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Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5 No. 1

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) · sheet music

  • Key G major
  • Time 4/4
  • Levels 5–7
  • Passages 3

Your turn · both hands

 

 

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Ludwig van Beethoven, German classical (1770–1827). The reading release has 3 passages from this piece at levels 5–7; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 9–12 for both hands together.

Practice the hard bars →

The hardest stretch is bars 9–16 at level 7.

Your practice path

Learn it the way teachers do: each hand on its own, then together, then the hard bars. Each step is a real graded passage of Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5 No. 1.

  1. Hands together · bars 9–12 level 5
  2. The hardest bars · bars 9–16 level 7

How to play Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5 No. 1

  1. Tempo:Moderato means a comfortable, walking pace. Choose a speed where the eighth-note scale runs sound smooth and not hurried.
  2. Right hand:The scale runs are the main right-hand task. Keep the thumb relaxed and pass it under the hand without a sideways jerk.
  3. Left hand:The left hand supports with held notes and simple intervals. Hold the long notes for their full length and listen so they never overpower the tune.
  4. Hands together:Check that the first note of each right-hand run lines up exactly with the left-hand note on the beat. Slow practice with a metronome makes this automatic.
  5. Dynamics:Even in a small piece, phrases rise and fall. Shape each run so the top note is the loudest and let the end of the phrase soften.
  6. Practice:Practice the scale runs as separate five-note pieces first, then link them. A short repeated run at a moderate tempo builds evenness faster than playing all the way through.
  7. Reading:With one sharp in the signature, every F is F sharp unless cancelled. Mark a few of them in pencil before the first read.

Common mistakes

  • Rushing the end of each run. Fix: Practice stopping on the target note and holding it before moving on.
  • Treating all eighths with the same weight. Fix: Lean lightly on the first note of each beat group.
  • Letting the Romanze melody sound mechanical. Fix: Sing the tune quietly and copy the breaths in your phrasing.

Structure: two-movement sonatina (Moderato and Romanze)

A short Moderato in G major is followed by a lyrical Romanze, together lasting about three and a half minutes. No formal analysis was found in the sources checked, so each movement is described here only in broad terms.

I · Moderato (G major)
A moderately paced opening movement; the passages on this page have running eighth-note scales in the right hand over a simple left hand. Good practice for connecting scale runs across the hand.
II · Romanze
The second movement, titled Romanze, a name usually given to a song-like piece. Let the melody lead and keep the accompaniment quiet.

About Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5 No. 1

The Sonatina in G major is the first of two small sonatinas listed in the Anhang, or appendix, of the Kinsky-Halm Beethoven catalogue as Anh. 5. That appendix gathers works that are doubtfully attributed or spurious. IMSLP notes that Beethoven's authorship is now considered unlikely, and Piano Library calls the G major possibly spurious, so the attribution is best treated with caution.

Even so, it remains a staple of early piano study. It has two short movements, a Moderato of about a minute and a half and a Romanze of about two minutes, and Henle, Könemann and Wiener Urtext all publish it.

The sonatina was printed in the old Breitkopf and Härtel complete Beethoven edition, and arrangements exist for violin and piano, orchestra and guitar, including one by the guitarist Miguel Llobet.

  • The G major sonatina has a second catalog number, Biamonti 61/1, in addition to Anh. 5 No. 1.
  • Beethoven's authorship is now considered unlikely, according to IMSLP.
  • The F major companion, Anh. 5 No. 2, has an Allegro assai and a Rondo, while the G major has a Moderato and a Romanze.
  • Piano Library rates the Moderato at 1.5 and the Romanze at 1 on its difficulty scale, making this one of the easier pieces attributed to Beethoven.

Why the first passage is level 5

That passage is level 5 rather than 4 because a hand covers more than one position, it leaps a major sixth.

One sharp (F#) for G major. The passages here have running eighth-note scales over simple left-hand intervals, so keep your eye on the right-hand contour.

Questions about Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5 No. 1

How hard is Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5 No. 1 to play?
Its passages grade from level 5 to level 7 on Real Sight Reader's ten-level reading scale, so the full piece is intermediate to advanced reading. The hardest stretch is bars 9–16 at level 7.
Is there an easy part of Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5 No. 1 for beginners?
Its easiest passage is level 5, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 9–12 for both hands together, the level-5 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 5 because a hand covers more than one position and it leaps a major sixth.
What key and time signature is Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5 No. 1 in?
Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5 No. 1 is in G major, 1 sharp. The engraving on this page is in 4/4 time.
Who composed Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5 No. 1?
Ludwig van Beethoven, German classical (1770–1827). The Sonatina in G major is the first of two small sonatinas listed in the Anhang, or appendix, of the Kinsky-Halm Beethoven catalogue as Anh.
Can I practice Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5 No. 1 online for free?
Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 3 graded passages from Sonatina in G Major, Anh. 5 No. 1 in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
Did Beethoven really write the Sonatina in G major?
Probably not. IMSLP notes that his authorship is now considered unlikely, and Piano Library calls it possibly spurious. It is still widely played and taught under his name.
What does Anh. mean in Anh. 5?
Anh. stands for Anhang, German for appendix. In the Kinsky-Halm catalogue of Beethoven's works the appendix lists pieces that are doubtfully attributed to him or spurious.
How long is the Sonatina in G?
About three and a half minutes in total, roughly a minute and a half for the Moderato and two minutes for the Romanze.

Every passage, easiest first

The reading release grades 3 distinct passages of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:

Level 5
bars 9–12 both hands · bars 13–16 both hands
Level 7
bars 9–16 both hands

More pieces to sight-read

Score: public-domain engraving from the corpus (pdmx), graded by the piano-reading-v2-20261023-identity-audit reading release.

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