Many piano teachers assigned Hanon exercises to their students. The Virtuoso Pianist in 60 Exercises, is a collection of 60 exercises that include scales, arpeggios, hand coordination, etc that are meant to train the piano players in tempo/speed, precision, agility, and strength of all of the fingers and flexibility in the wrists.

One way you can try is put a coin on the back of the hands while playing hanon and see if the coin comes off. Many players can play hanon well using the aids of wrist – this will not build the strength of fingers. I also suggest to start the exercises slowly to build stronger fingers. Once you can play the exercises in a slower tempo, increase the speed. Relax the wrists and shoulder to gain maximum benefits.

According to the wikipedia, these exericses help overcome 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.

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