Hanon exercise 9 — fingering and practice
- Part I
- 2/4
- 60–108 BPM
About this exercise
Hanon exercise 9 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 13 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 2 4 3 5 4. Left hand: 5 4 3 4 2 3 1 2. 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 9, 10, 11: once each one is secure, play them one after another without stopping.
Fingering, first bar
| Note | C3 | E3 | F3 | E3 | G3 | F3 | A3 | G3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Right hand | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| Left hand | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
What it trains
After C–E with 1-2, the bar goes forward two and back one: F–E, G–F, A–G with 3-2, 4-3, 5-4. Every neighbouring pair of fingers swaps order once, up to the weakest pair, 5-4.
Common mistakes
- The back step (the lower note of each pair) is clipped short.
- Finger 5 on A is late, so the last pair sounds uneven.
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. Accent the first note of each pair in slow practice, then remove the accent.
Questions and answers
What does Hanon exercise 9 train?
It trains two steps forward, one back: the pairs 3-2, 4-3 and 5-4.
What is the fingering for Hanon exercise 9?
In the first bar the right hand plays 1 2 3 2 4 3 5 4 and the left hand 5 4 3 4 2 3 1 2. The same fingers repeat in every bar of the climb.