Questions regarding to piano techinique, hanon, and exam pieces...

[fangpiano]

Hi everyone, this is my first post on Piano Street.

I am 14 and I'm starting grade 10 piano. About 3 months ago, I found my interest in piano after playing for about 5 years! I used to hate practising and now I love every minute of it. Anyways....
First of, how much technique should I practise? Currently I practise about 10-20 minutes each day, is that enough? Also, do Hanon exercises really help THAT much?
Does anyone know if the Schubert impromptu op. 90 no. 4 is in the RCM or Conservatory Canada syllabus? And to anyone who is familiar with the piece, would you recomend this piece to a 14 year old? Also, can anyone recommend pieces that I should learn? I personally have in mind what pieces I would like to play, but I'm not really sure if they are out of reach or not.

I know I've asked a lot of questions, but I'd like to get them all in one post.

Thanks,

Tina 

[rmbarbosa]

Tina, I dont know what you mean with "grade 10 piano". Can you play, for example, Apassionata (grade<>8+)? If you can, Hanon isnt surely useful to you. I think Hanon isnt good to anyone, its a endless and purposeless repition of exercises that leads only to a strain of the body, mind, muscles and intellect. For me, Hanon is a exhausting path of mechanical practice. And more or less about Czerny. The most important is to play MUSIC. If one thing cant be played as Music, this thing isnt useful. With five years of piano practice, its possible you may choose some pieces you like and play them. Choose something you like and that may be challenging to you and to your technique level. And try to play it better and better and better, you see?
Best wishes
Rui

[perelea]

I do practice Hanon about 1 hour per day, purely because ( gasp! ) I like it. But it is not necessary. However, I do think that some equivalent is a good thing.

So, If you're into practicing, I think that czerny does have some beautiful etudes you could try. The easier op. 299 ''School of velocity'' (example here:

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 op. 740 ''The art of finger dexterity'' ( example here:

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these are the books that could be apropriate to your level of play. Contrary to many peoples opinion, I think they are very beautiful in their simplicity and they certainly shouldn't be played as dry technique exercises, as people tend to take them. They are nothing easy aswel, if you strive for perfection.
In addition, they are a great stepping stone for Chopin or Moskovsky etudes.

Ofcourse, you should never overdo Hanon or etudes to a point when you wanna bang your head against the wall. Always in healthy amounts. And pick some ''real'' pieces aswel for sure. Harder pieces are always a great motivation.

If you practice 20 minutes per day, I personally wouldnt bother with Hanon and pick something more enjoyable instead. If 20 minutes are enough, that is relative and depends on what you want to achieve or how fast you want to progress. But if you are so much into the piano, I am sure you can do a little more =)) It just needs the right piece to work on, that will drag you.

In order for someone to recomend you an apropriate piece of music, you need to write what is the last things you play/played so that one can guess what level you are at.

[fangpiano]

Hi,

Thanks for both posts. I would definitely look into the Czerny etudes! And no, Appassionata is definitely out of reach for me. The level I'm in now is under the Canadian system, which runs from grade 1-10 plus associate. My level with the "Piano street" system would be around 7-8. I played pieces like:
Prelude and Fugue in C Minor by Bach
Le coucou by Daquin
Sonata in D Major k. 430 by Scarlatti
Fantasia in D minor k. 397 by Mozart
Rondo in C Major op. 51 no. 1 by Beethoven
Nocturne in C sharp Minor op. posth by Chopin
Romance sans paroles by Faure.

I know these pieces aren't that famous, but they found in the RCM repertoire that I use. Next year, I want to play pieces that are more "famous" and more technically challenging. Recommendations?

Regards,

Tina

[rmbarbosa]

So, you dont need Hanon

[quantum]

First of, how much technique should I practise? Currently I practise about 10-20 minutes each day, is that enough?

It is not the amount of time you practice that counts, rather the quality of practice you devote to a given time slot. 

Consider that at the RCM grade 10 level many pieces are 10 minutes long.  For the exam you will need to play 5 rep pieces + 2 studies.  That is 7 pieces.  The technical requirements are very lengthy - you need to know all elements in all keys.   The exam itself will last about 60 minutes.  Between 1 to 2 hours practice would be appropriate for your level of playing.  It doesn't have to be in a single session.  You could do 20 minute sets of practice spread out over a day. 

Also, do Hanon exercises really help THAT much?

The technical requirements for grade 10 are more difficult than Hanon.  I suggest you start going through these.  Maybe practice all elements of one key each day. 

Are you just playing Hanon straight, or are you doing interesting things with them like transposing to all keys and modes, polyrhythms, thirds, sixths, octaves, alternating hands, scale tone chords, playing two different patterns in each hand, etc.?

Personally, I believe spending time on repertoire is many times more beneficial than spending time on Hanon. 

Does anyone know if the Schubert impromptu op. 90 no. 4 is in the RCM or Conservatory Canada syllabus? And to anyone who is familiar with the piece, would you recomend this piece to a 14 year old? Also, can anyone recommend pieces that I should learn? I personally have in mind what pieces I would like to play, but I'm not really sure if they are out of reach or not.

Op 90 no 4 is listed at RCM Grade 10 List C. 

Have you played Schubert before?

If you are finding the pieces in the RCM rep books not of particular interest to you, there are many more pieces to choose from.  I suggest you buy a copy of the current syllabus and look through the list.

[fangpiano]

Hi,

Yes I agree with you the technique is more difficult then Hanon. However, I'm looking for an alternative to strengthen my technique other than scales, arpeggios, etc. because those can get pretty boring. Also, do you know how to make hands bigger? I cannot play some pieces because my hands are too small.

And no the Impromptu op. 9 no. 4 would be my first Schubert piece. I just really like piece but I haven't looked at the music score or anything. On another hand, the Impromptu op.9 no. 2 is in my Conservatory Repertoire book. Which piece would you say is harder, no. 2 or no. 4?

Regards,

Tina

[quantum]

Try improvising using the technical elements.  It would get you incorporating such elements in a musical context. 

Also, do you know how to make hands bigger? I cannot play some pieces because my hands are too small.

You cannnot make your hand bigger than it is.  You have to adapt your technique to the dimensions of your hands.  Then again you say you are 14, you still have some years to grow.  Just be patient. 

When you say you cannot play some pieces, what exactly are the difficulties you are having? 

And no the Impromptu op. 9 no. 4 would be my first Schubert piece. I just really like piece but I haven't looked at the music score or anything. On another hand, the Impromptu op.9 no. 2 is in my Conservatory Repertoire book. Which piece would you say is harder, no. 2 or no. 4?

Depends on your technique.  One piece has a lot of scales, the other has a lot of broken chords / arpeggios. 

[gyzzzmo]

I love those people who claim so surely that Hanon is useless, or Hanon is a must  

[butterfly79]

I use Hannon as a warm up everyday but I am a beginner. I find it very helpful but I would imagine by grade 10 it may be too repetitive.

I am from Canada and I know there is a Syllabus book which outlines exam requirments, time, grading, and expectations. The Syllabus book I viewed had the Repertoire list for each grade. You may want to check on line for the list so you can practice for your exams.

Strengthening your hands will come with the more you play, there is nothing you can do to make your hands bigger. They will grow in time.