1. Establish a short, even phrase
Purpose: control a line within five adjacent notes before introducing thumb crossings. Begin with one hand on C–D–E–F–G. Use RH 1–2–3–4–5 upward and LH 5–4–3–2–1 upward; both return through the same route.
Play two eighth notes per quarter-note beat at a comfortable pace. The final whole note lasts four beats. Do not repeat the top G. Begin without pedal, letting each note connect to the next without holding all five keys down.
Three passes
- Notes and fingers: play one hand and say the names slowly. Check the printed route on the return.
- Even sound: keep the short notes equal in duration and volume. Listen particularly around the change of direction at G.
- One phrase: make a small rise in sound toward G and settle back to C, preserving the pulse.
Let the hand respond to the pattern rather than fixing it in a rigid shape. Do not raise unused fingers conspicuously to prove independence. The goal is control of the sounding notes while the other fingers remain available for what comes next.
Checkpoint: the summit is neither delayed nor unexpectedly louder, and the last C arrives at the expected time. Join hands only when each route is reliable separately.
Repertoire connection: choose a short neighboring-note phrase from a piece you know. Identify where the five-note preparation resembles it and where the actual phrase changes its rhythm or fingering. Transfer the listening goal, not necessarily the exercise’s finger numbers.
2. Give the hands different articulations
The next exercise keeps the pitches and fingers familiar while changing the musical jobs. First connect the RH group while the LH plays separated notes. Then exchange roles. Keep both hands’ attacks aligned; different note lengths do not require different tempos.
Practice each line alone first. A staccato dot asks for separation, not an extra accent. Keep the detached hand soft enough to hear the other hand’s connected phrase. At the final whole note in each half, both hands settle and sustain together.
Reduce the coordination task
If one hand copies the other’s articulation, use just C–D–E–D at first. Stop, exchange the roles, and try again. Expand to the printed pattern when you can hear the contrast without changing the attack timing.
Accent experiment: in the even version on the previous page, lightly emphasize D on one pass and E on the next. Return to equal volume afterwards. This tests whether the intended note can lead without speeding up or permanently accenting that finger.
Checkpoint: you can identify the connected hand by listening, and the detached hand keeps the same pulse. The extra task should not obscure the note route; return to separate hands if it does.
3. Practice long–short and short–long rhythms
Dotted rhythm alternates preparation time. In the first half below, each pair is a dotted eighth followed by a sixteenth; in the second half the order reverses. Each pair still fills one quarter-note beat. The fingers and pitch order are unchanged.
Count the beat through the shorter notes. Avoid turning the short value into an indistinct flick or delaying the next beat. After one pass of each version, return to equal eighth notes and listen for a more dependable turn at G.
Transpose a five-note pattern
Begin on G and preserve the major pattern’s intervals: G–A–B–C–D. Then try D major: D–E–F♯–G–A. Locate F♯ before playing; replacing it with F-natural changes the pattern. These examples retain the five-finger sequence in each hand.
For a minor-color comparison, return to C and play C–D–E♭–F–G, then descend. Only E changes. Name that difference and listen to it before trying a faster tempo.
Checkpoint: after the rhythmic variation you can restore equal notes, and after transposition you can name the altered pitch. Add only one change at a time: a new key, new rhythm, or articulation contrast.
Next: Hanon introduces longer repeating patterns and shifts of position. Keep the same habit of checking each direction, choosing one listening goal, and returning to the original version after a variation. Larger ranges are useful when the small pattern is already controlled.