Come now t_i_n, you know it means one and a half hands each.

painful!! ow!

There's the first bit (or is it the second bit?) of Alkan-Paganini, of course, but you knew that already!

I don't have much time to think about what to write, but I want to reply quickly (everything is quickly with me as a result of a character I suppose). I never played Hanon myself. I saw it because some students bring it, but never had any use of it. I suppose if one has a particular problem may be there is some exercise there that could help, but I would not play it. I hate boring things.
I saw exercises by Margarite Long once, but I don't remember them. I tried to make some sense of them, but I think I could not. May be I was too young. I don't know.
I know Brahms had some exercises. People have to make their own exercises like many pianists did. If they know what it is they want they can make their own exercises.

If people don't object I may write something else after I think about what has beeing said.

I like what you all said anyway. I am with you on that point.

1. Going back to Hannon I can tell that back in Moscow when I was studying my teacher thought that this is worthless thing and absolete. Here I was surprized that some students from other teachers came for a lesson with Hannon as a first investment in music books. I could not believe it.

2. I took a closer look at a book of Studies from Canadian Royal Academy. I really like it, though some pieces did not speak to me. In my time when I was a child Mendelssohn's music was considered too sentimental and insignificant to play (by my teacher and many others). So I never played it. When I came to the West I discovered that he is played a lot (comparatively speaking). So I discovered many of his Songs without words (I knew one or two before).
Although I think compared to Chopin and others it is not as interesting I sort of like the idea pass them by as studies. They can be pleasant some times. There are a few of Mendelssohn pieces in the book of grade 9 and 10 studies.
Also I liked a few Handel pieces there. One is called Lesson HWV 496.

I was not fond of Edward MacDowell Dance ot the Gnomes, but may be it is not too bad.
Bartok Bagatelly op.6 no. 2 is very good. I remember  teaching it.
What is interesting that there is Scriabin Prelude for the Left Hand op. 9 no. 1. It is only two pages long and I find it difficult, but interesting.
Also there is a prelude for the Left Hand by Saint-Saens. It is interesting too (for comparison too).

There are some Chopin Studies in the book, of course.

ABSOLUTELY!!!

    

I agree with everybody and particularly with Chafing Dish. Some of us are not so smart as to make exercises for our selves. Especially beginners.
I kind of liked the idea of using musical pieces for exercise. The Canadian book with Studies is not the book os studies like Czerny op 740 or other opuses are. There are good Bartok and other composers pieces that is good for anybody to know.
I played studies when I was a student. We had to have two scales and  Studies exams (lesser exams, just one teacher would be invited for a pass) a year. They were pass no pass exams. The teacher would give student two studies to play depending what had to be improved at the moment.
My teacher did not like Czerny very much, though she used it for position playing (small closed positions). She liked Moskovsky, Clementi. She would mix them up for me while I was a child. I never did them with metronome for some reason (may be I did not have one).
I was not exeptionally bright child, just average one. I developed relatively good vilocity, though I would think fingers was my strongest point. The studies were good for playing Mozart repertoire.
Studies for open positions accross the piano were also played, but by this time not very vigurously. There are Chopin studies and others to play for that. There was a good dose of Liszt studies for those who could handle it.

I like the was the do it in Associated board. They mask the studies with a name. For example, they can call a piece a Bumble bee. The piece is  the second grade book and it is very nice. I have one student in this grade and he likes it very much. Also there are metronome indications of the tempo which is very helpful because one has to bring the tempo up to pass the exam.

That particular Bumble Bee (don't remember composer) is  in one position and even repetitions with only two fingers. It is very good because on this level they don't have independent fingers.


Also what I find good in other schools (not Associated board) is the fact that they make their students to play more pieces for the next level (not only three for the exam) by saying that they don't know whidh one of say five or six pieces is going to be asked for an exam. But this is much more difficult and would push many people away.

Royal Irish Academy here caters for less aspiring. It is too difficult to fail it. The scales are only one octave for too long. It has to be two octaves to go up and down. Also one selects three pieces from a very small book and division to sections A, B, C are not always there. So one can escape playing some periods of music.
There should be a choice of a few pieces for each musical period for the student to chose from. And I think they have to play most of the pieces in the book.
Our situation here is not good. Students take 30 min lesson a week privately. There are a lot of illnesses and holidays, breaks between quarters etc. If a student doesn't practice himself or don't have help at home, he has to come twice a week for a while (until he makes some progress). Piano teacher has to find time for singing or doing theory in the same 30 minutes because there is no music school. There are some private courses in Solfe, whick are expensive and many people refuse to take. I have some students that stay beginners for 3 to 5 years. Some times I feel that I am fighting a wrong battle. On top of everything else there is no help or support of a lonely teacher. And all of that for very small money and big inconvenience for one self because students come to the house.

Now I poured my heart out here with my complaints. That message is too long and a candidate for many mistakes. The fact that the topic is close to my heart make it even more so.

Thank you Daniel for the site and also for your good post. I agree with many things you said. If one is bored with an exercise it should not be done, but if a person likes it for some reason, there is no harm to develop velocity in fingers and losen up.
Chafing Dish, I lived in South Ca near Los -Angeles for about 11 years. I tought there (if this is what it is called). It was really bad, but I tried my best and some students are still playing a little. I know the sad state of affairs there.
There are people there who love classical music. I met lovely people in New York and Boston who know and support classical music.
I love your posts and I am glad you are on this message board.