Hannon Virtuoso Pianist - Book 1, Part 1, Exercise 1
*This post contains affiliate links.
Almost all of my students are using the Hannon Virtuoso Pianist exercises right now and I LOVE them!!! Here is a link to my YouTube video of the first exercise. I’ve also provided a link to where you can purchase the book.
look inside
|
Scales and Finger Exercises Schirmer Library of Classic Volume 2107. Composed by Various. Piano Collection. Classical. Softcover. 64 pages. G. Schirmer #LB2107. Published by G. Schirmer (HL.50499878). |
These piano exercises are described as “Preparatory Exercises for the Acquirement of Agility, Independence, Strength and Perfect Evenness in the Fingers.” As new pianists, our 4th and 5th fingers (ring finger and pinky) aren’t as strong as out 1st, 2nd, and 3rd fingers. These exercises will build strength in the 4th and 5th finger and give you so much more freedom!
|
look inside
|
Scales and Finger Exercises Schirmer Library of Classic Volume 2107. Composed by Various. Piano Collection. Classical. Softcover. 64 pages. G. Schirmer #LB2107. Published by G. Schirmer (HL.50499878). |
What I really love about these exercises is that most students, regardless of how well they sight read, can learn them by feel. I’ve seen them instill confidence in many students who otherwise feel frustrated with their reading skills. Once they learn the exercise by feel, they look at the page and learn the notes on the staff in a sort of “after the fact” way.
I also love using these exercises to practice playing with the metronome. Setting the metronome at 60 BPM, each click will contain 4 of the 16th notes you see on the page. (See the video for clarification) It’s not too fast and you’re playing by feel so you don’t have the “what note comes next” anxiety slowing you down.
I really can’t say enough about this book! The exercises featured here are on page 20 but there are several other sections that are also really fun and useful. I’ll post more about them soon but check these ones out in the meantime!