Show HN: Hanon Pro – piano technique and exercises for the digital age

Hardware / MIDI setup

• Several people want clearer guidance on choosing a MIDI keyboard, ideally a simple “matrix” by price/size/features for beginners and kids.
• Consensus that USB‑MIDI is ubiquitous; the more important choice is key feel: hammer‑action vs light keys, build quality, and noise.
• Specific keyboards are discussed: portable digital pianos with good action and Bluetooth MIDI for app integration; cheaper light‑key boards with key lights for motivating kids; mid‑priced weighted options and MIDI controllers as good compromises.

Learning approaches & companion apps

• Many pair hardware with learning apps: video‑based lesson platforms, gamified apps, and “falling notes” tools.
• Gamified apps are praised for motivation, rhythm training, and building muscle memory, but criticized for weak notation and theory skills; some teachers report needing to “undo” years of app‑based habits.
• Suggestions: use apps to spark passion, but deliberately practice reading sheet music and theory.

Hanon method and technique

• Hanon exercises are described as a classic but controversial technique resource.
• Critics argue the original instructions (high finger lifting) promote tension and bad technique; some use the exercises only as note patterns, with modern technique (weight transfer, relaxed hands).
• Others defend Hanon as effective for finger strength and “grind,” but there’s disagreement on how many great pianists actually relied on it.
• Alternatives mentioned: scales/arpeggios, etudes, other technique books, and ergonomics‑focused methods.

Feedback on Hanon Pro itself

• Positive: concept is “fascinating,” MIDI‑based feedback and wrong‑note highlighting are appreciated; some users intend to adopt it as a regular practice tool and find pricing reasonable for curated scores.
• Negative/requests:
  • Non‑MIDI users find it underwhelming and wish for microphone input.
  • Desire to import existing sheet music (e.g., children’s songs in other languages) and/or an open score format.
  • Strong demand for sectional practice: start from any bar, loop and evaluate small segments, slower tempo.
  • Requests for MIDI‑based audio playback so practice with headphones stays quiet.
• App reportedly crashed with certain Bluetooth MIDI adapters; the developer says a fix is rolling out and acknowledges feature requests (including adding more composers).

Platform & ecosystem issues

• Some are frustrated the app requires iOS 17+, especially for otherwise‑usable older iPads; others note this stems from reliance on newer SwiftUI/SwiftData APIs.
• Brief debate about App Store price visibility; commenters generally agree pricing info is still shown, though UX can be confusing.
• Appreciation for desktop Mac availability, with hopes for a more native Mac version and eventually other platforms; Vision Pro support is requested.

Role of teachers vs self‑guided learning

• Parents wonder if this or similar apps can substitute for early lessons for children.
• Several argue early in‑person instruction is important to prevent bad technique, with apps best used as supplements.
• Others stress that passion and fun should come first, especially for kids; they value apps that feel like games and accept some imperfect technique initially.
• Teachers are framed less as information sources and more as motivators, curators of repertoire, and correctors of subtle technical issues.

Progress tracking and “intelligent” features

• Users value progress tracking and suggest richer analytics: automatic detection of practiced scales/chords, identifying gaps, progress over time, and smarter next‑piece recommendations.
• There’s interest in more advanced features: automatic score segmentation, theory annotations linked to what’s being played, and even conversational feedback agents that “see” MIDI data.
• One subthread discusses algorithms for following a player through a piece (with mistakes and repeats), suggesting MIDI plus probabilistic models (e.g., HMM‑like approaches) could make this feasible, though the math is nontrivial.

Broader reflections

• Some see an unrealistic belief that apps can remove the “boring and hard” parts of piano; they argue that sight‑reading and muscle memory still require sustained grind.
• Others report excellent results from modern, song‑first, gamified tools that focus on contemporary music rather than classical notation, saying this finally made learning click for them.