Hanon Exercise No. 21
About this arrangement
This is the first exercise of Part II, which Hanon calls transcendent exercises for preparing the fingers for the virtuoso exercises. He asks you to notice that the work the left hand's third, fourth and fifth fingers do on the first beat of each bar is repeated, in reverse, by the same fingers of the right hand on the third beat. Once it is mastered, he says, go straight on to the next exercise without stopping on the last note.
Each bar has four groups of four notes. Play one bar at a time and listen for the turn on the third beat, where the right hand's outer fingers take over. Use a metronome, lift each finger and play every note clearly, and keep both hands exactly together.
Start with short loops.
Use the section list as a practice map. Start at 50% tempo, loop one section, then return to the full piece once the hand shape feels stable.
Choose Right or Left to focus on one hand. Wait for note checks the highlighted notes as you play them on the screen or a connected MIDI keyboard.
Before you practice.
01 What does Hanon No. 21 train?
It works the third, fourth and fifth fingers of both hands. Both hands play the same pattern an octave apart.
02 How fast should I play Hanon No. 21?
For Part II, Hanon asks for a quarter note = 60 at first, working up to 108. Raise the speed a little at a time, only when every note is even.
03 How long is Hanon No. 21?
Our edition has 29 bars: 14 going up, 14 coming down and a final C. The whole exercise repeats once.