Hanon Exercise No. 39
About this arrangement
Hanon explains that there are two ways of playing the minor scale and gives both after each major scale, leaving the choice to the teacher. He marks the harmonic minor with a 1 and the melodic minor with a 2: the harmonic form keeps the minor sixth and the leading note both going up and coming down, while the melodic form raises the sixth and seventh going up and lowers them coming down. His marking is a quarter note = 60 to 120.
Learn one key at a time, hands separately first, and keep the thumb passing under without a bump in the sound. Use a metronome at 60, repeat each scale as written, and play the cadence chords together and evenly.
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. 39 contain?
All 12 major scales, each followed by its relative minor in two forms, harmonic and melodic. That is 36 scales, each with its own cadence.
02 How fast should I play Hanon No. 39?
Hanon's marking is a quarter note = 60 to 120. Start at 60 and raise the speed only when every note is even.
03 What is the difference between the two minor scales?
In Hanon's words, the harmonic minor has a minor sixth and the leading note both going up and coming down. The melodic minor has a major sixth and the leading note going up, and a minor seventh and minor sixth coming down.