Structure and practice techniques

Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata: Third Movement

Hi, everyone! We're back with Beethoven and his Moonlight Sonata. Let's dive immediately into the opening of the third movement, which is the most virtuosic one. In a sense, virtuosity here does mean fast; you need fast fingers.

Practicing Fast Passages

I'll try to show you how to:

• Practice those passages
• Use proper hand position
• Manage finger interconnection between 3 and 4

This is very important because, for these passages, you will always need fingers 1, 2, and 5. But for the third note in a row, you will have to decide between three or four.

Look here:

• First broken chord
• Second broken chord

These are all inversions of C sharp minor.

Fingerings to Remember

• With an upper octave, I use 3,
• Then again 3, now 4,
• And then we repeat the whole thing again: 3, 3, 4.

So, it's essential to practice slowly, regardless of whether you're a beginner or an advanced student, whether you're already a concert pianist.

I started playing this piece back in the 80s, and I still feel challenged by it every time anew. Whenever you come back to it, always remember to practice slowly because every figure matters.

For instance, here we have the broken C sharp minor chord right at the beginning.

Then we go to the dominant:

• For this one, I'm using third in the middle, fourth, fourth, and then again: 3, 4, 4 (the other way around).
• Next, we reach C sharp major, which acts here as A dominant to F sharp minor.

Structure of the Piece

We have groups of two bars, two bars, two bars. The first six bars are divided into pairs:

• Once you get those three figures right and repeat them, you're set.
• And again, the same principle for the third time around.

So, this is how you practice:

1. Know the exact chord.
2. Break that chord.

Bar Seven

In bar seven, we have only one bar, meaning we have just that one position. We also have repeats and a new harmony with A in the bass.

This is very important, and it recurs throughout the piece.

Whenever this motif returns, think of it as an engine. The tempo indication is presto agitato, meaning it's very fast and agitated.

Left Hand Technique

When you have the left hand really short, imagine a bassoon player. Everything is in piano except for this very last outburst of sforzando.

Then again, piano outburst and repeat the same.

We are really here agitated yet very soft.

Practicing Dynamics

• Remember to practice slowly, and you can increase the tempo.
• You can even practice with accents to emphasize crucial moments.

Over time, once you've sorted out all:

• Fingering issues
• Balance issues
• Proper harmonies

You can then increase the tempo.

Key Dynamics to Remember

• Stay in piano,
• Transition to sforzando, piano, sforzando, piano,
• In bar seven, we have a crescendo that spans two bars, bringing us finally to forte.

I will play this first beat until the fermata. Here, you finally reach forte!

Remember that pedal tone issue from the first movement with the low bass line G sharp? It comes up again here.

So listen:

• I didn't play forte the rest so you can concentrate.

Again, it's the same thematic material that Beethoven uses, connecting movements 1 and 3.

Finally, when we reach this G sharp, we start a new french piano.

Looking Ahead

In the next lesson, we'll explore:

• Alberti basses
• The return of this famous Neapolitan chord
• Much more!

I look forward to welcoming you back then!