Hanon Exercise No. 53
About this arrangement
Hanon asks you to practise each scale until it can be played with ease, then to play all 24 through without stopping. He insists on a proper wrist movement as the only means of playing octaves without stiffness, and with suppleness, vivacity and energy. A footnote adds that in all scales in octaves the black keys are taken with the fourth finger of either hand.
Play every octave from the wrist, with the thumb and fifth finger holding their shape and the fourth finger on each black key. Learn the keys two at a time, a major key and its relative minor, before joining them. 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. 53 train?
Octave scales in all 24 keys, played from a supple wrist, with the fourth finger on black keys.
02 How fast should I play Hanon No. 53?
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. 53?
Our edition has 49 bars: two bars for each of the 24 keys, played straight through, then a final C octave.