Exercises and Études Page

© 1997 Kevin Purrone

The traditional goals that pianists hope to achieve by practicing exercises and etudes include the following:

• Strength of the fingers
• Independance of the fingers
• Equalization of strength of the fingers
• Proper use of the thumb
• Ability to execute staccato touch
• Ability to execute legato touch
• Ability to play octaves in a variety of ways, including forte, piano, rapido, legato or staccato
• High Velocity, applicable to both hands (scales, arpeggios, passage work, etc.)
• Low velocity, maintaining a connected musical line
• Properly voiced chords
• Accurate execution of large leaps
• Execution of double thirds, sixths and other harmonies in one hand
• Familiarity with all keys
• Ability to achieve a singing tone in both hands
• Repeated notes, with either changing fingers or the same fingers
• Complete comfort with using the fifth fingers and thumbs on the black keys--essential for good technique
• Good position of the wrist
• Good position of the fingers
• Relaxation of the muscles in neck and collar bone area
• Use of gravity and weight of the the arm to acheive good muscular health
• Damper pedal technique, including full, half, and many other levels of pedalling
• Sostentuto Pedal technique
• Soft pedal technique

Hanon

Perhaps the most traditional, well known, and potentially effective set of beginning exercises is the Virtuoso Pianist by Hanon. These may be approached as follows:

• Not too fast a tempo
• Practice hands separately first
• Follow all indicated fingerings
• Do not bouce the wrist up and down, but try to keep it more or less at the same level of the keys, without being stiff or unecessarily rigid
• The fingers can lift slightly above the keys, but not lift more than .75 inch above the keys
• WARNING: Lifting the fingers too high above the keys may cause serious injury
• Move the wrist and arm in direction of the musical line (if up, towards the right, if down, towards the left) Do this slightly in advance of the fingers, so the center of gravity is with the finger stroke, not behind it
• Once you learn the exercise in the key of C, begin practicing in the other keys, starting with the white keys (D, E, F, G, A, and B) and then going to the black keys (D-flat, E-flat, F-sharp, A-flat, and B-flat). Do not change the fingering. Avoid moving in and out of the black keys, but stay inside the keyboard somewhat so that your thumb and fifth fingers are close to the black keys before they need to play. This is essential for an advanced piano technique
• Experiment with different tempi, dynamics and articulation
• These exercises need not be performed so that each note has the same volume. Rather, try making slight crescendi when the notes go up, and slight diminuendi when the notes go down
• Do not play Hanon more than 15 minutes at a time (less or more depending on your hands) to avoid stiffness and unhealthy tension

Scales

The Virtuoso Pianist (complete) contains a section of all the major and minor scales in all keys as well as the arpeggios. I play scales everyday--they are a good way to warm up and maintain familiarity with all the keys.

When first learning scales it is important to practice hands separately, since the fingerings are not the same for each hand. When first putting hands together, it is helpful to perform the keys of C, D, E, G, and A major in contrary motion, since in this way the thumbs play at the same time. Eventually, both hands should perform in parallel motion, starting with the F and B major scales, since in these scales, the thumbs play together when performing in this way.

The wrist should not bounce up and down, but should remain more or less level with the keys and not rigid. The thumb should alway try to anticipate the shift, so that it arrives in advance of playing it's note. The notes should not blend together. Move the wrist and arm in direction of the musical line (if up, towards the right, if down, towards the left) Do this slightly in advance of the fingers, so the center of gravity is with the finger stroke, not behind it. Do not collaspe the knuckle of the fifth finger, but instead, maintain a good curvature.

Use no pedal.

Here is a possible scale routine. You may design your own depending on your needs and time:

1. Begin with the major scales
2. Perform the E major scale hands together, an octave apart, in eighth notes, for two octaves, up and down,. accenting the beat slightly
3. Perform the E major scale hands together, an octave apart, in eighth note triplets, for three octaves up and down, accenting the beat slightly (the beat should remain steady)
4. Perform the E major scale hands together, an octave apart, in sixteenth notes, for four octaves up and down, accenting the beat slightly (the beat should remain steady)
5. Repeat steps 2-4 with the E minor scale (any form)
6. Continue, moving up a half step and repeat steps 2-5

Jean Baptiste Cramer

Cramer wrote excellent music as well as a set of etudes which appear in a Schirmer edition (J.B. Cramer: Fifty Studies for the Piano, Schirmer Edition (von Bulow))

Of this set of etudes, it's better to find those numbers which exercise both hands equally, rather than just the right (or the left) alone.

It is not necessary to perform these etudes as fast as the metronome markings indicate. You will benefit by performing these anywhere from half tempo to whatever faster tempo is possible without stiffness or physical discomfort.

These are the best of the Cramer studies:

• 1. Rapid scale passage work, different intervalic combinations between the hands
• 2. Sustain an outer voice while playing inner passage work. Good for musical independance and voicing
• 4. Rapid scale passage work in contrary and oblique motion
• 5. Movement of the hands and wrists horizontally
• 8. Alternating thirds
• 12. Trills with the thumb and second finger
• 13. Short arpeggios divided between the hands. Good for rhythmic coordination
• 15 and16. Broken arpeggios in each hand
• 19. Movement of the wrist horizontally, strech of the hands
• 22. Timing and coordination between the hands, since they both play eighth-notes throughout
• 26. Double thirds practice in both hands. Not tiring
• 27. Contrary motion with arpeggios, movement of the thumb
• 32. Rapid passage work including seconds, thirds and fourths
• 33. Fine coordination between the hands alternating chords
• 34. Fine coordination between the hands, alternating single notes
• 36. Double thirds in sequences
• 38. Double thirds and fourths, coordination between the hands
• 40. Excellent for independance of the fingers
• 50. Rapid chordal playing with both hands