BachScholar's Piano Technique Series CORY HALL
BETTER THAN HANON the ulmate broken chord and inversion study for the advanced pianist
An Introducon from the Composer/Editor At this wring, I have been teaching piano for 30 years and have always placed a high emphasis on technical exercises so that students aain their highest possible potenal. I pracce what I preach, since my own pracce oen consists of technical studies, mostly tradional exercises such as scales, chords, broken chords, and arpeggios. I am a firm believer that broken chords and inversions (the crux of Beer than Hanon), even more so than scales and arpeggios, should be the main foundaon of the pianist's technique. The reason for this is that b roken chords and inversions trains the pianist to constantly span an octave posion thereby stretching out the hand. Contrast this with arpeggios, which serve the purpose of training the thumb and fingers to pass over or under. Although this finger-crossing technique gained by praccing arpeggios is important and should undoubtedly be learned, it is the octave spanning of full chords and their inversions that truly builds one's technique fully. Furthermore, chords and inversions, rather than arpeggios and even scales, dominate the piano literature. Peruse the piano literature and one will find that chords, broken chords, and their inversions appear much more frequently than four-octave scales and arpeggios running up and down the keyboard. Thus, it makes sense that pianists emphasize chords and inversions in their technical studies. If one can play finger-crossing arpeggios well, this does not necessarily mean one can play broken chords and inversions well. Conversely, if one can play octave-spanning chords, broken chords and their inversions well, then one usually has no problem with arpeggios. I can aest that this fact from my many years of teaching. Too many teachers emphasize two, three, and four octave arpeggio pracce for their students yet neglect the more beneficial skill of octavespanning chords, broken, chords, and inversions. I have developed Beer than Hanon over many years of teaching and experimentaon and can aest that it is quite possibly one of the best single studies for pianists. It emphasizes all five fingers like the famous studies of Charles-Louis Hanon (1819-1900); however, the five fingers in each hand are stretched out and strengthened in a way that the Hanon studies never achieve. This is because it covers the four primary chords — major, minor, dominant seventh, diminished seventh — while at the same me travels through all twelve keys in all possible inversions. Moreover, Beer than Hanon also offers pianists a rare but useful opportunity of p raccing quintuplets in 5/4 me in addion to quadruplets (sixteenth notes) in common me, thus inslling a strong rhythmic foundaon. Pracce Tips
1. Pracce Beer than Hanon on a regular basis, such as every day or every other day. 2. Do not strive for speed but rather strive for clarity, precision, and evenness. Pracce with high fingers, liing them more than is necessary. That is, exaggerate your moons in order to "feel" each finger working. Use some arm rotaon moon but keep it to a minimum. 3. Do not expect to play the enre study without first working your way up. That is, pracce only a few keys at a me and then gradually build up the skill and endurance to play the enre eight pages. 4. Do not expect to be able to play this study well in its enrety if you are not at least at a solid "level 6" or above. Have paence with it and pracce it oen and thoughully. Sincerely, Cory Hall (D.M.A.), March 2014
Better than Hanon Cory Hall
Optional: Repeat each two-bar group with quarter-note blocked chords. Not fast
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sempre legato
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