Hutcheson Ernest. The Elements of Piano Technique

Baltimore: G. Fred Kranz Music, 1907. — 36 p.Many of the exercises contained in this little work are purely preparatory in nature Others are for occasional or special use. Only about twenty are permanently essential. All are necessary at some stages of study or to some pupils, but the teacher should not hesitate to omit as many as can be spared in each individual case.
Preparatory exercises, for instance, such as Exs. 1,2, 11, 1ft, 20 - 26, etc., may be discarded (except to correct relapse) when once they have thoroughly served their purpose.It has been my aim to reduce the exercises to the greatest possible simplicity and to give the most exact directions for practicing them properly. The form of an exercise, however, may often be modified with advantage to suit peculiar needs.'Advanced'' technique is altogether excluded, because I disbelieve in the necessity or expediency of spending time on it. To the pupil who has really mastered the elements of technique, the studies of Cierny and other composers supply all that remains lacking in mechanical equipment.The "Notes to the Teacher" perhaps require some apology. I have given them for the sake of the many teachers who, not claiming to be accomplished performers, gladly recognize the value of occasional hints from a practical pianist. These notes, it is hoped, will also be of benefit to advanced students.