Hanon exercise 25 — fingering and practice
- Part II
- 4/4
- 60–108 BPM
About this exercise
Hanon exercise 25 is in Part II of The Virtuoso Pianist, in 4/4. The right hand starts on C3; in 14 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 uses its own figure, not the climbing one in reverse: G5 F5 E5 G5 F5 E5 D5 F5 E5 D5 C5 E5 D5 C5 D5 E5 in the right hand.
Right-hand fingering in the first bar: 1 2 3 1 2 – – – 3 – – – 3 5 4 3. Left hand: 5 4 3 5 4 – – – 3 – – – 3 1 3 4. 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 25, 26: once each one is secure, play them one after another without stopping.
Fingering, first bar
| Note | C3 | D3 | E3 | C3 | D3 | E3 | F3 | D3 | E3 | F3 | G3 | F3 | E3 | G3 | F3 | E3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Right hand | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| Left hand | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
What it trains
The bar rises in overlapping groups: C–D–E, C–D–E–F, D–E–F–G, then F–E–G–F–E, starting 1-2-3-1-2. After finger 3 the thumb moves back to start the next group, a first step towards passing the thumb in scales.
Common mistakes
- The thumb moves too late and the start of each group stumbles.
- Each group start gets an accent and the beat is lost.
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. Keep counting four sixteenths to the beat; the groups do not start on the beat.
Questions and answers
What does Hanon exercise 25 train?
It trains overlapping rising groups, with the thumb moving back after finger 3.
What is the fingering for Hanon exercise 25?
In the first bar the right hand plays 1 2 3 1 2 – – – 3 – – – 3 5 4 3 and the left hand 5 4 3 5 4 – – – 3 – – – 3 1 3 4. The same fingers repeat in every bar of the climb.