Piano Practice Tips

[Pianist Da Sootopolis]

From Wikipedia:
"The exercises are intended to address common problems which could hamper the performance abilities of a student. These include "crossing of the thumb", strengthening of the fourth and fifth fingers, and quadruple- and triple-trills. The exercises are meant to be individually mastered and then played consecutively in the sections they are placed in. Apart from increasing technical abilities of the student, when played in groups at higher speeds, the exercises will also help to increase endurance. The exercises are divided in three parts:
1) Exercises 1 - 20: Labeled "preparatory exercises", these are also the most famous exercises, and are used to develop finger strength and independence. Each exercise contains a sequence of 8 semiquavers, beginning on C, which is then repeated starting on D, and so on across two octaves. The exercise is then repeated in reverse down two octaves to the starting C. The exercises are intended to be practiced in groups of three, except for the first two which are practiced together.

2) Exercises 21 - 43: Labeled "further exercises for the development of a virtuoso technique." This more difficult section is meant to be played after the pianist has fully mastered Part 1. Part 2 includes scales and arpeggios.

3) Exercises 44 - 60: Labeled "virtuoso exercises for mastering the greatest technical difficulties." Since this section is considerably more difficult, Hanon recommends the mastery of both previous parts before proceeding to this one. This part includes repeated notes, repeated double notes, scales in thirds and octaves, tremolos, and more.
_{source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Virtuoso_Pianist_in_60_Exercises}

[JDMEK5]

Well there you go. Guess I never got past exercise 20. Anyways, it seems like the regular hanon should be more than enough based on this.

[braix]

Yeah I got to like 25 and gave up

[JDMEK5]

"Don't push, don't shove! Step right up and try the Hanon challenge! How far can you go?"

[daj]

Ooh, I like this topic.

I read through your situation and the suggestions! Being rusty and crappy after coming back to an instrument is one of the worst feelings ever. You can't stand the way you sound and the notes don't read themselves. That's the way I experienced it, at least! Had decided to kick back the performance gear after three months of military life a few months back, and the piano sounded very sad on the first few sessions. Things got better though!

Um, before I suggest anything though, it should be put out there that the way people learn stuff can be very, very different - it doesn't just apply to picking up an instrument, but any discipline out there...so there's no one-size-fits-all method to get your technique back. What you definitely do want to do, however, is achieve your technique back without cutting corners, so you don't end up with lousy habits that make performing a pain in the future.

That being said, while learning virtuoso exercises is the "theoretically correct" way of boosting your technique back, I think it stinks. In the sense that you might - if you're a normal human being who gets bored by things - lose your focus and go into auto-pilot more quickly than ever. Once you lose your focus, all your practice is for nought...that's for sure. So I'd definitely suggest something based on the idea that Braixen put forth:

What I do is play sheets that use new techniques, and keep playing those until I can do them.

...yup, more or less. The key, however, is learning it slow. When you hit an obstacle, stop. Learn two lines at a time (or two bars at a time if the notes really elude you), and stop to think why you messed up when you mess up. Usually it's poor fingering or unfirmness in your fingers. Ensure you read all the notes - don't guess anything even if it sounds right. And once you feel tired, stop for some candy/coffee/alcohol. The objective is to achieve almost 100% accuracy in the notes and rhythm, and when you're done with that go for the expressions. It's a tough process, but once you hear what you've played at the end of it all and you see how much you've improved, the feeling is awesome.

In essence, as long as the practice is deliberate - i.e. you're constantly reflecting and trying to correct yourself - it'll be fine.

All the best, man!