160 Eight-Measure Exercises No.5

Description

Leaving C major behind, this study moves to F major and its single flat. It is No. 5 of the 160 Eight-Measure Exercises, Op. 821, after four pieces all in C. One black key is enough to change the movement of the hand, so the change of key is itself the new task being set.

In triple time, the right hand is almost entirely scalar — over ninety per cent stepwise motion — while the left takes a waltz-like accompaniment, alternating a bass note with chords. At around twenty-five seconds it is one of the longer pieces in the collection.

The point is to play a scale containing B-flat as smoothly as one in C major. The thumb crosses at a different point once a black key is involved, so playing without a settled fingering guarantees a snag somewhere. Fix the fingering first, check it slowly, then raise the tempo. The left hand tends to get louder with each leap, so the chords need placing lightly.

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.