Moonlight Sonata, first movement
The first movement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2, the Moonlight, is an Intermediate piece (Octotune grade 5 of 8). It is slow, but needs even triplets, a singing top line and a reader comfortable with four sharps.
At a glance
| Composer | Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | Intermediate: grade 5 of 8 |
| Key | C♯ minor (4 sharps (F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯)) |
| Time | 2/2 |
| Tempo | 60 quarter-note beats a minute, as the app starts it (it can go slower) |
| Length | 69 bars, about 4:36 |
| Hands | both hands |
| Right hand | C3 to D♯6 |
| Left hand | F1 to E4 |
It reaches past the staff: see ledger lines explained.
Levels in the app
| Version | Grade | Levels |
|---|---|---|
| Moonlight Sonata, Op. 27 No. 2: I. Adagio sostenuto | 5 of 8 | Melody, Melody and bass, Full |
Practice notes
The first movement of Beethoven's Sonata in C sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2 (1801), was nicknamed the Moonlight by a critic after Beethoven's death. It is slow and quiet, and it looks simple on the page: the same rippling triplet pattern almost all the way through.
Why it is harder than it looks
- Three layers, two hands. The left hand plays deep octaves and bass notes. The right hand plays the triplets and, over them, the melody. The melody must sing with the fourth and fifth fingers while the thumb and other fingers keep the triplets soft.
- Evenness. The triplets never stop, for over four minutes. Any unevenness shows.
- Four sharps, plus accidentals as the harmony wanders.
- The pedal. Beethoven asks for the sustaining pedal throughout, changed with each chord so the harmonies don't blur.
Octotune grades it 5 of 8: few notes per second, but a wide range and plenty of accidentals.
Practice plan
- Block the triplets. Play each group of three as a single chord to learn the harmony and the hand shapes.
- Then the triplets, slowly and evenly, without the melody.
- The melody alone, with its dotted rhythm, singing.
- Right hand together, melody louder than the triplets. Then add the left hand.
- Work a page at a time with the A–B loop, at 60% speed.
Levels in Octotune. The Melody and bass level is a good way in: the right hand's top line over the left hand's lowest note. Because the right hand's top line here includes the tops of the triplets, the Melody level is not quite the tune alone.
Before you start: reading both clefs with ledger lines (Octotune Unit 9) and a key signature (Unit 10). Four sharps go beyond the path, so mark them in your mind before each page.
Questions
Is the Moonlight Sonata hard to play?
The first movement is slow and has few fast notes, but it asks for control: unbroken triplets, a melody balanced on top of them in the same hand, and four sharps. Octotune grades it 5 of 8, intermediate. The third movement is much harder.
What key is the Moonlight Sonata in?
C sharp minor, with four sharps in the key signature. The first movement is marked Adagio sostenuto, in cut time (2/2).
Credits and licence
- Music: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
- Typeset by Stewart Holmes for the Mutopia Project
- Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5
- Source and printable sheet music: the Mutopia Project’s page for this piece