Hanon exercise 1 — fingering and practice
- Part I
- 2/4
- 60–108 BPM
About this exercise
Hanon exercise 1 is in Part I of The Virtuoso Pianist, in 2/4. The right hand starts on C3; in 14 bars the figure climbs a step at a time up to G5, and 15 bars bring it back down. The left hand plays the same notes an octave lower. The way down is the climbing figure turned upside down.
Right-hand fingering in the first bar: 1 2 3 4 5 – – –. Left hand: 5 4 3 2 1 – – –. Keep the same fingers in every bar of the climb; the way down has its own fingering, written on its first bar.
Hanon groups exercises 1, 2: once each one is secure, play them one after another without stopping.
Fingering, first bar
| Note | C3 | E3 | F3 | G3 | A3 | G3 | F3 | E3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Right hand | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | – | – | – |
| Left hand | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – |
What it trains
Every finger plays once on the way up the bar (1-2-3-4-5 in the right hand), so it is the simplest check of evenness. The stretch is the third between two neighbouring fingers: 1 and 2 on C–E in the right hand going up, 5 and 4 in the left hand going up and in the right hand coming down.
Common mistakes
- Fingers 4 and 5 sound weaker than 1, 2 and 3, so the top of every bar fades.
- The wrist turns to reach the third between 5 and 4 instead of the fingers opening.
Tempo plan
Hanon asks for the metronome at 60 to begin with, raised gradually to 108. The player starts at 60; set the speed to 180% to play at 108.
A tempo ladder for this exercise: 60 → 72 → 84 → 96 → 108 BPM, moving up a step only after two clean runs. Play the first bar alone until all eight notes are the same volume, then let the figure climb.
Questions and answers
What does Hanon exercise 1 train?
It trains all five fingers in turn, with a third between fingers 5 and 4.
What is the fingering for Hanon exercise 1?
In the first bar the right hand plays 1 2 3 4 5 – – – and the left hand 5 4 3 2 1 – – –. The same fingers repeat in every bar of the climb.