Hanon exercise 12 — fingering and practice
- Part I
- 2/4
- 60–108 BPM
About this exercise
Hanon exercise 12 is in Part I of The Virtuoso Pianist, in 2/4. The right hand starts on G3; in 13 bars the figure climbs a step at a time up to G5, and 14 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: 5 1 3 2 1 – – –. Left hand: 1 5 3 4 5 – – –. 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 12, 13, 14: once each one is secure, play them one after another without stopping.
Fingering, first bar
| Note | B3 | D3 | F3 | E3 | D3 | E3 | F3 | D3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Right hand | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – |
| Left hand | 1 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | – | – | – |
What it trains
Here the bar starts at the top: the right hand plays C with finger 5 and drops a sixth to E with the thumb, then plays G–F–E with 3-2-1. The figure falls inside every bar while the line climbs. The exercise opens with a written-out bar before the pattern starts.
Common mistakes
- The thumb lands hard after the sixth.
- The hand stays stretched open after the drop instead of closing again.
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. Let the hand close as soon as the thumb lands; the stretch lasts for one note only.
Questions and answers
What does Hanon exercise 12 train?
It trains a figure that starts on the fifth finger and drops a sixth to the thumb.
What is the fingering for Hanon exercise 12?
In the first bar the right hand plays 5 1 3 2 1 – – – and the left hand 1 5 3 4 5 – – –. The same fingers repeat in every bar of the climb.