Free easy piano · Classical
Moonlight Sonata, easy piano
The first movement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata in four free versions: an easy version of the whole movement in A minor, a shorter late-beginner one that keeps the flowing triplets, a beginner version and the original. Play each one here, slow it down or loop a bar, then print the PDF or download the MIDI.
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Beginner to late beginner, plus the original
- 69 bars · 2/2
- Free: play, print, MIDI
Versions of Moonlight Sonata (1st movement). Each version is a request typed into PlayableNotes. Pick one to hear and print it.
Typed into PlayableNotes“Make this easier for a second- or third-year student. Put it in A minor, keep Beethoven's melody and its dotted rhythm exactly, give his bass and triplets to the left hand under the tune, in one position for each chord, and keep the whole movement.”
What changed
The whole first movement in A minor: wherever the tune sounds, Beethoven's melody is in the right hand and his bass with the triplets above it in the left; elsewhere the right hand plays most of the triplets.
- Key: A minor instead of C-sharp minor, a major third lower, so there is no key signature. Most of the flats come in bars 10 to 21, which pass through C minor and G minor; a few more are in bars 3, 39, 50, 52 and 54. Accidentals are repeated on every note that needs one, except G-sharp, the key's leading note.
- Bars 1 to 4: the right hand plays Beethoven's triplets, in the bass clef, over single held bass notes. At bar 5 the left hand takes over the triplets and the right hand moves up to the melody.
- Right hand: Beethoven's melody note for note, with every dotted pickup, in bars 5 to 27 and 42 to 59, ending on the A that starts bar 60. In bar 15 the right hand plays the melody's low G as the start of one triplet group (G, B-flat, D).
- Left hand, bars 5 to 27 and 42 to 59: a single bass note instead of Beethoven's octave, played as the first note of his triplets above it, so the hand stays in one position for each chord and the pedal holds the bass. In bar 15, where the right hand plays the first group, the left hand holds the low G instead. In bar 23 the first group (D, A, D) spans the low octave, and the hand then moves up to F, A, D for the next two groups. Where the bass or the chord changes on every beat (bars 12, 16, 18, 52, 54 and 57), each group of three starts on the new bass note.
- To fit in one position, the triplets are voiced lower than Beethoven's: in bar 5 the first group is A, C, E (the bass and the two notes above it) and the next ones C, E, A, where he has C, E, A and then E, A, C. In bars 7, 13, 14, 19, 20, 22, 27, 44, 50, 55, 58 and 59 some or all of the bass notes are an octave higher. In bars 5, 10, 11, 42 and 46 the last group goes back to the bass note, so the hand is already low for the next chord.
- At a chord change the little finger moves to the next bass note, mostly by a step, a fourth or a fifth. The longer moves are the climb in bar 23 and the drop from the D-sharp chord to the low E at bar 28.
- Bars 48, 50 and 59: the E chord before each cadence keeps Beethoven's D (B, D, E in bar 48; E, G-sharp, D in bars 50 and 59), so it is still his dominant seventh. Bar 57, first beat: A, C, E under the melody's F, so the four notes of his chord (F, A, C, E) all sound.
- Bars 28 to 31: the right hand plays Beethoven's broken figure over a held low E. In bars 30 and 31 the left hand also plays the figure's first note, the C below middle C, with the E. Bars 29 and 31 repeat bars 28 and 30 softly instead of dropping an octave into the bass.
- Bars 32 to 41: the hands share the arpeggios. In bars 32 to 34 the left hand starts each climb from the low E and the right hand finishes it; from bar 35 the right hand plays three-note shapes up and down over the low E (E then F in bar 40, D then E in bar 41, as Beethoven's bass moves). The climb peaks at F5, lower than Beethoven's. From the second beat of bar 37 and in bars 38 to 41, which he writes deep in the bass, the right hand stays in the treble staff an octave higher.
- Bars 60 to 65: the triplets move to the right hand. In bars 60 and 61 they are close chords just above the left hand (A, C, E, then B, D, E) where Beethoven has E, A, C and E, B, D. The left hand plays his long-short E, and the held A, G-sharp or E under it, an octave higher so they stay near the staff.
- Bars 62 and 64: the arpeggio rises steadily through the bar from A3 to E5, starting higher than Beethoven's so it stays clear of the left hand. In bars 63 and 65 it comes down to the G-sharp below middle C and stops there instead of running on into the bass.
- Bars 66 to 69: both hands are an octave higher than Beethoven's, except the last two left-hand chords (A, E, A), which are at his pitch. The right hand's figures start from middle C or the A below it, its first note is a single C where he has a two-note chord, and its final chord is A minor from middle C (C, E, A).
For teachers: For a student in the second or third year of lessons who reads eighth-note triplets and plays hands together. The left hand stays in one position for each chord, little finger on the bass; change the pedal with each new chord. Four things take work: the dotted pickup against the triplets (its short note comes just after the third triplet note), the chromatic chords of bars 10 to 21, the drop to the low E at bar 28 (let the last C go a little early), and bar 23, where the hand plays the low D octave and then moves up to the F above it. The bass is the first note of each chord's triplets: play it with the little finger and let the pedal hold it. Practice the left hand alone first, one chord at a time, then add the melody from the pickup at the end of bar 5. In bar 59 the left thumb reaches the D just below the melody's E, so play that E with the right thumb and keep the hands side by side. Bars 32 to 41, where the right hand takes over the arpeggios, are worth learning as a section of their own.
Typed into PlayableNotes“Make a late-beginner version for my student who isn't ready for the easy one. A minor, the opening and the tune's last return. Keep the flowing triplets in the left hand as simple three-note shapes, with no triplet signs and no dotted rhythm against them.”
What changed
A 25-bar edition in A minor and 12/8: Beethoven's tune over a left hand that keeps the rocking groups of three, one small chord shape at a time.
- 25 bars: Beethoven's bars 1 to 8 (the introduction and first phrase), 46 to 59 (the tune's last return, with the swells of bars 52 to 55), 60 and 61 (the start of the coda) and a final A minor chord.
- A minor, a major third lower than Beethoven's C-sharp minor, and written in 12/8, so his triplets are plain eighth notes in groups of three and there are no triplet signs. Every sharp and flat is printed on every note that is played; as usual, a tied note that is held over does not repeat it.
- Bars 1 to 4: the right hand plays the triplets as broken chords in the treble staff, an octave higher than Beethoven's, over single held bass notes. The widest shape is E to D in bar 4, a seventh.
- Bars 5 to 22: the left hand plays the triplets as three-note broken chords that start on the bass note, each no wider than a seventh. The chord changes where Beethoven's does, with his bass note at the bottom, one or two octaves higher than his low octaves. In bars 15 and 17 the bass walks A, D, F, D under the swell, as his does.
- Where Beethoven's chord has four notes, the left hand keeps three and the melody often supplies the fourth. In bars 6, 12, 13, 20 and 22 his E chord becomes G-sharp, D, E or E, G-sharp, D without his B, which the melody plays in bar 12; in bar 11 it is B, D, E under the melody's G-sharp. In bar 20 the left hand plays A, C, E under the melody's F, which together make his F, A, C, E.
- Right hand: Beethoven's melody note for note. It sits in the C position (C to G) for bars 5 to 10, moves up to the G position (G to D) at bar 11 and comes back to the C position at bar 20. The dotted pickup (a dotted eighth and a sixteenth against the triplets) becomes a quarter and an eighth, long-short, lined up with the left hand's eighths.
- Bars 23 and 24: as in Beethoven's coda, the triplets move to the right hand (A, C, E, then B, D, E), and the left hand plays his long-short rhythm as two-note chords, A and E, then G-sharp and E. Bar 25 is a final A minor chord in place of the rest of the coda.
For teachers: For a student who plays hands together and can keep a left hand of broken chords in steady eighth notes. Learn the left hand alone first, naming each chord as it changes, then add the tune, which changes position only twice. In bars 13, 15, 17 and 22 the left hand reaches up to the D above middle C; in bar 22 play the melody's E with the right thumb so the hands sit side by side. The player's 60 bpm counts quarter notes; the felt beat, the dotted quarter, is then 40 a minute, slower than the original.
Typed into PlayableNotes“Make a short beginner version for my first-year student: A minor, the opening and the tune's last return only, the tune in one or two hand positions, the left hand in single long notes and a few open fifths, and no triplet signs or sixteenth notes.”
What changed
A 19-bar edition in A minor of the opening and the tune's last return: the broken chords of the introduction, then the tune over long bass notes and a few open fifths.
- 19 bars: Beethoven's bars 1 to 8 (the introduction and first phrase), 46 to 51 (the tune returning and turning home to A minor), 56 to 59 (the closing phrase) and a final A minor chord.
- Written in 12/8 instead of cut time, so the triplets are plain eighth notes and there are no triplet signs. Bars 1 to 5 keep them as broken chords in the right hand, each shape no wider than a sixth (bar 4's E, G-sharp, D becomes E, G-sharp, B).
- The melody is Beethoven's, in A minor. In bars 1 to 5 the right hand plays broken chords between the D above middle C and the D an octave higher; it moves down to the C position (C to G) for the tune at the end of bar 5, up to the G position (G to D) for the pickup at the end of bar 9, and back to the C position at bar 15. The dotted pickup (dotted eighth and sixteenth) becomes a quarter and an eighth, long-short, lined up with the beat instead of against the triplets.
- Left hand: no triplets. Single notes, mostly held for a whole or half bar, with an open fifth on the A minor and E chords of bars 1, 4, 5, 14, 18 and 19. They follow Beethoven's bass line: the G-sharp under the E chord in bar 6, the B under the G chords in bars 8, 10 and 15 (in bar 8 it replaces his second low G), and his falling lines in bar 11 (C, B, A) and bar 17 (F, E, D). In bar 16 the bass moves on each beat (A, B, G-sharp, A), as his does.
- Bar 14 holds the A for the whole bar and stays in A minor, where Beethoven turns to A major to lead into bars this version leaves out. Bar 19 ends on an A minor chord in place of Beethoven's coda.
For teachers: For a first-year student who can count in groups of three and play both hands together. The broken chords in bars 1 to 5 are the only quick notes; the rest is a slow tune over long bass notes, which makes it a good first piece for the sustain pedal. The player's 60 bpm counts quarter notes; the felt beat, the dotted quarter, is then 40 a minute.
The piece as published: OpenScore Transcriptions, MuseScore score 5313318, from the PDMX collection.
Original
What changed
What changed
The complete first movement in C-sharp minor, from a CC0 edition checked against three others.
- No notes changed: this is the source edition, checked note by note.
- As in Beethoven's score, some triplets the right hand plays are written on the lower staff (bars 5, 12 to 14, 21 to 23, 30 to 33 and 58 to 60, and here also the ones around the barline of bars 41 and 42), so the Left button and the MIDI file's left-hand track include them.
- Notation only: in bar 37 the melody stems that double the triplets are not drawn as a separate voice; in bars 41 and 42 the triplets on either side of the barline are written on the lower staff, so the upper staff changes to treble clef between them; and in bars 63 and 65 the right hand stays in treble clef where the edition switches. Every note sounds as written.
For teachers: From the easy version, the step to the original is the right hand: it plays the melody and the triplets together, the key has four sharps, and the left hand plays octaves and, in places, three-note chords. Learn it a section at a time, with the harmony first as block chords.
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About Moonlight Sonata (1st movement)
The "Moonlight Sonata" most people mean is the first movement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2. Beethoven wrote it in 1801, published it in 1802 as a "sonata quasi una fantasia" and dedicated it to his pupil, Countess Giulietta Guicciardi. The nickname goes back to the poet and critic Ludwig Rellstab, who likened the first movement to a moonlit scene; the often-repeated Lake Lucerne image was added later by another writer, and the name caught on in the 1830s, after Beethoven's death. The movement is 69 bars of slow triplets over a deep bass, with a quiet melody of repeated notes above them, and Beethoven asks for all of it to be played very delicately with the dampers raised.
The notes are slow, but the piece is not easy as written. Beethoven gives the right hand both the triplets and the melody, so the little finger has to sing the tune while the thumb and middle fingers keep the triplets quiet, and the short note of the melody's dotted rhythm has to fall just after the third note of a triplet, not with it. The key has four sharps, and the B-sharps and double sharps make it slow to read.
All three arrangements move the piece to A minor, a common key for easy editions because it has no key signature. The easy version keeps the whole movement: wherever the tune sounds, the right hand has the melody and the left hand Beethoven's bass with his triplets above it; elsewhere the right hand plays most of the triplets. The late-beginner version is a 25-bar edition in 12/8 of the opening, the tune's last return and the start of the coda, so the triplets are plain eighth notes in small three-note shapes. The beginner version, 19 bars, gives the left hand single long bass notes and a few open fifths instead.
Practice tips
- Learn the harmony before the triplets: play each group of three as a single chord, changing it when the bass changes, until the progression is in your hands. Then open the chords back out into triplets.
- In the easy version and the original, count the dotted rhythm against the triplets: the short note comes after the third triplet note, just before the next beat, never with it. Loop the end of bar 5 into bar 6 (click bar 5, then bar 6) and play it hands together very slowly until it settles. The late-beginner and beginner versions turn it into a plain long-short.
- Keep the triplets softer than the melody. Beethoven marks the movement sempre pianissimo (always very soft), so even in the swells the tune should be the only line that stands out.
- Change the sustain pedal each time the harmony changes, usually once or twice a bar, so the triplets ring without blurring into the next chord.
- Practice each hand with the Right and Left buttons at about 40, then play hands together and raise the tempo a few beats at a time. In the original, the Left button also plays the right-hand triplets Beethoven writes on the lower staff (bars 5, 12 to 14 and others), so practice those bars from the score.
Questions about Moonlight Sonata (1st movement)
Is the Moonlight Sonata hard to play?
The first movement is slow and has no fast passages, but it is not a beginner piece as written: the right hand plays the melody and the triplets at the same time, and it is in C-sharp minor with four sharps. Most students reach it at an intermediate level. The easy version on this page splits the melody and the triplets between the hands so a student in the second or third year of lessons can play the whole movement; the main hurdle left is the melody's dotted rhythm against the triplets. The late-beginner and beginner versions are shorter and leave that rhythm out. The third movement is a different matter: it is fast and much harder.
What key is the Moonlight Sonata in?
C-sharp minor. Many easy editions move it to A minor, which has no key signature, and all three arrangements here are in A minor.
Why is it called the Moonlight Sonata?
Beethoven did not call it that. He published it as "Sonata quasi una fantasia", Op. 27 No. 2. The name goes back to the poet and critic Ludwig Rellstab, who likened the first movement to a moonlit scene; it caught on in the 1830s, after Beethoven's death, and it stuck.
How long is the first movement?
69 bars, which usually takes between five and seven minutes depending on the tempo. The easy version here is the whole movement, about six minutes at its suggested tempo; the late-beginner version is 25 bars (about two and a half minutes) and the beginner version 19 bars (under two minutes).
Should I use the pedal in the Moonlight Sonata?
Yes. Beethoven asks for the whole movement to be played "senza sordino", with the dampers raised. On a modern piano most pianists change the pedal whenever the harmony changes, usually once or twice a bar, so the bass and triplets ring without blurring.
Can I download it as a PDF or MIDI file?
Yes, free and without an account. Every version has a Letter-size PDF to print and a MIDI file with the right and left hands on separate tracks.
Source and credits
- Composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- License
- CC0
- Arranger
- PlayableNotes
Checked note by note against two other CC0 editions of the full movement in PDMX (4249661 and 5300478), and, wherever any copy disagreed, against the Mutopia edition (Stewart Holmes, from the 1908 Berners edition edited by A. Winterberger). The three PDMX editions agree on every note apart from one slip in bar 48 of 5300478 (two of them also draw bar 37's melody as a separate voice), and Mutopia agrees at every point where it was checked. Written in cut time, as Beethoven wrote it. The dynamics after the hairpins (mp, mf) are the edition's.
Arrangements and facts checked
