Klavar Course / Piano, Lesson 26

Audio lesson 26-30

Lesson 26

Versie 1.0
Klavar Course / Piano, Lesson 26

No. 1 - Scale of E
Having played the scale of E in contrary motion (no. 1), we are now going
to bring it into practice, in Etude no. 2.

No. 2 - Etude
In the first place we warn you not to make the mistake which we find is
frequently made: starting runs; the first note of which is written halfway
between two beats, too late. Always prepare in advance to start these runs
at the right time.
Before beginning to play make sure that your hands are above the correct
keys. You count:
ONE-and - TWO-and; etc.
At ‘one’ the right hand starts, at ‘and’ the left hand starts. Count and play
as regularly and clearly as possible, and take care over the notes which you
play with your little finger and ring finger.
In bar 2 the left hand has a three-beat rest and during that time you should
place the little finger above the next key (e-key) to be played. Make use of
the pauses in the following bars also, because if you have to look for a key
at the very last moment, it can cause you to get out of time.
Move your hands without looking at the keys. One octave can easily be
skipped by feel (see e.g. bar 2/3, left-hand part). Besides, you can feel by
the black keys whether the finger is in the correct place or not.
Play the staccato-chords for the right hand with a light movement of the
fore-arm.
The tempo is ‘allegretto’, which means moderately quick. Start this difficult
piece by practising very slowly. Pay careful attention to your counting and
fingering.

No. 3 - Polly Wolly Doodle

Since the notes are very simple you should soon be able to focus your
attention on perfecting fluent performance.
If you find that this is not so, then perhaps you did not concentrate
sufficiently on the previous lessons, particularly the exercises and scales.
If necessary, repeat some lessons.

2
 Piano Speelplezier, Lesson 26

No. 4 is an exercise in tone-repetitions as in the beginning and in bar 2 of

no 4. It is customary to change fingers when playing tone-repetitions like
this, occuring in a tempo which should not be too slow. In this way each
following note is automatically struck clearly for a second time.
Changing fingers should be performed as follows: after the first touch with
the middle-finger, you slip this finger from the key towards you; in the
meantime you keep the forefinger above the same key and press it down
as soon as the key has come up. Slip this finger from the key and keep
your thumb above it, etc. Do it slowly at first, and gradually build up your
speed until you can play it at a quick tempo.

No. 5 - Zeller: Schenkt man sich Rosen in Tirol.

The accompaniment to this famous melody, which comes from a musical
comedy, is rather varied. The bass-tones (beats 1 and 4) often have an
important melodic significance. Consequently, many chords are not easy to
play and the hand must be moved several times. Remember to give these
bass-notes an accent, so that the ‘bass-melody’ can be heard clearly.
In bar 12 the left hand must make a big skip. Spread the fingers well and
remember: do not look at your hands!
The tone-repetitions, noted in no. 4, must be played portato; only a short
interruption is heard.
The fermatas in bar 15 indicate, as you will remember, that the notes to
which they refer, must be continued for a while.

KARL ZELLER: (1842-1898)

Zeller was an Austrian lawyer, who worked as a civil servant in the field of
art-affairs. He became famous as a composer of songs and musical
comedies in the style of Joh. Strauss.

3
Klavar Course / Piano, Lesson 26

Intervals
You have learnt in this course that the distance between two successive
and identically written notes is called an octave. You have also learnt about
the minor and major third (a distance of 1 1/2 and 2 tones resp.).
Such distances between 2 tones are called intervals. We are now going to
teach you the names of the other intervals.

The names are based on the diatonic scales (the Scales which you have
learnt so far).
In the scale of C, c is the ‘first tone’ or ‘prime’; d is the ‘second tone’ etc.
The following are the names of all intervals for the scale of C;
prime
second
third
fourth
fifth
sixth
seventh
octave

Between prime and second there is another tone which does not belong in
the scale of C. For this tone Klavar has a note with a place of its own in the
stave. The traditional notation has no special name and place for this note.
It is called a ‘minor second’ after its neighbour, the second.

prime
minor second
(major) second.

4
 Piano Speelplezier, Lesson 26

Below you will find the names of all intervals, they have been arranged
starting from c.
prime
minor second
second
minor third
third
fourth
minor fifth
fifth
minor sixth
sixth
minor seventh
seventh
octave.

In other scales like G, D, etc., the names are of course exactly the same,
below you will find them starting from g:
prime
minor second
second
minor third
third
fourth
minor fifth
fifth
minor sixth
sixth
minor seventh
seventh
octave

5
Klavar Course / Piano, Lesson 26

6
 Klavar Course / Piano, Lesson 27

Lesson 27

Versie 1.0
Klavar Course / Piano, Lesson 27

No. 1 - Scale of B
This is one of the scales which have an unusual fingering for the left hand.
You do not start with the little finger but with the ring-finger. This prevents
the thumb having to strike a black key. The right-hand part has the usual
fingering.

No. 2 - Study
In the right-hand part you see groups of three notes against which the
figure 3 is written. Such a group of notes is called a triplet.
A triplet is a sub-division into three equal parts; usually of one beat,
sometimes of fractions of a beat.
Most of the time-divisions are based on a division into two, so half beats,
quarter beats, etc. A division into three does not occur very often. Therefore,
it is customary to indicate such a division into three in a special way. This
can be done in two ways:
If the notes are connected by a connecting-line, a 3 is written next to this
line. If there is no connecting-line, the 3 is written in a bracket.

If, in a great number of successive bare, triplets are continually to be played,

the figure 3 is generally left out after the first or second bar.
The playing of triplets will not be difficult if you count aloud as follows:
1 and-a-2-and-a-3-and-a-4-and-a.
If you say this aloud, you will automatically spread the three syllables
evenly over the beats.
Then you will hear the rhythm of the triplets. Give each first syllable a light
accent.
At the top of the left-hand part the word ‘stacc.’ is written. This is instead
of staccato-dots and it means that all the notes of the left-hand part must
be played staccato.
Finally try to develop some speed in this study. Do not forget, however,
that the passages for the right hand must be played with the fingers. The
wrist and the hand remain still. The arm only moves in a horizontal direction.

2
 Piano Speelplezier, Lesson 27

This does not apply to the left hand, which plays staccato. It is continually
moved up and down, from the wrist. Where possible, keep the fingers above
the same keys, especially the little finger and the middle finger, which must
play the same notes almost all through the piece. The certainty of your
touch will be more assured.

No. 3 Vivace, W. Duncombe

This piece looks quite easy, but you will probably find it difficult rhythmically,
because triplets (divisions into three) alternate with half-beat notes
(divisions into two).
By way of practice only play the first two bars in the beginning, as follows:
You count: 1 - 2 and a 1
Tap the whole beats with the tip of your left foot.
Then play only the 3rd and 4th bar. You must count at the same speed as
before (tap the time with your foot again):
1 and 2 and 1.
Can you hear the difference of the rhythm? When you have practised both
exercises a number of times, so that you know the rhythms well, play from
bare 1 up to and including 4, one after another and try not to falter when
changing from bar 2 to bar 3. Play very quietly.
If you are successful, play the whole piece. The 3rd. column is practically
identical to the first one. Play the middle column a little more softly.
When you have picked up the correct rhythm, increase the tempo
drastically; you will probably notice to your surprise, that playing the
correct rhythm in quick tempo is easier than playing it in slow tempo.
‘Vivace’ is written at the top of the piece. This means ‘lively’. So, once you
have practised everything thoroughly count the time quickly.

3
Klavar Course / Piano, Lesson 27

No. 4 - Mozart Trio

Mozart’s famous “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” whose performance you will
probably have heard, is a serenade for string-orchestra and it has 4
movements. The third movement is a minuet with a trio. You will find the
trio in this lesson, arranged for the piano.
This music need not be played very quickly, but do play it evenly and
fluently. Do not hesitate and search at each change, as is so often done by
amateurs. It is not a question of suppleness of the fingers or musical talent,
but of attention. These hesitations generally occur, when you react too late
to things that you should have seen in advance.
After you have practised a piece a few times, you should have noticed in
which places you had to look for the keys. That is for example the change
from bar 2 to bar 3 in the left-hand part. If you know that the hand has to
move a little to the left in bar 3, you can start moving your little finger
towards the a-key halfway through bar 2.
If you do not find these things easy, get a red pencil and draw a clear arrow
halfway through bar 2, and also in other relevant places.
After bar 4 the left-hand returns to its former position. You should have
contracted the fingers in advance, so that you can be certain that the fourth
finger is ready to strike the d-key on beat 1 of bar 5. Here it is the same
story again: pay attention in advance to what follows. In other words. READ
AHEAD.
The notes for the left hand in bars 7 and 8, will sound best if they are played
portato. Play them legato and you will hear the difference.
The notes which are under a slur must be connected (right hand). In order
to be able to play these phrases fluently, first play them individually. Slowly
at first and gradually a little quicker, but use the correct fingering.
At the end of bar 12 you will see the words: D. S. al Fine. D. S. is an
abbreviation of: dal segno, which means: ‘from the symbol’. Here the
symbol is meant; it is printed at the first beat of bar 1.

So, at the end of bar 12 you immediately follow on with bar 1 (without the
anacrusis!) and end at bar 8 where it says: ‘Fine’.

4
 Piano Speelplezier, Lesson 27

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756 – 1791)

Mozart was born in Salzburg in 1756 and he died in Vienna when he was
35. During his short life he composed numerous imperishable musical
works, such as orchestra and piano works, operas, songs, sonatas for
strings, etc.
At an early age he was already famous as a pianist (child-prodigy), and he
was very successful on the numerous concert-trips he made with his father
and sister Nannerl. An important part of this success was caused by the
public’s desire for sensation.
After this period, he was also valued as a composer, but he experienced
much envy and lack of understanding. Because of various circumstances
his financial situation grew gradually worse. When he died in 1791 after a
serious illness, he was buried in a mass grave as an unknown man.
His compositions, however, are amongst the most popular in classical music
to - day, partly because they are mainly cheerful in character.

5
Klavar Course / Piano, Lesson 27

No. 5 - Green-sleeves
This old-English song is not in major or minor, but in a quite different
tonality. (Aeolian). We shall come back to this later.
Thoroughly practise the big skips for the left hand in bars 9 and 14. Do not
play the notes which occur half-way in the bars too loudly; they should get
a weak accent, and the notes on beat 1 should get the strong accent.

My Lady Greensleeves
Dante Gabriel Rosetti (1864)

6
 Klavar Course / Piano, Lesson 28

Lesson 28

Versie 1.0
Klavar Course / Piano, Lesson 28

No. 1
To play this scale in contrary motion is more difficult than the previous one,
since the fingering is different for each hand. So be careful!

Variations
The variation-form often occurs in music. The composer starts from a
certain melody, which he changes rhythmically and melodically. This may
happen in several ways and a composer generally makes many variations
on one melody.
Several great composers have written beautiful variation- works, of
which each variation in itself is a fascinating masterpiece. It is amazing
how a fairly simple theme can develop into a mighty work, in which the
moods can alternate from one extreme to the other.

No. 2 - F. Kuhlau: Variation on a folksong.

No. 2 of this lesson is one of six simple variations which Kuhlau made on
an Austrian folk-song. They were originally in G-major, but for this occasion
we transposed them to B-major. (i.e. we changed the key from G-major to
B-major).
Play the scale-figures fluently and legato; play the chords in bars 5 - 7
staccato, with a supple wrist.

FRIEDRICH KUHLAU (1786 - 1832)

This composer lived from 1786 until 1832. He was court composer and a
professor in Denmark. He wrote among other things operas, stage-music,
music for flute and piano-sonatinas. The latter are still used in piano-
teaching.

No. 3 - Gurlitt: Klage

Except in bars 9-11. the left hand continually plays groups of connected
chords. Watch the slurs. It is not possible to connect all the notes of the,
chords in bars 7 and 15.
Notice how you must play to make the chords sound legato: e.g. the
forefinger which on beat 1 of bar 7 presses the a-key down, should not be
lifted until you have started the following chord. Remember the respective
exercises which we gave in lessons 21-24 on this point.

2
 Piano Speelplezier, Lesson 28

The tempo-indication (which is a little slower than andante) refers to both

bar-parts of this 6-beats time. Each bar is to last for about 2 seconds and
the whole piece including the repetitions should scarcely last a minute.
Here is a new indication as to the performance: ‘espr.’, which is an
abbreviation of espressivo. This means ‘expressive’. So, pay extra attention
to accents and dynamic indications.
Dynamic indications are directions for the volume of sound. We have
already explained the dynamic accent, when one tone or chord sounds
more strongly. The expressions piano, forte, crescendo, etc. are dynamic
indications.
You know that in 6 - beat time the main accent falls on each first beat and
a weaker accent is given halfway through the bar. When playing these
accents, let the fingers lean a little more heavily on the keys. Do not play
sharp accents; they do not fit into the character of this song.
Be careful to start the tones of the chords at exactly the same time. In soft
playing particularly, it is very noticeable if you do these things incorrectly.

3/4 + 1/4.
Play the first few bars of three famous songs, (no. 4a, 4b and 4c), and
notice the way in which the beats have been subdivided, especially the ones
indicated by a thick, vertical line.
As you see there is a note, lasting 3/4 beat, followed by a note lasting only
1/4 beat. So, the first note lasts 3 times as long as the second one, This is
a big difference. Can you play them? Look carefully and see how a beat like
that, (divided into 3/4 + 1/4) looks on paper.
This image should be the symbol for you to recognise one of the most
important rhythmical figures. You will probably have played this figure in
correct time, since the melodies in 4a, 4b and 4c are generally known. It
proves that you do have the rhythmical figure in your memory.
The same figure, played in another piece, should not present any difficulties.
Yet mistakes are often made, because the image of this rhythm on paper
is not immediately recognised. The thing is to memorise the image so well,
that you recognise it at once in an unknown piece. In this way you will be
able to play it correctly and counting aloud should no longer be necessary.
Now play no. 4a, 4b and 4c once again and then go on with no. 5.

3
Klavar Course / Piano, Lesson 28

No. 5 – Steh’ nur auf

In this song you can prove the point. In the melody the rhythmical figure
of 3/4 + 1/4 beat repeatedly occurs. First play only with your right hand
and after that play with both hands together. If you do not succeed,
although you could play the songs of no. 4 correctly, then you are probably
not yet spotting the resemblance. In that case practise no. 4 again. Play
the 1/4 beat notes very short i.e. strike them at the very last moment
before the next beat.
In no. 5 the regular accompaniment of half beat notes is of help to you,
Just, look at bar 1: on beats 2 and 4 you play the rhythmical figure 3/4 +
1/4 beat with your right hand. The 1/4 beat note is played precisely halfway
between two accompanying notes.
At the anacrusis of bar 9 you see the indication p(iano); so, you play softly
there. Below it, however, it says poco a poco cresc (endo). Poco a poco
means gradually, literally little by little. The dotted vertical line indicates
that this crescendo should last until the middle of bar 12. (The best way is
to play each phrase a little stronger than the one before).
At the beginning of bar 12 the tempo must be slackened a little (ritardando),
until the fermata. In bars 9 up to and including 12 there is an increasing
tension which culminates and ends on the 3rd beat of bar 12. After this you
play softly and in the original tempo. In bar 12, notice the division of the
first beat (right-hand part) into four short notes.
Play this song cheerfully; a short interruption should be heard between the
slurs on the right, while the left hand plays quietly legato. Do not forget the
repetitions.
It is a typical Swiss folksong. You could easily imagine that the melody was
yodelled.

4
 Klavar Course / Piano, Lesson 29

Lesson 29

Versie 1.0
Klavar Course / Piano, Lesson 29

No. 1
In this lesson we are going to play scales in similar motion. This is a little
more difficult than playing in contrary motion. We therefore give the
scale of B again, which you already know.

No. 2 - And will he not come again

This is a lament, in a minor key. Be careful to keep the volume of sound of
the various notes well in balance in other words, the tones must not
suddenly sound too loud or too soft. So listen carefully to your own playing.
In this connection we draw your attention especially to the chords on the
first beat of most of the bars. They should sound controlled and the
connection between these chords and the preceding anacrusis should be
audible, for example in bars 1, 2, 3 and 4. First sing the melody and then
play it accordingly. Endeavour to make everything sound just as you have
it in mind.
Remember the following points!
 to start the tones of the chords exactly at the same time;
 accents;
 connected playing.

No. 3 - Czerny: Austrian waltz

No. 3 is from a collection of pieces gathered by Czerny, which is entitled
‘100 Recreations’. This collection which is more than 100 years old, used to
be very popular, because the melodies were a nice change from the tutorial
music of the time - which was very dry.
Czerny chose all sorts of opera-melodies and folk-songs, which were
fashionable in those days. Many of them have now been forgotten, but all
the same this volume contains many pieces, which are still very attractive
even today.
When you have mastered the rhythmical figure 3/4 +1/4 beat, which was
explained in the previous lesson, you should not find this waltz very difficult.
This figure repeatedly occurs in the second beat of a bar.
In order to achieve a correct performance, it is necessary that you pay
attention to the various slurs and pauses. It is not true to think that you
have mastered a piece of music as soon as you can play it without striking
any wrong keys. You must also pay ample attention to the performance.
Playing the correct keys and the correct time-pattern is no more than the

2
 Piano Speelplezier, Lesson 29

basic framework. It won’t become music until everything is done in the

correct way. You have advanced far enough now to start paying attention
to this.
Play the chords of the left hand in bars 1-8 with a light vertical movement
of your arm. You will see that the chords on beat 3 only last half a beat.
We have added pauses especially in this lesson. Czerny did not write them;
he presumed that the player would know that these chords had to be played
short remember effects like these, so that later, when these pauses are not
written in, you will be able to play the music in the correct way.
The second part, from bar 9, has an ‘ordinary’ waltz-accompaniment; so,
continue the bass-note until the 2nd beat and play the chords on beats 2
and 3 short.

No. 4 - Schubert: Waltz.

This waltz is one of a series of 36. The waltz in its original arrangement is
a little more difficult, but this simplified arrangement sounds very nice as
well. That is if you play it nicely. Pay extra attention to the articulation-
indications (slurs, staccato-dots, etc.) and play the waltz-accompaniment
in the correct way.
This waltz should sound lively. This is achieved by playing clear accents on
the first beats, some of which must be played extra strongly following the
accent signals written. These notes will come out even more since the
following note, the last one under a slur, must be played shortly and softly.

FRANZ PETER SCHUBERT (1797 – 1828)

This brilliant Austrian, son of a teacher, composed a tremendous lot of
music in his short life, in all musical fields except opera. As a child he had
a beautiful soprano voice and was a choir-boy in the imperial chapel-royal.
He also received lessons there in music-theory and joined the pupils’
orchestra. In that period, he started composing.
Afterwards, much against his will, he became assistant teacher to his father.
With the help of a friend he finally gave up this job, which he so cordially
hated, and devoted himself entirely to composing.

3
Klavar Course / Piano, Lesson 29

No. 5 - Ack Varmeland

This famous melody has been included as practise for connected playing of
part-songs. So, keep to the fingering shown. Listen carefully how each note
sounds, and do not be satisfied too quickly. If you notice that in a certain
place a tone should be played more loudly or softly, or more closely
connected to a preceding tone, stop at once and try again, until you play it
correctly.
Play the intermediate notes, like e and d-sharp in the left-hand part in bar
2, a little softer than the melody and the bass (the lowest notes). Be careful
that the melody-note b in bar 4 remains audible, while you play the notes
a and g on beats 2 and 3 a lot softer.
The same applies in bars 12 and 16. All through the piece the melody should
sound a little stronger than the other voices.
Continuation-dots are often neglected. Look at the first bar. Three voices
are heard; the lowest note is to last all through the bar. On the first beat
of bar 2 it is followed by g. If you release the e-key too early, the bass will
not sound connected and the concord of all the voices will not sound ‘full’
enough.
Furthermore, we draw your attention to the fact that in bars containing
chords with note-repetitions, as many notes as possible must be played
legato. This is the case in bars 9 and 10. Of course the repeating notes
cannot be connected, but the others can. This has been fully explained in
preceding lessons.
At the anacrusis of bar 9 a part starts which has a livelier character: there
you must start playing more strongly and a little quicker. The latter is
evident from the words ‘più mosso’. ‘Più’ means: ‘more’; ‘mosso’ means:
‘moved’. In bar 12 speed and volume decrease, after which the song should
have the same melodious character again, as in the beginning.

4
 Klavar Course / Piano, Lesson 30

Lesson 30

Versie 1.0
Klavar Course / Piano, Lesson 30

No. 1 - Scale of G-flat.

This is again a scale with an irregular fingering, for the left hand as well as
for the right hand. Try to play it by heart.

No. 2 - Charlie is my darling.

In this song notes of 3/4 + 1/4 beats repeatedly occur. Be careful that
these passages do not sound spiritless.

The 1/4 beat note has to be played just before the following one is struck.
Pay special attention to this in the left-hand part as well; see the 5th, 8th,
10th bar, etc.

In places the fingering is a bit complex e.g. in bars 7 and 8 of the right-
hand part.

The accompaniment in bars 1 up to and including 4 is to be played as

follows: each bass note (beat 1 and beat 3) must be connected to the
following chord. The chord should be played clearly but shortly. Play it the
same way as in a waltz even though, in this case the bass note is followed
by one chord instead of two.

This is not an easy piece when played at the correct quick tempo. It needs
slow and accurate practice, so that you have adequate term to attend to
the difficult passages. If you can play it correctly at a slow tempo, you will
soon be able to play it more quickly.

No. 3 - Monsieur de la palisse.

As a counterbalance a fairly simple piece follows. Bars 4 and 8 enable us to

draw your attention to a general rule in connection with performance.

Read the following with close attention. In each of the two bars 4 and 8 you
see two chords, which are to be played legato. Play the whole piece through
and notice the special effect which these chords produce.

When you play the first chord in bar 4 you can clearly hear that more is to
follow. In this first chord there is a certain musical tension. The chord on
beat 2 is the expected continuation. In bar 8 there is an even clearer
example.

2
 Piano Speelplezier, Lesson 30

No. 4 - Study

The short piece is meant as an exercise to demonstrate the difference

between melody-notes and auxiliary notes. The right-hand plays g
repeatedly, but never on the beats. These g’s do not form part of the
melody. They are only auxiliary notes which are to be struck distinctly more
softly than the melody notes on the beats. If you do not do this, the sound
of this g, which is so often repeated, will cause a monotonous drone.

The chords for the left hand in bar 1 must be struck strongly, with a resolute
movement, and exactly on time. (There are accent symbols against the
stems). The same applies to the similar chords in bar 2 (on the right) and
bar 3.

The idea is that you will eventually play this study in a quick tempo.

Try to strike all the quarter-beat notes in even rhythm, so that they last
equally long. This study is a preparatory exercise to the left-hand part of
no. 5.

No. 5 Clementi: Sonatina

Sonatina is the diminutive form of Sonata, a work consisting of several

movements, usually for solo instruments. A Sonatina is a more concise and
simpler form of Sonata, and as a rule has 3 movements, the first and third
being quick; the middle one slow. Sonatinas were often written specially
for teaching: Sonatinas by Clementi are also musically very attractive. No.
5 is part of the last movement of one such Sonatina.

Play the notes for each hand separately at first. You will see that part of
the scale of G occurs more than once. In bars 13 & 14 the right hand plays
some auxiliary notes (as you had in No. 4). Play these lightly so that the
melody comes out well.

The 3-note chords for the right hand in bars 36 & 37 are an octave apart.
Make sure you can find them both without looking at your hands.

You have 2 beats in which to do so: that should be time enough.’

The left hand is easier. Remember it is not a waltz, even if there are 3 beats
to the bar. Play the notes legato, giving them their full duration. Accent
notes on the first beat, and also those with accent signs (bars 9, 11, 25,
27).

Pay attention to articulation as well. Although the notes for the right hand
in bar 1 do not have staccato dots they sound better if you play them

3
Klavar Course / Piano, Lesson 30

staccato, you will find. Notes joined by slurs should of course be played
legato; but between the slurs there should be a break - the ‘Pause for
Breath’.

How loudly should you play this piece? Start softly (dolce) getting gradually
louder in the first 2 bars, then gradually softer for the next 2 bars, and so
on. Only when you can play the runs evenly, and follow all the performance
signs, should you worry about tempo (allegro).

If by the end of the week you can play it at a moderate pace without
mistakes you should be well satisfied.

MUZIO CLEMENTI (1752 – 1832)

Born in Rome in 1752, at the age of 14 Clementi continued his piano studies
in London; he died at Evesham in 1832. Remembered as a pianist and
outstanding composer of studies and music specially written to improve
keyboard technique, his Sonatinas are in the repertoire of all serious piano
students. Beethoven prescribed Clementi’s works for the daily practice of
his nephew, though Mozart was less enthusiastic.

Muzio Clementi
1752-1834