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Moonlight Sonata

Ludwig van Beethoven · Key of A minor · 12/8 · ♩. = 54

The Moonlight Sonata is the first movement of Beethoven’s Sonata No. 14 (1801), originally in C sharp minor. Pianory moved it to A minor for easier reading, in 12/8, 9 bars long. The right hand plays even groups of three while singing the melody with the fifth finger, over long bass notes and octaves in the left hand.

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What makes it tricky

The hard part lives inside the right hand: the triplets must stay even and soft while the fifth-finger melody rises above them. The harmony changes almost every bar, so the fingers keep moving to new shapes.

How to practice it

  1. Pick Right hand at 50% and play only the triplets, counting "1 2 3, 1 2 3" until they are perfectly even.
  2. Still in the right hand, press a little more with the fifth finger so the melody stands out from the triplets.
  3. Pick Both at 50%. The left hand holds each bass note through the bar, so it only needs to move on time at each new bar.