Hanon and frustration

[chopinfan_22]

There are many stages. If you are talking simple problem solving yes, no talent is needed. But to progress, talent is needed that is why there are excellent pianists who play totally different from regular people.

Perhaps, or, in the words of faulty_damper, is it only that they have figured out how to use a chainsaw instead of a spoon?

[piano_ant]

The only reason it seems that smart people play the piano is because they've found the mental ways to make things work for them. Same with anybody deemed 'above average'.

 Many people are smart but never really learn how to apply or use their knowledge, thus making the illusion of intelligence an elusive gift. Everyone is capable, but the only reason few achieve greatness is based on the thousands of external factors that impact our daily lives, i.e. Curb Your Enthusiasm re-runs.

......then again, I don't think think Beethovens grow on trees....

[Essyne]

I think it's sheer Determination. DOING something with what you have is Talent. Talent stems from Drive. That only comes from within. It's nothing just "given" to you at birth. A Musically gifted individual, such as Beethoven, must access the harbored gifts to discover his/her own Talent.

[storyseller]

Don't waste too much time with Hannon. 15 minutes for a warmup are enough.

[nyonyo]

Perhaps, or, in the words of faulty_damper, is it only that they have figured out how to use a chainsaw instead of a spoon?

The ability to figure out thing is intelegence. My friend and I have never used certain thing. However, for any reason, I am always to figure out how to use that thing, yet he has never able to figure out how to use that thing. I could really feel that intelegence makes a big difference when one tries to learn something. The smarter the person, the better the outcome when he or she learns new thing. The same with piano, when a smart person heard a performance, this person most likely will be able to pick the things that made that piece sound interesting and then he can apply the same thing to that piece when he learns how to play that piece.

[chopinfan_22]

The ability to figure out thing is intelegence. My friend and I have never used certain thing. However, for any reason, I am always to figure out how to use that thing, yet he has never able to figure out how to use that thing. I could really feel that intelegence makes a big difference when one tries to learn something. The smarter the person, the better the outcome when he or she learns new thing. The same with piano, when a smart person heard a performance, this person most likely will be able to pick the things that made that piece sound interesting and then he can apply the same thing to that piece when he learns how to play that piece.

Ahh, and there you get into psychology and multiple intelligences. Some people are "musically smart" while others are say... mathematically smart... or... they have a way with people, making them very interspective people. Or maybe they are very in tune with themselves and are very intraspective people. Different types of intelligence. It's a theory, not necessarily proven, but I think it has validity.

[thierry13]

Ahh, and there you get into psychology and multiple intelligences. Some people are "musically smart" while others are say... mathematically smart... or... they have a way with people, making them very interspective people. Or maybe they are very in tune with themselves and are very intraspective people. Different types of intelligence. It's a theory, not necessarily proven, but I think it has validity.

Intelligent people can be good in anything they try, unintelligent people must find the only thing they're good at and focus on that.

[faulty_damper]

Intelligent people can be good in anything they try, unintelligent people must find the only thing they're good at and focus on that.

Like plaguing online piano forums.  Apparently, there are too many of the latter.

[mike_lang]

Intelligent people can be good in anything they try, unintelligent people must find the only thing they're good at and focus on that.

I can't tell if that is a statement in favor of general human potential, or an insult to the vast majority of us who choose not to spend time being jacks of all trades...

[oscarr111111]

I think this thread should be left to die, a lot of people have the right idea but one or two 'intelegent' people are just posting exactly the same argument over and over again.. Everyone got their point across so theres no point continuing unless you want to hear a certain persons ridiculous opinions and self-justification stories another ten or fifteen times.

Intelligent people can be good in anything they try, unintelligent people must find the only thing they're good at and focus on that.

What about playing other styles of music?  Thats why you hate everything but classical so much isn't it?..

[jlh]

A wise man used to frequent this forum many moons ago and graced us with the following logic:

---
Now for the reason why Hanon (and like exercises) should be avoided (italics are quotes from Hanon himself):

1, Hanon, basic anatomical premise is totally false: “The central problem of piano playing is to make the fingers equal and independent”.

Not only this is most definitely not the central problem of piano playing, as it is impossible to achieve it. Therefore Hanon is a waste of time in an absolute sense because you will be employing your energies trying to solve a non-existing problem by pursuing an impossible procedure. This is akin to say that the basic problem in car driving is to be able to fly, and the way to be able to fly is to practice flapping your arms vigorously. Not only the ability to fly is not related to car driving, as flapping your arms vigorously will not get you there, even if you do it one hour a day. If you want o read in more detail about the anatomical issues involved, read all of xvimbi’s posts, and these ones as well:

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,5034.msg47829.html#msg47829
(The finger strength controversy – some excellent posts by xvimbi)

But actually all one needs to do is a bit of independent thinking (I know it is hard for some of you, but try it you will be surprised at the results). For instance, the fingers have different sizes. How are you going to make this equal? The thumb opposes the other fingers. How are you going to make them equal? The hands are symmetrical. How are you going to equalise them? The fingers 3/4/5 share tendons, how are you going to make them independent? Any method that promises to make your fingers equal and independent (Hanon's basic - and clearly stated - aim) is already showing such basic ignorance of the fundamentals of anatomy that the actual exercises are likely to be useless.

2.   Hanon’s instructions are wrong. He tells you to:

a.   Lift the fingers high keeping everything else immobile.

Why is this wrong? Because lifting the fingers high is the wrong technique to use and leads to injury. The correct technique is to use – for instance -  forearm rotation to bring the fingers up. Pressing the fingers down is never a problem and your fingers can already do it (from daily living) without any need for any further exercising. The situation is similar to the high jump. Jumping forwards is the wrong technique. Jumping backwards is the way to go. Practising the forward jump will never get you in the Olympic team, even if it was what everyone was doing before Dick Fosberry came up with the backwards jump, And if you want to read about this in greater detail, go here:

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)

b.   Keep your hands quiet, fingers parallel to the keys.

There is no piece of music that can be played in this way. In fact, as far as “technique” - that is movement patterns - is concerned, in order to play even the most elementary repertory one needs to slant the hand (amongst other things to negotiate passing of fingers). By the way, this is a huge problem with Czerny as well. Anyone who spends the first three years learning just Hanon and Czerny, in order to “save time” by “acquiring technique” in isolation, will have wasted those three years, because the “technique” they acquired will be unsuitable to most pieces, and for the pieces they can get away with such “technique”, they will sound laboured and unmusical because there are far better techniques to play them. Perhaps the best example (and also the best alternative) are the Scarlatii sonatas which require for their proper playing, arguably the largest range of movement patterns. In some sonatas you need to play with your arms parallel to the keyboard, the fingers “walking up and down the keys. Where, on Hanon will you learn to do that? Faced with a Scarlatti sonata, all a Hanon aficionado can do is throw his hands up in despair and start all over again from scratch, but now having to fight all the bad habits acquired from playing Hanon. If you want to read about real technique and how to go about getting it in greater detail, go 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,2948.msg25927.html#msg25927
(Czerny x Scarlatti to acquire technique – Ted gives an excellent contribution)

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://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,5352.msg50998.html#msg50998
(Exercises x repertory – why technique cannot be isolated from music)

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

c.   Practise hands together to save time.

Well, you won’t. Instead you will be overtaxing the left hand (if that happens to be your weaker hand) and under working the right hand. The right hand never gets a chance to go tot its limits, the left hand is constantly struggling and usually gets injured in the process. Because hands together speed is always the speed of the slowest hand, what really saves time is to work with hands separate so that you give a chance to your weak hand to catch up with the strong hand. Of course this means that instead of spending one hour with Hanon every day (as he recommends), you will be spending 3 hours (one hour RH, one hour LH, one hour together). If you want to read more about the Hands separate x Hands together controversy, have a look here:

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,2802.msg24467.html#msg24467
(When to join hands)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,3039.msg26525.html#msg26525
(how big are your hands, and does it matter?  7 x 20 minutes – exercise/activities to strengthen the playing apparatus – ways to deal with wide chords – the myth that Richter was self-taught – 3 stages of learning – Example: Chopin militaire Polonaise - scientific principles for testing practice methods – Example: Prelude in F#m from WTC1 – when to join hands and why HS – practice is improvement – the principle of “easy” – Example: Chopin’s ballade no. 4 – repeated groups)

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,4858.msg46087.html#msg46087
(Paul’s report on B’s method. Feedback from Bernhard including: HS x HT – Example: Lecuona’s malaguena – 7x20 – need to adjust and adapt – repeated note-groups – importance of HS – hand memory – 7 items only in consciousness – playing in automatic pilot - )

https://pianoforum.net/smf/index.php/topic,3085.msg27140.html#msg27140
(Hands together: when and how – dropping notes)

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,3085.msg44855.html#msg44855
(Hands together – dropping notes – when to learn HT and when to learn HS)

d.   One hour a day, everyday will give you virtuoso technique and keep it in shape as long as you spend one hour everyday doing it.

No, it will not give you virtuoso technique. This claim is laughable. Hanon does not even start to address the virtuoso technique, and even for things as simple as rippling a scale on the keyboard Hanon will be useless, since by practising scales his way you will immediately ingrain two powerful speed walls: passing the thumb under, and a very inefficient fingering for the left hand. If you would like to read more about passing the thumb under and a proper fingering for scales that will allow you top speed, have a look here:

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

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

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

An in this thread you can see an example on how scale fingering is not universal and will have to be adapted according to the piece – therefore practising scales for hours a day is a waste of time:

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,2619.msg104249.html#msg104249
(Scale fingering must be modified according to the piece – Godard op. 149 no.5 – yet another example of the folly of technical exercises)

But there is something else here as well. Once you have a acquired a technique (that is a pattern of movement) you do not need to practice it again ever. Just like riding a bicycle. If, in order to keep a technique under your fingers you need to do it everyday forever, or it will escape you, then this technique is inappropriate, and you better change it, because it will always fail you at the crucial moment. Proper technique once mastered is always easy and you will always be able to do it. There is no need (as Hanon claims in no uncertain terms) to do Hanon (or any other kind of exercise) for one hour a day for the rest of your life. That Hanon thought it was necessary actually points clearly on how inappropriate his technique is.

If you want to read an interesting account on this very situation (where a hardly acquired – but inappropriate – technique, quickly slips away from one’s grasp) have a look here:

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,13208.msg143740.html#msg143740
(an account on how Cramer’s technique deteriorated with age)


e.   Hanon assumes (as does Cortot for that matter) that it is possible to develop technique on its own.

Well it is not possible. When you play a note on the piano, you are already using a technique (a movement) and you are already producing some sort of music (the sound). Technique and musicality are inseparable – the only way I can think of, that you could possible separate them was to practise on a silent keyboard. People who say “I want to practise the technique without worrying about all the other aspects of music” are not doing it. What they are doing is concentrating consciously on the movements, and letting their unprepared unconscious mind deal as best as it can with the musical aspects. In other words, as they are concentrating on the technique, they are producing crap musicality. Keep repeating and soon that crap musicality will have been practised over and over again and you will not understand why you suck at the piano in spite of all that Hanon you have been doing.

In this particular case, Czerny is an even better example, for his studies actually are pieces of music. But the music is so inferior that I cringe at its sound.

If you want to read more about this subject, and on the proper way to acquire both proper technique and proper musicality at the same time, have a look here:

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

Finally:

Hanon is like spending one hour a day on the lake, pedalling on one of those pedal boats, on the belief that this (insane) activity will give you al the technique and prepare you for driving a car in the traffic of a large city. Do you want to go boat pedalling, by all means do. Just don’t come around bragging how much this has helped your car driving, mentioning that some famous (or not) racing car daredevil definitely recommends boat pedalling.


Here is more information on Hanon's drawbacks:

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)

Now, don’t get me started on the likes of Cortot (“Rational principles of piano technique”). Or Dohnanyi. 

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

P.S. Let me say that in spite my fundamental disagreement with lostinidlewonder post on Hanon, I truly appreciate his carefully thought out posts in most matters, which I find very helpful and enlighteining.   

And the pronoun "you" used throughout is meant in a general way and does not address anyone in particular. 

---

Do a search for other things by this man and you will have much reading material!

The above quote by Bernhard was taken from:

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,13583.msg147160.html#msg147160

Best,
Josh

[mike_lang]

A wise man used to frequent this forum many moons ago and graced us with the following logic:

Do a search for other things by this man and you will have much reading material

Especially his final posts, at which point he was at last mercilessly debunked by Marik.

[ryanyee]

concerning hanon, am i supposed to only practice it slow? or should i play it at tempo? also,  i get super mad and frustrated at myself...i can't get the dexterity required in the sonata of mozar k 545 in the first movement...and then when i see people younger than i am playing it better it all goes down....i hate myself...i practice from four to six hours a day and still...i just don't seem to be advancing. also i'm learning violin. does violin impede piano? can someone give me some advice? how should i practice piano? scales, hanon, czerny, in what order? should i concentrate on one piece each day?

well i certainly dont know much about mozart or hanon but i suggest u start with the hanon first since it's the basics. 1 of the foundations to music i think. start slowly and speed up only when u feel u've mastered them.

[rc]

Ahh, and there you get into psychology and multiple intelligences. Some people are "musically smart" while others are say... mathematically smart... or... they have a way with people, making them very interspective people. Or maybe they are very in tune with themselves and are very intraspective people. Different types of intelligence. It's a theory, not necessarily proven, but I think it has validity.

Nowadays I'm starting to think it's all the same kind of intelligence applied to different areas.  So if somebody's good at basketball it's not so much a seperate intelligence, it's just that they give a damn about basketball and so apply intelligence to it.

Because I took the wrong math class and have to upgrade to get into university, I was thinking about math the other day.  I always excelled in math and had an easy time for it, but I remembered way back when I was a kid first learning how to add and subtract - for some reason I found it all very interesting.  First thing I did after 'getting it' was go home and try to teach math to my 4 year old brother   So I figure over the years, because I found it interesting I was more absorbed in math and became better at it than others.

Another example that comes to mind are some of the construction workers I've met.  Not always the intellectual sort, but when I talk to someone who genuinely cares about their job I'm amazed at how well their mind has adapted to it and how QUICK and EASY it all is to them.  Maybe not the most glamourous jobs, but some could be called genii at what they do.

On the other hand, I once met a guy who'd been doing his job for longer than I've been alive who was embarassingly imcompetent...  and I'm sure there are a lot of students who love the idea of being an amazing pianist, but just don't care enough to practice.  Or maybe they care enough to practice but not enough to explore how to make it more effective.

I think the intelligence and talent comes out of love for the task.

[jlh]

Especially his final posts, at which point he was at last mercilessly debunked by Marik.

...but not about Hanon.  The quote above was solely quoted for it's merit as logic against the Hanon faith.  You gotta admit, Bernhard's logic is impeccable on that subject.  Maybe Hanon has/is/will do some good in the world, but it has far more potential for the opposite.

[mike_lang]

...but not about Hanon.  The quote above was solely quoted for its merit as logic against the Hanon faith.  You gotta admit, Bernhard's logic is impeccable on that subject. 

His post raises a few questions - for example, what is the central problem of piano playing?  If not finger independence, is relaxation, or rotation, shifts, pivoting, chord playing, etc.?  While Hanon may exaggerate by saying that the central problem in piano playing is finger independence, his point about needing the fingers to operate separately is valid, as we can direct the 10-finger orchestra if the fourth finger of the right hand is more loyal to the third than to the conductor.  While Bernhard contends (somewhat theoretically, if I may say so) that it is anatomically impossible for these fingers to operate independently, in practice, it is true that with total body participation (after all, the fingers to not stop at the wrist), the fourth finger can become a great deal more "autonomous" than it is to begin with.  Hanon's claim is not absolute independence, but functional independence.

Besides this, these patterns are invaluable for the beginning player whose hands must be able to produce certain gestures without a second thought (one only has so many "hooks" - see Bernhard's -and others' - 7-9 chunks theory).  One does not have to play Hanon mechanically - it can be voiced, played in "chunkings" (2, 4, 8, 16, etc. notes), played with varied articulation, and best of all, in different keys!  Hanon is not inherently anti-musical, and it is not worthless - one must simply not use it for the wrong problem.  It is not a means of getting the fingers moving (there are certainly more efficient methods), it is not something to do while reading the newspaper or carrying on a conversation, and it most certainly is not to be played with the fingers raised high, as Hanon suggests.

While Hanon's directions may sometimes go astray, partially due to the out-of-date piano technique of the time, the volume has very specific use (in conjunction with other etudes and music), and when used correctly, can produce fabulous results.

[chopinfan_22]

Nowadays I'm starting to think it's all the same kind of intelligence applied to different areas.  So if somebody's good at basketball it's not so much a seperate intelligence, it's just that they give a damn about basketball and so apply intelligence to it.

Because I took the wrong math class and have to upgrade to get into university, I was thinking about math the other day.  I always excelled in math and had an easy time for it, but I remembered way back when I was a kid first learning how to add and subtract - for some reason I found it all very interesting.  First thing I did after 'getting it' was go home and try to teach math to my 4 year old brother   So I figure over the years, because I found it interesting I was more absorbed in math and became better at it than others.

Another example that comes to mind are some of the construction workers I've met.  Not always the intellectual sort, but when I talk to someone who genuinely cares about their job I'm amazed at how well their mind has adapted to it and how QUICK and EASY it all is to them.  Maybe not the most glamourous jobs, but some could be called genii at what they do.

On the other hand, I once met a guy who'd been doing his job for longer than I've been alive who was embarassingly imcompetent...  and I'm sure there are a lot of students who love the idea of being an amazing pianist, but just don't care enough to practice.  Or maybe they care enough to practice but not enough to explore how to make it more effective.

I think the intelligence and talent comes out of love for the task.

Exactly.

[jlh]

One does not have to play Hanon mechanically - it can be voiced, played in "chunkings" (2, 4, 8, 16, etc. notes), played with varied articulation, and best of all, in different keys! 

Honestly though... who does this?

Hanon is not inherently anti-musical, and it is not worthless - one must simply not use it for the wrong problem.  It is not a means of getting the fingers moving (there are certainly more efficient methods), it is not something to do while reading the newspaper or carrying on a conversation, and it most certainly is not to be played with the fingers raised high, as Hanon suggests.

The problems might be exactly that.  People are using it in a way that is not beneficial.  I can't tell you how many times I've walked past a practice room only to hear someone chugging away on a Hanon exercise - not listening to tone or worrying about evenness.  They just try and jet through it (sloppily most of the time) and it's a screeching pain for the ears.

While Hanon's directions may sometimes go astray, partially due to the out-of-date piano technique of the time, the volume has very specific use (in conjunction with other etudes and music), and when used correctly, can produce fabulous results.

I would go beyond that and say that in order to achieve the specific use beneficially, one must use it against it's instructions, and therefore cannot be called correct.  If the directions tend to go astray because of out of date piano technique of the time, then why still use it?  There are many more healthy choices for development of piano technique than old worn out technical studies.  Even some older studies are better than Hanon.

[8426]

After more thoroughly reading C. C. Chang's book I have decided not to use hanon. I think the reasons not to do them are particularly strong. Also I have tried the powerful methods found in it, and see more results in 5 minutes than all the 5 hours I practiced. So, I now hope to become a better musician. Thanks for recommending, faulty damper.

[faulty_damper]

After more thoroughly reading C. C. Chang's book I have decided not to use hanon. I think the reasons not to do them are particularly strong. Also I have tried the powerful methods found in it, and see more results in 5 minutes than all the 5 hours I practiced. So, I now hope to become a better musician. Thanks for recommending, faulty damper.

You are right, it's about becoming a better musician, not a pianist.  A pianist does in 5 hours what a musician can in 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, do you want me to sharpen your spoon?

[jlh]

After more thoroughly reading C. C. Chang's book I have decided not to use hanon. I think the reasons not to do them are particularly strong. Also I have tried the powerful methods found in it, and see more results in 5 minutes than all the 5 hours I practiced. So, I now hope to become a better musician. Thanks for recommending, faulty damper.

Probably the only beneficial use of Hanon is for preparatory exercises for learning the Shostakovich 2nd Concerto (written as a birthday gift for his 19-year old son), which includes many technical passages that are DIRECT quotes from Hanon.  Including them in the concerto, the composer said, was the only way he could force his son to practice them...

[8426]

You are right, it's about becoming a better musician, not a pianist.  A pianist does in 5 hours what a musician can in 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, do you want me to sharpen your spoon?

Sure, but i think what you just gave me, advanced me to the small knife  or at least before, i was trying to cut the tree with some paper and now... 

[slobone]

You are right, it's about becoming a better musician, not a pianist.  A pianist does in 5 hours what a musician can in 5 minutes.

I would say rather, a musician can do in 5 hours what a pianist who's not a musician can never do in any amount of time. There aren't many even among the greatest who can get anything really worthwhile done in 5 minutes.

[8426]

I would say rather, a musician can do in 5 hours what a pianist who's not a musician can never do in any amount of time. There aren't many even among the greatest who can get anything really worthwhile done in 5 minutes.

Read C. C. Chang.

[slobone]

Read C. C. Chang.

From which I will only learn what he says you should/can do...

[rc]

Wow Shostakovich believed in the benefits of hanon enough to imbed them into a concerto to get his son to practice it?

[jlh]

Wow Shostakovich believed in the benefits of hanon enough to imbed them into a concerto to get his son to practice it?

Yeah, makes you wonder who was more enlightened, the father for forcing the son to practice Hanon or the son who didn't want to spend time on Hanon...

[Petter]

I heard it was caused he lacked inspiration and wrote it for the heck of it cause his son was practicing hanon all the time. Maybe not true, but more fun.

[rc]

I think I heard on the radio that the son became a conductor, or was it his grandson?

I also remember reading somewhere that the system Shostakovich would have grown up in placed a lot of emphasis on hanon and other drills, and was pretty intensive all around.  It's easy to see how a father would think "if it worked for me it will work for you".

In any case, I find use for Hanon... Certainly we must train the mind, we must also train the ear, and it sure doesn't hurt to spend some time training the hands to better execute what the mind wants to hear.

[faulty_damper]

Hanon has been really influential to me:  It helps fill my music library so that when people see how large it is, they'll think I'm really talented.

And when it's extremely cold, I have something to burn!