Beethoven Sonata, Movement 2 - Suzuki Book 4

Congratulations!  You're now working on the second movement of your first Sonata!  This is one of my favorite pieces and you now have all the skills you need to be able to play such a beautiful work! You've worked hard in the first movement at switching from duple to triple meter and as much as you may love to use that skill, you don't need it outside of measure 40 in this movement (make sure those are triplets!).

It IS tempting to use those triplets though - especially when you get to measure 114.   This rhythm is the same sort of thing we worked so hard on in the Minuet in Book 3, so you've got it!

Here is the portion we're looking at:

If you find you're having particular difficulty here, or your teacher has brought this up in your lesson, here is a quick tip for how to practice it so that you have the correct rhythm in your ear:

Happy Practicing!

Melody, Suzuki Book 2

Melody, while simple in sound, has its moments of complication!

Measures 7-8 and measures 11-12 have finger switches and movement that takes practice!

The finger switch in measure 8 is the one that students forgo quickly, which causes a tense stretch between fingers 3 and 4.  The last three beats of measure 8 should be practiced on their own first.

Measures 7-8:

The finger switch in measure 11 insures that the melodic line will remain legato.  It feels symmetrical in the hands since the LH is also inching down the keyboard by placing the thumb on treble G.

Measures 11-12:

And there you have it!

Grouping and Gestures

Once a student has learned how to distinctly play each key, the next step is to learn how to group them together to make a fluid phrase!

Suzuki students learn this in Honeybee.  Here is an example of a student practicing two groups of four notes by using a gesture to keep them controlled and even.


This is best taught by rote as groupings is pretty personal in terms of style and is not indicated in the score.

Ready..... Play!

From the very beginning, we're working on getting a feel for the keyboard, good tone, and the ability to play from the keys instead of hammering into them.

Here is a quick video of a beginning student as she works on this concept:




You might also find useful:  Working on the Variations and Body Staff Basics.

Working on the Variations with Your Little One

So you've been working on labeling finger numbers, and you've been playing the copy game.  You've been practicing clapping the Twinkle Variation rhythms, and you've been working on finding C.  Your son or daughter is finally comfortable with "ready-play" and springs from the note instead of hammering into it.  Congratulations!

Let's move on from one note now to starting the A section (first part) of the Twinkle Variations.  This video shows how one might go about practicing with a child at this level at home:



This child is able to keep a rhythm in his head for the entirety of the exercise.  If he were to play an incorrect rhythm (or go back to Variation A, which often happens), I would simply demonstrate for him on the note we're on and continue in the same manner.

You notice we're finding his finger number by turning our hands over - this keeps his hand position relaxed for playing.  This is the A section of the Twinkle pattern.  You probably have the finger numbers and keys notated in your notebook in the following manner:

We'll use this same pattern over and over again and your child will pick it up through the repetition and reinforcement of the sound through the CD, your playing, and his practice with you every day.

Little Waltz - RH B section

By Book 3, Suzuki students are very comfortable with larger gestures to create groupings of notes.  After all, they've been doing it easily since Little Playmates in Book 1!

Little Waltz though, has a B section that is often awkward for students who approach it in the same manner as the A section.

Practicing the gestures that will group these notes together will make the section much more fluid:

Go Tell Aunt Rhody - RH

In Go Tell Aunt Rhody, students are faced both with a finger switch and multiple repeated notes in the melody.  To keep the melody fluid, from the keys, and relaxed, I have students practice their repeated notes as follows:


Practice Variation B for the same feeling.

Clementi Op. 36 No. 1, Vivace

This Vivace piece is a lot of fun to play, and one of the things that makes it really roll is a fluid scale passage in the RH.  This passage happens in C and in G starting on the third note of the scale.  Here it is in C:

In order to obtain the most fluid movement while emphasizing the most important notes, a student might want to practice this passage in sections.  In the picture above, the practice sections are marked.  The first in pink, the second in yellow, and the third within the green brackets.  Below is how each section would be practiced fluidly.