Hanon: The Virtuoso Pianist, Part II - Scales and Arpeggios: Piano Book

Part II cuts straight to what matters: building secure technique through scales and arpeggios in all twelve keys. The progression from thumb-under preparatory work into full harmonic and melodic minor coverage gives your students a complete technical foundation without wasting time on abstractions. Students actually use these exercises because they work.

Methodical and purposeful. These exercises ask for precision and consistency rather than expression, which paradoxically builds confidence. Students notice real improvement in their hands' agility and reliability week to week.

Students who have completed Part I and are ready to consolidate foundational technique through systematic scale and arpeggio work. This book serves pianists preparing for classical repertoire, jazz voicing studies, or any musical path requiring secure key-based technique.

• Establish a steady tempo before adding complexity; students often rush through scales once they become comfortable with the mechanics.
• Assign specific keys as "focus keys" for a week or two, cycling through all twelve over a semester rather than covering all keys simultaneously.
• Use the harmonic minor scales to highlight voice leading and chromatic tendencies, not just as technical drills.
• Have students listen to themselves play diminished seventh and dominant seventh arpeggios with particular attention to evenness across the hand shifts.

Assign sections alongside repertoire rather than as standalone material; students work on scales in the same key their current piece inhabits, reinforcing harmonic understanding. Incorporate these regularly into private lesson warm-ups and group technique classes throughout the year.

• Thumb-under motion in all registers
• Articulation and evenness across scales in all twelve major keys
• Harmonic and melodic minor scale fingerings and voice leading
• Major and minor arpeggio patterns across multiple octaves
• Chromatic scale technique and evenness
• Diminished seventh and dominant seventh arpeggio execution