Piano Studies and Exercises

[evitaevita]

I've been playing the piano for 8 years and i want to improve my technique.
Now, I'm practicing Czerny 40 (i've also played Hanon,Heller,Berens,Bertini!).
So i'd like you to tell me which studies and exercises for piano you found more effective!

Could you also say which ones would be appropriate for my level?!?

Thank you in advance!

[scottmcc]

I think the most effective exercise for you would be finding the search function on this website.  Typing in something like "exercises" or "technique" in said function will probably yield you a Wealth of information. Someone will probably suggest the Brahms 51 exercises, the dohnanyi exercises, or the liszt technical exercises...an then they'll probably do it again, and again...and someone will talk about hanon. And then the hanon vs anti hanon war will commence anew...

[pianoplayjl]

Forget Hanon and czerny. I'm not saying they are not good exercises but don't do too much. Go for more Heller, Burgmuller, Moscheles, Moskowski, Kabalevsky etc.

JL

[ajspiano]

you don't magically get better by practicing lots of technical exercises, particularly if you don't have someone guiding you.

Most efficient and effective 'exercise' I ever did (and still do) to improve my technique was to actively research and experiment with what exactly good technique is. That is, I stopped playing notes hoping to acquire a better technique and proceeded to identify 'good technique' and practiced it within the context of the music.

Or in other words, don't just mindlessly play a series of notes. Figure out the best possible way to move your arm/hand/fingers/body in order to play the notes fluently and accurately, then play it that way only. Apply this concept to every passage you encounter.

[49410enrique]

Bach 2 part inventions
Bach Sinfonias (3 voices)
Bach Preludes and Fugues (WTC I, WTC II)
lots of good learning opps in these works

[pianoplayjl]

You may also find that the Scarlatti sonatas are fun to learn and some have one particular technique motif too.

JL

[rmbarbosa]

Why dont you try to play Scarlatti sonatas? Or Bach Inventions and Suites? They are more useful than dry exercises to develop technique, arent they?

[steven1a]

My all time favorite book of exercises is Alloys Schmitt's Preparatory Exercises, op. 16, available of for free download as a pdf at the following link:

https://www.4shared.com/document/3rWNOrhw/Copy_of_Schmitt_-_Preparatory_.html

They're very direct, no-nonsense exercises that will really strengthen your piano muscles and digital coordination.

I would just add that it's not what you practice, but how you practice.  No exercises will do anything for you at all if you don't practice with a good technical strategy, and similarly anything you practice can be an effective vehicle for technical improvement if studied with reflection and clarity.   

Dr. Steven P. Niles
Piano Performance, USC's Thornton School of Music
Instructor of Music, Los Angeles Mission College (LACCD)

[autodidact]

I tend to not think too highly of technical exercises. In my opinion, it is best to gain technical skill through playing things with actual musical quality, such as the Scarlatti and Bach mentioned above. (It will keep your interest much better that way as well!)

[cmg]

I tend to not think too highly of technical exercises. In my opinion, it is best to gain technical skill through playing things with actual musical quality, such as the Scarlatti and Bach mentioned above. (It will keep your interest much better that way as well!)

This is widely believed and simply not true.  I tried it for years, isolating technical issues in the repertoire, repeating ad nauseam in all keys and rhythms, and it yielded little -- except boredom and distaste for the repertoire.  Pischna, the Sixty Progressive Exercises, are designed to give you finger strength and independence.  No musical considerations whatsoever. Just a workout for each finger.  You perform them "lento' and "forte" with relaxed wrist and heavy finger strikes from fingers raised high to offer complete stretching of muscles and, therefore, complete strengthening. 

With the standard repertoire, your "exercising" efforts are constantly subverted by the musical dictates of the phrasing, etc.  You have to divorce yourself from musical considerations to gain strength and Pischna offers just that:  no music, no other issues but exercises.  Thirty minutes a day and I promise you in one month you'll see amazing progress.

Please don't debate me.  Just try it and you'll see. 

[mosis]

stop doing exercises. they're harmful at best and useless at worst (unless you like them as pieces of music)

you don't need "finger strength" to play the piano; you need a well-coordinated playing apparatus that involves your whole body. cmg has no idea what he's talking about and is giving you seriously bad advice.

try a forum search, too. this topic has been addressed a hundred thousand times already.

[roseamelia]

Bach 2 part inventions
Bach Sinfonias (3 voices)
Bach Preludes and Fugues (WTC I, WTC II)
lots of good learning opps in these works

I agree with you 49410enrique that would be some good things to do.

[rmbarbosa]

Bach Inventions are mandatory, I think. Not only for technical purposes but also to theory of Music.
It`s quite interesting that Scarlatti named his sonatas as "exercises".
Mozart is very usefull to scales and trills.
In another upper level, Chopin and his "etudes".
But if you insist and like to do exercises, please avoid all those exercises with fingers holding down the keys, like in the named "Liszt exercises". They are supperb to develop... tendinitis.

[49410enrique]

They are supperb to develop... tendinitis.

lol 

[faa2010]

I agree with Bach 2 Part Inventions.

Also open yourself to different pieces which belong to different part of music history:

-Classic
-Romanitcism
-Impressionism
-Comtemporean (jazz is included)

It doesn't matter if they are not long pieces.

[brogers70]

This is widely believed and simply not true.  I tried it for years, isolating technical issues in the repertoire, repeating ad nauseam in all keys and rhythms, and it yielded little -- except boredom and distaste for the repertoire.  Pischna, the Sixty Progressive Exercises, are designed to give you finger strength and independence.  No musical considerations whatsoever. Just a workout for each finger.  You perform them "lento' and "forte" with relaxed wrist and heavy finger strikes from fingers raised high to offer complete stretching of muscles and, therefore, complete strengthening. 

With the standard repertoire, your "exercising" efforts are constantly subverted by the musical dictates of the phrasing, etc.  You have to divorce yourself from musical considerations to gain strength and Pischna offers just that:  no music, no other issues but exercises.  Thirty minutes a day and I promise you in one month you'll see amazing progress.

Please don't debate me.  Just try it and you'll see. 

While I disagree with your post, I can agree wholeheartedly with the last two sentences. The proof is in the pudding. You can't decide whether an approach to practicing will work based on talking about it. You just have to try it and see.

I've made much better progress by working on the technically challenging parts of pieces I want to learn than by doing exercises. But I only came to that conclusion by experimenting over the years, not by debating the point; and I'm sure that others will have different results.

[evitaevita]

Id like to thank you all for your help, although ive never said that "if i practice technical exercises/studies, then ill get magically better" or something like that...
I just wanted to know your opinion about it!
Evitaevita

[49410enrique]

also, i think the hummel etudes are lovely and seldom mentioned/played (at least from what i've observed). he was a phenomenal pianist and these are very well written and are widely thought to have influenced the famous/infamous chopin sets, and thus the many afterwards too....i think though that the 'virtuosic' demands of these are a bit less (only a little though some spots are still horredously hard!) high level achieve is very possible with some very hard work and less than superhuman natural talent. sorry file is not totally complete iam trying to find the missing bits, i am still missing nos 18-24! so frustrating, i found a copy for sale though so i might pick it up thhis week

also the set of 10 i thnk is a bit easier (technically ) vs the 24

[iratior]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one recommending Scarlatti sonatas.  They develop all sorts of different techniques -- octaves, thirds, sixths, arpeggios, scales, leaps, to say nothing of hand-crossings!  And when you've mastered them, you have something worth listening to!  People don't play Hanon at concerts.  There's nothing like playing Scarlatti at a party.

[j_menz]

People don't play Hanon at concerts. 

True, but too many people play concerts like they're playing Hanon.

[49410enrique]

True, but too many people play concerts like they're playing Hanon.

lol oooh! kick to the head. two points. match point. winner! (*ducks under desk for cover in case he's not done and the next one misses.... .)

[rmbarbosa]

"Too many people play concerts like they`re playing Hanon"...
Yes, of course! Just because they have played Hanon along a lot of time, instead of playing real Music.