Some Notes: Practice *everything* hands separately. Consider the two hands as two different pianists; each hand must study by itself. Memorize the exercise--focus must be on the technique. Focus on (1) relaxation of the arm and hand, (2) keep pinky down, (3) thumb down, (4) natural position of the hand. Practice for relaxation: play one group and then set arm down to relax (conscious rest); play up to quick speeds, pausing for relaxation; add a group every few days and keep going until all can be played without any pain or tension--THERE SHOULD BE NO PAIN OR TENSION. Play as fast as possible as soon as possible. First 31 exercises are for fast playing; practice fast thinking. Starting Regimen: For 1-2 months (depending on the student), the first 20 exercises every day--as fast as possible, right hand first up and down exercise 1, left hand up and down exercise 1, then on to exercise 2. Practicing Hanon as written is NOT going to improve technique or warm you up--it's a waste of time. Should we practice Hanon in all the keys? Why would we do this? Since C Major works only white keys, next do C# Major, but after this there will be little improvement in technique by playing other keys. Small adjustments in the way of playing can be made for different styles (with more intensity or less, staccato or legato, etc. as oriented toward different pieces). Can Hanon cause an injury? As instructed here, no; the consistent relaxation provided in hands separate helps to alleviate this. To help with relaxation, move elbow while playing quickly (can only be done if you are relaxed). Later, the scales: still hands separated. Four octaves up and down twice, then arpeggios twice at the same tempo. C Major, then A minor (harmonic), then down through the circle of fifths (F Major and D minor next). Emphasize evenness, don't focus on "collecting," but focus on more "staccato" flow (will sound disconnected at slow speeds but not at fast speeds).
Firstly, This is solid gold content, Greg. Great work and thanks for your sharing and knowledge! Secondly, I realised I have asked you random questions in your other episodes and you just answered them (and more) in this clip. I have saved this and I am sure I will revisit this and incorporate this into daily practice. The takeaway for me are 1) hand separately, 2) relaxation, 3) neverpractice without thinking. Thank you so much Greg, you are such an inspiring teacher❤❤
I'm so glad to hear such positive points of view about Hanon and to learn new ways to practice it. As I used Hanon when I was a kid, I believed that Hanon was a must to improve technique, but as I heard lots of negative opinions and chriticisms, I started having a doubt. Thanks to you, I learnd new ways to practice today. I'll start doing everything what you explained in this video!! Thank you so much!
Vladimi Horowitz volle essere seppellito con il libro di Hanon perché, disse, che lui non iniziava nulla senza avere prima fatto gli esercizi di riscaldamento!
Very good about practicing separately with the hands. The left hand will often gladly follow along quickly but when asked to perform by itself is slower. Hanon said to do the whole book every day,taking an hour, which is not a good idea and impossible for many! I think it is better to pick and choose some exercises and stick with that. Also what you said about it being boring helps to focus on technique is something I’m going to tell my students now.
Writing as an organist and wannabe pianist, I heard Hanon coming from practice rooms from some pianists, but only recently started working on it on my own. I'm looking forward to trying out some of the suggestions you made, especially regarding relaxation (and and flexibility of the elbows), as well as holding the 5th finger or thumb down with each exercise fragment. Also, it surprised me a bit to hear you say that practicing hands together is a waste of time, but your argument makes perfect sense: it is quite uncommon that both hands are truly moving in exact parallel motion, especially for longer durations. Thank you for sharing this wonderful guide!
Very interesting aproach! Thank you! Just recently i realized that Hanon is a sort of "neutral stuff" that can be used in several different ways for several different aims.
stunning lesson on practice. Glad I found this video, I know it will make all the difference in my enjoyment of the process of learning. Thank you for sharing this important information.
You are the only person that I have seen on the web who thinks about Hanon the same way as I do. I would like to add that Hanon also improves sight reading. It is indeed difficult to read horizontal musical lines as of Bach and every other composer. Hanon exercises helped me a lot in sight reading and key touch for Bach's music. So, I would suggest that Hanon exercises should be done reading from the sheet for improving sight reading rather than just mugging up one bar and repeating it one different octaves. Nice information, keep up the good work. 👍
Amazing tutorial, many thanks indeed! I laughed when you mentioned Cmaj and then C#maj - this is exactly the conclusion I came to when doing pentascales. Maximum white keys then maximum black keys! Love the advice when you say play a little section then shake the tension out of your arm, then play more. Within only a few days this has transformed my playing. Thank you!!!
This is so useful! Thank you so much for your generosity and enthusiasm in sharing your knowledge! And hopefully, in one month, I’ll have gotten rid of the problem with my out of control little finger… I was glad to hear I’m not the only one with this issue :-)
Wow!. I have just started Hanon Exercises. I had begun to play both hands together. Now I will start again practising Hands Separately. Your video is extremely helpful and clearly explained. I also appreciated your tip about how to practice the Scales by going around the Circle of Fifths. I really appreciate your Masterclass given here. As you say, it helps with technique and efficiency. Thank you Maestro!
I returned to piano a few years ago after a nearly 40 year hiatus, and only learned of Hanon then because of RU-vid creators saying it was terrible. I love it because it was the first thing I used to get my fingers back on the keyboard and the structure of it just made sense for me. I think your practice suggestions here are so helpful to get the most benefit from these types of exercises.
It's like a time machine😮. I used to look up lots of practice routines on the internet, RU-vid, when I was practicing the piano by myself, but Mr.Greg uploaded a master key that was compressed 30x50x in time, without exaggeration. It was just what I needed. Thank you so much!! Mr.Greg😊
Great! So I have never done any exercises but I played Op45 Prelude, and for a month before I started on the music I just practised the cadenza, nothing else. It worked for that one piece, which I performed for some friends not long ago. Actually the cadenza taught me a lot about control, even quiet(ish) chords, singing the top line - the notes took a third of the time, the rest was making it sound decent. But for some of the Nocturnes I think it is less clever, as there are multiple issues in, say, Op9#3 Nocturne which I cannot just practice to death individually (I gave up on that piece - for the time being - due to too many bits taking too long to learn). Now I want to improve technique and learn properly, so this is ABSOLUTELY information I need right now, I think. All your tips are amazing. For example, the one hand at a time is definitely something I wouldn't have got right on my own. Can you also suggest a good edition of Hanon (preferably one that looks a bit tidier than your one! LOL...)?
There are many great pianists and piano teachers on line but you, Mr.Niemczuk are the best!! Your passion for teaching is so inspiring and motivating that practicing technique have never been so fun until now. Thank you so very much for your generosity! Your videos are always incredibly interesting. Your delivery, captivating! All the best to you Greg!! your delivery,
Thank you, Greg for sharing your expertice. Your advice is spot-on my current issue. I struggle with phrase such as in Mozart Sonata facile, playing Scales nice and clean. I hoped daily practice of all Scales and and Arpeggios will solve problem, but it does not, as long as I practice them hands together. Hanon no.1 to 20 hands separate will be my daily routine 2023.
Merci for this. I was a little intimidated when I saw your fast exercises at the beginning, but your explanations made so much sense that I've already implemented it in my practice routine. I will let you know how it's going after one month. Hopefully my video on exercises for the pianist to help with back pain and to help the shoulders and hands will be out by then. Stay tuned.
Hi Greg, I’m trying my best, it’s so lmportant, to practice, you will be sorprice, sometimes we neglected for different reasons. But I will try to follow your good example. Thank you
Hi Greig, I was supposed to practice this and give you a feed back of my practice, following your advise. I managed to start a few days ago, mainly with my left hand , as that is my weakness. Your tutorial really works well, and although I just did the first 6 , but the idea of doing separate hands is amazing. I have not played Hanon since I was 20 years old, (many years ago) but I can already see the change in my left hand. I recommend for everyone to watch your Hanon tutorial. Thank you so much. I am late in reporting my progress, but Better Late Than Never. 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
@@gregniemczuk thank you for your encouragement. I will send you more reports. At the moment it is left hand , 6 excercises, metronome 80 , 2 beats a measure.
What an amazing video, thank you so much. I will try to find time to play Hanon separate hands and will follow your advise and will report in a month of my progress. I really would love to watch a video to improve technique for playing trills… that would be awesome. As always your videos are full of good ideas and excellent techniques. Thank you so much for sharing. ❤❤🙏🙏🙏
I've recently started implementing Hanon (5.5 year pianist) as a warmup. I often had collapsing wrists while playing hard passages (think first mvt of Beethoven op 2/3 with those huge FF arpeggios for example). I do have to say that my hand definitely feels more stable and stronger. As you mentioned, particularly the left hand feels really great
Hello, Greg! Thank you very much for your pieces of advice in this video. Even first day I could realise that thay “work.” My question is: what is by your opinion a metronomic tempo, in which we can say that an exercise is mastered, and we can move onto the next one? Hannon himself recommends tempo 108 for quarter note, but that is definitely out of date nowadays. Best regards from Serbia.
Mr Niemczuk, I have been experimenting your aproach to Hanon during the last two weeks and, well, it seems to work well for me. Left hand is more solidly settled on the keyboard and speed has qickly increased. At present, I'm trying to rise from 90 to 120/130, that is my actual limit in synchronizing the two hands. Working on little fragments helps a lot in perceiving the weight and this is crucial for the solid settlement of the hands.
Thanks a lot, Greg. I love to watch your fantastic and inspiring videos. I have start and stop studying piano since 1980. In the beginning, I’ve studied the first 11. It helped a lot. Now I will begin again using your technique. Thanks again!!!
Only good stuff here in this video !! I dissent however about lifting fingers at all times: it is also useful to avoid lifting fingers for pp and ultimate speed 🤩
Although Liszt was proud to declare, “I am no piano professor!”, stayed aloof from methods and systems, and was the sworn enemy of conservatories, it is clear that he often meditated privately about the physical requirements of piano playing. His Italian student Giuseppe Ferrata once engaged Liszt in conversation about piano technique, and later wrote: “More than once I accompanied him to the Church of S. Carlo al Corso, Rome, to hear Mass. We would often walk from the Hotel in Via Aliberti to the Church, a little distance off, arm in arm, and once he said to me, “Many students of piano run up and down scales for hours every day, thinking they will reach the heaven of technical attainments, but athletes develop their muscles and get resistance and control of them by exercises that are based on sudden contraction and expansion. These principles should apply also to students of piano, who should formulate exercises for sudden expansion and contraction of the muscles of their arms and hands.” LL, p. 362; letter from Giuseppe Ferrata to Carl Lachmund, dated December 5, 1917. Alan Walker - Reflections on Liszt-Cornell University Press (2017)
Dear Greg. Thank you so much for this video. I’m practicing Hanson quite regularly since I started playing piano three years ago. But apparently I was practicing the wrong way (hands together). So from tomorrow, I will start practicing following your recommendation and I will give you my feedback in a month time. I just have one additional question, you did not speak about the time for practicing (daily). What would you recommend for an amateur that wants to improve his technique ? Thanks again for all your contributions to the piano playing. Best regards from Belgium.
Dear Greg. As promised, I’m coming back after one month of practice following your recommendations. Definitely I’ll continue practicing hands separated. As you explain, it’s a great improvement in terms of focus on each hand mouvement and what is missing or need improvement. I would add to practice as much as we can eyes closed, it helps in even better focusing on rhythm and mouvement. Thanks again for your great contribution !
Merci Greg pour le bon cours que tu viens de nous présenter. Je confirme que Hanon nous fait gagner du temps et ça n'est pas désagréable ! D'ailleurs çà m'a donné envie de m'y remettre ! Merci encore !
Thank you so much Greg! I have been wanting to ask questions about Hanon to my teacher for over 7 years, but the problem is she lives in Japan and I only got to see her a few times per year. So my improvement as been very slow. What's worse is I haven't seen her for the last 3 years because of Covid and those questions have been on my mind as to how to use Hanon as well as how to imrpove >
@@gregniemczuk Many thanks! My teacher is of the older generation and does not do online lessons. Looking forward to more of your videos and thanks again Greg!
Thanks for this informative video. Right now I have only been practicing about 1/3 of the exercises hands separately and the remainder hands together. I have found that this change has helped me make definite improvements. I will let you know in a month's time the results of completely changing my practice. Thank you fir the wealth if detailed advice.
I was so happy when I found an old hanon book for $2 at the flea market! I'll try your tips!! Dziękuję bardzo i szczęśliwego nowego roku Panie Niemczuk!
Hello sir I am so grateful to have found you and this incredible tutorial. I am 67 and a complete beginner, I have been fooling around with different online classes and teachers etc. for a year. I recently realized that there are no shortcuts and when you say learning this way saves time, I 100% believe you. I wish I had found you a year ago. I would be much farther along. QUESTION: I read through all the comments and I did not see this one come up so maybe it’s silly! Here goes! What do you think about when you are playing these exercises and scales? Especially when you are first learning and sight reading, do you say the names of the notes in your head as you’re practicing? I find I can go fast if I don’t say the notes or try to read once I have it memorized. Yet then I feel like I’m cheating somehow. But my speed decreases tremendously the moment I try to read or silently say the notes while I am playing them. Do we want to strive for a Zen state of flow and have our inner chatter silenced? Thank you very much❤
Dear Susan. Thank you for your comment and question. No! You're not cheating! Of course you don't have to say every note when you play fast! No pianist in the world is doing that! If you want some online tuition, I'm here to help. I love doing this!
@@gregniemczuk dear Grzegorz, thank you so much for your speedy and wonderful reply. I have taken down your information and I will likely be getting in touch for an online lesson or two when I get a little clearer with my needs. I started out thinking I could just play lead sheets, left hand cords, right hand melody. The online guy made it look so easy L O L, and I was plotting along with Jingle Bells, and When the Saints Go Marching In and then all of a sudden he tossed inversions into the mix, and my brain exploded. 🧐 So I found another class that specifically focused on cord inversions, but it was all with the right hand so another pow!🤯 Then I realized I need to start learning how to read music and found some other online resources and tried practicing scales, but with two hands, so your information on just using one hand at a time is such a healing balm. After your tutorial today, I found a free online resource for 240 Hanon exercises. Here is the link so you can share with your other students and followers if you’d like …. www.hanon-online.com/all-piano-exercises/. One can also download the whole book as a PDF for US $7.50. www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/PIANO-The-Virtuoso-Pianist-by-C-L-HANON-Part-1-transposed-in-all-keys-3972784 Thank you again, I am so thrilled to v-meet you!
Thanks very much Greg. This seemed to me to be excellent (very practical and sensible) advice on how to get the most out of Hanon exercises. I'd never heard anyone recommend playing technical exercises and scales with one hand only, but that also makes good sense. I'd be grateful if you could elaborate briefly on what you mean when you say to play the exercises as fast as possible? I presume that accuracy is more important than speed, and that evenness of sound and tempo are also important. So when you say to play as fast as possible you mean to continually push your speed whilst maintaining accuracy, evenness etc. (and not to bother with plodding along at 60bpm)?
very useful ! may i ask one question. aside from staccato style. what else styles of playing hanon are most useful overall. what i took from the video - 1. loudly with lifting fingers very high 2. soflly with also lifting fingers high. 3. keeping thumb ( or pinky ) down to improve isssues related to those fingers. would else can i add here or is it enough ?
Dear Greg! Working for >2 weeks 30' gaily - I feel improvement! In Chopin etude 4, Beethoven sonata 10 p1, Brahms op79-1! I'so inspired! Thank you many-many times! Now my dreams can come true ❤️
Hi Greg, This was exactly what I was looking for. So far I have the first 11 exercises down. Quick question for you. Some of the exercises I can play nearly as fast as you and others not as fast. Should all of the exercises be practiced at the same tempo or should each be played as fast as possible of course with perfect accuracy. Obviously the goal is to increase each on as long as the accuracy is there, its just that some are technically easier than others. Let me know you thoughts Thanks!
I was given Hanon in college. I have been resentful when an instructor says” now go do your hanon and scales…” when having trouble w Mozart scales (achieving evenness and speed). In my early years I was taught the”lift and hit”school of piano playing too. Over the years with different teachers have been taught Taubman school,wrist circles,etc. My technique has improved but I always need to work on it…Currently I’m recovering from 2 fractures in my RH and was cleared for RH playing-I can’t play my Gershwin Earl Wild or Mozart quite yet so now I’m doing Hanon and scales for my RH(both hands) I transpose into other keys and have found this good for my RH rehab after injury!
When playing together and sometimes stopping abruptly I would just see my fingers not on the same note, apparently my 3 and 4 almost do it as one and I skip a note, I was able to catch it multiple times on my left hand, so I guess I'll staccato a bit to try to detach them more
I've been playing piano for a few years and even the first exercise is a challenge in my left hand, my right hand is much better. I find it most difficult to control fingers 3-4-5 when descending, is this normal?
Hey Greg, thanks a lot for the video! Interesting standpoint! Personally I never had such a big problem with the boredom of the exercises like many people do, because the stimulus for the fingers is satisfying enough for me... For the last months i have been doing just scales, arpeggios and chords as for the technical part but now i feel motivated to work through my Hanon again... So you think there is absolutely no advantage in targeting the synchronisation of both hands? But what would you say about playing both hands together in a way that the one hand plays staccato, the other legato (or even switching it spontanously) and also one hand forte, other hand piano?
Bonjour .merci je commence la méthode de Hanone ..mais mon professeur m'a demandé un fois fini avec les 2 mains séparés,je doit recommencer recommencer avec les 2 mains ensemble ...en fait je apprendre le jazz et pop music ..quand et comment je doit commence à utiliser les 2 mains ensemble ? Un grand merci pour c védios...très très utile continez svp à nous présenter ce genre de vidéo conseilles , encore BRAVO ET MERCI .
Wow, what a great video! Thanks for the very informative details. It all makes sense. I am currently with a teacher in Japan and she keeps telling me that I should only be playing with my fingers. I seem to be using my arm and wrists in an in and out motion as I play. Should I try not to move my wrists and without any rotation? She says fingers should remain in contact position with the keys at all times, but I get the feeling my teacher might be strictly old finger style classical.
Hi Greg, thank you for this precious tutorial. Sorry for bothering you, but I have one question. My teacher today told me that you have to play Hanon hands togheter, but only recommended me to start with a few of them (that's ok). Then she told me to do it with dotted Rhytms, with other techniques also, but she also told me that at the end my hand should feel "tired", because the fingers should do the work. I was practicing Hanon as YOU tought us here ( for 2 months now) ,and when I tried HER method: hands togheter,(always hands and elbow relaxed, but the fingers should work, without the wrist movement) I immediately felt my hands more "stiff", and I didn't like it. As soon as I did as you explained my hands would feel more light and comfortable. Now I'm in the middle of a controversy, should I play it for strenghten my fingers? You seem to know more then all other people here on RU-vid about Hanon.. I am afraid to ruin my technique with my teacher suggestion.. I was thinking also to maybe switch sometines practice method, maybe the Czerny studies should have more melody and build also technique and help with sight reading skills ? I don't know any other technical excercises book or method that I should do, I'm only afraid to do something wrong, and ruin my technique. Thank you so much for reading all long question, sorry if it's too long. And thank you again more if you will reply. Enjoy your week and practice ! I wish you the best at your next performance ! 🎶
Hello! Well, I understand your problem, when I was 17-18 I had a teacher and I met another musician who told me to do something total opposite to what my teacher told me. And than I realized that if I'm doing this new thing I immediately feel better and my technique improves! I think you must follow your intuition. If you practice Hanons hands together, do it much slower. And relax your hands very often (by pulling them down freely). I never practice Hanon hands together and never suggest this to my students. I want to work with them on each hand separately. Czerny 8-bars excercises (op.821) could be very good for you as an alternative or, depending on your level, Brahms excercises as well. Don't play with the feeling of stiffness in your hands because it's a road to nowhere!
Hi Greg, thank you for your video, very informative especially when it's time to analize what is useful for reaching a goal. I have a question: my last teacher told me to learn Hanon playing four octaves instead of two in order to excercise with the entire keyboard and learn to bend the body to follow the arm. Do you have an opinion on this?
Your opinion resqued me as I don't like Cherny practicing. But I spent necessary too many efforts for my teacher persuaded that reasons are used Czerny anywhere and everywhere in Japan to practice piano lessons. Actually it looks like Damon Teacher and Hell Czerny(sorry)😅😂🤣
I think the Dohnanyi exercises are much more useful than Hanon. It is divided in three sections: independence, scales and chords, and double stops. They are real finger twisters, easy to remember and challenge both hands equally.
Watching starting at 18:57 at playback speed 0.25 -- your fingers are coming quite high and deploying much use of the extensors. It looks as though there is a great amount of tension in your hands -- I am surprised that you do not have injuries. Hands alone is an excellent way to practice, but simply resting each hand between exercises to reduce injury is hardly a good remedy for practicing with a tense technic. If you should play with Leschetizky's close touch it would greatly reduce that tension -- there is simply no need to lift the fingers so high..
Thank you ! I will carefully look at my hands and fingers now. I'll try to change it. Yes, I never had injuries. But except of fingers I'm totally relaxed.
@@gregniemczuk Good to know that you have not had injuries! I suspect that, given your advanced stage of career, you likely use a wider variety of technic than you are using here. I had a similar technic when I was in college and my piano professor completely rebuilt my technic using Leschetizky's close touch. It essentially almost completely removes the muscular and ligament tension created by use of the extensors. It took me several months of scales and arpeggios to extinguish my old technic, and then very careful practice to use the new technic in my pieces. When playing Hanon #1 with the close touch all five fingers are in contact with the keys most of the time, so it's possible to play it almost as a blur -- yet each note is still distinct. You have many good suggestions here that I'm sure others will find helpful.
Hi Greg, thanks for the amazing video, I have some questions for myself, What about practicing with metronome? I have tempo problem while playing a piece so should I practice with metronome in order to solve it? And are you telling us, never practice with two hands at the same time? Even after doing it seperatly, do we have to do it with both hands?
Well, metronome is the best teacher. Just be careful to not overuse it! Well, for me personally practicing hands together is a waste of my precious time. After I finish playing through them each hand separately I do not need anything more!
@@gregniemczuk okay thanks my good teacher and also I have another problem of feeling pain in my hands when I starts practicing scales another thing is that I take alot of time to marster scales
I practice Hanon first few exercises in slow motion (HS) to feel the relaxation after dropping into the keys. I notice when I speed up I feel more tense. How do I transfer the relaxation feeling in slow motion to faster motion?
Przyniesie ale tylko na początku. Uporczywe powtarzanie grania Hanona wolno, jak już wychodzi, nie przyniesie efektów. Może nie powiedziałem tego wystarczająco jasno.
To jest fascynujące jak można skrócić swoją drogę korzystając z cennych rad. Jednak odnoszę wrażenie, z punktu widzenia amatora jakim jestem, że czasami szukam zbyt dużo wskazówek :) lepiej skupić się na pracy. Ale satysfakcja zagrania utworu Chopina, to jest coś nie z tej ziemi. Pozdrawiam Panie Grzegorzu.
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