Finals – Piano Pedagogy II

1. Sonatina in G Major, Op. 151, No. 1 – Anton Diabelli

Today, we are going to study one of Anton Diabelli’s Sonatinas from Opus 151, particularly the first one
from the set which is in G major. Anton Diabelli was born in Austria and is considered to be one of the
prolific early romantic composers, while also being known as a music publisher. He was best known for
his waltz on which Ludwig van Beethoven wrote his 33 variations for the piano. In this lesson, we will
talk about the first movement of his Sonatina in G Major from Op. 151, which is also commonly known
as the “Le bouquetier.”

The piece starts with a preparatory beat composed of a dotted eighth note and a sixteenth note as part
of the subject. This rhythmic pattern will occur several times all throughout the piece followed by
repeated notes in the right hand. From there, a series of triplets in the left hand accompanies the
melody as the music moves forward.

From an early advanced student, the first confusing part which might be a challenge that he/she can
experience is the occurrence of an extended phrase starting from measure 5 leading up to the end of
the first part at measure 8. You see, the direction of the piece is pretty straightforward. I usually only
goes in an upward movement, and the performer doesn’t need to change his/her hand position while
playing most of the phrases [[m 1-4]] However, at the start of measure 5, the melody starts to continue
moving upward instead of moving down one note like the other ones [[m 5-6]] The change of hand
position in the middle of the phrase can pose difficulties to the student and can prohibit them from
playing the whole phrase in a flowing manner. One thing that can happen is that they might do a brief
pause, although not intentional, it may sound as if the music is interrupted before continuing upward, or
worse, they might even play a wrong note when they change hand positions.

One solution for this is to use three different finger numbers in the repeated notes instead of using just
one. For instance, instead of using just finger number three here [[m 1-2, m 3-4]] you can instead use
your fingers number 3, 2, and 1 in playing those three notes [[m 1-2, m 3-4]]. It will take a little bit of
time and practice in order to execute it in such manner, but it will help position your hand for the notes
that follow. So, if we use this technique in measure 5 all the way to the end of the first part [[m 5-8]], we
see that we can now easily achieve continuity because our hand position now lets us to reach higher
notes with ease. This technique prevents us from running out of fingers to use, which helps us shape the
melody better.

Although this piece might look simple just by looking at its notes, the real challenge comes in being able
to play it in such a musical manner. Dynamics can be seen all throughout the piece, and the changes
happen sequentially [[m 1-8]]. The notes in the phrases of this piece are very similar with one another,
so the change of dynamics from forte to piano, from doing a crescendo to a decrescendo, is the flavor
that adds contrast to the music that makes it more interesting to the listener. What makes it more
difficult is that the student must be able to perform the right hand melodically while maintaining the
steadiness and uniformity of the triplets in the left hand, and make sure that those triplets simply
accompany the melody and not overwhelm it. The way to make sure that the balance is maintained all
through the piece is to practice the parts hands separately first. Before playing them together, the
student must already be able to play the right hand melodically with its proper phrasing and dynamics.

Moving forward, the trickiest part of this piece is probably in its second part with the series of triplets in
staccato. [[m 16-18]] Aside from the chromatic movement of the notes and the accidentals that occur
which is already difficult, you must also decide whether you should execute these staccatos with your
fingers or with your wrist. Of course, this depends on the size of the hand of the student and the
technique that the student already has, but a good rule of thumb is to check whether the leaps are
difficult to execute or not. If one has difficulty playing the leaps in this part, you can opt for playing the
first staccato note in each triplet with your wrist, twitching it upward. [[m 16-20]] The added bounce to
it will help you position your hand to easily achieve these kinds of leaps.

One thing that you can also do to add variety to the learning process, and to help the student be more
familiar with the whole part is to simply play only the first four notes in each measure rather than
playing them completely. You can do this with only the right hand, [[m 17-20]] or with both hands
together [[m 17-20]] This makes this section much less complicated and makes the learning process
more enjoyable while also helping the student understand and listen to the direction of the sound.

Now in measure 24, we see a forte-piano in one measure. This is not a technically demanding measure,
but is very crucial to the piece because this enables you to make a crescendo in the succeeding bar,
leading to a very beautiful resolution in the following measure. The tension is released with a
decrescendo in its succeeding note [[m 24-26]]. These dynamic changes occur until we reach the
codetta of the piece at measure 32 where another series of staccato notes will then conclude the music.

As the music ends, we see a sforzando at measure 32 [[m 32]] and then it is sequentially repeated an
octave lower at measure 33 [[m 33]]. To practice this abrupt change and sudden emphasis at the third
beat, we must practice the two measures separately first, isolating them from one another, before
playing the whole two measures together. [m 32-33]]

Being able to play it properly will make the audience feel the rising tension and its soft resolutions,
making listening to the performance more worth the while. Now, let us listen to the piece as we apply
all the things that we talked about in this lesson.

2. Sonatina in C Major, Op. 20, No. 1 – Friedrich Kuhlau

Friedrich Kuhlau is known for his piano music, particularly because of its pedagogical value. His sonatas
and sonatina are known to be not difficult, yet offer an excellent musicality training for more challenging
works moving forward. Aside from his piano works, Kuhlau also wrote operas and other dramatic works,
and during his travels to Vienna he became friends with Beethoven. Unfortunately, a tragedy occurred
in 1831 during a house fire that destroyed most of his life’s works.

In this video, we will learn more about one of his works that are available today and is probably one of
his commonly known sonatinas. Let us go in deeper to his Sonatina in C Major, Op. 20, No. 1

The challenge in this piece lies in one’s capabilities in producing a good sound. Of course, this includes
executing a good legato especially with the alberti bass that is almost present in the piece’s entirety, a
proper phrase shape, and being able to play scales quickly with much clarity that all the notes can be
heard equally.

The beginning of the piece starts with three half notes in an upward direction which is accompanied by
an alberti bass. Then, it is followed by three repeated notes before it continues even further. So, in this
section, a good rule of thumb is to use different finger numbers in these repeated notes so you will be
able to position yourself to reach even further for the succeeding measure. This helps you to not run out
of fingers, as I always say.

One must also take note the articulations that are present in the right hand. The right-hand melody slurs
are pretty detailed, so the student must be able to execute it precisely as how it is written, may it be in
the exposition in parts like this, or in the development section. See? The pianist must realize how
important these slurs are because it makes a very huge difference in the sound that he/she produces.

There are also parts here where the left hand and right hand have different set of dynamics, so this
poses a challenge in dynamic contrasts. For instance, in measure 9, in the transition from the 1st theme
to the 2nd theme, the half notes in the left hand are in mezzo forte while the chords on the right hand
are in piano. So, this is to ensure that the melody that is being played by the left hand will be the one to
stand out. Putting the same dynamic markings on this part will only result to a hammering sound which
of course we do not like to hear. To establish the balance and control of these different dynamics, the
pianist must learn how to listen to their own playing and adjust by all means when they need to. They
need to balance everything out, understand what needs to pop out more, should it be the right hand or
the left hand? Then try playing them together in a very slow manner while tweaking and changing the
weight of how they press every time they feel like the sound can still be improved.

The triplets in the exposition may pose some problems, but it is not in any way difficult rhythmically
because the half notes on the left are always on the beat. Also, the measures with triplets are made
entirely with triplets so the counting will be much less complicated. The difficulty of this passage entirely
depends on the exposure of the student to triplets before attempting this piece.

This piece, although usually played fast, is not as difficult as it sounds. Rather, it is almost a combination
of all the techniques that an early advanced student has already learned—phrasing, staccato, triplets,
dynamics, and many more. It is a piece that is packed with variety of technical challenges which the
students of a certain level can easily overcome, that is why this sonatina is often assigned to students at
an early advanced level more than the other sonatinas in the set.

3. Sonatina in C Major, Op. 36, No. 2 – Muzio Clementi

Now we are going to talk about one of Muzio Clementi’s sonatinas. Clementi is an Italian-born British
pianist and composer who’s famously known for his sonatas.

Muzio Clementi was considered a prodigy in his youth, and was an appointed an organist at 9 and at 12
he had already composed an oratorio. The piano had become more popular in England than anywhere
else in the world, and Clementi, in studying its special features, made brilliant use of the new instrument
and its capabilities. His works and studies developed the techniques of the early piano to such an extent
that he was called “the father of the piano.”
In this lesson, we are going to discuss the first movement of his Sonatina in C Major, Op. 36, No. 2, a
regular feature in the curriculum of most piano students.

The opus 36 were originally published in 1797 and was intended as a progressive teaching tool, with the
difficulty increasing with each sonatina that passes. This set focuses on developing the basic repertoire
of piano skills and have been notably influential in the development of generations of pianists.
Nowadays, this set is still used for their original purpose by teachers.

In this sonatina, the motif gives you a bright and articulated sound that includes two-note slurs in the
beginning [[m 1-4 RH]] The left hand is free moving and accompanying the graceful melody [[m 1-4 LH]]
Putting them together creates this wonderful lovely melodic phrase that starts the sonatina. [[m 1-4]] In
playing the left hand, may it be in the octaves or in the arpeggiated chords, one must rotate his/her
wrist with the notes. Do not play the left hand like this [[m 1-4 LH stiff]] because it will only lead to
stiffness and prohibit you from phrasing it properly. Make sure you rotate your wrist as you play
because in this sonatina, even the left hand must be shaped. [[m 1-4 LH correct]]

Aside from the technical challenges of being able to articulate the notes properly, this sonatina can also
pose a problem in coordination. The scale-wise runs especially in the right hand [[m 8-12 RH]] open up
problems when it is attempted to played even with just the octaves in the left hands [[m 8-9 LH]]. So
basically, the challenge of synchronization of both hands is to be expected in the parts where 16th notes
are present.

In the development section, there is a brief moment where the music switches position from the right
hand going to the left hand. [[m 23-24]] Although short, you must make sure that it isn’t ignored, and
the slight change can be heard and felt. The development section has a motif that is developed from the
theme, so the two-note slurs and phrasing are basically the same. [[m 23-26]]

For the challenging parts of the piece which I mentioned above, it is best to practice the parts hand
separately first before attempting to play them together. The running scales and the coordination of
both hands in these parts are the issues that the student might encounter, but it can easily be solved as
well by slow practice of these segments, and of course, practicing with a metronome will help and make
the learning process much more efficient.

4. Sonatina in F Major, Op. 214, No. 2 – Cornelius Gurlitt

Cornelius Gurlitt was a German composer born in the year 1820. He was in the same class at school with
the notable romantic composer Carl Reinecke. Gurlitt studied with Reinecke’s father for six years. At the
age of seventeen, Gurlitt made his first public performance which was well received by the audience. In
the later parts of his life, he held the position of organist at the main church and a music teacher in
Hamburg. Soon afterwards, he became and was titled as a Royal Prussian Music Director.

In this segment, we will be tackling one of his Sonatinas from Opus 214, the second one in particular,
which is in F major.

The first movement of this sonatina is considered as a not so technically challenging movement I must
say. The speed is in moderato and there aren’t any 16th notes that are seen from start to finish.
The real challenge that the pianist might encounter here are mostly musical. This includes executing a
clean pedal to achieve a rather much peaceful color to the music without overwhelming its sound,
shaping the phrases, understanding when to interrupt or cut the sound, and the control of dynamics.

You see, mezzo forte is the loudest dynamic that this piece has, which only occurs by the start of the
recapitulation once the subject reenters after the development. // So basically, this piece is quite soft,
and its mood offers the listeners a serene type of music that they would surely enjoy.

Now, given that the song is soft sounding, we must consider that in order to achieve a melodic sound in
our right hand, we need to balance it accordingly with the weight we put to the left hand. Of course,
without the dynamics and proper shaping it can sound like this // Although the notes are correct, it will
lead to a sound that is very mechanical and unbalanced.

To establish the balance and control for this situation, the pianist must learn how to listen to their own
playing and adjust by all means when they need to. They need to balance everything out, understand
what needs to pop out more, should it be the right hand // or the left hand //? The pianist must try
playing them together in a very slow manner while tweaking and changing the weight of how they press
every time they feel like the sound can still be improved. It is best to be aware that playing them both at
the same loudness will only lead to a hammering sound in the left hand.

Aside from the dynamics that are occurring in the piece, the pianist must also be careful in looking at the
slurs that are written. Understanding where to interrupt and cut the sound is very crucial in this piece,
because a small change can make a huge difference in its overall sound. // The right-hand melody slurs
are pretty detailed, so the student must be able to execute it precisely as how it is written, may it be in
the exposition in parts like this, or in the development section. //

The piece may actually be easy as it sounds and as simple as it looks, but we simply can’t overlook the
musical learnings that we can get from this piece. This sonatina tackles more on the musical aspect of
the student rather than technical, giving them more control to how they shape phrases and melody. This
is a good piece to use to prepare your early advanced to students to a much more difficult homophonic
music later on.

5.– Johann Andre

Johann Andre was a German composer born on the year 1741. He was known as a musician, a
composer, and also a music publisher of the Classical Period. Andre was pretty successful as a music
publisher businessman. He founded one of the first music publishing houses to be independent of a
bookshop in Germany.

Several years after, Johann Andre acquired Mozart’s musical legacy from Mozart’s widow, Constanze, in
Vienna. She entrusted him with writing concluding measures to the overture to Don Giovanni so that it
could be performed in concert. Soon afterwards, he developed the music publishing business even
further and introduced the lithography for printing of notes.

In this video we are going to talk about his Sonatina Op. 34 in C Major which is the first of the six
sonatinas that are included in the set. This is appropriate for early advanced students to give them a
better understanding of the sonata form before tackling the likes of Kuhlau, Clementi, and other
composers. Unlike the mentioned composers, this sonatina is also short, which is definitely a good
starting point for students to have as part of their repertoire.

Although this piece is not very technical in the right hand, one can experience difficulty in the left hand
because of its unusual movement. You see, unlike other sonatinas that are commonly known. This
features an alberti bass only in the recapitulation. // From the start until this point, the left hand is
almost moving independently in quarter notes. This can pose problems to those students who are not
adept in playing the left hand independently while also worrying about the notes and phrasing in the
right hand.

The only way to solve this, should the pianist be assigned this piece without prior preparation, is to learn
the notes hand separately first with emphasis on the left hand. // Then afterwards, you can shadow the
melody using your right hand just so you get the idea of how it feels playing them both together. //

This piece is rather short, but it is a good material to prepare the student in future pieces with
independent movements in each hand like that of Bach, some easy works of Scarlatti, and many more. It
is rhythmically not complicated, but the simultaneous use of quarter notes in both the left and right
hand is not one to overlook.

6. Sonatina in D Major, No. 3, K 439b – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of the most famous classical composers that every lived, and is
probably known even by non-listeners of classical music. What makes him unique is that unlike any
other composer in musical history, he wrote in all musical genres of his day and excelled in every one of
them. His taste, his command of form, and his range of expression have made him seem the most
universal of all composers.

Today we are going to talk about the third of his Sonatinas from the K439b, which is commonly known
as the Viennese Sonatinas for piano. However, I would like to give you a trivia about this set before we
begin. These six sonatinas were not originally composed by Mozart for the piano. This set is a
contemporary arrangement of the Wind Divertimentos which Mozart wrote in 1783.

These Divertimentos are notable for the conciseness of form and their melodic richness, thus making
this set an excellent introduction to Mozart’s piano music. These are definitely easier than Mozart’s
piano sonatas, yet they still remain as favorite teaching pieces and are beautiful examples of Mozart’s
classical style.

So now let’s start discussing about his Sonatina in D Major, No. 3, from the Viennese Sonatinas.

The first movement of this piece is in Adagio. Although slow, the challenge in this piece lies in the
execution of its thirds, and the right pedaling to prevent the clashing of sounds while trying to produce a
wonderful legato.

In the first measures of this piece, we are welcomed by a wonderful harmony played in both the right
hand and the left hand and we can hear the roots of the chords in the bass. // It is only at the end of
measure 3 that we are welcomed with the first set of thirds with slur markings.// You see, thirds aren’t
that difficult to read, but can pose a challenge to those who haven’t played pieces with fast changing
thirds prior to this. Aside from that, it is not only the thirds that are the problem but also the articulation
that Mozart put in detail. So this // is different from //

It is wise for the learner to simply experiment first what finger numbers to use in order to achieve the
articulation that the composer wants he/she to play. You have to ask yourself, should I use this? Or this?
Does this feel one better? Because this is a very common mistake in playing thirds. One must
understand that it isn’t always about the notes, and that they must also be shaped. The difference with
thirds and just single line music is that you will run out of fingers twice as fast, and you only have very
few options and combinations to use in order to execute its proper articulations.

Yes, a pedal can be used for continuity, but we must never use a pedal to cover up a bad legato
technique. So for this piece, you must first try and experiment different combinations of fingerings
before deciding whether or not to use a sustain pedal.

The music in its entirety are almost only piano in dynamics aside from the parts where staccatos enter //
You have to be sure than even these small changes are noticed by the listener because the soft and
expressive melody of the subject will lead up to that moment, before it ends back again in piano.