160 Eight-Measure Exercises No.17

Description

Four repeated sixteenths followed by a leap up to a high B held as a quarter note: this shape, combining repeated notes with a jump, drives the whole piece (G major, 4/4). The right hand repeats it on different notes, starting from D-D-D-D, and half-note chords appear later on. The left hand gives a calm accompaniment of quarter-note chords over half-note bass notes. It lasts about 34 seconds, with 142 notes, so the writing is less dense than in No. 16.

Third in the G major group of Czerny's Op. 821, it deals with repeated notes like No. 16, but the tempo is slower and each run of repetitions is followed by a leap.

Though rated beginner, it has one trap: the hand tends to rush at the switch from repetition to leap, so look ahead to where the leap will land before the last repeated note is finished. The slower tempo leaves room to even out the volume of the repeated notes and to let the long note at the end of each leap ring clearly. Slow the playback to check where the leaps land, and try playing it alongside No. 16 to compare. The range runs from B2 to A6, which fits a 61-key keyboard.

A set of 160 short studies by Czerny, each condensed into just eight measures so a single technical point can be worked on quickly. Their brevity makes them well suited to beginners building basic piano technique efficiently.