哈农指法练习得意外收获/Unexpected Benefits of Hanon Finger Exercises

哈农指法练习是钢琴学习者的必修课程，在亚洲国家尤其流行。但我在Facebook的钢琴社区中看到，一些欧洲的钢琴学习者甚至没有听说过哈农，可见不同教学体系使用的教材差异很大。

在中国，关于是否应练习哈农也存在一定争议。一种观点认为哈农缺乏音乐性，不值得投入太多时间；另一种则认为它有助于提高手指技巧，值得反复练习，甚至有些钢琴家终生坚持弹奏。

我认为这两种看法都有道理，但都忽略了哈农的几个关键益处。我几乎每天都会弹几段哈农。除了大家熟知的好处外，以下几点往往容易被忽视。

哈农能够建立起指间距离与音程关系之间的条件反射，而且适用于任意两个手指之间的各种音程关系。一旦具备了这种能力，识谱和扒谱的速度都会显著提升。甚至在只是在脑中“听到”旋律时，手指就能自动弹奏出来，就像我们说话时不需刻意思考嘴唇的动作一样，弹奏时也能减少对手指位置的注意力。当然，不练哈农也能达到这种境界，但哈农的体系更加规范、系统、全面。

此外，尽管哈农本身缺乏音乐性，但练习方式可以非常灵活，例如控制音量强弱、调整节奏快慢，甚至用双手弹奏不同内容（顺便提一下，这对锻炼大脑非常有益）。

我现在每天练琴时，都会先弹几段哈农，再练习技巧性的练习曲，最后弹奏完整的乐曲。哈农不仅不会让我感到枯燥，反而带来很多乐趣。有时不练别的，仅仅弹一会儿哈农，情绪就自然被调动到一个稳定、专注的状态中。

Unexpected Benefits of Hanon Finger Exercises

Hanon finger exercises are essential for piano learners, especially popular in Asian countries. However, I noticed in some Facebook piano communities that certain European learners have never even heard of Hanon, which shows just how different the teaching materials are across various pedagogical traditions.

In China, there’s some debate around Hanon. One side argues that it lacks musicality and shouldn’t be overemphasized. The other side believes Hanon significantly improves finger technique and should be practiced repeatedly—some pianists even continue practicing Hanon throughout their lives.

I think both viewpoints have merit, but they often overlook a few important benefits. Personally, I play Hanon almost every day. In addition to the well-known advantages, here are some lesser-known benefits:

Hanon helps develop a conditioned reflex between finger spacing and interval recognition—even between any two fingers across various intervals. Once this ability is developed, sight-reading and transcribing music become much faster. Sometimes, even when I just imagine the music, my fingers move automatically, just like how we speak without consciously thinking about lip movements. Of course, this ability can be cultivated without Hanon, but Hanon offers a more systematic and comprehensive approach.

Moreover, while Hanon itself lacks musicality, the way we practice it can be highly flexible—adjusting dynamics, changing tempo, or even playing different patterns with each hand (which, by the way, is great for brain training).

These days, I begin every practice session with a few segments of Hanon, followed by technical etudes and then full musical pieces. Far from being boring, Hanon exercises are actually enjoyable. Sometimes, I’ll play nothing else but Hanon, and it puts my mind into a focused and rhythmic state almost effortlessly.