Hanon Exercise No. 52
About this arrangement
Hanon heads it scales in thirds, in the keys most used. He asks you to play them legato and very evenly, and says it is highly important to master them thoroughly. He refers back to No. 50, where he explains the legato: the fifth finger of the right hand stays on its note for an instant while the thumb and third finger pass over to the next third, and the left thumb is held the same way.
Learn one key at a time and follow the printed fingering. It comes in three families: C, G, D major and A minor share one, A and E major with D and G minor another, and B-flat, E-flat and A-flat major a third. Connect each third to the next without a gap. Start at a quarter note = 40 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. 52 train?
Legato scales in double thirds in both hands, in nine major and three minor keys.
02 How fast should I play Hanon No. 52?
Hanon's marking is a quarter note = 40 to 84. Start at 40 and raise the speed a little at a time, only when every note is even.
03 How long is Hanon No. 52?
Our edition has 96 bars: 12 keys of eight bars, each a seven-bar scale that repeats and a held third to end.