How hard is Rondo in E-flat Major to play?

Its passages grade from level 9 on Real Sight Reader's ten-level reading scale, so the full piece is intermediate to advanced reading. The hardest stretch is bars 73–80 at level 9.

Is there an easy part of Rondo in E-flat Major for beginners?

Its easiest passage is level 9, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 73–80 for both hands together, the level-9 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 9 because it leaps a octave plus an octave.

What key and time signature is Rondo in E-flat Major in?

Rondo in E-flat Major is in E-flat major, 3 flats. The engraving on this page is in 2/4 time.

Who composed Rondo in E-flat Major?

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, German classical (1714–1788). Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788) was the second surviving son of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Can I practice Rondo in E-flat Major online for free?

Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the one graded passage from Rondo in E-flat Major in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.

What does Kenner und Liebhaber mean?

It means connoisseurs and amateurs, the audience Bach named in the titles of his six late collections of keyboard sonatas, fantasias and rondos, the last of which appeared in 1787.

Which collection is the Rondo in E-flat from?

It is the first piece in Wq 61, the sixth Kenner und Liebhaber collection, published in 1787.

Is this rondo in the public domain?

Yes. Bach died in 1788, and the Mutopia Project edition used for this page is itself released into the public domain.

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Rondo in E-flat Major

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788) · sheet music

Key E-flat major
Time 2/4
Levels 9
Passages 1

Your turn · both hands

Preparing your passage…

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, German classical (1714–1788). The reading release has 1 passage from this piece at level 9; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 73–80 for both hands together.

Practice the hard bars →

The hardest stretch is bars 73–80 at level 9.

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 Rondo in E-flat Major.

Hands together · bars 73–80 level 9

How to play Rondo in E-flat Major

Tempo:Andantino suggests a walking pace, a shade livelier than andante; set a tempo at which the leaps remain comfortable and the refrain still sings.
Right hand:The right hand makes huge jumps across the keyboard; practice each leap alone, with a pause on the first note, to teach your hand the distance.
Left hand:The left hand also jumps widely, so look at the landing note before you leave the previous one.
Hands together:Bring the hands together on the leaps slowly and check the placement by feel, with eyes on the music rather than the keyboard.
Dynamics:Bach's style thrives on sudden contrasts; make soft and loud moments clearly different, particularly when the register jumps.
Fingering:Mark fingering for each position change in the leaping passages, and keep the same fingering every time.
Practice:Play only the first notes of each beat as a skeleton, then add the surrounding notes, so you always know where the next big jump lands.

Common mistakes

Missing the landing notes of the big leaps. Fix: Practice leaps with a pause on the first note and look ahead at the landing note before moving.
Forgetting the three flats of E-flat major. Fix: Play the E-flat scale before starting and name the flats (B, E, A) aloud.
Playing the refrain identically each time. Fix: Let the returns grow more ornamented, as the style invites, but keep the underlying tune clear.
Pedaling heavily. Fix: Use only a trace of pedal; the textures are light and were written for the fortepiano of the 1780s.

Structure: rondo (refrain and contrasting episodes)

A rondo keeps returning to a refrain between contrasting episodes. In this piece the refrain is a short, lilting tune in 2/4, and the episodes wander into darker, flat-side harmony before the refrain comes back. The passage on this page comes from one of those later excursions and spans a very wide range of the keyboard.

A · Refrain: A lilting E-flat tune in 2/4 that begins on an upbeat; read the upbeat and the gentle two-note slurs.
B · Episodes: Contrasting stretches that move away from E-flat, with more flats and accidentals, sudden changes of register and octave doublings.
A' · Returns of the refrain: The refrain comes back between the episodes, and the music closes in E-flat.

About Rondo in E-flat Major

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788) was the second surviving son of Johann Sebastian Bach. He spent decades as a court musician to Frederick the Great in Berlin, and in 1768 moved to Hamburg to succeed his godfather Telemann as director of music. Much of his energy in his last years went into publishing the Kenner und Liebhaber collections, keyboard music for connoisseurs and amateurs.

This rondo, catalogued Wq 61/1 and H. 288, opens the sixth and final collection of the series, published in 1787, a year before Bach died. A Japanese piano database dates its composition to 1786, and the edition used for this page marks it Andantino.

The Wq 61 book pairs its pieces: two rondos, two sonatas and two fantasias. A recording note on the set observes that its rondos and fantasias share abrupt changes of tempo, unsettling rhythms and surprising harmonic turns, typical of Bach's expressive sensitive style.

The collection this rondo opens holds six pieces in pairs: two rondos, two sonatas and two fantasias.
Bach's keyboard treatise was in its third edition by 1780, and both Haydn and Beethoven are said to have sworn by it.
Bach earned a law degree in 1738 but never practiced law, turning to music instead.

Why the first passage is level 9

That passage is level 9 rather than 8 because it leaps a octave plus an octave.

This is a single level 9 passage with a very wide range: read it slowly and study the leaps before playing hands together.

Questions about Rondo in E-flat Major

How hard is Rondo in E-flat Major to play?: Its passages grade from level 9 on Real Sight Reader's ten-level reading scale, so the full piece is intermediate to advanced reading. The hardest stretch is bars 73–80 at level 9.
Is there an easy part of Rondo in E-flat Major for beginners?: Its easiest passage is level 9, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 73–80 for both hands together, the level-9 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 9 because it leaps a octave plus an octave.
What key and time signature is Rondo in E-flat Major in?: Rondo in E-flat Major is in E-flat major, 3 flats. The engraving on this page is in 2/4 time.
Who composed Rondo in E-flat Major?: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, German classical (1714–1788). Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788) was the second surviving son of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Can I practice Rondo in E-flat Major online for free?: Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the one graded passage from Rondo in E-flat Major in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
What does Kenner und Liebhaber mean?: It means connoisseurs and amateurs, the audience Bach named in the titles of his six late collections of keyboard sonatas, fantasias and rondos, the last of which appeared in 1787.
Which collection is the Rondo in E-flat from?: It is the first piece in Wq 61, the sixth Kenner und Liebhaber collection, published in 1787.
Is this rondo in the public domain?: Yes. Bach died in 1788, and the Mutopia Project edition used for this page is itself released into the public domain.

Every passage, easiest first

The reading release grades one passage of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:

Level 9: bars 73–80 both hands

More pieces to sight-read

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

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