Description
Right at the start, the right hand races down a sixteenth-note scale from C7, a striking opening for a piece in F major and 6/8. It goes on playing scales and broken chords high up, while the left hand provides a light accompaniment of eighth-note chord tones, giving the two-beat sway of 6/8. It lasts about 26 seconds, with 128 notes, more of them in the right hand than in the left.
In the run of F major pieces from Czerny's Op. 821, this is the only one in 6/8. In just eight bars it aims to build a feel for playing scales lightly in the upper register.
For a beginner piece it asks something unusual: in the upper register the keys lie well to the right of the body, so leaning the upper body slightly to the right, so that the arm is not cramped, is part of the exercise. Feel each bar of 6/8 as two large beats and the music will flow. Slow the playback to even out the descending scale, and set an A-B loop on the opening run alone. The range climbs from F3 to F7, so a 61-key keyboard lacks the top note as written, though an octave shift fits every note.
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.
Browse all songs in 160 Eight-Measure Exercises Op.821 →Sheet Music
Sheet music provided by Mutopia Project
About the Composer
Carl Czerny (1791-1857)
Carl Czerny was a Viennese pianist and composer who studied under Beethoven and later taught Franz Liszt. He is best known for his enormous output of piano etudes, which remain widely used in piano pedagogy around the world today. This site includes selections from the 160 Eight-Measure Exercises, Op. 821, and the 50 Progressive Studies in All Keys, Op. 840.
View all works by Czerny →