Customer Reviews

Hanon: The Virtuoso Pianist in Sixty Exercises for the Piano for the Acquirement of Agility, Independence, Strength, and Perfect Evenness: Complete (Schirmer's Library of Musical Classics, Vol. 925)

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

As a child, I hated technical exercise books like this. I remember the old teacher with the ruler, the Bartok book, the red pen, the check marks the circles, and ahhhhhhhhhh... I shudder... But now, years later, I've not only become a professional Jazz musician, but I teach too, and you know something, even though my particular method of teaching involves very little reading (mainly because I teach Jazz improv) this is the one book that not only do I reccomend to my students, but also that I've started picking up again, because actually the exercises are relevent to players of all levels. The reason is because regardless of what type of music you play, the finger pattern exercises in this book are universal and relevent. On the surface they look very simple, almost childish compared to some of the more nightmarish books (Czerny, anyone?) but the truth is, once you've mastered them, melodies will fall under your fingers and hopefully you'll feel as home on your piano as you do on your computer keyboard ...

If you want to strengthen your fingers and learn note patterns relevant to all types of music, you need this book. Yes, the exercises sound repetitive, and they'll drive anyone listening to you practice them nuts, but they work. And after practicing them for a while, you begin to realize that they are not as repetitive as they seem. The patterns vary in a way that becomes more obvious as you practice them more. The exercises are carefully designed to (1) strengthen the weak fingers of the hand (3-4-5), and (2) teach patterns of notes that recur not only in classical music but in melodies of all types of music. Each exercise varies in a manner that rests the fingers worked on in the previous exercise, so you can play through a series of them without overly tiring out your hands. For this reason they work great as warm-ups.

The book is divided into three sections of 20 exercises each. I use the first 20 as warm-ups, playing them for about 15 minutes. The later exercises are more advanced and teach things like fast running octaves, arpeggios, and repeated notes. Since I started using these exercises, my hands are noticably stronger. I've been playing piano for 32+ years, and play at an advanced level. But these exercises (at least numbers 1 through 20) would be useful for a pianist of any level, from beginner to advanced. Yes, they can be boring to play, but the improvement you will notice from 15-20 minutes a day is worth it.

I'm a beginner pianist and my teacher felt it necessary to have me not only practise my scales but also to strengthen my fingers, and so she gave me this book. I can't believe the difference its made. My fingers are a hundred times stronger than before!

When I first opened the book the first words out of my mouth were "You want me to play THIS!?!?!?!". But when I started playing them I realized they were actually really simple. Once you learn the first measure, you pretty much know the rest of the excersise. The excercises were really tiring at first, but after only a few days I could play the first six 4 times in a row without feeling overly tired.

I had some trouble with some of the later exercises (I've only gotten up to # 15), but that was because I didn't spend enough time on the earlier ones. Each excercise builds for the next, so that when you finish one your all ready for the following one. I don't think any of the excercises will be hard if I study the excersises I already know.

I think the excersises are alot more fun than some of the other things my teacher wants me to play. I don't think their annoying even if I repeat one over and over. I highly recomend this book.

For $8.95 list, Alfred has a spiral bound edition of this great exercise book

This is a wonderful resource every pianist should have!

I work on a new exercise every week and it's amazing how much I've improved in just 8 weeks! My scales are smooth and faster, and my fingering, which was seriously lacking, is right on track.

In regards to the person who stated this is for the experienced pianist; this is a book you can grow with. It starts out with easy exercises and progressively introduces harder ones. Don't be discouraged if all you see is black on the pages. Take the first exercise and practice it s-l-o-w-l-y. Unlock the problem of each exercise by learning the correct fingering first, which is shown at the beginning of each piece. Be consistent. As you improve play it faster. Then move on to the next exercise.

It takes practice to get better and this is the best resource out there. Don't be discouraged. It works!

Hanon is a great tool to pianists of all levels. The only limit is your discipline to practice it. 15-30 minutes a day minimum will yield excellent results that you will notice quickly. I also recommend it as a warm up before you begin to practice actual music. If you think there is a ceiling to your ability, I guarantee you, you don't know what it is. Practicing these exercises will enable you to play better over time than you imagined. Practice practice practice!

These exercises have made a huge difference in my ability to play the piano. I am now up to the third part and have found that doing all the exercises at least once four or five times a week (I try to do part I everyday) has made my fingers, wrists, and hands stronger and more versatile. They have also helped me figure out many different technical issues with fingering and other things. A good teacher should start his/her students with the first exercise as beginners and slowly move them into the others as they advance. For intermediate or advanced students, like me you can leap in and work your way through them on your own. These exercises make a huge difference!

Hanon's Virtuoso Pianist is still the best single-volume work for the pianist. It has everything: five-note patters to improve the strength of all the fingers (particularly 4th and 5th), scales (even the dreaded scales in double-thirds!), arpeggios. If you can be patient and work hard, the rewards are priceless. And, some people have mentioned "feeling the burn" when doing the exercises. If you feel a burning sensation, STOP. Playing the piano correctly should neither hurt nor burn.

While the demands on a pianist have certainly increased since Hanon wrote his exercises, so many technical problems can be eliminated after a complete mastery of this book. If you master this book--you can do EVERY exercise in EVERY key to the metronome specification--you are well on your way to virtuosity.

For various reasons, I've had to give up on the idea of formal piano instruction. Making a go of it on my own, I felt that buying a collection of instructive manuals in technique, music reading, drills (scales and arpeggios) and general piano would be the best way to teach myself. After considering Czerny and Hanon for the drills portion, I ultimately bought this comprehensive book. I have been very satisfied. The exercises are carefully laid out and are explained in some detail. The author offers plenty of (pretty strict) advice for making the exercises as productive as possible. As advertised, the exercises are staggered in such a manner that running through two or three or more of them in succession does not unduly fatigue the hands and fingers. In fact, after covering several exercises, my hands actually feel quite invigorated. I've also found that when I come back to a set of exercises after just a day or so, I'm able to get through them in a very quick and facile manner. Honestly, I feel better at the keyboard and I think I sound better. So far, though, I have to say that for all that, the exercises are dreadfully boring. Well, that's to be understood, however, since they are exercises, so I went ahead and gave the book five stars. Promise yourself to play something lively and fun after you plunk at these exercises for a half hour or so, and listen as your playing begins to even out and your hands take you to musical places you've never been before. Hanon works for me, it should work for you, too!

Going against the grain here I would say DO NOT buy this book! I am a piano teacher and yes, I had to use this book in my younger days. Recent research, however, has shown that using this can potentially give you wrist problems such as RSI. Finger strength is not really a priority when learning the piano. Good technique and understanding of the music is.

Ask yourself: How many times do I repeat patterns such as those in Hanon over and over again when I am playing a piece of music? The answer is never! So why train your fingers to do that? The only thing playing Hanon makes you better at is playing Hanon!

If you want to improve the technique and musicality of your playing find a Mozart (or Haydn, Corelli, Kabalevsky or any other composer) piano piece that you enjoy and that is within your ability or will stretch you just a little and learn it. Practise it slowly and play each phrase with the correct notes and fingering every time. This gives you a piece of music you can perform as well.

In short, if you were an athlete would you train using physical techniques from the early 1900s? Our knowledge of physiology has moved on and even some elements of the piano action have been improved to make actions lighter and more responsive.

If you are looking to improve your piano technique I suggest you read:
Lhevinne: Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing
Gieseking & Leimer: Piano Technique (Paperback)
Sandor: On piano playing

They aren't necessarily the easiest books to read, but playing the piano isn't easy! I use other books as well (e.g. 20 Lessons in keyboard choreography), Czerny for certain things, but never Hanon!