Has anyone else found this to be a problem, that you can get hooked on technical exercises, and find starting to learn a piece a bit daunting.
A friend told me that Hanon exercises really help with playing Bach, and that would be good start, to move from technical exercises to Bach, what do other learners, or teachers think?

I've never really had a time when I've been doing only excercises.
They tend to be more or less warm up things and I've always had more emphasis on pieces than excercises.
Not sure about Hanon and Bach.

I've got a couple of the Czerny books. There was a time when I tended to want to play these and nothing else, because although they can be repetitive, some of the exercises are nice pieces in their own right. They have been a help with playing Beethoven though. Possibly because Czerny was a student of his!!

I've never really gotten on with excercises and studies, just kinda stuck to doing pieces. Probably explains why my technique isn't that great. I'll probably try some again soon since I haven't played any for years. Maybe this time I'll manage to improve somewhat.

I never played technical excercises ( just endless scales ) until a couple of years ago. I bought the Czerny 101 excercises, and found it really satisfying to master each one at a time

Wasn't over-keen on the Hanon, but I did try

I think it is possible to get "hooked" on them though, as it can be quite hypnotising sometimes when playing through all the ones you know well! I like playing scales when I'm stressed out as they sort of put me in a trance

When you go to learn a new piece, think of it as another excercise then it might not seem so daunting? There are loads of pieces good for helping technique, that aren't neccessarily labeled as such.

At last someone else who feels the same way about scales as me. I'm not abnormal after all

Wish my family felt the same!

Like yourself ad_libitum, I was only introduced to Hanon when I did Grade VIII or was it diploma? I found it OK but my abiding memory was of exhausted arms and fingers. She made me play them so fast that I got a bit sick of it all, quite frankly. I'm inclined to say that something like a Bach prelude and fugue coupled with all the relevant scales in one's repertoire is exercise enough. Whether I'd recommend Hanon myself to advanced pupils or not, I'm not sure. I don't have any beyond Grade VI as yet. What does anyone else think about this?

LR

I was first introduced to Hanon when I started with my current teacher while prparing for grade 8. I do keep coming back to it as I find that it helps to keep my finger in control generally. I can tell the difference when I've been lazy about doing a couple of excercises to warm up each day.

It certainly does strengthen fingers and helps with technique, I'll give it that! My teacher used to insist that not only should I play them as fast as possible, but that I should make my fingers move vertically as vigorously as possible in between notes so as to achieve a clear, crisp articulation. Murder, but beneficial, certainly. And yes, they do have a certain addictiveness perhaps, if you like that sort of thing.

LR

I actually heard about Hanon from this forum and then came across a second hand book. I did everything properly for a few weeks, speeding up according to the metronome markings, but it just wasn't satisfying somehow. After a while I was able to play for longer without seizing up, so it may have been useful there.

I have a grade 6/7 standard adult who has returned after a long break from playing. We are working through a few Bach 2 part Inventions, which are improving various techniques. The only thing that makes it different from a "finger exercise" is that she can't wait for her friends to hear it, so there's more pleasure to be gained

I've always enjoyed playing exercises and use Hanon and Czerny a lot. The Hour a Day book by Tankard is another useful one.

My feeling about exercises is that they should always be played musically and they ought to be regarded as pieces of music.

The Hanon in particular can entice one into playing endless scale-type passages over and over and this can become very mechanical. I have found it is good to apply dynamics to them and rhythmic changes as well.

Also, transposing them into all the major keys can be very useful but I think musicality is crucial. I feel the same way about scales and it's important for piano pupils to understand that a scale is a piece of music. The AB suggest that scales should be played musically during examinations and so I think it is important for teachers to show their pupils that scales should be regarded as such. Hopefully this might mean that pupils will get something more out of playing them. This is where exercises can be useful as a way of helping this.

Equally important is making exercises from the pieces that are being played as Hanon and Czerny etc are certainly not everybodies cup of tea.

When I was a teenager just past grade 5 (1973) my teacher started me on Hannon bk 1. It was one of the reasons I gave up lessons.

In February I decided to get serious again and contacted a teacher. His suggestion was that, boring though it may be, it's a good short cut while I learn some other stuff, so I sat and started. Six exercises later at a metronome setting of 60 and my forearms seized up! Once the fire had gone out I perservered. 2 months later and I now try to do all 20 at 108 every day (though some days I still have bananas instead of fingers). I also do all the scales and arpeggios I know at a rate of 1 key every day. My arms still ache a bit, but I'm definitely making progress.

Once I've learned some Bach 2 part inventions (currently memorised 1 & 8, almost there on 10 and 13, working on 11 and 14) and a Prelude and Fugue or two (starting with No 17 from bk 1 of TWTC for grade 8) I might drop the Hannon, which is indeed mind-bogglingly boring. Then again, I might not. Five finger exercises will always be a good warm up.

One day, I have promised myself I'll learn some Chopin studies (not just the notes, but at full speed, with expression) Then there are the Paganini & concert studies by Liszt, the the Etudes Symphonique by Schumann . . . : I could cheerfully spend my whole life just trying to play studies like that - they're lovely!