Hanon and the Virtuoso Pianist

When Charles-Louis Hanon composed his epic work, The Virtuoso Pianist in 60 Exercises in 1873, I wonder if he envisioned the generations of future aspiring pianists huddled intently over their keyboards, peering at his deceptively-simple looking measures, trying to get their fingers to cooperate.

Because they do appear simple, at least the early ones. On first glance you think, "Oh, you just run up and down the scales. What's the big deal?" But then look more closely. There are subtle gaps, and finger positions, and other things, which make Hanon much harder than they seem.

With perseverance comes understanding, and you eventually see where he's going with these elegant little training drills. And your playing does improve rather quickly.

Basically, piano playing consists of this: You play the treble clef with your right hand and the bass clef with your left. But there's more to it than this, unless you're happy to just bang out a tune. There's technique; which requires precision and sensitivity. This is what Hanon set out to teach when he designed these training drills. He analyzed common problems and rectified them, concentrating on speed, precision, agility, strength of the fingers and flexibility of the wrists.

Very few--if any--of the online "Play-the Piano-TODAY!" quick-learn courses even mention Hanon. I think they're afraid the idea of daily drills might scare off their short-attention span, want-it-now customer base. This is too bad. There is a great sense of satisfaction in finally mastering something elusive, and in knowing you're stepping in the footprints of the Masters, and even if you know you'll always only be a Lurker in the Shadows, it's still very cool to know that Rachmaninoff practiced Hanon too. I think more effort invested in something "hooks" you deeper.

There are two Hanon exercises in the first Alfred Basic Adult lesson book, from the Second Volume--not the First--of the Virtuoso Pianist. These are not the famous Hanon 1 & 2 exercises, on which I'm also working. I think these are included because these two are simpler and fit in better with the progression of the material. Then, the hook: "You can find more Hanon exercises in the Alfred publication: The Virtuoso Pianist in 60 Exercises.

Sigh. Back to Amazon. A few days later, I too, join the ranks of winsome keyboardists pounding their way thorough the 60 Hanon drills. It occured to me I could keep a journal of my progress through Hanon like that woman did through the Julia Child cookbook, but then, on second thought, dumbass--I already am.

By the way, Hanon--and other composers of technical exercises--are not universally revered. Some modern, progressive teachers are opposed to the idea of repetitious exercises to improve technique, arguing that hours spent performing unmusical exercises can dull a student's inherent musicality.

Perhaps it can. I would suggest moderation. At this point I'm not exactly ecstatic playing "Little Brown Jug," but I see it as a stepping stone to Brahms' Waltz in A minor. The old carrot-and stick, you know. No pain, no gain. Pay a little, play a little. Walk it off. Grin and bear it. Insert your favorite generic macho aphorism here.

But I'm still green, and it's still much fun to me. I'm coming up on my tenth week of instruction, and am on page 110 (out of 140) of book one of Alfred. The material is getting harder, and Monday we look at Brahms' Lullaby.