# Exercises — build technique (appendix)

Interactive version: [`exercises.html`](exercises.html). Part of [Theory and Practice](theory.md).

Once your hands are awake (the [Drills](drills.md)), these longer exercises build finger strength,
evenness, and — most importantly — the coordination to play both hands together.

> **Golden rules:** (1) *Slow first* — only speed up when it's clean. (2) *Metronome on* —
> start ~60 BPM. (3) *Hands separately, then together.* (4) *Stay relaxed* — never play through pain.

## The exercises

On the interactive page, pick an exercise, tick **L** / **R** / both, and choose any of the
**12 keys** major or minor. Patterns are built from scale degrees relative to that tonic. Finger
numbers sit under the keys; notes glow as they play (**gold** = right hand, **blue** = left hand)
at the metronome's tempo. **Play along** needs a
**USB MIDI keyboard** or your piano's **microphone** (single-note lines). Warm-up patterns in C live
on [drills](drills.md). Each play button is its own stop: while it is running, **Play** (and
**Play along**) turn into a **■ Stop** button. The note read-out is **grouped into each repeated
block**, with the first note of every block highlighted. Tick **Loop** to repeat **Play**
continuously; a **×N** counter shows how many times it has run.

### 1. Five-finger position
Classic five-finger shape in the chosen key: degrees 1–5 and back. Right **1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1**;
left **5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5**. Tick both for parallel motion an octave apart.

### 2. Five-finger climb — chromatic
From the selected root, six consecutive **major** five-finger shapes climb by semitone (interval
shape ignores major/minor quality). Right **1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1** / left **5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 5** in
every key; keep going all 12 in practice.

### 3. One-octave scale
One octave of the chosen scale up and back. Right **1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 · 4 3 2 1 3 2 1**; left
**5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1 · 2 3 1 2 3 4 5**. Both hands = same direction together — thumbs cross at
different moments.

### 4. Contrary-motion scale
Hands share the tonic and mirror outward a full octave, then back. Fingering is **identical** in
both hands — the friendliest scale to play hands-together.
Both hands: **1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5** out · **4 3 2 1 3 2 1** back.

### 5. Broken triads / arpeggio prep
Roll the tonic triad (chord tones) up one octave and back in the chosen key. Right
**1 2 3 5** up · **3 2 1** down; left **5 3 2 1** up · **2 3 5** down.

### 6. Two-against-one
The right hand plays twice as fast as the left. Count "1-and 2-and": left hand on the numbers
(degrees 1 · 3 · 5 · 3), right hand on numbers **and** ands. Start very slow. Meaningful as both
hands; a single-hand tick still shows that hand's line.

### 7. Blocked thirds
Play two notes a third apart together, walking up the chosen scale. Both notes must sound at the
exact same instant — listen for a clean attack, not a roll. Fingers **1-3** and **2-4** alternating
(right); left uses **5-3** and **4-2**.

### 8. Repeated-note finger change
Play degrees 1–5; each key three times with fingers **3-2-1**, then move up. Finger substitution
keeps fast repeated notes clean and relaxed.

## Right + left hand syncing

Getting two hands to cooperate is the biggest early hurdle. Build it in this order:

1. **Unison, same direction** — both hands the same shape an octave apart. Listen for one sound,
   not two.
2. **Contrary motion** — hands mirror with the *same* finger numbers; symmetry makes it easy.
3. **One-octave scale** — same direction, but thumbs cross at different spots. Go slow.
4. **Two-against-one** — one hand twice as fast. Count out loud; let the fast hand ride on top.

Master each hand **alone** first, then together at half speed. Keep the metronome on.

## Left-hand chords under a right-hand scale

The bridge from "hands alone" to real playing: the **left hand holds the harmony** while the
**right hand carries the line** — the way almost every song works. This gets its own mini-lab with a
dedicated keyboard and a **Combination** dropdown, so you can hear and watch several keys and chord
patterns light up (right hand gold, left hand blue). Press **Play** — tempo follows the
metronome bar. For the block-chord combinations the note read-out under the keyboard is **grouped by
beat**, with the note that starts each beat (where the left-hand chord lands) highlighted. Starter
combinations:

- **Harmonized** (C major, G major, A minor, D minor) — under *each* scale note the left hand plays
  the diatonic triad on that degree (e.g. C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, B°, C). "Chords come from the scale"
  made physical.
- **Block chords under a scale** — RH scale in eighths, LH triad on every beat: **I–IV–V–I** in C and
  in G, plus the **I–V–vi–IV** pop progression (C, G, Am, F).

Two ways of thinking about it:

1. **Block chords (independence)** — the hands move at different speeds; count "1-and 2-and" (chords
   on the numbers).
2. **Harmonized scale (parallel)** — every melody note rests on its own chord. See the
   [chord cheat-sheet](chord-cheatsheet.md) to take it to other keys, and [theory](theory.md) for
   *why* those chords come from the scale.

Learn each hand **alone** first, then together at **half** tempo; keep the chords soft under the
melody and land them exactly on the beat. (More combinations coming.)

## Hanon — The Virtuoso Pianist

Charles-Louis Hanon's *The Virtuoso Pianist* (1873) is the classic set of **60 finger exercises**
built to make all five fingers "equally well trained" — especially the weak 4th and 5th — and to
bring the **left hand** up to the level of the right. All **twenty Part I exercises** are transcribed
to notation you can **read and hear** on the [Hanon Part I](hanon.md) page (pick a number, follow the
grand staff and keyboard). The full library
(free sheet music & audio in every key) is at [hanon-online.com](https://www.hanon-online.com/).

**How Hanon says to practise:** lift each finger firmly and play with an even, strong tone; keep the
wrist loose; play **hands together, two octaves up and down**; start with the **metronome at 60** and
only raise the tempo (toward ~108) once every note is clean; practise **daily**.

The 60 exercises come in three parts:

- **Part I — Nos. 1–20** (preparatory): finger independence & strength —
  [browse Part I](https://www.hanon-online.com/the-virtuoso-pianist-part-i/)
  ([No. 1](https://www.hanon-online.com/the-virtuoso-pianist-part-i/hanon-exercise-n-1/),
  [No. 2](https://www.hanon-online.com/the-virtuoso-pianist-part-i/hanon-exercise-n-2/),
  [No. 3](https://www.hanon-online.com/the-virtuoso-pianist-part-i/hanon-exercise-n-3/) …
  through No. 20).
- **Part II — Nos. 21–43** (transcendent): scales, arpeggios, broken chords.
- **Part III — Nos. 44–60** (virtuoso): trills, octaves, tremolos, wrists.

*Exercises are public domain; sheet music, audio and transcriptions courtesy of
[hanon-online.com](https://www.hanon-online.com/).*

## A 10-minute daily routine

1. **2 min** — wake-up: five-finger & trill [drills](drills.md).
2. **2 min** — Hanon No. 1: slow, even, hands together.
3. **2 min** — five-finger climb through several keys.
4. **2 min** — a scale: hands together, then contrary motion.
5. **2 min** — coordination: two-against-one, then left-hand chords under a right-hand scale.

Finish by playing a [song](songs.md) so technique turns into music.