Oh no, please dear God, not again.Thal
My very personal opinion: neither Hanon nor Czerny
In all seriousness though, I've been wondering myself. Though I do neither Czerny nor Hanon I am wondering if I should. Do/did proffessional pianists (Richter, Hamelin, Zimerman etc) do them and did the exercises have a documented effect on the technique in that case?
Unashamedly taken from Wikipedia: Piano students all over the world know of Hanon’s famous training exercises for pianists. Both Sergei Rachmaninoff and Josef Lhévinne claimed Hanon to be the secret of why the Russian piano school delivered an explosion of virtuosi in their time, for the Hanon exercises have been obligatory for a long time throughout Russian conservatories; there were special examinations at which one had to know all exercises by heart, to be played in all tonalities at highly advanced speed.Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charles-Louis_Hanon&oldid=404177545
Oh, ok. So just practicing scales and arpeggios, and playing pieces will improve my technique you think?
I think it's funny when people frame a debate of Hanon versus Czerny, as though proponents of technical exercises fall squarely into one camp or another (or as if they were those only two people who ever wrote exercises).
This is another example of the little inaccuracies that can be found on Wikipedia. Anybody can contribute without any kind of filter or real obligation to demonstrate the sources. I'm sure this fragment was written by a Hanon fan. It's true that Rachmaninoff stated that he was obliged to do technique exams and that he was obliged to study some Hanon's in every tonality but It's false he stated Hanon's was the key to the "explosion of virtuosi". The book referenced in the article, 1917's Francis Cooke pianists, is now public domain. Lhevinne's pages have no reference to Hanon, and Rachmaninoff speaks about the need for a good technique but he doesn't speak in any moment as Hanon been the "secret", as Whiskypedia states. He only said that Hanon was part of the routine and exams. The other "facts" are interpretations and imagination of the wikipedists, they put in the mouth of Rachmaninoff some words he didn't say (just what one must expect of an encyclopedia, objectivity and accuracy )And I read two or three times Lhevinne's book, that is also pointed as a reference in the Wikipedia article, and never found a single word about Hanon. He spoke about scales as indispensable. Another great virtuoso from Rach's generation, and an example of the "explosion", Jozef Hofmann, wrote in his books that he recommended playing scales and Pischna exercises. Not a single word about Hanon (again). I'm pretty sure that Rachmaninoff's phenomenal technique was given despite Hanon, not thanks to. Karl Leimer, the legendary teacher of Gieseking, wrote in his books the need to practice scales (again no one mention to Hanon).There are opinions for all tastes. Sviatoslav Richted stated in the documentary "The Enigma" that he never did a scale or exercise. Also Barenboim.In my personal opinion, yes. I think that they improved my control and technique. I think that the best way that worked to me to improve technique were scales, arpeggios and chords exercises, plus some preludes and fugues of The Well Tempered Clavier and some selected exercises, not Hanon's, such as Brahm's, Dohnany and Pischna. Just my two cents
The good thing, no, the BEST thing about piano is that everyone is exactly the same. If I learn more from Hanon than Czerny, everybody else is like that to. Since everyone's hands are exactly the same (how far you can reach etc. is just fake) you don't have try anything out yourself. Just ask at a piano forum, and they will give you the One right answer.
Czerny, in other side, is less boring BUT, why not work the same patterns im musical context? Like bach, mozart, haydn.... all this composers have pieces from easy to difficult!
Simply you can learn the same skills in musical context!
Technique outside music means nothing! :S
Oh my goodness. Listening to all these posts makes my head spin. Hanon, Czerny, Piscna, Crammer, Clementi gradus, and any other exercise book, or method book, are tools. If you use them correctly they help you. If you use them incorrectly they can do the opposite. Thats what a good teacher is for. To know what tool to use and how to use it. Hanon vs Czerny is like asking Chopin etudes versus Liszt etudes. It makes no sense. There are no easy hard and fast rules. I know that doesnt help much, but it does make sense. Hope this sheds some light on this . Cheers, Becky
There are no easy hard and fast rules.
At one point in my life, I had developed a quite professional virtuoso technique, and I'll tell you how I did it. It is not the ONLY way, but it works and gives you a great deal of technical competence and "freedom" to express yourself musically.My daily practice regimen was 6 hours per day 6 days a week. Everyday, I practiced the entire Hanon book....
There remain those who "talk the talk" and those who "walk the walk".
Topic: Czerny V. Hanon?? 