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by localfirst 688 days ago
The purpose of Hanon is to build muscles into typically weaker fingers like the fourth and fifth. The exaggerated movements are specifically designed to build memory muscle and power.

Hanon is battle tested and all the great virtuoso have gone through it whether they like it or not.

The problem with modern apps and paid learning online is the idea that the boring and hard parts can be skipped with some clever marketing.

If this was true then we would be churning out new pianists at faster rate but its falling but the age is dropping
1 comments
oriolid 688 days ago
> and all the great virtuoso have gone through it whether they like it or not.

It would be interesting to see some citations about this.

> If this was true then we would be churning out new pianists at faster rate but its falling but the age is dropping

I suspect that these days people are smart enough to ask why should new pianists be churned out and is there something more valuable these people could do with their time.

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spoonfeeder006 687 days ago
> people are smart enough to ask why should new pianists be churned out and is there something more valuable these people could do with their time.

Being a classical pianist would have been a dream career for me if I had started early enough

Some of the deepest fulfillment I have gotten was teaching myself how to play Bach

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oriolid 686 days ago
Yes. The problem is that the field is insanely competitive, as in there are so many beginner pianists and so few paying gigs. Yes, there are many people who have made it as concert pianists, but concerning childhood dream careers, it is far easier to become an astronaut or formula 1 driver instead. Even the fallback jobs playing bars or accompanying when full orchestra is not available are going away.
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spoonfeeder006 685 days ago
Perhaps there's too much of an obsession on stardom and fame rather than talent? And hence the number of "openings" for concert pianists is reduced, while the demand on the stars is increased

And thus those who are equally talented simply didn't get their chance to shine as well as learn and grow from opportunities

I believe if Martha Argerich hadn't been absent from a concert, Yuja Wang (now famous) who replaced her that time wouldn't have had her big break

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