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Topic: Has Czerny help you develop better technique?  (Read 3047 times)

Offline ramy1989

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Has Czerny help you develop better technique?
on: October 20, 2016, 07:10:44 PM
Hi everyone, I recently bought Czerny's book 299. I was wondering what are your experiences with Czerny, have his exercises help you? I am asking because Hanon exercises didn't really work for me.
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Offline adodd81802

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Re: Has Czerny help you develop better technique?
Reply #1 on: October 20, 2016, 07:18:46 PM
I don't think it's a black/white case of Czerny worked for someone or Hanon worked for someone. These discussions always end on the fence (use pianostreet search for things like this)

And the main reason because, is these books are designed to improve your playing if you already know how to play correctly.


For example if you play with your seat too high and your wrists too low, these books are not going to help you fix that, it will leave you frustrated and slowly working in bad technique trying to make it work as you inevitably hit a brick wall.

Not saying this is the case for you, but i state again, if you play correctly, they will improve correct playing. The main selling point of books like these is that they were designed to be an all-in-one collection of easier to difficult pieces when there were apparently not better systems in place that was obvious to those that did not know how to develop their skills. (which we know was actually not the case, many good pianists swore by mozart and bach, and Liszt actually played worse under Czerny's directions)

To put things in perspective, Czerny taught Liszt in the early-mid 1800's - ABRSM (the national recognised piano board) started it's first exams in 1890.

Now one thing you should think about - ABRSM still adopt scale fingering that was developed 200+ years ago, why? because it still works. If the same could be said for Czerny, we wouldn't have grade 1-8 surely we'd just have a collection of Czerny pieces?

This is what I think. Sure play pieces within your level, and slowly improve as you go by picking more difficult pieces, but in all honesty, don't just sit and bash out Czerny or Hanon in hopes to improve your general ability, play what you love, that's within your skillset, you will be far more motivated to play it right.

Pianostreet has a nice list of pieces, many pieces graded 1-8 and 8+, there are some inaccuracies, but for the most part they are correct, just go through those, find some pieces you love, play until you are comfortable that you have acquired all the technical abilities required by those pieces and move on.

Ultimately - if you don't already have one - get a teacher!
"England is a country of pianos, they are everywhere."

Offline stevensk

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Re: Has Czerny help you develop better technique?
Reply #2 on: October 20, 2016, 08:51:03 PM
Hi everyone, I recently bought Czerny's book 299. I was wondering what are your experiences with Czerny, have his exercises help you? I am asking because Hanon exercises didn't really work for me.

-I havent played Czerny or Hanon but Brahms exercises which has helped me alot

Offline vaniii

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Re: Has Czerny help you develop better technique?
Reply #3 on: October 21, 2016, 12:19:02 AM
We must not forget they are formulaic, that is, each study in the Czerny's mammoth 1000+ catalogue was based in a strict harmonic formula.

Hannon was not without its merits; if you have the muster, I can attest that the path taken to perform all studies from Vol 1, 2 and 3 will give a facility better than if one does not.

I did find more use for Alloys Schmitt. Each of his sum 300+ exercises, are small enough to tackle at least one in a sitting; or perhaps ten if your feeling frisky.  They evolved in a natural way that if approached with an open mindset based on mechanical facility (and not music) will unlock said facility.  My only warning is repeating exercises in an inefficient manner to simply 'power' through them, will give you Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI); particularly the exercises that require holding fingers that one might not usually do so.

Isidor Philipp's rhythmic exercises are a staple in my lessons.  It is highly logical, but requires attention to touch, tone and time.  Again, music is not the goal here, but rather one's ability to understand the fundamentals.  Deceptively simple, these studies start of in C major and progress through the keys chromatically (C, Db, D, Eb, E ... etc).  From an early age, my students play through these; the aim always to reduce fear of key and ink on the page.  Be warned, they do look quite scary when playing in F-sharp major, but, with everything, the brain adapts quickly.

Hope that helps; I do believe in technical studies, but then again, I have had the best part of three decades to sit with them.

Some might not have the time, or patience.

Good luck

Offline indianajo

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Re: Has Czerny help you develop better technique?
Reply #4 on: October 21, 2016, 12:35:58 AM
Yes.
After a year of Alois Schmitt, and five years of Edna Mae Berman exercises.  People in the midwest didn't use Hanon, they used Berman. About 10 minutes a day, before the fun pieces with actual melodies were attempted.  I did Czerny School of Velocity for about two years.  
While Schmitt doesn't require much guidance, there are teaching point to each EMB exercise that are not covered in the book.  You have to have a teacher to point out which physical aspect of piano skill an EMB or Czerny exercise is going to develop.  
To a previous poster's point, proper posture is step one, even before grinding through Schmitt to gain finger independence.  I didn't do all 300 Schmit exercises, just a year of three or four a week, two for each hand.  
 I did scales about the 2nd and 3rd year, out of a pamphlet, not a real book.  
Good fortune in achieving your goals.
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