pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,8417.msg85259.html#msg85259
(when is a piece finished – why technique and interpretation cannot be divorced)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,1867.msg14268.html#msg14268
(Getting technique from pieces – several important tricks: hand memory, dropping notes, repeated note-groups)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2429.msg21061.html#msg21061
(Technical studies x pieces – the genesis of Studies and how Czerny derived his exercises from Beethoven sonatas - why scales are useless and at the same time essential – Chopin x Kalkbrenner story – Unorthodox fingering for scales).

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2948.msg25927.html#msg25927
(Czerny x Scarlatti to acquire technique – Ted gives an excellent contribution)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,4880.msg46339.html#msg46339
(definition of technique: quote from Fink, Sandor and Pires – Example of the A-E-A arpeggio)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,3987.msg36197.html#msg36197
(etudes and alternatives to them)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,4082.msg37362.html#msg37362
(one cannot learn technique in a vacuum. At the same time one cannot simply play pieces – comparison with tennis)

https://www.pianoforum.net/smf/index.php?topic=5995.msg58928#msg58928
(when to work on expression - change focus every 2 minutes – comparison with plate spinning)

The threads below deal specifically with Hanon (the first one in particular has a detailed criticism of Hanon’s preface):


https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2998.msg26268.html#msg26268
(Scales HT, why? – why and when to practise scales HS and HT – Pragmatical  x logical way of teaching – analogy with aikido – list of piano techniques – DVORAK – realistic x sports martial arts – technique and how to acquire it by solving technical problems – Hanon and why it should be avoided - Lemmings)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,4182.msg38775.html#msg38775
(Hanon: pros and cons – Robert Henry’s opinion)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,4887.msg47334.html#msg47334
(more on Hanon)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,5375.msg51272.html#msg51272
(Defending technical exercises – two different philosophies regarding exercises – chopstick analogy)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2619.msg22756.html#msg22756
(unorthodox fingering for all major and minor scales plus an explanation)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,1918.msg15015.html#msg15015
(Thumb under/over – detailed explanation – Fosberry flop)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,7226.msg72166.html#msg72166
(Thumb over is a misnomer: it consists of co-ordinating four separate movements).

Here are some threads that deal with the physicality of playing. Several of the anatomical and physiological facts described there are in direct opposition to Hanon’s instructions:

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,4145.msg38568.html#msg38568
(beginner’s muscle development – anatomy of the hand forearm – true reasons for extremely slow practice)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2024.msg16583.html#msg16583
(how to aim the pinky – using the arm to move the fingers)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2033.msg16635.html#msg16635
(finger strength)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2502.msg21594.html#msg21594
(Independence of the 3rd and 4thfinger – it is impossible, one should work towards the illusion of independence: it is all arm work)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2507.msg21688.html#msg21688
(Round fingers – the role of fingers)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,1808.msg23879.html#msg23879
(Ultra fast arpeggios – slow practice x slow motion practice – good post by Herve – Abby whiteside is also mentioned)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2814.msg24872.html#msg24872
(How a student’s physicality affects teaching – discussion on arm x fingers – moving from the centre: tantien and taichi – Seymour Fink gets discussed as well)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2809.msg25013.html#msg25013
(Body movement – piano playing and martial arts)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,3726.msg33453.html#msg33453
(playing with curved fingers – worry less about movement and more about sound)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2079.msg17335.html#msg17335
(Hand tension – not using fingers to play)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2106.msg17587.html#msg17587
(developing both hands equally – repertory - why the LH is generally weaker – website for left handed pianos)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2359.msg20442.html#msg20442
(Fingering placement on the keys)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2477.msg21403.html#msg21403
(Double thirds – the movement)

https://www.pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,7887.msg79326.html#msg79326
(why the lifting of the 4th finger is a non-problem)

https://www.pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,7682.msg77042.html#msg77042
(hand independence: how to create a cue system and what is hand memory).

https://www.pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,8335.msg84684.html#msg84684
(circular movements to avoid co-contraction)

https://www.pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,8322.msg84686.html#msg84686
(speed and muscle tension – 3 important components of speed playing)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,4282.msg39831.html#msg39831
(How to increase speed: slowly using metronome x fast with chord attack – juggling and skiping rope as examples)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,4144.msg40259.html#msg40259
(improving speed of LH – move the whole LH not only fingers)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,5034.msg47829.html#msg47829
(The finger strength controversy – some excellent posts by xvimbi)

If one is to dump Hanon &co., what is the alternative? The threads below point the way:


https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,3625.msg32673.html#msg32673
(PPI –  comparison with body building – brief mention of movement and intellectual centre – comparison with babies walking and coma patients- muscle tension and nerve inhibition – how to investigate and test practice ideas – How to teach by using progressively difficult repertory)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,4123.msg37829.html#msg37829
(How to investigate the best movement pattern: Example Scarlatti sonata K70 – How to work out the best fingering. Example: CPE Bach Allegro in A – Slow x slow motion practice – HS x HT – practising for only 5 – 10 minutes)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2893.msg25500.html#msg25500
(how to teach op. 142 no. 2 - Burgmuller studies – Lots of practice tricks – the pragmatical x logical approach using Boolean algebra and word processing as an example)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2864.msg25252.html#msg25252
(how everyone in the forum practises – the scientific method to decide what practice routine is good and which is not. Comments on Chang book)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2916.msg25572.html#msg25572
(Bad habits when playing/practising)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2076.msg17157.html#msg17157
(Speed – the 3 most important factors)

then here:

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,5767.msg56133.html#msg56133
(huge collection of links)

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,9159.msg92755.html#msg92755
(m1469s index of the forum)

[danny elfboy]

I am currently working my way through 'The Virtuoso Pianist' and have just finished the Major and minor Scale section towards the end of book 2. I was just wondering what the benefit of the perfect cadences at the end of each scale was. Is it just to make them sound better and therefore not really neccesary? Or does it help your technique in some way?

It's just a way to have you practice cadences.

Unlike the many posts quoted by nightingale I don't think Hanon is inherently bad.
The "basic form" we use to play should become automatic so that coordination and expressiveness can be added without being distracted by the basic motions.

If Hanon is used to train the "basic form" promoted by Hanon (which goes against basic anatomy and physiology) that's it to play with the fingers raising them high and keeping the arm and wrist as still as possible; then it is not only useless but it's also very dangerous.

On the other hand the same Hanon exercises can be used to train a more efficient "basic form" involving keystrokes of the arm and hand and little motions of the fingers to produce a sound with a little tension and effort as possible.

Hanon can be good to train such "basic form" 5-10 minutes every day because there's no musical content. I know that ideally technique and music should be trained together but we're talking about the main basic motion of sound production here.

The "basic form" can be trained with mindfulness even if what you play is not musical. The reason is that mindfulness is focused on the sensations of contraction or relaxation in the arm and hand rather than on the music.

One of the challenge of piano playing is applying such "basic form" to real pieces of music. That's because the natural flow of the music and the instinctive need to express music gets in the way of mantaining a focus on the "basic form" unless it has become automatic through previous exercises.

It's not uncommon to see someone mastering the "basic form" with non-musical exercises but suddenly raising the shoulder creating chronic tension, or using excessive force in depressing the keys to create a FF or slouching on hard passages or tensing in melodic runs. That just means that the "basic form" is not automatic yet and as soon as the focus switches to music we lose the focus on the "basic form".

It's the same reason as to why one is given a light series of exercises (mostly involving the mirror) to train the "basic form" before switching to the real exercises when taking up a resistance training routine.

The "basic form" applies to all sports from tennis, golf to swimming and martial arts.

In all these sports a good coach would spend an amount of time with "basic form" exercises too because he/she knows that the "basic form" must become automatic to be incorporated on more complex and specific motions and he/she knows that when the "basic form" is not automatic switching the focus to sport goals would just destroy the basic form.

There's a movie which shows this concepts very clearly.
It is called The Karate Kid from the 80's
In this movie the okinawans karate teacher trains the pupil to the "basic form" away from the goals of karate. In fact the "basic form" is trained on tasks like painting the fence, smoothing the porch and waxing the cars.
The teacher knows that in this way the focus rests on the "basic form" till it becomes automatic. Had been the pupil's "basic form" trained on karate itself rather than tasks outside of it, the goals and the thought of being involved with karate would have distracted the pupil from the basic form and ruined the basic motions which are the foundation of all the technique and coordinaton to come.

It may seem therefore that Hanon and other less-musical exercises are just for beginners but I believe that once a week or more even advanced pianists can benefit from freshening up the "basic form" with such exercises focusing on just the physical sensations leaving out the focus on music.

I don't agree that unmusical exercises must be boring.
If performed mindlessly they're boring indeed.
But if we focus on the physical and anatomical sensations and that becomes (as far as those exercise are concerned) our goal instead of music we may find the whole process rather interesting and delightful, a sort of introspective travel into awareness ... a sort of meditation if you want. We come back to the child-like awe of creating a sound by depressing a key in the most economical way.