Hanon Exercises: A load of hooey, or a useful exercise?

Category: Miscellaneous, Reviews, Technique

photo credit: florian.b

I grew up with a fluorescent green book full of a wonderful world of finger exercises by a man called Charles-Louis Hanon. This book had several redeeming qualities:  It glowed in the dark, and it entertained me for hours and hours upon end. OK, so maybe it wasn’t so entertaining… and it didn’t actually glow in the dark.  But little did I know, as I was hammering away at my Hanon exercises, a raging debate was taking place about whether these exercises were helpful, or … dun dun duuuuuun….. harmful! to your technique.

There are several arguments for Hanon:

Hanon-the-Good

• Hanon develops finger strength and dexterity.  I can’t argue with this one.  Hanon is equivalent to running on the treadmill:  It takes you nowhere, but you can certainly feel the burn!
  
• Hanon develops finger independence.  I think this could be true, except for that in my experience most Hanon exercises are the same in the right and left hand.   But don’t take my word for it – I haven’t used Hanon in quite some time.
• You can let out your anger with Hanon.  It certainly is satisfying to bang out a quick Hanon (pardon the ahem, innuendo).  You can play it loud, you can play it ugly
• You can annoy your neighbors with Hanon.  Yeah.  I find these exercises very annoying.  This might belong under the Hanon-the-Bad category.  But sometimes it can be useful to annoy your neighbors.
  
• You can train your fingers to find intervals with Hanon.  In my opinion, this is one of the major strengths of playing Hanon.  It’s all about learning where the notes are and training your fingers where to find them.

Hanon-the-bad

• Hanon gives you wrist problems?  Some say that the repetitive nature of Hanon exercises can give you wrist problems?  I’m not saying it’s not true.  I’m just skeptical.
• Hanon does not increase musicality.  Hanon is repetitive. Hanon is boring.  So by extension, Hanon cannot be musically engaging and increase your musical ability.  Again, I tend to disagree (not about the repetitive and boring part), because I think that an increase in control can help your musical expression.  Hanon does help with control if played correctly.  Hanon exercises are not intended to stimulate your creativity.
  
• Hanon exercises were developed like a million years ago… how could it be applicable today? Argue this one yourself.  Or don’t.
  

OK, that’s it.  So it’s pretty obvious that I’m biased.  Hanon is boring, Hanon is repetitive, but in my opinion it IS useful for strength and dexterity if practiced correctly.  My verdict: Hanon is OK!

Check out the new book.  Its not bright green, and it doesn’t glow in the dark, but its still Hanon.

Hanon: The Virtuoso Pianist, Complete Edition By Charles-Louis Hanon. Edited by Robert Heath. For Piano. FJH Classic Editions. Traditional Studies. Book. Published by The FJH Music Company Inc. (H1006) See more info…

Commonly used musical terms

Category: Music Theory

Pitch

The pitch of a sound refers to its “high” or “low” quality (or frequency).  In written piano music, the pitch of a note is expressed by the position of the note on the staff, and the clef that is used.

Tone (or timbre)

In music, the word tone has several different meanings. The tone of a sound refers to its quality.  Think of the expression “tone of voice”.  The same concept applies to this musical term.  The tone of an instrument can be full and rich, or thin and whiny. Each different instrument has an inherent tone or quality that is defined by its architecture.  Using different building material, material quality, and design will result in different tones.

The word ‘tone’ can also refer to a musical interval or step.  This is beyond the scope of this article, and will be discussed further in a future post.

Melody

The melody of a piece of music can also be called the tune.  It is a linear succession of notes that form the distinctive part of the piece of music.  It has also been described as the main sound movement in a piece of music.

Harmony

In music, the term harmony refers to the use of different pitches simultaneously.  It is the supporting infrastructure for the melody, often chordal – the vertical structure of a piece of music.

Tempo

Tempo refers to how fast or how slow a piece of music should be played.  You may know some Italian terms such as largo, adagio, andante, or presto.  These tempo markings define whether the music is to be played fast (presto) or slow (largo).  There are also terms to define gradual changes in tempo.  For example, the word rallentando means “gradually getting slower”.

Dynamics

The dynamics in a piece of music define how loud or how soft the notes should be played.  Some example dynamics are: pianissimo (pp), piano(p), mezzo forte(mf), forte(f) and fortissimo(ff). To indicate gradual changes in volume a crescendo or decrescendo symbol is used.

This gives you a basic understanding of common musical terms.  In future lessons, we will follow up on many of these terms in order to expand your understanding of them.

Lesson 2: How to sit at the piano

Category: Lessons, Technique

I can hear you now – what a ridiculous lesson this is – I know how to sit, I don’t need someone to teach me! That may be true, but proper posture and position allows you to reach the entire keyboard and stay comfortable while practicing. Once you have learned to sit properly at the piano it will become second nature.

Body Position

1. Sit in the center of the piano bench, ensuring your feet are flat on the floor and your back is straight.

2.  Position yourself towards the front of the bench to allow a full range of motion with your body.  Your body needs to be able to move from the hip joint.

3. The bench should be moved forward so that your hands are positioned over the keys with your elbows bent naturally, so they fall just forward of your body.

4. The height of the bench should be adjusted so that your forearms are parallel with the floor.

Hand position

When you are sitting at the piano position your right hand over the keys with your thumb on C.  The correct hand position will allow your fingers to be relaxed and curved.  They should be positioned near the center of the keys. Your hand should be positioned as if you were holding a ball.  Do not reach for the keys with your fingers – your fingers should be like little hammers, striking DOWN on the keys, not forward.

Sitting properly and positioning your hands correctly will give you a basis for good technique.  Make a conscious effort to obtain good posture every time you sit at the piano or keyboard. Eventually, it will come naturally to you.