Hanon: The Virtuoso Pianist, Part I (Exercises 1–20)

“The Virtuoso Pianist (Le Pianiste virtuose), Part I” is a work by Charles-Louis Hanon (1819–1900) with 20 pieces, difficulty 2–4/10. Twenty short formulas repeated up and down the keyboard in C major. They are pure gymnastics: with no musical content to distract you, they let you focus on evenness, independence and stamina in the fingers. They can be transposed to all 12 keys. 20 of them have a playable score in Estudio de Piano, with the microphone or MIDI.

All 60 exercises are in the complete Hanon list; the method, in how to practice Hanon.

How to practice it

1. Start very slowly (quarter note = 60 or less) and only raise the metronome once the exercise comes out even three times in a row.
2. Lift each finger from the knuckle and let its weight drop; the wrist stays still and loose.
3. Listen for every sixteenth note at the same volume: the 4th and 5th fingers tend to fall short.
4. Practice each hand alone first and then together; once it is secure, transpose it to other keys.

The pieces

“Being verified”: playable, but the transcription is still being checked against a second source. “Awaiting transcription”: no score yet.