I just had to repost this great article from Practising the Piano by Graham Fitch, which discusses the sometimes controversial topic of piano technique and more specifically, exercises and studies such as Hanon and Czerny.
For any technical gains to be made, we need the full involvement of the ear and the mind. We need a specific aim when practising – we simply can’t afford to go onto autopilot, think of what we’re going to have for dinner and hope the fingers will somehow do it all by themselves.
This is one reason that I like assigning exercises for students along with their scales. While it’s very easy to switch-off the mind during scales, it can be harder to do so when playing an exercise, particularly if a teacher has given clear instructions about how to play them to achieve whatever goal is in mind.
Unfortunately, many piano students fall into the “mindless practice” trap whether they are playing scales, exercises or even pieces, and it is an important job for us to teach them how to stay focussed.
For those aspiring to serious pianist status, knowing they have to practise for x number of hours per day, Hanon is a gift! It fills in loads of time and costs very little by way of concentration (after a while).
I think this really hits the nail on the head. When I issue students Hanon exercises, I give them a very strict 3-step process about how the exercise is to be played, with each exercise taking a student about 5 minutes. I might ask them to play three exercises in a practice with a total warm-up of about 15 minutes.
The clear goals and manageable time-frame tend to sustain focus and I believe that having specific ways to practice, makes all the difference. Accordingly, Graham describes how he uses exercises in his teaching and gives some ideas of different ways the exercises can be approached.
Altogether a great read that will get you thinking. Click here to check it out.
TTTV010: Graham Fitch on Teaching Practising
by Tim Topham
Teaching our students how to practice is one of the most important things we can teach them. After all, students only spend 30 – 6o minutes a week with us, that’s only about 1% of their week! So we’re really leaving most of our student’s progress up to them. But how do we know what’s ... TTTV010: Graham Fitch on Teaching Practising
Practising in rhythms is, without a doubt, my No 1 practice tip for students! Why? One simple reason: it reduces the amount of time that they need to spend practising repetitive sequences such as scales and scale passages, arpeggios, broken chords and any kind of fast quaver or semiquaver movement. Students will be able to ... The History of Piano Technique: Studies and Exercises | Graham Fitch
CPTP137: Randy Faber on a New American Piano Technique
by Tim Topham
I sincerely doubt Randy Faber needs any introduction to most piano teachers. He is one of the creators of the extremely popular Piano Adventures method books, and regularly speaks on pedagogy and performs across the world. I’m delighted to have Randy on the podcast today to share his thoughts on piano technique. His experience working ... CPTP137: Randy Faber on a New American Piano Technique
Therese Milanovic on Piano Technique: “But what will the examiner say?”
by Tim Topham
I recently found this four-part series by Brisbane-based teacher and presenter Therese Milanovic, and just had to share it with you. (It’s going to be particularly relevant to all the Aussie teachers who use the AMEB exam syllabus.) As a teacher of exam students, I’m often worried about what the examiner might think about my students’ technique, performance skills or ... The History of Piano Technique: Studies and Exercises | Graham Fitch
TTTV003: What does a healthy piano technique mean to me? [Panel Discussion]
by Tim Topham
A group chat with three people from around Australia and USA, this podcast delves into people’spersonal experience with piano technique and in particular, how the Taubman approach can be so important in developing an effortless, comfortable approach to piano technique. My guests today are: Annie Buettner-Moore – Piano/Sax performer and teacher from Perth, WA Leo ... TTTV003: What does a healthy piano technique mean to me? [Panel Discussion]
If you’ve got holidays coming up or have some students that could do with some fresh technical work, check out these ideas. I personally like to give my students different things to do in order to break up their usual menu of scales and arpeggios and the holidays seem like a perfect chance! Of course, mixing ... The History of Piano Technique: Studies and Exercises | Graham Fitch
Tim Topham is the founder and director of TopMusic. Tim hosts the popular TopCast show, blogs regularly at dev.topmusic.co and speaks at local and international conferences on topics such as pedagogy, business, marketing and entrepreneurship. Tim has been featured in American Music Teacher, The Piano Teacher Magazine, California Music Teacher and EPTA Piano Professional. Tim holds an MBA in Educational Leadership, BMus, DipEd and AMusA.
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