Minuet in C: Hands Together

Hello and welcome back. I'm Joseph Hoffman, and in this lesson we're going to be learning how to play "Minuet in C" hands together.
Let's take a look at the score to get started.
When you first put a piece hands together, it's important to see how the notes line up with each other.
You can see that the first note you play in the right hand is played at the same time as the first note of the left hand.
And then you can see that the next note your right hand plays is all by itself.
We have eighth notes in the right hand, and quarter notes in the left hand. So we'll basically play two right hand notes for every left-hand
note played. So we have together, then right, together, then right, then together, then right, and that pattern continues.
Let's try it on the piano.
All right, let's find our position. Here's my middle C. Left hand finger 5 down on bass C. Right hand is up here in this treble C area.
Finger 5 on this high G,
and what I like to do when I'm putting something hands together is just a little bit at a time. Let's just take this first measure,
and I like to review the right hand part once
just to kind of refresh my memory, and then I play the left hand part once,
and then I'll try it together really, really super slow motion.
And I'll do that a couple of times.
Maybe gradually speeding it up as I'm comfortable with it
until I feel like I pretty much got it down.
So now what I'd like you to do is press pause and try that first measure on your own.
Try just right hand alone once, left hand alone once to make sure it's fresh in your memory,
and then very slowly hands together, repeat several times until you feel like you've got it, then press play to go on.
Okay, once you have that first measure down,
you're ready to go on to the next measure. So again, maybe just take the right hand alone once,
the left hand alone once,
and then put it together.
Okay, do that several times,
and then you can link it with the first measure.
So now press pause and see if you can get those first two measures hands together.
Then press play to go on.
Now next in measure three, we've got a half note in the left hand.
Remember, a half note is equal for 2 beats, which is also equal to four eighth notes. So the right hand is going to play 1-& 2-&.
We get four notes in the right hand to just this one note in the left hand. 1-& 2-& 3-&, and on beat 3 we've got to drop the octave down to this C. 1-& 2-& 3-&
Okay, now press pause and work out measure three hands together, then press play to go on.
Okay, now let's link measure three to measure four. We have 1-& 2-& 3-&, then our left hand thumb is going to come to G
while the right hand goes 1-& finger 3 has to cross over 2-& 3
and on beat 3, both hands play together quarter note.
So watch that again. 1-& 2-& 3-&, 1-& 2-& 3
Now press pause and try and put measure three together with measure four hands together,
then press play to go on.
Now, let's listen to all of line one hands together. We have:
So now press pause and try putting all of those measures together, then press play to go on.
Now, let's look at measures five and six,
and let's do the right hand alone once.
same as measures one and two, right?
So now let's look at the left hand alone. We have 1 2 3, 1 2 3
Half note followed by a quarter note. So together we get 1 2 3, 1 2 3
Now press pause and try measures five and six hands together, then press play to go on.
Now, let's check out measure seven. First try your right hand alone.
Now you try.
Good, then the left hand alone is C G, then low ground G. C G G Now you try.
Good, then together we get 1 2 3.
Okay, now press pause and work on just that measure
several times until you feel confident, then press play to go on.
Now, let's connect measure seven to measure eight. We have 1 2 3, and then both hands play a C with finger 1
while left hand comes down G with finger 2, C with finger 5. C G C
Connected to measure seven, 1 2 3, then finger 1 plays C in both hands, G C in the left.
Now press pause and work out measures seven and eight hands together on your own, then press play to go on.
Now, that may be a good place for you to stop for today. If you'd like to just go back and review measures one through eight
the first two lines, that could be enough, but if you're ready for a little bit more then let's go on and look at the B section.
Remember, in the B section it's going to feel a lot like the A section, but now we have these F-sharps.
Then here we use a finger 2 on G. The left hand jumps up an octave.
and while the left hand is doing that,
you have to be shifting your right hand back up to the original position for the A section.
So watch that again. Here's measure fifteen. We have:

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