If you learn piano with us, you might be assigned some Hanon exercises. In my younger years with piano lessons, I didn’t get this far, but I might have appreciated the challenge associated with it. One of our teachers provided the pro and con versions of these exercises, and I’m sharing them for your benefit.
I’ll quote MTMS piano teacher Elias Blake: I have used them in my own practice and have found improvement in my technique as a result. He is in favor of them because of this personal experience with the practice of Hanon exercises.
Both of these articles are intriguing, and they leave me wondering if I can get my hands on a copy to practice and see where it leads me. I’m fascinated by all kinds of exercises for hands and fingers as a yoga teacher- and I generally teach older individuals who want to keep using their hands like when they were younger. I tell them that unless they’ve practiced an instrument, it’s very unlikely all of their fingers want to move independently at first. Then we practice moving our hands.
Remember we are what we practice. If your teacher says the Hanon exercises might help, please try them out. If you’d rather find that piece of sheet music that calls to you and practice it until it shines – that might be the way to go and you should discuss it with your teacher. I know in my life cross-training is a wonderful thing, because I learn how to do the things I had done before differently and bringing that new perspective has helped me improve.
Have you done Hanon exercises? Share your experiences with us! If you’re curious about the book, you can find it here.