question about hanon exercises

[kclee6337]

a pervious teacher of mine swore by them made me do at least 6 continuously in a row (and self admittedly, i enjoyed it)

my last teacher I had hated them and said they were a waste of time,

now I hardly think they are a waste of time, rather i enjoy them as a warmup routine and think that it gives me a better control when playing fast etudes and helps my rhythm.

What are your views on hanon exercises? good? bad? waste of time? essential? and why?

[krajcher]

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=5352.0

[lilshort]

i think hanon have good exercices ,for me he's with czerny books are the best!

[asuhayda]

Hey!

You've asked a very good question and I think you'll find that people are quite torn on this issue.

1.  Hanon etudes with the exception of the final sections are primarily white key drills which draws criticsm due to the fact that you are not running any scales other than C major.  Can you transcribe them? Of course..

2.  Hanon exercises have been criticized for their lack of musical substance.  People often say they "space out" while they are moving through the various exercises.  You can however vary the rhythm, dynamics, key sig. etc. to make them more interesting.

Bottom line, do you feel that you are benefitting from Hanon drills? If so, go for it! If not, skip them.  Ultimately, it doesn't make too much difference either way.  As long as you do something to strengthen your dexterity and tune your technique.

I find that playing Bach 2 part inventions is great for strength and dexterity.  But, each to his own.

What's most important is that you find your time at the keyboard enjoyable. Trust yourself, if you're practicing things that are of questionable benefit to you, then you've gotta ask yourself why you are doing them. 

Just enjoy your practice time!

Best of luck to you!

[scherzo123]

Hanon is awesome, I just started it and it's actually really fun!!!

P.S. Isn't Hanon the "secret" to how young pianists in Russian conservatories obtained their virtuosity and great technique? 

[j_menz]

Hanon is awesome, I just started it and it's actually really fun!!!

Seek psychiatric help. Now! 

[ajspiano]

P.S. Isn't Hanon the "secret" to how young pianists in Russian conservatories obtained their virtuosity and great technique? 

It may also be how to become a mechanical robot pianist at the same time if you do it wrong.. and only applicable to those with teachers that don't recognise the fact that playing mountains of bach can have the same effect as hanon without being so mind numbing.

Or other composers really..  anything you can get from hanon you can get from real repertoire, and learn music at same time..

[rachmaninoff_forever]

I'm not much of a fan of Hanon.  But I think that Czerny is good only for helping out wth Beethoven and Liszt.  Beethoven taught Czerny, and Czerny taught Liszt.  So a lot of the same technique involved with Czerny is already in Liszt and Beethoven.  I think that Helped me quite a bit.  But they're kinda boring...


Another thing is...

*looks around*

Hey, don't tell J Menz or Ajspiano about this or else they'll shove this in my face:

Bach is pretty good with helping you out with tehnique as well.  So it's probably better to play Bach because I think Bach helps you out with technique more, and nobody seems to like Czerny and Hannon.  But some how, people can manage to listen to Bach.  

I'm not saying I like Bach, we're still at war with each other.  But in that same breath, it's better to play Bach than Hannon.

[ajspiano]

Bach is pretty good with helping you out with tehnique as well.

That must have been difficult for you to say...



Honestly, though..  I share your distaste for listening to (most of) it..  I have come to really like playing it though.

[j_menz]

Another thing is...

*looks around*

Hey, don't tell J Menz or Ajspiano about this or else they'll shove this in my face:

Bach is pretty good

 

Otherwise, just pretend I never noticed. 

[ajspiano]

lollll

Bach is pretty good. So it's better to play Bach because Bach helps you out with technique more. I'm saying I like Bach, we're still with each other, in that same breath... it's better to play Bach.

*fixed post.

[j_menz]

Honestly, though..  I share your distaste for listening to (most of) it..  I have come to really like playing it though.

I felt that way myself for quite a long time, particularly with his fugues. Now? I'd still rather play them, but only inasmuch as that is true of any piece.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

lollll

*fixed post.

Hey don't twist my words!

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Honestly, though..  I share your distaste for listening to (all of) it..  I used to think that I liked playing it, but after I met Rachmaninoff Forever, he opened my eyes!  I hate Bach!  He made me realize how annoying Bach is and how I should listen to more Scriabin and Rachmaninoff!

*fixed post*

If you can't handle the heat, then go to the living room!

Or something like that...  

[ajspiano]

*fixed post*

If you can't handle the heat, then go to the living room!

Or something like that...  

Well...
Firstly, I like scriabin and rach - no debate there...

Secondly, I used only words you actually did say, you have added much to my post. I would appreciate a better effort to make me look foolish in future.

[beethovenopus2no3movt2]

Feed these to you dog.