Lesson 36: Prelude in D major

Muzio Clementi · Level 3 (Late beginner) · Classical · Piano

From Clementi’s Introduction to the Art of Playing on the Piano Forte Op. 42 (1801), a method gathering his own preludes and easy arrangements of works by great masters. D major, 4/4, 6 bars (about one minute), complete score.

▶ Play this piece with the interactive score

How to practise it

• Listen first: the site plays it while the score scrolls.
• Wait mode: the score waits for you at every note, at your own pace.
• Tempo challenge: play in time, with a score and a map of the bars you got right.
• Clementi insists on legato and an even touch: listen to the end of each note before playing the next one. One hand sometimes plays two voices: hold the long notes for their full value and let the main line sing louder than the accompaniment. Triplets and other tuplets must be perfectly even: count them aloud with the metronome. The left hand makes wide leaps: look at the landing note in advance and move early, without rushing the rhythm.

More pieces by Muzio Clementi

• Lesson 10: Sarabande (after Corelli)
• Lesson 11: Gigue (after Corelli)
• Lesson 16: Allemande (after Corelli)
• Lesson 17: Sarabande (after Corelli)
• Lesson 19: Air “Triste raison”
• Lesson 20: Air “Fal lal la”
• Lesson 21: Larghetto (after Pleyel)
• Lesson 23: Variation 1 (after Pleyel)

Source : Mutopia Project · CC BY-SA 4.0