RE HANON:
For those who are bored to bits by the Hanon, a good thing to do is to practice them WHILE you do something else.
Some watch television or a movie, listen to news radio or interviews or podcasts, or even read.
And with today’s technology, with phones and tablets and laptops, it’s easier than ever before to do just that.
I often set up my iPad or laptop on top of the piano, turn on one of my favorite shows, a favorite movie, a talk short, or something similar and watch that while running through the Hanon. Of course, some level of focus goes to making sure the hands are together, but the presence of something enjoyable in the background can make the experience much less tedious.
Also, I agree with the sentiment that Hanon was never meant to be musical. It is pure, extrapolated, standardized, isolated technique. Nothing more, nothing less. They are drills. I like to think they are the most effective technical exercises/drills out there (although there are different points of views on them or even the effectiveness of technical exercises), but they certainly aren’t fun.
And I do think that sometimes we have to remember that achieving progress isn’t always fun. Sometimes, it’s work. Blind, boring, tough, hard work. So you have to find ways to make the load lighter.
In the same way that people at the gym or athletes on the field wear headphones with music playing to give them some enjoyment as they lift weights and do cardio and run laps, having something on in the background while you do Hanon can make it much more tolerable.
_
Also, no teacher should be telling you to “just do” the Hanon, because there ARE wrong ways to do it, and, if done wrong, the exercises can actually cause more damage than even difficult repertoire, in large part because they’re constant movement and constant action. So players with tension or who are using too much force or playing with the wrong hand/wrist/arm motion can find themselves in trouble quickly with the Hanon. They also can cause fatigue if played incorrectly that would make it impossible to play nearly anything after them well.
Also, it’s much wiser to break them into groups. The first ten for a week, then the second ten, then the third ten and so on. Or the first twenty, then the second twenty, then the third twenty, and so on.
_
Finally, I’d caution about putting huge amounts of stock in some of these Youtube teachers. Some, make very interesting videos, with very interesting claims, and advocate for having discovered some new amazing method. But, check and see if their own abilities match their claims.
Anyone proclaiming to be expert enough to teach others or create new methodology, should be demonstrably excellent in their own playing. I’ve seen a lot of Youtube teachers presenting themselves as experts, but then their own playing either isn’t excellent or isn’t even at a level that would justify them teaching anyone. So, just use due diligence. The internet is full of self-proclaimed experts.
And sometimes these “YouTube teachers” target beginners, new students, intermediate students by playing into the typical frustration students and learners have - knowing that certain things are challenging or discouraging, and making claims that there’s some easy way to accomplish it, when in actuality, the way is simply the old, tired, hard tried-and-true method.
But anyone declaring expertise should be able to demonstrate what they’re claiming at an expert level and their claims should hold to real biology, physiology, and the laws of physics and how those govern what’s actually possible with a human being and a piano.