C♯ minor arpeggio: piano fingering and how to practice it

C♯ minor arpeggio is part of “The Virtuoso Pianist, Part II (Nos. 21–43): exercices transcendants” by Charles-Louis Hanon (1819–1900). Main focus: root-position C♯ minor triad arpeggio over 4 octaves. In our transcription it is in C♯ minor, in 4/4 time, and 2 bars long. Suggested tempos: start at ♩ = 46 to learn it, practice at ♩ = 72 and work up to the target of ♩ = 92. Difficulty 5/10 (intermediate).

The pattern and its fingering

First bar of our transcription, note by note, with the fingering the app shows.

Right hand	C♯–E–G♯–C♯–E–G♯–C♯–E–G♯–C♯–E–G♯–C♯–G♯–E–C♯
Left hand	C♯–E–G♯–C♯–E–G♯–C♯–E–G♯–C♯–E–G♯–C♯–G♯–E–C♯

■ right hand (finger above) · ■ left hand (finger below)

What it trains

Root-position C♯ minor triad arpeggio over 4 octaves.
Wide hand shifts with a continuous sound.

How to practice it

Open the hand from the palm, not by stretching the fingers: the arm carries the hand from one position to the next.
The thumb crossing is longer than in scales: prepare it early and without raising the elbow.
First practice the blocked chord in each octave to memorize the position.

Tempo ladder: ♩ = 46 → ♩ = 59 → ♩ = 72 → ♩ = 82 → ♩ = 92. Only move up a step once the take comes out clean; in the app, the progressive metronome does it for you.

Composer	Charles-Louis Hanon (1819–1900)
Work	The Virtuoso Pianist, Part II (Nos. 21–43): exercices transcendants
Difficulty	5/10 · Intermediate
Key	C♯ minor
Time signature	4/4
Bars	2
Suggested tempos	learn ♩ = 46 · practice ♩ = 72 · target ♩ = 92
Where the target tempo comes from	tempo marked in the score (♩ = 92): consistent with its dominant note value (sixteenth note, 6.1 notes/s). Not documented as the composer's metronome mark.
Transposable	no
Status in the app	Available
Copyright	public domain: Hanon died in 1900

Every fingering is in the piano scales and arpeggios chart.