Moonlight Sonata:
How to Play It If You are a Progressing Student

Moonlight Sonata: How to play this difficult piece full of BLACK KEYS?  So hard, but so beautiful!  This is one of those pieces that every serious young player needs to get under their belt at some point.

See what tricks my students have been using for a couple of years now, to thrash their way through the dense thicket of sharps,  triplets, and very low notes which intrepid players encounter as they navigate the original Beethoven Moonlight Sonata first movement!

Number 1: large notes

Beethoven Moonlight Sonata first movement

You can see for yourself how large the notes are! 

Two measures per line ensures that the triplets have "breathing room."  You know how it is when you wish to add comments or marks to your student's music, and before long it's looking cluttered and messy.

Number 2: lots of white space

Beethoven Moonlight Sonata piano pdf

Very clean; the separated notes make them easily discernable.

Number 3: letters in the note heads

If your talented student plays better than they read notes, then this is a good solution for them!

Moonlight Sonata music sheet easy

Instead of struggling at home and making the same note-reading errors over and over, this easy-to-read music can mean the difference between tears of frustration, and joy!

More of the standard notation version

Moonlight Sonata piano 1st movement

More of the AlphaNotes arrangement

Moonlight Sonata piano with letters

Below is one of the trickiest right-hand passages near the beginning of the piece:

Easy Moonlight Sonata sheet music

There is plenty of room for a teacher to add fingering.

The climbing central section of the  Moonlight Sonata sheet music

Moonlight Sonata easy sheet music

These 2 editions, each 9 pages long, are for sale, $5.99 for the two of them.  You have permission to make unlimited copies for your students.

 


  • So why should you buy this music from me, aside from the fact that music stores on and off-line will charge more for just one copy (not counting postage or sales tax!), while I am only charging $5.99 for the right to print unlimited copies of TWO versions of the Moonlight Sonata original sheet music (for your students only)?

  • It is available immediately as a digital download onto your computer.

  • You don't have to download any new software into your computer in order to download this PDF. I don't know about you, but I hate clogging up my computer with yet another program I didn't know I needed. You just need a version of Adobe Acrobat or another PDF reader, which all computers come with. If you DON'T have Adobe Acrobat or a similar program, then you couldn't download any of my other PDFs either.

  • Write and make notes all over these copies, in red and other colors, without feeling you are spoiling your music for posterity. I dislike messing up my music books, but learning the piece is always the first priority. These printouts will make great working copies.

  • Do you need a letter of permission in order to use this music at a competition? Write me through the Contact Me form, and I will email you a personal letter.

  • I give you permission to make unlimited copies legally. When you need music, you usually need it NOW.  
  • PayPal, the payment system I use, is a secure and recognized payment system. You can pay by credit or debit card, or your bank account. E-Junkie delivers the PDF document, working as a partner with PayPal... your purchase is guaranteed.

  • Problems downloading?  Write me personally through the Contact Me link, and I will take care of it promptly.


 

Buy 2 editions of Moonlight Sonata, $5.99

Dianna:
Your website is a light in the darkness. THANK YOU for all you do in helping to spread the love of music. It matters!

Recent Articles

  1. Gospel Song Jesus Loves Me: Beginner & Easy Piano, Plus Lead Sheets!

    Song Jesus Loves Me
    Gospel song "Jesus Loves Me" is well-known to many children. Here are easy arrangements to learn the music & each word to Jesus Loves Me, for early piano.

    Read More

  2. Easy Piano Sheet Music Swan Lake -Beginners & Intermediate Pianists!

    Swan Lake easy piano music
    Easy piano sheet music Swan Lake, lovely solos & duets, with lyrics in the beginner arrangements for dreamy students who love imagining. New arrangements!

    Read More

  3. The Wellerman Sheet Music: Easy Piano & Lead Sheets!

    Guitar tabs for Wellerman
    The Wellerman: Tabs, sheet music & lyrics for piano, guitar, & more! Such a fun, high-energy song to sing & play - learn it fast with letters in the notes!

    Read More

  4. Christmas Carol Lyrics Song from the Bible: Free SATB and Guitar Tab

    Christmas story song
    Christmas carol lyrics from the Bible and an old-fashioned carol-like tune combine in this free Christmas song for SATB choir or a solo vocalist with guitar.

    Read More

  5. Traditional Irish Song "Galway Piper" with 3 Piano Arrangements!

    Irish song
    Traditional Irish songs tend to be either bouncy, or tender & sweet. Galway Piper falls into the bouncy, fun-to-play camp!

    Read More

Interested in songs from the Bible for your students or church?  Check out my other website, SingTheBibleStory.com!

SingTheBibleStory.com clickable logo link

Songs Old & Songs New

All the first-year material I give my beginner students. 

Piano keyboard sheets, scales, chords, note-reading exercises, and over 256 pages of music!

The Story of Esther - a Bible opera!

Queen Esther in the Bible

This beautiful song book for piano & voice "Esther, For Such a Time as This",  available as a digital downloadtells the riveting story of the time when  Jews in ancient Persia faced a foe named Haman, and how a  brave young queen risked her life to save her people.

A good choice for a singing story-teller, an operatic group, a short theater production, or a class of children!

This book is also available from Amazon as a paperback.


Just the Black Keys, a piano song book for young beginners.

Just the Black Keys

This book is available as a digital download  from this site.  Visit this page to see some free examples from the book.

It is also available from Amazon as a paperback!

This is the perfect easy start for little pianists.

And when they start reading white-key notes on the staff, this is a fun easy resource to say each week, "Choose a new black-key song at home this week and figure it out to show me next lesson!"  They will be spending more time at the piano.

The Adventures of Tonsta, Volume 1, is a book about a young boy travelling over mountains and fjords from village to village, encountering trolls and helping folk in distress.

The Adventures of Tonsta

A perfect read aloud storybook
for little boys or girls. 

The Adventures of Tonsta highlight the travels of a very young boy with a good heart, who goes about helping folk in trouble.  

With a red cap on his head and a sack of tools slung over his shoulder, Tonsta seems to meet people in distress wherever he goes.

Lots of trolls in this book - including one who gives him a Christmas gift!

Available at Amazon


About the Author

Dana Thynes

Hi, I'm Dana!  (Say that like "Anna".)  I'm the owner of Music-for-Music-Teachers.com, and a newer site, SingTheBibleStory.com.

Like some of you, I've been playing the piano since early childhood, and have added a few other instruments along the way, plus an interest in arranging and composing music.

You can find out more about me and the reason for this website at my About Me page.