The library · Classical
Sonatina in C major, Op. 36 No. 1: 1st movement
Muzio Clementi
The sonatina every piano student meets one day: a complete sonata form in thirty-eight bars, built from scales and arpeggios.
C major · 2/2 · 156 beats per minute · 38 bars · 58 s · intermediate level
The form
The sections of the piece and their chords: the map you learn before playing a single note.
A B C A' Coda
| Section | Bars | Chords | Phrase ending |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1–8 | C · G · C · F♯m7♭5 · Gsus4 · D · G I · V · I · ♯ivø7 · Vsus4 · V/V · V |
Imperfect cadence |
| B | 9–16 | D/F♯ · Gmaj7 · Gmaj7/F♯ · Dm7/A · G/B · Cmaj7 · C · Dm · G · G7/F V/V · Vmaj7 · Vmaj7 · ii7 · V · Imaj7 · I · ii · V · V7 |
Imperfect cadence |
| C | 17–24 | Cm/E♭ · E♭ · Bdim · Cm · G · G7/F · Dsus4 · E♭ · Gsus4/C · Bdim · Cm · G · C i · ♭III · vii° · i · V · V7 · IIsus4 · ♭III · Vsus4 · vii° · i · V · I |
Perfect cadence |
| A' | 25–32 | C · G · C · Gsus4 · G6 · C · G/B I · V · I · Vsus4 · V6 · I · V |
Imperfect cadence |
| Coda | 33–38 | Cmaj7 · Cmaj7/B · G7/D · C/E · Fmaj7 · F · Em/G · C Imaj7 · Imaj7 · V7 · I · IVmaj7 · IV · iii · I |
— |
The key
- C major
- No sharps or flats
- Scale
- C · D · E · F · G · A · B
- Pillar chords
- I = C · IV = F · V7 = G7
The tricky passages
- Bars 9–10: fast runs (5.2 notes per second), a melodic leap (octave), notes outside the key
- Bar 17: fast runs (5.2 notes per second), a melodic leap (octave), notes outside the key
- Bars 20–21: fast runs (5.2 notes per second), a melodic leap (octave)
The plan: 20 days
Half an hour a day. First I help you understand the map of the piece, then we lay down the chord framework, learn each section phrase by phrase, work on the tricky passages, put it together and bring it up to tempo, until you can play it from memory.
More pieces from the library
- Ode to Joy · Ludwig van Beethoven
- Prelude in C major, BWV 846 · Johann Sebastian Bach
- Invention No. 1 in C major, BWV 772 · Johann Sebastian Bach
- Minuet in G major, BWV Anh. 114 · Christian Petzold
- Minuet in G minor, BWV Anh. 115 · Christian Petzold
- Sonata in C major, K. 545: 1st movement · Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart