Hanon exercise 7 — fingering and practice
- Part I
- 2/4
- 60–108 BPM
About this exercise
Hanon exercise 7 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 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: 1 3 2 4 3 5 4 3. Left hand: 5 3 4 2 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 6, 7, 8: once each one is secure, play them one after another without stopping.
Fingering, first bar
| Note | C3 | E3 | D3 | F3 | E3 | G3 | F3 | E3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Right hand | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| Left hand | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
What it trains
The figure is a chain of broken thirds rising by step: C–E, D–F, E–G, played 1-3, 2-4, 3-5. The hand never stretches beyond a fifth, so the work is in the finger pairs a third apart, the shape that later becomes double thirds.
Common mistakes
- Notes of one third overlap, so two keys sound together.
- The hand bounces with each pair instead of staying level.
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. Listen for a clean change between the two notes of each third; hold nothing down.
Questions and answers
What does Hanon exercise 7 train?
It trains broken thirds with the pairs 1-3, 2-4 and 3-5.
What is the fingering for Hanon exercise 7?
In the first bar the right hand plays 1 3 2 4 3 5 4 3 and the left hand 5 3 4 2 3 1 3 4. The same fingers repeat in every bar of the climb.