Week 1: Mapping Assignment and Targeted Practice Plan
WEEK 1: MAPPING ASSIGNMENT
1) Map out the first movement with score annotation of foreground details. Listen to a recording and annotate key terms, harmonic areas, and sections. Use the terms below:
Key Terms: Sonata Form (typical first movement)
- Introduction (if there is material presented before first theme)
- Exposition
- Theme 1
- Transition
- Theme 2
- Closing (if material presented after EEC: essential expositional closure)
- Development
- Thematic Ideas / New Devices (counterpoint, episode, fragmentation, transformation, combination, sequence, false recapitulation, misdirection)
- Re-transition (connects development and recapitulation; tonally unstable)
- Dominant Lock (home key prepared by an extended pedal point on dominant)
- Recapitulation
- Theme 1
- Transition
- Theme 2
- Closing
- Coda (if material presented after ERC: essential recapitulation closure)
Key Terms: Rondo Form (typical last movement)
- Five-Part Rondo: ABACA + Coda (optional)
- Seven-Part Rondo: ABACABA (symmetrical)
- Refrain (A): main theme, returning in home key
- Episodes (B, C): different melodies shifting to closely related keys
- Coda: repeating/tonic-confirming passage leading to final cadence
Note: some sonatas don't follow the sonata form/rondo form outline exactly. If you choose such a sonata, research its form and note any alterations where necessary.
WEEK 1: TARGETED PRACTICE PLAN
After you've mapped out the sonata's form, use the attached document to target the places and concepts you'll need to practice most. Do this for each movement of your sonata.
(Please print out, and write in the appropriate information!).
- Identify the places that need the most work, and spend more time on those right from the beginning of the TWI. Time yourself: explore several technical methods for the toughest passages within a strict window (e.g., "I struggle with this arpeggiated pattern, but by the end of 3–4 minutes, I will have it choreographed so I can do it slowly.")
- Log your practice time on the most difficult passages.
- Treat technical challenges as phrases with a musical goal. We often hear Classical-period figurations as outdated, but composers meant them to be interesting.
- Use the categories to find your targets for practice this week.
81 replies
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I started first movement of Haydn c minor sonata hob xvi 20 a couple of weeks ago and more or less have it in my hands now. Going through this exercise highlighted a lot f and p markings, many specifically marked for each hand ... also thinking of the attributes helped me be more aware of where the peaks and troughs are.
By contrast, the second movement which I started looking at yesterday have no dynamic markings and not much of anything else. Still, working on shaping the phrases to make the music flow is going to be interesting.
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Am I going bonkers? I can’t see a list of suggested sonatas anywhere? In fact, I only found this page because somebody kindly put up a link to it. Please could this list be reposted?
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Hello! It is here:
https://piano-community.tonebase.co/t/m1yjmnc/important-general-information
It has been confusing for people because there was an initial announcement thread, then the general information thread and the week 1 thread appeared about same time. You can view all the related threads by going first to the Two Week Intensives and then selecting the intensive to drill down to the related threads (pictures included!).
This makes me seem very on top of things but I also completely missed the fact there was a list. 😀
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thanks for clarifying where everything is! Most helpful of you.
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wonderful! Thank you so much Dustin!
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Hi, Jared, thank you for doing this. Like Victoria, I have also been working on Beethoven's Pathetique but learning each movement separately over last few years. I am now working on the first movement now and am bringing back the second and third movement.
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Hi Jarred, since this is the first time I'm doing this kind of exercise, I am not sure if I got it right for "fastest/slowest harmonic rhythm" and "thinnest/thickest texture". Attached is my analysis for the first movement of the Mozart K282.
In terms of targeted practice for this first movement, it would the dynamics control, the phrasing (like singing) and emotional expression in this Adagio. I need to count carefully when I started the first 3 bars to make sure my timing was right. The counted number of piano and forte, and the number of hairpin crescendo and diminuendo actually surprises me. Quite a detailed marking.
Also, the Coda (bar 34) from 33, seems a bit of sudden change. I look forward to hearing your feedback and comment. Thank you so much for sharing this lesson with us.
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Good morning, Sonata team!
I've started Hob XVI:23 (F major) and have noticed that the gorgeous scan of the original manuscript has no tempo or dynamic markings.
Maybe need to supplement with a different edition from IMSLP? Is Peter's the nex best?
Henle on IMSLP has no markings either...so I even used credits to buy the edition, thinking that the Henle on IMSLP was not correct, LOL.
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Hi, attached is my Mapping Assignment for Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata third movement.
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Sorry, but not finding the list of proposed sonatas, I had already decided to use D959 by Schubert for this TWI. I’m already working on this sonata for a few months, but my goal is to get a clear understanding of the structure of the first movement in order to help me memorize it. If I have enough time I would also want to start analyzing the 4th movement, which is in Rondo form (ABACABACoda) and which I’ve just started to work on a week ago. But this 4th movement is definitely much too long for this two weeks.
