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Sonata in G Minor, K. 111

Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757) · sheet music

  • Key G minor
  • Time 12/8
  • Levels 8–9
  • Passages 3

Your turn · both hands

 

 

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Domenico Scarlatti, Italian baroque (1685–1757). The reading release has 3 passages from this piece at levels 8–9; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 33–36 for both hands together.

Practice the hard bars →

The hardest stretch is bars 5–8 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 Sonata in G Minor, K. 111.

  1. Hands together · bars 33–36 level 8
  2. The hardest bars · bars 5–8 level 9

How to play Sonata in G Minor, K. 111

  1. Tempo:The marking is Allegro; in this edition's 12/8 that means four big beats per bar, each divided into three, so choose a speed where you can feel four, not twelve.
  2. Right hand:The opening figure falls through a chord across two octaves; learn it as a single sweeping shape with the hand moving down as a unit, not as six separate notes.
  3. Left hand:The left hand leaps by octaves on the beat; let the arm travel to each landing note early and keep the wrist loose.
  4. Hands together:Line up each left-hand octave with the first note of the right hand's group of three; if the hands drift, slow down and count the four big beats aloud.
  5. Rhythm:Say the groups of three aloud, one-la-li, two-la-li, and tap the right-hand rhythm before playing.
  6. Dynamics:Scarlatti wrote for harpsichord or the earliest pianos, so build contrast with touch and articulation; on a modern piano use small changes of weight rather than big swells.
  7. Practice:Learn it in single-bar chunks with a pause at each bar line, then link them; mark the accidentals in the second half before you start.
  8. Reading:The two-flat signature covers G minor, but F-sharps and other accidentals appear constantly, so scan each bar for them before you play.

Common mistakes

  • Rushing the falling broken chords into a blur. Fix: Count four big beats per bar and let each group of three sit inside a beat.
  • Missing the F-sharps and naturals that work against the key signature. Fix: Circle them on a first read and practice the surrounding beats slowly.
  • Playing the octave leaps with a stiff arm and landing late. Fix: Move the arm to the landing note first and let the fingers follow, practicing the leaps alone.

Structure: binary (two repeated halves)

K. 111 is in two halves, each repeated. The first half sets out sweeping G minor broken chords and moves to a cadence on D; the second half starts from that dominant, travels through related harmonies, and returns to close in G minor.

A · First half (G minor, moving to D)
Falling broken chords in the right hand sweep down through G minor and D major over octave leaps in the left hand, then the music drives to a cadence on D.
B · Second half (G minor)
The broken-chord figures restart on D with F-sharps and C naturals, wander through new harmonies with more accidentals, and settle back into G minor for a firm close.

About Sonata in G Minor, K. 111

Domenico Scarlatti was born in Naples in 1685, the same year as Bach and Handel, and spent much of his life serving the Portuguese and Spanish royal families. Most of his 555 keyboard sonatas were written for Maria Barbara, whom he taught as a princess in Lisbon and followed to Spain.

K. 111 is catalogued as L. 130 in Alessandro Longo's 1906 edition and as P. 99 in Giorgio Pestelli's 1967 catalogue. IMSLP and Wikipedia's list of the sonatas give its marking as Allegro.

Like nearly all the sonatas, it is a single movement in two halves. It opens with a G minor chord swept down through two octaves over a bass that leaps by octaves, the kind of bold, keyboard-spanning gesture that makes Scarlatti's style easy to recognize.

  • Ralph Kirkpatrick's K. numbers are chronological, while Longo's earlier L. numbers came from grouping the sonatas arbitrarily into suites.
  • Only a small number of Scarlatti's compositions were published during his lifetime.
  • Scarlatti's admirers have included Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, and Bartók, according to Wikipedia.
  • IMSLP holds K. 111 in both Longo's 1906 Ricordi edition and Kenneth Gilbert's 1978 Heugel edition.

Why the first passage is level 8

That passage is level 8 rather than 7 because a hand plays full chords, it is in 12/8, not 4/4, its chords go beyond simple triads.

Read in groups of three: both hands outline chord shapes, so name the chord and watch for the accidentals that change its color.

Questions about Sonata in G Minor, K. 111

How hard is Sonata in G Minor, K. 111 to play?
Its passages grade from level 8 to 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 5–8 at level 9.
Is there an easy part of Sonata in G Minor, K. 111 for beginners?
Its easiest passage is level 8, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 33–36 for both hands together, the level-8 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 8 because a hand plays full chords and it is in 12/8, not 4/4.
What key and time signature is Sonata in G Minor, K. 111 in?
Sonata in G Minor, K. 111 is in G minor, 2 flats. The engraving on this page is in 12/8 time.
Who composed Sonata in G Minor, K. 111?
Domenico Scarlatti, Italian baroque (1685–1757). Domenico Scarlatti was born in Naples in 1685, the same year as Bach and Handel, and spent much of his life serving the Portuguese and Spanish royal families.
Can I practice Sonata in G Minor, K. 111 online for free?
Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 3 graded passages from Sonata in G Minor, K. 111 in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
What do the K., L., and P. numbers mean?
K. is Ralph Kirkpatrick's chronological catalogue, L. is Alessandro Longo's 1906 numbering, and P. is Giorgio Pestelli's 1967 revision; K. 111 is also L. 130 and P. 99.
Can Scarlatti's sonatas be played on the piano?
Yes. They were written mostly for harpsichord or the earliest pianos, and pianists regularly perform them on modern instruments.
How many sonatas did Scarlatti write?
He is known for 555 keyboard sonatas, single movements mostly in binary form.

Every passage, easiest first

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

Level 8
bars 33–36 both hands
Level 9
bars 5–8 both hands · bars 45–48 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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