Knowing the opening of Für Elise and being ready to play the whole piece are very different things. This session works only on the first phrase, up to its first resting point. Open the piece using the link below and alternate between listening and your own piano. Fifteen minutes is a suggested session length, not a promise that you will master it in that time.
Operator and editorial approach
Minutes 0–2: listen for a resting point
Listen once before playing. Find the alternating E and D-sharp, the descending notes that follow, and the entry of the left hand. On the on-screen keyboard, D-sharp is the black key immediately to the left of E. Colours identify tracks, so check which colour follows the high and low parts rather than assuming a colour always means a particular hand.
In Settings, set the loop from the opening to the first resting point in the melody. End it before the next phrase starts, without cutting off a sounding note. Choose this point by listening: fixed timestamps do not transfer reliably between MIDI versions with different tempos.
Minutes 2–6: connect the right-hand figure
Try about 0.5× playback and play only the right-hand E–D-sharp figure. The colours do not tell you which fingers to use. If your score supplies fingering, use it as a starting point and check whether you can return to the same figure with the same fingers. Resolve an awkward fingering before increasing the speed.
Continue into the descending notes rather than repeating only the alternation. If the two opening notes stick out loudly, or you stop at the descent, shorten the loop further. Pause playback occasionally and check whether you can find the next keys without following the screen.
Minutes 6–10: locate the left-hand landing notes
Listen from the left-hand entry and follow the accompaniment as it opens out from its low note. Play it alone, checking the position of the next bass note before moving. If finding each bass note stops the pulse, practise moving between those landing notes before adding the remaining notes.
The app plays both parts, so the music can continue even when you miss your left-hand notes. After a few play-along attempts, pause it and repeat the movement without its sound. Work out where the hand moves before using pedal to join the sounds, so the resonance does not hide a missed note.
Minutes 10–15: join the handover between hands
Loop from just before the left-hand entry to just after its accompaniment begins. This exposes the handover that can fail even when each part works alone. If you stop there, reduce the playback speed further or remove surrounding notes and practise only that transition.
After roughly three attempts without searching for the keys, try joining the opening to the first resting point. Three attempts are simply a checkpoint for this session. If you still search, keep the current speed and finish by noting the next starting point, such as “right hand connects; pause at first left-hand bass note,” in your practice log.
What to check before moving beyond the opening
Do not judge the whole piece by the opening alone. Listen ahead for denser chords and faster figures before choosing your next practice section. MIDI playback helps locate notes and durations; it is not a model performance for tone or finished phrasing.
If the coordination feels too demanding, try separating melody and accompaniment in Burgmüller’s La Candeur first. Compare the linked pieces below and choose the one you can currently work on with control.