Sonatina by Clementi, 3rd Movement: Left Hand

Hello and welcome back. I'm Joseph Hoffman and today we're going to be learning the left-hand for the third movement of Clementi's "Sonatina" opus 36 number one. Let's get started by checking out the score. Today we're learning the left-hand part down here in the bass staff. So, take a glance at the left-hand part and tell me what you notice. You probably notice we have a lot of these broken chords. Just three eighth notes: DO MI SO DO MI SO Now, the thing to be careful of is that sometimes you feel like oh, we're just going along doing the same thing, but again the composer might trick you, so never get too comfortable. Notice these three notes are different. It's not C E G, we have C D F. So be really careful of when patterns can change, and then we're back to C E G, C E G. Okay, and then the pattern changes again here. Watch the fingering and the notes G D G. I'd like to challenge you again this time to pause the video and learn all the notes of this left-hand part on this entire page. I thin you can handle this on your own. Pause the video, be careful of the notes, be careful of the fingerings. And learn this on your own, then press play and we'll check it out together. Now, I'll play the left-hand part for you on page one, and if you'd like to try playing along, otherwise you can just listen. We won't go at a vivace speed, let's go at more of a moderato. I'll count 3 beats and then we'll start. 1 2 3 1 2 3 Then forte Piano now, 2 3, 1 2 3 1 and piano, 2 3 1 2 3, forte 1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 3 1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 3 1 2 3 And then we're on to page two. Now if that matched what you played, great job. If you heard some notes that didn't match what you played, then pause and go back and try and learn it correctly. Make sure that the notes you are playing match what I just played. And then let's give you the challenge, I'd like you to try choosing any four measures on this page, and pause the video and work on it hands together. I don't expect you to learn the whole thing hands together today, but maybe you take these first four measures, and very slowly at first, maybe this slow: Try some of it hands together. Okay, so choose any four measures, work on it hands together, and then press play and we'll go on. Now this week later on, every day as you come to the piano to practice you're going to tackle a little more hands together little more hands together until you can do the whole movement hands together, but again that might take you a few days It's a big challenge to put an entire movement hands together, but let's take a look at page two now. All right, let's check out page two. Take a glance at the left hand part for page two and tell me what you notice. Just as we saw with the right hand, this section begins the same. It's only starting right here in measure fifty-one, two, three, four, measure fifty-four we start to get something new for the left hand. We've got this downward arpeggio: C major arpeggio going down, so note the fingering that's provided there. And so a few new things to learn here in the left-hand part. Why don't you pause the video, and let's start right, maybe let's start right here in measure fifty. And on your own, learn the left hand part to the end and then press play and we'll try it together. Let's take a look at the left-hand part starting at measure fifty-one left-hand part. You're welcome to try playing along with me, or you can just listen. It should sound like this: 1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 3 1 2 3 Now, did that match what you learned for the left hand part? If yes, great job. If not, no problem. Just pause the video, go back and learn whatever you need to do to make those notes match what I just played. Now once again, over the next couple of days you're going to take one section at a time and work on putting this hands together now. Very slowly at first, one section at a time. As you're practicing this, I highly recommend that you find the hard parts and practice those hard parts so much they become the easy parts for you. I have found over and over that this is maybe the trickiest section in this sonatina. So, I put this green box around that because when I practice a piece, I'm going to look for the hardest part and I start my practice every day with the hardest part and I'll do that so many times that I can do it three in a row perfect: no missed notes. And if I really want to push myself and give myself a super challenge, I'll do it five in a row no missed notes. Okay, and maybe just right hand alone at first. REST Aaa, I missed one note at the end, so I have to do it again. Okay, I'm going to be really picky with myself, and if I miss even one note I'm going to say, oh not good enough, I'm going to try that again until I can play it with no missed notes, and then I'm going to see if I can do it three in a row no missed notes. then I'm going to try the left hand, and then I'm going to try it hands together. Until I can do it three in a row no missed notes. And I don't care how fast, okay it's got to be slow and careful. First, get it correct, and then you can gradually speed it up. You may do it a hundred times over the next couple of weeks to really master that, but if y ...