How hard is 160 Eight-Measure Exercises, Op. 821 No. 2 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 1–8 at level 9.

Is there an easy part of 160 Eight-Measure Exercises, Op. 821 No. 2 for beginners?

Its easiest passage is level 9, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 1–8 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 minor sixth plus an octave.

What key and time signature is 160 Eight-Measure Exercises, Op. 821 No. 2 in?

The engraving on this page is in 3/4 time.

Who composed 160 Eight-Measure Exercises, Op. 821 No. 2?

Carl Czerny, Austrian classical (1791–1857). Op.

Can I practice 160 Eight-Measure Exercises, Op. 821 No. 2 online for free?

Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the one graded passage from 160 Eight-Measure Exercises, Op. 821 No. 2 in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.

What is Czerny's Op. 821 for?

It is a collection of 160 short exercises meant, per its German title, to teach the most necessary figures and passages quickly.

Do I need to play all 160?

No. Each exercise stands alone, so you can pick the figure you want to work on.

Who edited the Peters edition of Op. 821?

IMSLP lists Adolf Ruthardt as the editor of the Peters edition (Leipzig, n.d., around 1888).

← All pieces

160 Eight-Measure Exercises, Op. 821 No. 2

Carl Czerny (1791–1857) · sheet music

Time 3/4
Levels 9
Passages 1

Your turn · both hands

Preparing your passage…

Carl Czerny, Austrian classical (1791–1857). The reading release has 1 passage from this piece at level 9; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 1–8 for both hands together.

Practice the hard bars →

The hardest stretch is bars 1–8 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 160 Eight-Measure Exercises, Op. 821 No. 2.

Hands together · bars 1–8 level 9

How to play 160 Eight-Measure Exercises, Op. 821 No. 2

Tempo:The marking is Allegro. Start much slower, until each sixteenth-note scale sounds even, and raise the metronome only as the left hand stays relaxed.
Left hand:Treat each run as a single slurred gesture: move the thumb under early, keep the wrist quiet, and avoid pressing on the first note of each group.
Right hand:Hold the half-note chords for their full value, then release the following eighth crisply and quietly.
Hands together:The right hand's chords change on the beat while the left runs; keep an inner pulse of three so the chord and the start of each run line up.
Dynamics:Start at the printed forte, but not harsh; save the crescendo for the rising figure near the end so the accent has somewhere to go.
Fingering:Choose a fingering for each run and note it down; the same runs appear in many forms, so a good habit transfers.
Practice:Because it is so short, loop the exercise four times in a row without stopping, aiming for the last repeat to be the cleanest.

Common mistakes

Letting the left-hand scales get uneven as the tempo rises. Fix: Slow the metronome until all sixteenths are equal, then raise it two clicks at a time.
Cutting the half-note chords short. Fix: Count the full two beats before releasing.
Missing the accidental in the scale that leads to a new chord. Fix: Mark it in pencil and practice that run alone.
Ignoring the slurs and playing every note detached. Fix: Practice each run with a legato touch and a single arm motion.

Structure: eight-measure exercise

A one-phrase miniature: a figure is stated and moved through a short chain of harmonies to a closing chord. The whole exercise lasts only eight measures, so it is meant to be repeated several times.

Exercise · Scale runs under chords (C major): The left hand runs through slurred sixteenth-note scales that touch several harmonies, while the right hand marks time with long chords and detached eighths.
Close · Crescendo to the cadence (C major): A rising crescendo leads to an accented note and a final staccato chord, so the last phrase asks for a clear, firm finish.

About 160 Eight-Measure Exercises, Op. 821 No. 2

Op. 821 is a set of 160 exercises of just eight measures each, listed by IMSLP as first published in 1852 by Schlesinger in Berlin and Richault in Paris. The German title promises to teach 'the most necessary figures and passages' quickly, and the French title is 'Les heures du matin', or morning hours.

Each exercise packages one keyboard figure into a self-contained miniature that can be played as a warm-up, and the German title also mentions training sight-reading.

In this number the right hand plays half-note chords, each followed by a short staccato chord, and the left hand supplies the movement with slurred sixteenth-note scale figures. Near the end the right hand takes over with a rising run, crescendo, to an accented high C and a short closing chord.

The set's French title, Les heures du matin, translates as 'the morning hours'.
The IMSLP page lists the Peters edition (Leipzig, about 1888) edited by Adolf Ruthardt.
Mutopia has typeset the numbers of this set individually from the Peters edition.
The full German title promises both quick mastery of the most necessary figures and passages and help with sight-reading.

Why the first passage is level 9

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

Read the left hand first, since it carries the busy runs, and treat each slur as one gesture. Check the right hand's chord for each measure and its detached note.

Questions about 160 Eight-Measure Exercises, Op. 821 No. 2

How hard is 160 Eight-Measure Exercises, Op. 821 No. 2 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 1–8 at level 9.
Is there an easy part of 160 Eight-Measure Exercises, Op. 821 No. 2 for beginners?: Its easiest passage is level 9, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 1–8 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 minor sixth plus an octave.
What key and time signature is 160 Eight-Measure Exercises, Op. 821 No. 2 in?: The engraving on this page is in 3/4 time.
Who composed 160 Eight-Measure Exercises, Op. 821 No. 2?: Carl Czerny, Austrian classical (1791–1857). Op.
Can I practice 160 Eight-Measure Exercises, Op. 821 No. 2 online for free?: Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the one graded passage from 160 Eight-Measure Exercises, Op. 821 No. 2 in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
What is Czerny's Op. 821 for?: It is a collection of 160 short exercises meant, per its German title, to teach the most necessary figures and passages quickly.
Do I need to play all 160?: No. Each exercise stands alone, so you can pick the figure you want to work on.
Who edited the Peters edition of Op. 821?: IMSLP lists Adolf Ruthardt as the editor of the Peters edition (Leipzig, n.d., around 1888).

Every passage, easiest first

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

Level 9: bars 1–8 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.

Keep training on your phone Practice with your own pieces — free on the App Store