Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced pianist, having good technique is crucial. Pianists with poor technique struggle with all sorts of problems while playing, so they often turn to technique books to help them with these problems. this can include hand and arm fatigue, poor control in musical passages, and sound production.
Good piano technique is something that should be taught early on and perfected over time. learn how my jumpstart piano course can help you with technique. Although technique books are not the only way to achieve good playing habits, they are still very important. technique books offer a roadmap to consistent playing when combined with good teaching and study.
You are reading: Best piano technique books
Too often, pianists use technique books that are not right for them. Having a lot of experience with technique books, I thought it would be a good idea to compile a list of the best ones to use. Below are some of the best piano technique books to help you improve your playing.
1. hanon: the virtuoso pianist
hanon is one of the best-known piano technique books in the world, and for good reason. This book contains almost all the technical difficulties that a pianist will face, from beginners to advanced repertoires. It’s been around since 1873, so naturally the delivery of the study material is a bit dry.
The book begins with simple five-finger patterns, but over time those patterns are varied with a mix of interval patterns. this is really good to help the pianist develop independence in the fingers.
As the book progresses, Hanon begins to introduce all the musical scales. It also includes playing exercises on double octaves, chord progressions, and much more.
In reality, most pianists will not learn all of the material in this book. originally there were 60 exercises aimed at modeling a virtuoso piano technique. there are now 240 different exercises to suit each key, so it’s pretty dense.
There’s just too much to cover. however, if there is a particular skill that you have trouble with as a player, this book is really good. you can isolate just the exercises you need and then work on them in addition to your repertoire. Ideally, you don’t want to play more than a few of these exercises per day, although you could play the entire book in one go.
2. czerny speed school
The School of Speed is one of my favorite technique books, and intermediate to advanced pianists will love it. its main goal is to develop fast game habits through cleverly composed pieces. it’s all based on repetitive scales and patterns that sound very musical and almost like complete pieces on their own.
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With this in mind, some of the tempos in this book are incredibly fast and require very advanced technique to achieve. this is a book that should be worked on slowly so that the pianist does not play sloppily for the sake of speed.
compared to hanon, this book is a bit less comprehensive in terms of covering all the technical difficulties, but it still covers a lot. it’s more pleasing to the ear compared to hanon and the pieces are just more musical.
I suggest using some of the exercises from earlier in the book for daily warm-ups and then combining them with some of the five-finger pattern exercises in hanon. this book is also a good complement (or replacement) for the scales.
3. a dozen a day
If you’re just starting out on the piano, definitely look at a dozen a day. This is an old piano method book with stick figure illustrations that make it stand out. it has been around since the 1950s and is still widely used today in many teaching studios.
Each of the exercises is very short, which helps new pianists feel accomplished. the numbers are drawn to represent the day’s workout on the keyboard.
Each of the exercises is designed to be short enough to complete before the actual practice session begins. the exercises are good for developing basic note reading, solid hand positioning, and working on dynamics. because the passages are short, it makes it easy to self-assess your playing on a smaller scale.
Several volumes of this technique book are available, but I suggest checking out the full anthology here.
4. mozkowski studies op. 72
I highly recommend Mozkowski’s etudes for their musicality. these pieces are really wonderful and are technically much less demanding than chopin or some of czerny’s exercises. still not something I would recommend for a complete beginner as these pieces are quite advanced.
there are 15 etudes in op. 72, and each has its own unique characteristics. Although these studies focus on the fingers and hands, there is the same demand for dynamics and musical expression. the melody lines are very lyrical, and even though it’s an etude, it doesn’t really feel that way when played.
5. Bach Well-Tempered Clavier
bach wrote these pieces in the early 18th century to help develop technique and provide a balanced temperament. there are actually two parts to the books, leaving a total of 48 short preludes and fugues. while there are some easy preludes and fugues in this ensemble, overall the difficulty of the well-tempered harpsichord puts pianists to shame.
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These exercises are definitely not for beginners, but here are some beautiful selections. I especially love the C major, both the preludes and fugues in G minor, as well as the D major from the first book.
Ideally, you should start with some of Bach’s two-part and three-part inventions. These pieces are shorter but offer a good insight into what Bach is doing musically. starting with the first ones can make learning the sets of preludes and fugues much easier.
6. studies of chopin op. 10 & op. 25
It is difficult to talk about piano technique and not include Chopin’s studies. chopin etudes don’t sound or feel like exercises because of how musical they are. From the ocean study sweep movement to the black key study, these are just fun pieces to play.
published these studies in 1830 and they are found in various games. I find that op. 10 offers easier selections than op. 25, though they both have their demanding jobs.
Some of the etudes, such as C sharp minor and E major, are slow and may be better choices for beginners just getting started with their music. In general, I find these studies to be very well structured and easy to understand. some of the more complex studies should be reserved for when the pianist has developed into his playing.
Several editions of these studies are available, but I definitely recommend the Alfred Cortot which you can find here. This edition is especially helpful because it provides detailed practice tips, finger tips, technique development tips, and some ideas on how the pieces should be played.
7. czerny art of finger dexterity
one of the most complex books on piano technique is czerny’s art of finger dexterity. It is a fairly thick book with 180 pages of exercises aimed at developing good manual technique. The pieces in this technique book are much longer than what you’ll find in hanon and certainly speed school books.
This is definitely a book for advanced pianists, so the expectation is that you already have good technical ability before trying this book.
the way the book is structured is like hanon in that it gets harder and harder. it starts out in C major, but eventually travels through all the key signatures. the studies in this book are comparable to those of chopin. they are wonderful pieces that don’t look like exercises.
get a copy of czerny here.
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