How To Play Moonlight Sonata On The Piano Easy

"Moonlight" Sonata and Other Easy Classical Songs That Sound Impressive

Lisa Witt / Classical Songs / Apr 23

Some of the nearly iconic classical pieces are easier than they await! In this three-part tutorial, nosotros'll teach y'all how to play Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata, Pachelbel's "Canon in D," and Bach's "Prelude in C Major."

Download the free sheet music kickoff:

"Catechism in D" sheet music
"Moonlight" Sonata canvas music
"Prelude in C Major" sheet music

Then, let's get started!

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#one. Johann Pachelbel – "Catechism in D"

DOWNLOAD CANON IN D SHEET MUSIC

If yous've attended a wedding, you lot've probably heard "Catechism in D."

It'due south an iconic song, and information technology begins with an piece of cake chord progression before building into more circuitous 8th and sixteenth notes.

Hitting all those fast notes will take fourth dimension, simply information technology's okay to stumble around in the beginning! One time yous build some muscle memory, you'll take faster fingers in no fourth dimension.

Since the "fast part" of the song is like to the D major calibration, a useful warm-upwardly might be practicing your D major scale!

🔥🎹 HOT TIP! Did y'all know that virtually all pop music descends from the iconic chord progression in "Canon in D"? Check out why y'all secretly beloved classical music.

#ii. Ludwig van Beethoven – "Moonlight" Sonata (Easy 1st Mvt.)

DOWNLOAD "MOONLIGHT" SONATA SHEET MUSIC

The "Moonlight" Sonata was one of my favorite songs to play as a teenager.

What can I say? Information technology helped me feel my feelings 🥺

The sheet music to "Moonlight Sonata" may seem daunting (four sharps?? wha?!) but if you look at it the piece like a series of chords, it's more approachable.

The slow tempo of this movement makes it beginner-friendly too. You can play slowly and nonetheless audio pro.

And there's opportunity to get DRAMATIC. Employ your pedal and experiment with a heavier left hand.

🧠 Food for thought! Beethoven never named this piece "Moonlight." He but called information technology Piano Sonata No. 14. Beethoven as well broke convention past starting his sonata with a sloooow movement. Back in his day, a fast movement typically came kickoff.

#3. Johann Sebastian Bach – "Prelude No. i in C Major"

DOWNLOAD "PRELUDE NO. 1 IN C MAJOR" SHEET MUSIC

Bach's Prelude No. 1 in C Major as well has scary-looking sheet music. But when yous put information technology into the language of chords, information technology'southward beginner-friendly and sounds ethereal ☁️

In my tutorial, I'll break down the elementary chords that make up this song. Y'all'll recognize several beginner chords here, including a Dmin7 chord!

Isn't information technology neat that composers have been using the same scattering of chords for centuries? As a pop music lover, I love seeing everything connect.

Like the "Moonlight" Sonata, Bach's Prelude sounds overnice even when played at a slow pace. It'southward a heavenly piece and i of my favorites 🙂

Portrait of JS Bach — The Bach homo himself.

📜 History Bite: The Prelude No. 1 in. C Major comes from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Bach's seminal piece of work for the keyboard. This two-book volume contains two preludes and two fugues in all 12 major and minor keys, 48 pieces in all. Whew—that'due south a lot of preludes and fugues!

Lisa Witt has been instruction piano for xix years and in that fourth dimension has helped hundreds of students learn to play the songs they love. Lisa received classical piano grooming through the Royal Conservatory of Music, but she has since embraced popular music and playing past ear in guild to accompany herself and others.