100 Progressive Recreations, No. 2
Carl Czerny (1791–1857) · sheet music
- Time 3/4
- Levels 2
- Passages 6
Your turn · both hands
Preparing your passage…
Carl Czerny, Austrian classical (1791–1857). The reading release has 6 passages from this piece at level 2; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 1–4 for the right hand alone.
The hardest stretch is bars 1–8 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 100 Progressive Recreations, No. 2.
- Right hand alone · bars 1–8 level 2
How to play 100 Progressive Recreations, No. 2
- Tempo:Allegretto asks for a light, moderately lively pace; choose one comfortable beat and keep all three beats of each bar the same length.
- Right hand:Place the thumb on C and let each finger rest on its own note, so the hand does not need to move at all.
- Fingering:Give each of the five notes its own finger, so the hand never has to move; repeated notes are played again with the same finger.
- Hands together:If you are adding the left hand later, begin by tapping its beat on the closed fallboard or a table while the right hand plays.
- Rhythm:Count 1-2-3 out loud with a slight lean on beat one so that the three-beat pulse is clear.
- Practice:Play each phrase four times, then the whole piece twice in a row, aiming for the same tempo and the same touch each time.
Common mistakes
- Hurrying the repeated notes at the ends of the phrases. Fix: Count aloud and give each repeated note its full beat.
- Lifting the hand off the keys between notes. Fix: Keep the fingers close to the keys and connect the notes smoothly.
- Playing every note with the same weight. Fix: Lean slightly on the first beat of each bar so the three-beat pulse is clear.
Structure: short teaching piece
On this page the music is a single right-hand line in 3/4 that stays inside a five-note span. Each short phrase climbs by step and then repeats its top note, and the second half answers with phrases that turn back down to the starting note.
- A · Rising phrases
- Three-note steps up the scale, each followed by a bar of the same repeated note, climbing one step higher each time.
- B · Answering phrases
- Phrases that rise and fall back by step, ending on the starting note, so the tune feels balanced and complete.
About 100 Progressive Recreations, No. 2
Carl Czerny (1791-1857) studied with Beethoven as a boy and became one of the most influential piano teachers of his century; Franz Liszt was among his pupils. He published an enormous number of studies, with opus numbers running past 860.
Erster Clavier-Unterricht in 100 Erholungen, known in English as 100 Progressive Recreations, was published by Simrock in Bonn in 1839. Its German subtitle promises fingering and a progressive order for complete beginners.
The book mixes plain numbered pieces with arrangements of well-known tunes, including Scottish and Neapolitan airs, themes by Bellini, Mozart, Weber and Haydn, and anthems such as God Save the King and Rule Britannia. No. 2 is one of the plain pieces, marked Allegretto.
- The book ends with a string of national tunes, including Haydn's Austrian anthem, God Save the King, the Russian anthem and Rule Britannia.
- No. 7, just a few pages later, is titled Air Bohémien, and No. 92 is Yankee Doodle.
- Schirmer published the book in America as First Instruction in Piano Playing (100 Recreations), edited by Adolf Ruthardt.
Why the first passage is level 2
That passage is level 2 rather than 1 because it is in 3/4, not 4/4.
The whole page stays within one five-finger position, so read the notes by their position on the staff and keep your eyes up.
Questions about 100 Progressive Recreations, No. 2
- How hard is 100 Progressive Recreations, No. 2 to play?
- Its passages grade from level 2 on Real Sight Reader's ten-level reading scale, which keeps all of it within beginner reading. The hardest stretch is bars 1–8 at level 2.
- Is there an easy part of 100 Progressive Recreations, No. 2 for beginners?
- Yes. Start with bars 1–4 for the right hand alone, the level-2 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 2 because it is in 3/4, not 4/4.
- What key and time signature is 100 Progressive Recreations, No. 2 in?
- The engraving on this page is in 3/4 time.
- Who composed 100 Progressive Recreations, No. 2?
- Carl Czerny, Austrian classical (1791–1857). Carl Czerny (1791-1857) studied with Beethoven as a boy and became one of the most influential piano teachers of his century; Franz Liszt was among his pupils.
- Can I practice 100 Progressive Recreations, No. 2 online for free?
- Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 6 graded passages from 100 Progressive Recreations, 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 100 Progressive Recreations?
- A book of 100 short pieces with fingering for complete beginners, published in Bonn in 1839 under the German title Erster Clavier-Unterricht in 100 Erholungen.
- Is this the same as Czerny's Op. 139?
- No. Op. 139 is a different collection, the 100 Progressive Studies; IMSLP lists no opus number for the 100 Recreations.
- Is Czerny's No. 2 in the public domain?
- Yes. Czerny died in 1857, so the music is public domain; modern editions may have their own editorial additions.
Every passage, easiest first
The reading release grades 6 distinct passages of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:
- Level 2
- bars 1–8 right hand · bars 1–4 right hand · bars 9–16 right hand · bars 13–16 right hand · bars 17–24 right hand · bars 21–24 right hand
More pieces to sight-read
Score: public-domain engraving from the corpus (pdmx), graded by the piano-reading-v2-20261023-identity-audit reading release.