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Pentatonic Hanon Exercises
~ PentHan 25-05-21 ~

Pentatonic Hanon 25-05-21

Just listen-to-and-watch the first PentHan 25-05-21 'set' to get an overall feel.

It transposes from A to G, then to D - down a whole tone, then a fourth.

Download the PentHan 25-05-21 MS using this link.

Chorus build-up

Follow the build-up steps in tandem with the marked-up MS examples below.

1.

Our sample chorus is in G - no black keys in the major pentatonic scale. Just watch this section, observing as much as you can.

• How are the notes grouped?
• Does the melodic line proceed by step or by skip?
• Are the halves symmetrical?

Try to hum/sing (or just grunt) the 'tune'.

2.

Prepare the build-up playing up and down the five tones of the G major pentatonic scale, both hands in unison.

• Find any fingering that works for now.
• Say/sing the pentatonic scale-tone names.

3.

Make the right hand a zigzag.

• Going up, skip up (K) for a quaver note before stepping back (S) to the next on-the-beat note.
• Coming down, skip down (K) for a quaver note before stepping back up (S) to the on-the-beat note.

So, you get ahead of yourself, both directions.

4.

Delay the left hand a quaver/eighth note so it comes with your RH 'skip ahead' note.

5.

• Ascending: Split the right hand on-the-beat notes into two 16th notes (semiquavers). You play two bottom (B) notes (of the RH pair) followed by one top (T) note - BBT.
• Descending: Same rhythmic pattern, but move sooner, playing just one top (T) note and two bottom (B) notes - TBB.

6.

If you make all the notes in the right hand semiquavers/16th notes (except the last one in the bar), you will have the basic pattern.

The left hand plays with the same right hand notes  - last of the three BBT/TTB groups - but they've got a little shorter.

Your music will now fit into ordinary four-four (C/common time) bars.

7.

Count the hands off separately in 16th notes (semiquavers).

• The right hand plays 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 1 (5 x 3 + 1 = 16)
• The left hand plays 2 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 2 (4 x 3 + 2 x 2 = 16)

But you accent the right hand with the left hand note, so the '3' is stressed.

Penthan 25-05-21 - first set

The first set starts in A major (two black keys in the pentatonic scale), transposes down a whole-tone into G (0), and down a fourth into D (1).

Penthan 25-05-21 - second set

The second set starts in F major (no black keys), transposes down a whole tone into E flat (2), and down a fourth into B flat (1).

The black-key tonics (E flat and B flat) make this version feel a little harder...

Having fun with it

This may not be what you want to hear, but 'just' learning and playing this isn't all there is to it...

The real work is pushing yourself to create "on the basis of..." having played the exercise. Or "in the style of..."; or "using the same overall texture as..." (the exercise).

Try to cultivate a "couldn't care less" attitude and relax into it.

• That left hand doesn't have to be in time all the time, as long as some (major pentatonic) notes keep coming!
• Stick to ' just doodling' in one key until you've worked out where (which key) you're going to next (and how to get there) ...
• Put gaps in the right hand ...
• ... and fill them with left hand movement.
• Drift into 'swing quavers'...

Only not 'having a go' is sure to get you nowhere!