Video #17 How to Play Hanon Exercises

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF1_zGpwbPQ

How do you effectively practice Hanon exercises? Check out this Robert Estrin video. Some of the points he covers include:

1. Always use a metronome. Start with a setting of 60.

2. It's all about finger strength. Use only the fingers, not the arms.

3. Keep fingers raised.

4. Once you've gone through this exercise several times at 1 note to a beat, move on to 2 notes to a beat, still with fingers raised.

5. Next, move on to 4 notes to a beat. There's no time to raise fingers now. Fingers close to the keys. ROUNDED hands.

6. Practice Hanon every day--focusing on one exercise a week.

7. After you've gone through the first 10 exercises, you're ready to move on to scales and arpeggios.

Video #15 Power Versus Speed

An excellent Robert Estrin video on when to rely on the power of the arms versus the speed of the fingers to accomplish desired effect. And when to use wrists.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcGJQoh-Dss

In a nutshell:

Arms: Use the arms for powerful passages.
Fingers: Use fingers for speed.
Wrists: Wrists are important in chord technique, especially when playing staccato, octaves and phrasing.

You need to use different parts of the body for different passages.