The Musicarta 'pentatonic Hanons' (or PentHan for short) are Hanon-like keyboard dexterity exercises which use the pentatonic scales familiar from, and used in, lots of popular music.

These exercises are much closer to 'what you want to play' than the abstract finger exercises and scales of traditional piano teaching. You'll find many similar (pentatonic) exercises in the Musicarta Pentatonic Workbook and on Musicarta Patreon.

Working through some of the more basic Musicarta pentatonics curriculum before broaching this lesson series would be helpful. Similarly, beginner-level dexterity would be an advantage - check out the Musicarta Hanon.

The 'PentHan 01-12-20' series

PentHan 01-12-20 is a substantial lesson series which drills the major pentatonic scales in triplets with repeated notes - a great way to practise the keyboard dexterity required for improvising. (As you'll hear, these patterns are 'practically solos already'.)

There are twelve patterns and eight mixed pairs, in a number of keys.

The full PentHan 01-12-20 series is available:

• in the Musicarta Pentatonic Workbook;
• in the Musicarta Hanon; and
• in Musicarta Patreon Tier One.

 The pentatonic scale

The Pentatonics Workbook 'Build-up of Tones' exercise is a tune (of sorts!) you learn and rehearse in order to memorise and reliably visualise the scale tones used in the major pentatonic scale.

Here is the exercise 'in C' - for learning the C major pentatonic scale.

This is one of a number of drills (in all keys!) in the Musicarta Pentatonics Workbook, ensuring that you process enough learning material to successfully embed the pentatonic scales in your muscle memory, and turn your knowledge into skill.

 Step, skip, repeat

Pattern is incredibly useful for musical creativity, and the PentHan 01-12-20 lesson series explicitly uses pattern as a technique for improvising a melodic line.

Simple melodic-line patterns can be described in terms of steps - to a next-door scale tone, either up or down ('S'), skips - to a next-but-one scale tone, ditto ('K'), or repeats - repeating the same note ('R').

The PentHan 01-12-20 patterns are described in terms of pentatonic scale steps, skips and repeats, but because the pentatonic scale is 'gappy', they're not so immediately obvious.

 Pentatonic scale - Steps

In both the major and minor pentatonic scales, steps - moving to a next-door pentatonic scale tone ('S') - can be either whole tones (w-t) or minor thirds (m3):

There are three whole-tone (w-t) steps and two minor third (m3) steps in the pentatonic scales.

  Pentatonic scale - Skips

Skips - moving to a next-but-one pentatonic scale tone ('K') can be either a major third (M3) or a perfect fourth (P4).

In the pentatonic scales, there are four perfect fourth (P4) skips and one major third (M3) skip.

The PentHan 01-12-20 patterns are described in terms of steps ('S' - next-door pentatonic scale-tones), skips ('K' - next-but-one pentatonic scale-tones) or repeated notes ('R').

The pattern repeats every six notes, and there's always one repeated note.

The Pattern No.1 "SKR" is:

K  K  S  K  S  R | K  K  S  K  S  R

In Pattern No.1, the repeated note (R) is the last note of the six to the first note of the next six.

 The overall PentHan 01-12-20 exercise shape

Each six-note pattern in the exercises rises by a pentatonic 'skip', so the six-note patterns start progressively on C/T - E/3 - A/6 - D/2 - G/5 - D/2 - A/6 - E/3 - C/T.

Look out for these notes. It's a great help to know at least the first note of a group with some certainty!

 Series organisation

Here's how the PentHan 01-12-20 material is presented by video and web page.

There are twelve PentHan 01-12-20 patterns, and eight 'mixed pairs (of patterns)

These are presented in full in three keys: C (no black keys in the pentatonic scale); E flat (two black keys); and E (three black keys).

For ease of navigation, these exercises are divided up six, six and eight patterns per compiled video/web page.

• Video/Page One: Series Introduction and Orientation
• Video/Page Two: Patterns 1–6 in C
• Video/Page Three: Patterns 7–12 in C
• Video/Page Four: Mixed Patterns 1–8 in C
• Video/Page Five: Patterns 1–6 in EH
• Video/Page Six: Patterns 7–12 in EH
• Video/Page Seven: Mixed Patterns 1–8 in EH
• Video/Page Eight: Patterns 1–6 in E
• Video/Page Nine: Patterns 7–12 in E
• Video/Page Ten: Mixed Patterns 1–8 in E

Next come twenty (6+6+8) 'Play-by-ear' exercises, which require you to become familiar with or revise the D, B flat, A and A flat major pentatonic scales, and understand the Play-by-ear exercise structure.

The series thus continues:

• Video/Page Eleven: Playing By Ear - Introduction and Orientation
• Page Twelve: Playing By Ear, Patterns 1-6
• Page Thirteen: Playing By Ear, Patterns 7-12
• Page Fourteen: Playing By Ear, Mixed Patterns 1-8
• Videos Twelve to Twenty-four: Playing By Ear, Patterns 1–12 and Mixed Pairs 1–8 (the Play-by-ear videos are not amalgamated.)

 Fingering

NB: Optional! Mainly for teachers and advanced pupils...

There is a general (and good) rule in piano teaching that repeated notes should be played with a different finger. This should be observed whenever possible!

It suits our purpose too, since the patterns creep up and down the keyboard, and swapping fingers e.g. 3 to 2 (rising) or 2 to 4 (falling) whenever the same note is played twice, moves the hand sideways and "keeps the fingers coming".

There is another general rule - that it is better not to use the thumb on black keys. This might ideally be preferable, but for the improvising pianist, it turns out to be both possible and sometimes inevitable that you will play black keys with the thumb.

The PentHan 01-12-20 exercises are NOT fingered. Slowing down to play recommended fingering goes dead against the purpose of these exercises - which is, to play patterns instinctively, regardless of fingering difficulties, and - over time - develop a general improvising hand technique.

You will never pass the thumb under and onto a black key, but you can comfortably play black keys with the thumb by moving the hand up to the back of the keys - while judiciously "backing out" as soon as convenient!

You are primed!

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