Why I Find the "Mundane" Extremely Interesting
Yes, finally I am doing Hanon exercises. Some of you must be wondering why now, after all these years. I remember one summer a long time ago, I was so bored at home that I sat down and sightread most of the Book I & II. I felt indifferent about them then. I also remember watching my then would be professor burn the book at his Piano Magic event. I don't know whether I've ever shared that sentiment and I don't think he does.
I love geometry and jigsaw puzzles. Something in the exercises really appeal to me in the head. Playing the first half of each exercise just makes me try to figure out how the second half would be, as they are meant to be symmetrical. I find it pretty fascinating and I can just feel my mind working in a different way when I practice them. It is like I'm putting a jigsaw together in my head and I get to imagine the colors.
As for the "other" benefits of those exercises, I'm sure much has already been discussed by other pianists and pedagogues. It is almost a relief to practice repeated patterns and just concentrate on motifs after doing recital repertoire for a long time. It also got my sightreading back into shape very quickly since I had to accompany for a living lately. My prof did ask me to memorize each exercise and that is good advice, as I can focus on getting the coordination required. It does slow me down and makes me study them with more depth.
I play a whole bunch of them every day before I jump into my new literature. I work on memorizing some of them, giving the next set more detailed attention and just playing through the others at whatever speed is comfortable. The metronome is my friend. I keep Post-It flags at the piano and mark the ones that are tricky for me. When I come to a flagged page, I pay more attention to make sure I'm not hurting myself by going too fast or allowing weird movements. No pain is definitely more gain at the piano!
No comments:
Post a Comment