Finger exercises...... Hanon and the like.....

[Nate]

Has anyone ever done any of Hanon's "Virtuoso Pianist" exercises?? Or maybe you have some other finger dexterity exercises you like to do?? If so.... let's see if we can get a little compilation page of warm-up's and exercises.

Besides Hanon's stuff (which is great).... I sometimes do a few other little things I've learned. Here's a few of the better ones.

1) Take ALL 5 fingers of either hand and plop them down on 5 consecutive keys. (I usually do C, D, E, F, and G).... now, take your thumb and play C about 10 or so times while all the while holding down your other 4 fingers. Move on to playing D with your index while holding down your thumb and other 3 fingers. Do this with all 5 fingers. Then you can try things like small runs or arpeggios. Just do different patterns of playing notes with all of your other fingers held down.

2) Pick two notes close to each other. Start playing a trill with your thumb and index finger. Then, without stopping, change to your thumb and middle finger. Without stopping, change to your index and middle finger. Then do index and ring finger; middle and ring finger; middle and pinkie; and ring and pinkie. GREAT exercise for trills.


Anyone else?

[Nathanael]

easy.

I've been playing the same set of exercises for years now, basicly its playing around a C scale upwards and downwards.
Play the following notes with the following fingers(1 = thumb, 2 = Index, etc.)
1)
Right hand
C1, E2, F3, G4, A5, G4, F3, E2,
D1, F2, G3, A4, B5, A4, G3, F2,
E1, G2-----
And so on until you get to C1(up an octave).
Now go down
G5 E4 D3 C2 B1 C2 D3 E4
F5 D4 C3 B2 A1 B2 C3 D4
Do this in your left hand as well, but of course switch around the numbers so your playing matched/locked style.
Theres lots like this. The all get sucsessively complicated and usualy focus on 2 fingers(3+4, 2+3, 1+5, etc) so that way it works your whole hand and eventualy makes it look 40+years old.
I have 10 different ones that warm up all your fingers, you can probably find exercises like these in your local music store.

[CanadianChick]

yes, I've done all the above! Good stuff. I also like Brahms' excersises, he wrote a whole book for his students, since he (characteristically) claimed that nobody else wrote any that were half decent. I think it's just called "51 Excersises for Piano"or something like that. (I'll check if you care!)

Another good one is sort of like your #1. You place your fingers in a dominant 7th pattern plus the tonic note at the top (pinky for RH, thumb for LH). Then, while holding down the rest of your fingers, you play the first two notes, alternately, legato, really firmly. eg/ if you're beginning on c, play c - e - c - e - c - e, etc., for about four beats or whatever. Then, holding down the c, move on to the second two notes, so, e - g - e - g, etc. All the way up the chord, then down. Excellent for strengthening!

[CanadianChick]

oops! Hey Nathan you posted when I was trying to make my directions coherent! When I said "your #1" I meant KeyboardFreak's!:D

[Nathanael]

np.

It's not really exercise but another old standerd of piano playing is the "Well Tuned Clavier" or something like that. It's suposedly what piano tuners still use to test the tuning of a piano. My dad always said if you could play all those peices, you could definatly play the piano.

I thought, "Play Rachmanninoff, and you'll go crazy too"
(little joke from "Shine" - you ever see that?)

[Basszilla]

Originally posted by NathanB
It's not really exercise but another old standerd of piano playing is the "Well Tuned Clavier" or something like that.

I think it's Well Tempered Clavier.

[Nate]

Originally posted by NathanB
Play the following notes with the following fingers(1 = thumb, 2 = Index, etc.)

DUDE.... that fingering looks insane!! Do you really cross 4 over 5, then 3 over 4, then 2 over 3, then 1 over 2??? I'm sitting here running my fingers in that pattern on my mousepad and I can't imagine that I would EVER be able to do it on a piano.

[Nathanael]

No no no, Its like this...
You play C1 2 3 4 5 UP, skiping a key after 1, then 4 3 2 1 DOWN ending at D.

[Nate]

Originally posted by NathanB
No no no, Its like this...


Ok... I see it now. I read the fingerings.. but didn't read the notes! ;)

It's just like the first of Hanon's 60 exercises, BTW. (I have like the first 10 memorized... I play them a lot) But yeah... that's a great exercise.

[CanadianChick]

Originally posted by Basszilla


I think it's Well Tempered Clavier.
Actually it's right to say "Well Tuned". The "Temperierte" in German means "tuned." ;) Though if there are any piano tuners out there that are still using it to tune with. . . please give me their number! :D