How hard is Preparatory School, Op. 101 No. 15 to play?

Its passages grade from level 1 to level 2 on Real Sight Reader's ten-level reading scale, which keeps all of it within beginner reading. The hardest stretch is bars 9–16 at level 2.

Is there an easy part of Preparatory School, Op. 101 No. 15 for beginners?

Yes. Start with bars 1–8 for the right hand alone, the level-1 passage in the reader at the top of this page.

What key and time signature is Preparatory School, Op. 101 No. 15 in?

The engraving on this page is in 4/4 time.

Who composed Preparatory School, Op. 101 No. 15?

Ferdinand Beyer, German romantic (1803–1863). No.

Can I practice Preparatory School, Op. 101 No. 15 online for free?

Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 5 graded passages from Preparatory School, Op. 101 No. 15 in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.

How long does No. 15 take to play?

The PTNA Piano Music Encyclopedia lists about 50 seconds.

Where does No. 15 fall in Beyer's book?

It is one of the early Exercises for Both Hands among the 106 numbered pieces of the Vorschule im Klavierspiel, Op. 101, printed on the same page as Nos. 12 to 14 in the Peters edition.

Is Beyer's Op. 101 in the public domain?

Yes. Beyer died in 1863, and IMSLP lists old editions such as Peters and Schirmer as public domain.

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Preparatory School, Op. 101 No. 15

Ferdinand Beyer (1803–1863) · sheet music

Time 4/4
Levels 1–2
Passages 5

Your turn · both hands

Preparing your passage…

Ferdinand Beyer, German romantic (1803–1863). The reading release has 5 passages from this piece at levels 1–2; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 1–8 for the right hand alone.

Practice the hard bars →

The hardest stretch is bars 9–16 at level 2.

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 Preparatory School, Op. 101 No. 15.

Right hand alone · bars 1–4 level 1
The hardest bars · bars 9–16 level 2

How to play Preparatory School, Op. 101 No. 15

Tempo:No tempo word is printed over No. 15, so take a steady walking pace at which the quarter notes come out perfectly even from C up to G and back.
Right hand:Thumb on C and fifth finger on G, one finger per key; turn around at G without a bump, keeping the fifth finger as firm as the thumb.
Left hand:Beyer's left-hand part, also on C, is mostly whole notes on C and G, plus four repeated G's marked with dots under a slur (portato), which asks for gently separated notes.
Hands together:While the right hand runs its scale, the left hand must keep a whole note down for four full beats; count aloud so the long note is not released early.
Practice:Play the climb C-D-E-F and the turn G-F-E-D as two separate units until each is even, then join them into one smooth line.
Reading:Every note is a step from the last, so read by direction: up four steps, down four steps, and watch for where the line starts higher after the double bar.

Common mistakes

Accenting the top G as the hand turns around. Fix: Play the G at the same level as the notes around it and keep going without a pause.
Letting the fourth finger on F sound weaker than the others. Fix: Practice C-D-E-F slowly, listening for four equal notes.
Rushing the long E and D at the end of the first phrase. Fix: Count two full beats on each before starting the next climb.
Starting the second half on C instead of D. Fix: Look past the double bar before you play it; the line begins a step higher.

Structure: rounded binary (second half repeated)

An unrepeated first half of two matching scale phrases is followed by a repeated second half: a contrasting phrase that starts higher, then the opening phrase again to close on C.

A · Up and back: Quarter notes climb from C to G and fall back, twice, ending first on long E and D and then on a half-note C.
B · Starting higher: The line begins on D, then on E, turns around within a few notes, and pauses on a whole-note D and a dotted half note E.
A · Return: The opening climb and fall come back unchanged and close on C before the repeat.

About Preparatory School, Op. 101 No. 15

No. 15 sits in the run headed Exercises for Both Hands in the Peters edition, where a short note reminds the pupil that good posture, a good touch, and strict time are the basis of good playing. Both hands stay in a five-note position on C, and there is no key signature and no sharp or flat anywhere.

The right hand climbs C, D, E, F, G in quarter notes and comes straight back down, twice, before resting on long E and D. Underneath, the left hand mostly holds whole notes on C and G, so the right hand's scale is the moving part and the left hand's job is to hold still and count.

After the double bar, a repeated second half starts the scale shape a step higher on D and E, then brings back the opening climb and fall to finish on C. No. 12, printed on the same page, uses the same up-and-down scale over whole notes; No. 15 stretches the idea into a two-part piece with a repeat.

No. 15 has no hand-position chart or tempo word of its own; the chart printed beside No. 14 just above it shows the same five-note position on C for both hands.
While the right hand holds a whole-note D in the second half, the left hand walks down G, F, E, D underneath, the only time the left hand has a scale of its own here.
IMSLP dates the first edition to 1850 from Schott in Mainz.

Why the first passage is level 1

That passage is level 1, the first rung: it moves by whole steps or less, in quarter-note values, in one hand.

A five-finger scale on C in plain quarter notes with no sharps or flats; level two adds the long held notes and the dotted half note of the second half.

Questions about Preparatory School, Op. 101 No. 15

How hard is Preparatory School, Op. 101 No. 15 to play?: Its passages grade from level 1 to level 2 on Real Sight Reader's ten-level reading scale, which keeps all of it within beginner reading. The hardest stretch is bars 9–16 at level 2.
Is there an easy part of Preparatory School, Op. 101 No. 15 for beginners?: Yes. Start with bars 1–8 for the right hand alone, the level-1 passage in the reader at the top of this page.
What key and time signature is Preparatory School, Op. 101 No. 15 in?: The engraving on this page is in 4/4 time.
Who composed Preparatory School, Op. 101 No. 15?: Ferdinand Beyer, German romantic (1803–1863). No.
Can I practice Preparatory School, Op. 101 No. 15 online for free?: Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 5 graded passages from Preparatory School, Op. 101 No. 15 in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
How long does No. 15 take to play?: The PTNA Piano Music Encyclopedia lists about 50 seconds.
Where does No. 15 fall in Beyer's book?: It is one of the early Exercises for Both Hands among the 106 numbered pieces of the Vorschule im Klavierspiel, Op. 101, printed on the same page as Nos. 12 to 14 in the Peters edition.
Is Beyer's Op. 101 in the public domain?: Yes. Beyer died in 1863, and IMSLP lists old editions such as Peters and Schirmer as public domain.

Every passage, easiest first

The reading release grades 5 distinct passages of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:

Level 1: bars 1–4 right hand · bars 1–8 right hand · bars 5–8 right hand
Level 2: bars 9–16 right hand · bars 9–12 right hand

More pieces to sight-read

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

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