Composers › Charles-Louis Hanon
Charles-Louis Hanon
The author of the most used technical exercises in the world: for 150 years pianists have warmed up their fingers with “the Hanon”.
Life
He was born in Renescure, in northern France. He worked as an organist and piano teacher in Boulogne-sur-Mer, on the Channel coast.
In 1873 he published “The Virtuoso Pianist in 60 Exercises”, a method meant to make the fingers strong, agile and independent with a few minutes of practice a day.
The book was a huge success: it has been translated and reprinted in many languages and is still on the music stand of students of every level.
Portrait: unknown author, public domain, from Wikimedia Commons.
Curiosities
- The exercises are built on a small pattern that goes up and down the keyboard, the same for every finger.
- Hanon advised playing them every day, slowly at first and then faster and faster.
- Some teachers love it and some find it boring: used wisely it is an excellent warm-up.
At the piano
- Start slowly, with the metronome, and raise the speed only when all the notes are even.
- Keep wrist and arm relaxed: if you feel tension, stop.
- A few minutes every day are worth more than an hour once a week.
Pieces to learn 1 piece
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