tonebase Fundamentals Lab

C Major Scale Practice

(Clementi and Mozart)

Your Instructor: Benjamin Laude

a tonebase Piano Workbook

Overview
Let’s practice the C major scale with the help of Clementi and Mozart.

Here’s an excerpt from Clementi’s energetic Sonatina in C major, Op. 36 No. 1 :

And here’s an excerpt from Mozart’s sprightly Sonata in C Major, K. 330:

In this lab, we will identify the pure form of the scale common to both excerpts, before using
them as the basis for multi-purpose practice: sight reading and fingering, coordination
and technique, theory and ear training, and musical expression.

02
Multi-Purpose Practice
The exercises in this lab are marked with symbols helpful for practicing different technical
and musicianship skills. In particular, you are encouraged to employ “play and sing”
techniques to internalize musical relationships while developing physical coordination.

Fixed-do Solfège
C D E F G A B
do re mi fa sol la si
• Provides a singable syllable to match each of the seven letter notes in every scale. In
Fixed-do, the note “C” is always identified and sung as “do”, regardless of key.

• To keep a flowing line, omit accidentals when sight singing (D - E - F♯ is sung “re mi fa”).

Scale Degrees
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1

• Numbers the notes of a scale in order from 1 to 7.

• In this lab, scale degree numbers are enclosed in circles, with tonic (1) and Dominant (5)
scale degrees colored purple for reference. Chromatic tones are enclosed in red circles.

While singing in fixed-do solfège tracks the absolute pitches of a given musical line,
singing in scale degrees tracks the position and role of the notes with respect to a key
center. Employ both at different times in your scale practice for best results.

Fingerings
1 2
3 4 5
• Do not confuse scale degree numbers with fingering numbers.

• Scale exercises are labeled with standard fingerings for both hands. Note that repertoire
passages can deviate from the standard fingering. Try the fingerings marked in each
excerpt, but also explore alternatives and ultimately choose what’s best for your hand.

03
Roman numeral analysis

7
I V I

• Labels harmonies according to the root, with chords built on a given scale degree assigned

a roman numeral corresponding to that number.

• Tonal phrases tend to move from tonic (roman numeral I, built on scale degree 1) to

dominant (roman numeral V, built on scale degree 5), and back, with other harmonies,

especially ii and IV, used to prepare the dominant.

• Pay attention to how composers use these functional harmonies with respect to the scalar

lines within each passage.

How to Use This Lab

Depending on your current skill level and practice goals, you can approach this lab in

different ways.

Beginner and intermediate players:

• Take your time: feel free to slow down the video using the settings and replay activities

until you’re comfortable with a given skill. Don’t feel the pressure to complete all the

exercises lab in one sitting.




More experienced players:

• Try using the simpler activities to warm up your fingers or to reinforce your musical

understanding. You may even repurpose the whole lab to target a single skill, like sight

reading or ear training, or to warm up for a piece you're practicing in the same key. Feel free

to speed up the videos to try drills at faster tempos, and repeat replay activities as needed.

03

04
C Major Scale Elements
Notes and Scale Degrees
These are the nuts and bolts of the scale: note names, scale degrees, and solfège syllables.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1

Notes/ C D E F G A B C
Sing do re mi fa sol la si do

Right-Hand Fingering
This is the standard right-hand, one-octave scale fingering for this key.
1 2 3 1 2
3 4 5 5 4 3 2 1
3 2 1

Left-Hand Fingering
This is the standard left-hand, one-octave scale fingering for this key.

1 2 3 1 2
3 4 5 5 4 3 2 1
3 2 1

Hands Together
These are the standard hands-together, two-octave scale fingerings for this key.

To help you think ahead of your fingers, only fingerings for changes of hand position are shown.
1 1 3 4 3
1

3 1
4 3 1 1

05
C Major Exercises: Clementi Sonatina Op. 36, No. 1
Clementi: Exercise 1
By omitting some decorative pitches, this right-hand exercise focuses your attention on

structural pitches and their underlying ascents and descents.

1 1 1 1 1 1

1 2 3 4
do re mi fa

1 5 5 4 1 1 1 1 1

5 6 5 4 3 2 1
sol la sol fa mi re do

Clementi: Exercise 2
While the right-hand part is identical to the preceding exercise, this exercise adds a
structural reduction of the bassline, giving you a firmer grasp of its harmonic trajectory.

1 1 1 1 1 1

1 do 7 si 1 do 2 re

1 5 5 4 1 1 1 1 1

3 mi 4 fa 5 sol 1 do
06
Clementi: Exercise 3
This exercise fleshes out the passage in both hands, restoring decorative flourishes to the
right-hand part and supplying chordal reductions of Alberti bass figurations.

1 1 1 1 1 1

I V 6
I V 4

1 5 5 4 1 1 1 1 1

I 6
IV V I

Clementi: As Written

07
C Major Exercises: Mozart Sonata K. 330
Mozart: Exercise 1
This exercise isolates the right-hand scale figure.

4 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 2

1 5 1 5
do sol do sol

Mozart: Exercise 2
This exercise simplifies the right-hand writing and reveals structural scale fragments.

4 4 4 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2

6 5 4 3 3 2 1 7 1 5 5 4 3 2

la sol fa mi mi re do si do sol sol fa mi re

1 2 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 1

1 5 5 4 3 2 1
do sol sol fa mi re do

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Mozart: Exercise 3
This exercise adds a left-hand harmonic reduction to the previous right-hand exercise.

4 4 4 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2

mi fa mi mi re do si

1 2 1 5

1 2 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 1

do mi re do si do

1 5 1

Mozart: Exercise 4
This exercise adds fuller left-hand harmonies and introduces the right-hand syncopations.

4 4 4 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2

I 6
4 V 7 I I 6
4 V I 7 6
4 V

4 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 1

I I 6
V
7 I 6
V I
09
Mozart: As Written

Watch the lab now at tonebase.co