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Sonata in G Major, K. 391

Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757) · sheet music

  • Key G major
  • Time 3/4
  • Levels 9
  • Passages 2

Your turn · both hands

 

 

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Domenico Scarlatti, Italian baroque (1685–1757). The reading release has 2 passages from this piece at level 9; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 1–4 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 Sonata in G Major, K. 391.

  1. Hands together · bars 1–8 level 9

How to play Sonata in G Major, K. 391

  1. Tempo:Allegro in this sonata means light and crisp, not heavy. Start at a moderate pace where every eighth note speaks clearly, and keep the tempo steady.
  2. Right hand:The right hand plays broken-chord shapes that jump across more than an octave. Work out a fingering for each shape and always use the same one.
  3. Left hand:The left hand holds half-note bass tones and occasional steps. Keep it light and listen for clear bass notes that do not cover the right hand.
  4. Hands together:Because the left hand moves rarely, coordination mostly means landing each new bass note exactly with the right-hand beat. Practice just those meeting points.
  5. Dynamics:On the piano the dynamics are largely your choice. Terraced changes, such as playing a repeated phrase a shade softer the second time, suit the harpsichord roots of the music.
  6. Practice:Practice the hardest right-hand figure alone, slowly, then loop it while counting. Raise the metronome only when each repetition is evenly spaced.
  7. Reading:The right hand climbs above the staff in places. Learn the ledger-line notes around high D by name and keep your eyes on the next group instead of the keys.

Common mistakes

  • Rushing the leaping figures because the notes feel like a race. Fix: Set a steady metronome pulse and practice each leap with a short pause before the target note.
  • Using too much pedal, which blurs the crisp Baroque articulation. Fix: Play with little or no pedal and let your fingers shape the notes.
  • Playing with a heavy left hand. Fix: Aim for a light, clear tone that supports without drowning the right hand.

Structure: binary (two repeated halves)

Most of Scarlatti's sonatas are built in two halves, the first moving away from the home key and the second finding its way back, each half normally repeated. The passages on this page come from the G major opening: a four-bar phrase of leaping right-hand figures over a slow bass, played twice.

Part 1 · First half (G major)
Rolling right-hand figures that leap up and down the chord, reaching high D above the staff, while the left hand mostly holds long bass notes.
Part 2 · Second half
In Scarlatti's usual plan the second half takes the opening ideas through other keys before closing back in G major.

About Sonata in G Major, K. 391

Domenico Scarlatti was born in Naples in 1685 and died in Madrid in 1757. He is best remembered for 555 keyboard sonatas, most of them single movements written mainly for harpsichord. In 1729 he followed the Portuguese princess Maria Barbara to Seville after her marriage to the Spanish crown prince, served as her music master, and moved with the court to Madrid in 1733.

In 1738 Scarlatti published his Essercizi per gravicembalo, a set of 30 pieces. Today the sonatas are identified by the chronological Kirkpatrick numbers (K.) from Ralph Kirkpatrick's 1953 edition, now the standard. The older Longo numbers (L.) come from Alessandro Longo's 1906 edition, which grouped the sonatas into arbitrary suites and numbered this one 79.

Scarlatti's sonatas are mostly in binary form and draw on Iberian folk music, with guitar-like figurations, bold dissonances and modulations to distant keys. K. 391 in G major is listed as Allegro, and IMSLP gives it the alternate title Sonata in G major (Minuet).

  • Kirkpatrick's 1953 numbering is chronological, which is why K. numbers have replaced the older L. numbers.
  • Alessandro Longo's 1906 edition grouped Scarlatti's sonatas into arbitrary suites.
  • Scarlatti dedicated his 1738 Essercizi to King John V of Portugal, who had knighted him that year.
  • IMSLP's listing for K. 391 includes the alternate title Sonata in G major (Minuet).

Why the first passage is level 9

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

One sharp (F#) for G major. The right hand covers wide ranges and reaches ledger lines above the staff, while the left hand moves rarely, so read the right hand ahead.

Questions about Sonata in G Major, K. 391

How hard is Sonata in G Major, K. 391 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 Sonata in G Major, K. 391 for beginners?
Its easiest passage is level 9, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 1–4 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 fourth plus an octave.
What key and time signature is Sonata in G Major, K. 391 in?
Sonata in G Major, K. 391 is in G major, 1 sharp. The engraving on this page is in 3/4 time.
Who composed Sonata in G Major, K. 391?
Domenico Scarlatti, Italian baroque (1685–1757). Domenico Scarlatti was born in Naples in 1685 and died in Madrid in 1757.
Can I practice Sonata in G Major, K. 391 online for free?
Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 2 graded passages from Sonata in G Major, K. 391 in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
What do K. and L. mean in Scarlatti sonata names?
K. is the Kirkpatrick number from Ralph Kirkpatrick's 1953 catalogue, and L. is the Longo number from Alessandro Longo's 1906 edition. K. 391 and L. 79 are the same piece.
Did Scarlatti write for piano?
His sonatas were written mainly for harpsichord, with early pianos also in use at the Spanish court, and pianists play them widely today. On a modern piano you choose your own dynamics and touch.
How many keyboard sonatas did Scarlatti write?
The standard Kirkpatrick catalogue counts 555, from K. 1 to K. 555.

Every passage, easiest first

The reading release grades 2 distinct passages of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:

Level 9
bars 1–8 both hands · bars 1–4 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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