Hanon Exercise No. 21

This is Hanon Exercise No. 21 from The Virtuoso Pianist, Part II by C. L. Hanon. You can pick your preferred tempo. But first, it's best to practice slowly so that you can hear if you are playing every note evenly. We also highly recommend practicing with hands separately first so that you can also hear if you are playing all the notes evenly. Make sure to lift the previous finger when you go to the next finger to maximize the strengthening exercise. If you are doing well you may practice with hands together and also increase the tempo gradually. This exercise is written only in one octave. However, you may practice 2 octaves by starting one octave lower than how it's written.

This exercise No. 21 exercises 3rd, 4th, and 5th fingers a lot. Alternating fingers between the 3rd and 4th and also between the 4th and 5th are very difficult for most people. Practice slowly and try not to tense up. Relaxing and practicing slowly will help players to go through this exercise. This No. 21 exercise is a part of The Virtuoso Pianist Part II. Therefore it has more movement than Part I, meaning that you also need to close and open the hand position within each measure. In the case of No. 21, you'll start with the 1st - 2nd fingers and 4th - 5th fingers close together. Then, immediately in the same measure, you'll extend a little between the 1st - 2nd fingers and between the 4th - 5th finger. You'll definitely feel the close - open movement in this exercise as well as strengthening the 3rd and 4th fingers. 

After you get good at it you can also experiment all these exercises by playing in the different key (not only in the key of C) and also experiment with different tempos. However, always follow the suggested fingerings. Fingerings are written down only in the 1st and 2nd measure when ascending section starts and when descending section starts. 

To learn more about the creator of The Virtuoso Pianist, Charles Hanon, please visit our page, "About C. L. Hanon". 

About this sheet music and what it includes:

Download, Print (or see it on your tablet), and Practice! 

This product is a free digital download. Even though this is free, you still need to go through the checkout page. You do not need to give your credit card information though. After you go through the checkout page, you will be downloading a PDF file. You should be able to download it to your desktop, laptop, smartphone or tablet if they are connected to the internet. You'll also receive a download link via email. You may download it later when it's convenient for you. After you download it, please print it out or see it on your tablet for your use. And most importantly, PRACTICE!

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More FREE piano exercises available

Please visit our page, "Free Piano Exercises" to browse more exercises to help your piano playing skills.