Mozart's First Pieces

Marie Blackmar

Research Article 1

Piano Pedagogy I

22 November 2021

Mozart’s First Pieces

Branching out from the security of a method book can be an intimidating adventure. Method books give the security of turning the page and having the next piece to assign. Mozart’s Notebook for Nannerl is a common place to begin the journey of classical music. Compositions in the notebook were started by Leopold Mozart, W. A. Mozart’s father, for his daughter. Others would also contribute into the notebook. W. A. Mozart’s father saw his talent and wrote down his first compositions in the notebook. The notebook contains 17 pieces written by Mozart; all are ideal for a student’s first Mozart piece (Piano Pieces). Eight of these pieces are presented below in a suggested order of study.

File:Media/MARimage1.jpeg K. 2 (Mozart)

Although choosing one piece to be the easiest is not an easy task and will depend on the student, the Minuet in F Major, K. 2, is a good place to begin. This piece should be assigned to a student who is at a late elementary level. Bear in mind, this piece is longer than some others in the notebook, so it could appear harder to a student who is not used to playing a page of music. However, there are not many rhythmic or technical challenges to face. The most advanced rhythm in this Minuet is a triplet. If a student had not previously learned the triplet, this piece would be a good introduction to the concept. Because the first eight bars repeat, students could have a boost of confidence that they are playing more music.

File:Media/MARimage2.jpegK. 3 (Palmer)

The next piece is the Allegro in Bb Major, K. 3. This early intermediate piece features many two notes slurs that will need to be shaped well throughout. The most complex rhythm is sixteenth notes at cadential moments. Another rhythmic challenge presented are pick-up notes. Each phrase, about every two measures, begins with up-beat. Depending on the readiness of the students, grace notes and ornaments could be added on repeats.

File:Media/MARimage3.jpeg K. 1c (Palmer)

The third piece is the Allegro in F Major, K. 1c. Due to the dotted eighth to sixteenth notes and one eighth followed by two sixteenths rhythms, this Allegro is for the intermediate student. Being only 12 measures long, once the rhythms are mastered, the piece poses no significant additional challenges.

File:Media/MARimage4.jpeg K. 6 (Palmer)

Minuet in C Major, K. 6, also known as Minuet I, is a quick and simple piece. As with the previous piece, this Minuet in C Major is on an intermediate level. The ornamentation in this piece poses a significant challenge and could be left out if too much for the student. The hands become more independent by the right hand holding a half note and the left hand moving in quarter notes.

File:Media/MARimage5.jpeg K. 1e (Palmer)

Minuet in G Major, K 1e is a first step into contrapuntal music. The hands begin to develop their own musical line, albeit with relatively simple rhythms. Articulation is a focus in this Minuet. The student will have to differentiate between two note slurs and staccato notes with tenutos over them. Because if the attention to detail needed, this piece should be assigned to the intermediate student.

File:Media/MARimage6.jpeg K. 6 (Palmer)

The next piece seems to be a big jump up, but it still falls under the intermediate category: The Menuetto II in F Major, K 6. Visually, reading the notes off the page can look confusing. With the LH and RH alternating eighth notes, the eighth rests make it look complex. Simply telling the student the hands take turns could alleviate some confusion. The LH has more of an accompaniment while the RH takes more melody in the first section. The second section introduces a melody in the LH. Both hand play eighth notes at the same time, making the student have to think quickly about two hands at once.

File:Media/MARimage7.jpeg K. 7 (Palmer)

The Minuet in D Major, K 7, is a good introduction to trills. The piece is short, but the long trills will challenge a student’s ability to play them well. The key signature of D major could also pose a challenge to a student who is not used to playing with two sharps. Including short passaged with Alberti bass, this piece is a great starting place to get the feel of Alberti bass under the hand.

File:Media/MARimage8.jpeg K. 5 (Palmer)

The final piece, the Minuet in F Major, K 5 is at an intermediate level. This Minuet poses the challenge of playing sixteenth notes in one measure and triplets in the next. The best example of this is from measure eight to nine, with measure eight having sixteenth notes and measure nine switching quickly to triplets. This happens again with measures eighteen and nineteen. The B section is similar to the beginning; however, instead of the triplet pattern moving up by step, it moves up by skip.

The pieces explored in this article comprise just eight of the simplest pieces in the Notebook for Nannerl. There are nine other pieces that warrant exploration for intermediate to late intermediate students found in this work. Each student is going to learn at a different pace, so this order of difficulty is subject to change. It is ultimately up to the teacher to decipher when the student is ready to branch out from method books and into classical literature. The Notebook for Nannerl can be purchased from Schott Piano Classics publishing company.

Bibliography

Mozart 14 of His Easiest Pieces, (USA, Alfred Publishing, 1997).

Palmer, Willard, W. A. Mozart An Introduction to His Keyboard Works, (Alfred Publishing, 1974).

Piano Pieces from the "Nannerl Music Book, "Details / G. henle verlag. Accessed November 9, 2021. https://www.henle.de/en/detail/?Title=1236.