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Hello all, I'm new to this site so forgive me if I err. I've been "playing" (which I put in quotes because only recently have I begun seriously practicing rather than playing some fancy tunes I know by heart) piano for about 4 years now. Unfortunately, these years of experience have yet to give me ground in proper technique, as I develop wrist pain whenever try to play Hanon, wherein the pain is generally most prominent; I haven't progressed through the first exercise because of it :p ! Now, as I've been told by my teachers (I've had two so far), this problem generally roots in stiffness of the shoulders. While this may very well be the case, I can't help but think it isn't because my shoulders are relaxed as can be. Another point I'd like to make is that before posting this I read into other topics regarding the same problem and the responses pointed out that it may be Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. I'm quite sure that this isn't the case because I don't experience pain unless I play piano for at least a few minutes (again, especially with that darn first Hanon exercise). In other words, I don't experience any pain in my wrists in my other day-to-day activities. One more thing--Sorry for this being so long--as the winter rolls along my fingers are reluctant to move in the cold. Any recommendations for warming them up or energizing them to cancel out the stiffness caused by winter?

In cold environments I shine a light (or two) on the keyboard. As for your other problems I'll PM a description of my playing/teaching technique. And welcome to PW! Let's hope you get well soon.

anonymousanony,

My teacher did advise me to refrain from raising my fingers too high, as this will cause tension and pain.

The idea of practising Hannon is to develop strength and independence of the fingers.

Right, and yet the book recommends raising the fingers high. I can see how this could be my issue.

As may be noted that this is a common phrase for me, I'm unsure as to whether or not this is where the problem lies. One thing I should have brought up earlier is that I am easily discouraged when it comes to technique. For example, if within a few minutes of practicing Hanon the pain comes up, I get frustrated and melancholy and stop playing. While this is good insofar as not doing any permanent damage to my hands, clearly my eagerness for this to come as an easy subject does more harm than good. I am motivated to practice, I am well trained in theory, but when it comes to physical practice, there is such a degree of kinesthesia required that in my despair I often wonder if it is meant for me. Sorry if I sound as though "Woe is me", I know just as well that anyone can master the piano given the right amount of practice and the right teacher.

If you must do Hanon do not raise your fingers at all. You'll still get the benefit.

well I suppose it isn't a requirement by any means. It's just that what the book promises from practicing sounds so rewarding to me and my playing.

I resumed piano lessons at the age of 33 after a break of some 15 years. My new teacher didn't like my tone ("too thin, too glassy") and thought I wasn't really "getting deep into the keys." So we started to work on basic technique with Hanon and Czerny. At first I had to play the Hanon exercises VERY SLOWWWWWWWLY, keeping all of the fingers high above the keys except for the one that was playing a note. I was instructed to play as loud as possible, bringing each finger down with a decisive snap. After we used this approach for several weeks I had to play them in the more conventional manner.

Has anyone else ever used this method? I think it helped me develop stronger, more independent fingers.

And your wrists never pained as I have described?

Hey anon .... FWIW ... Glenn Gould would submerge his hands in warm water before playing.

Yes, it was popular in the Stuttgart school in the late 19th century. They spent hours a day doing it. It ruined many a young persons chances through injury. See if you can find Amy Fay's book - she was there.

I checked it out. Search here for Amy Fay: http://www.archive.org

Unfortunately, these years of experience have yet to give me ground in proper technique, as I develop wrist pain whenever try to play Hanon, wherein the pain is generally most prominent

I've been practicing for 3-4 years now, although only taking formal lessons and 'getting serious' for maybe 6 months. While the first Hannon exercise didn't give me any trouble, I have developed pain in the wrists and/or the back of my hands within the first minute doing some of them. I've had similar thoughts, that maybe I was prone to carpal tunnel and it just wasn't going to work. What I found, though, after paying careful attention while I did the painful exercises is that I tended to drop my forearms and bend my wrists backwards or at other odd angles. The more difficult the exercise, the more I tended to use improper wrist position while concentrating on hitting the right keys. Since then I've been working on dividing my attention between maintaining correct forearm/wrist position and finger curl and still trying to hit the right keys in the right order, playing legato if possible for most exercises. It makes it harder and sometimes it feels like I'm taking steps backwards, but it has reduced the pain considerably. Sometimes the difference in position is slight and not something a teacher would be able to notice (like it was when I first started lessons). It has to be felt. While I find it frustrating to have to concentrate on something so basic at this point, it is very important to get that right. I don't know if that is what is happening for you, but it is something you can try adjust.

So don't play Hanon.

If you post a video of yourself playing, it'd be easier to give advice. Otherwise, try to find a teacher who actually knows something about playing comfortably. The Taubman method is great for this. Helped me relieve pain and allowed me to make leaps in progress. http://www.taubman-institute.com/html/other_programs.html Contact info for finding a Taubman teacher in your area is at the bottom.

OlTinEar, that sounds exactly like my own story. And I'm still quite young so that ambition to get through things with quick speed is ever nagging at my mind and tolls my patience. I guess I'll post a video, practice at a slower pace, and just feel what's going on in my body as I play.

Hanon, and scales will help developing a perfect legato. And many other good things, as you can play them in many ways - staccato, with accents, pp or FF. But you should do the exerceises properly, listening to you body (fingers) and you must not hurt yourself.

When doing Hanon in slow and medium tempo you can exaggerate the finger liftening, just for exercise. If you have sloppy fingers and cannot manage to lift them to release the key exactly, your playing will get muddy.

The playing 'deep' or 'high' will have no influence on the sound. 'Thin' and 'glassy' was just the imagination of the teacher. Probably you played too pianissimo or there were breaks in your legato or the notes were not of equal volume.