Do you guys who play the piano think practicing Hanon helps your technique further or is it just a waste of time if you already practice scales?
The reason I ask is: a former teacher of mine once made me run up and down the piano with those exercises until it drives me nuts... and my fingers got much, much, faster. My current teacher however strongly opposes it (she says that playing Bach inventions is much better and more effective and Hanon is a waste of time, nothing more) So what's your take on this? Personally I still use them for times when I want to warm my hands up...

If you feel they're useful to you at all go right ahead. It sounds like they're working for you so why stop?

I had two main piano teachers. One fiercly advocated warming up for 15 minutes or so with Hanon (she was Russian, naturally), and the other was more of a Bach type who discouraged that heavy technique and dexterity stuff.
Both styles have their advantages, so take what you can use from each. Going black and white is kind of stupid. What was Bruce Lee's philosphy... be detached of style, take in what is useful and discard what's not? True.

I like having power and complete control over my piano - doing Hanon in my early years worked for me. Bach was a little different - I got delicate fine tuning from that (or was it Haydn?... bah). Btw, scales and Hanon are completely different. Scales are familiarizing yourself with keys; Hanon is purely technique and dexterity. (I have an idea... try playing Hanon in every key if you want a challenge lololol)

A year or so after switching teachers, I noticed that my Russian teacher's students had power and a sense of excitement but their notes were noticibly murky and unclear, while the other teacher's students were exactly the opposite - crisp clear notes but lacking power and any sense of excitement. Fascinating isn't it?

I hated doing Hanon. My teacher made me do so many...

I'm sure it's useful and everything, just a pain to do.

Oh, I would really reccomend Hannon. I'm still perfecting Book I as of now, but I do play some exercises from Book III. I do about 45 mins. (without stopping) of Book I (repeat each exercise 7-8 times) and then practice the few out of Book III.

And yes, it does help you out in the long run; I've heard of many pianists that have studied Hannon's exercises. ^_^

i absolutely hate hanon...if its speed you're worried about, that's nothing a little practice won't fix

although i have to admit...if your aim is trying to bring both hands to equal strenghth (ex. if your right hand is dominant, you want to bring your left hand up to par) then hanon is probably right for you...

but i still hate it

lol i remember when i played hanon...i guess it was good beginning practice to get finger strength and dexterity, but at some point it doesn't really do as much...it's like a logistic curve(wow wtf i sound like a nerd XD) basically you can get some pretty big improvements initially but after some time there's a limit to how good hanon can get you...at that point it's more useful to warm up your fingers

If you want to be the best pianist you can be, do everything. Hanon, scales, etc.

I had to stop playing piano for a while because I had to go to university, but during my summer break I did nothing but Hanon for a week just to get my fingers back in shape. Only then could I attempt practicing my pieces again in order to do the exam.

Hanon is good and bad. It keeps and makes your hands very strong and lithe, but it doesn't preach emotion [though some teachers will tell you to do them in diffrent beats and keep it diffrent every time you play it].

Al has said it though. Do everything if you want to be truly great.

Yes, a good example of how good you can get by doing Hannon (and other exercises of course) is Valentina Lisitsa. It's said she has one of the best techniques out there, and owes a lot to Hannon exercises, and scales.

And of course, Liszt. 4 Hours+ of scales and his own etudes/exercises. ^_^

http://youtube.com/watch?v=DAb2nI2hVqk

though, I don't believe you have to use Hanon to play like her. Great talent is already needed before you can become a great pianist. Though some people will argue saying hard work will lead you to greatness in anything, I think it takes a special person also.

Offtopic- Great performance, and <3 the camera angles.