Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Moonlight Sonata Voicing

The seemingly simple 1st mov. is actually quite difficult, one of my later beginner friend started but had to give up, due to the hand expansion and layers of voicing on RH.
This arrangement is one of the best I have heard, a great stepstone to learn the original. Hope it will help those who want to learn this famous piece:
Moonlight Sonata Arr.

Personally, I'm not keen on this approach, but still curious what other classical enthusiasts think.

For the more serious, if not quite ready for it, just leave it for now and when you do eventually get all the notes it can be a piece you come back to (maybe not daily) but yearly as you mature in your development.

Removing octaves and moving harmony to LH, on a lengthy piece like this could become difficult to undo later on.

For students that are not so serious a simplified version may be ok, if it's all you will ever do with it and you are satisfied enough with the arrangement. But, if the end goal is to master the complete original, starting with the full original when ready for it would be preferred approach to my mind.

Hi Greener
I totally agree with you. I don’t ever remember playing an altered, simplified version of any classical music— my teacher just had me wait until I was capable of playing it. Therefore, there was no unlearning needed. There is so much great classical music at every level.

Also agree. When I was taught this piece it was emphasised that the tune was not in the triplets and yet the phrasing and the pedalling used in this arrangement suggests otherwise. Beethoven marked the score senza sordini (without dampers), although on a modern piano some change of pedal is necessary.

I agree and disagree.

Arrangement is very common in Jazz and other genres. It of course it could not fully capture the beauty of the original, but for exercising voicing, it is much better than playing the original terribly wrong.

You have to think about millions of beginners trying to play these masterpieces without a teacher or proper training. Of course, you may say, do not play piano if you could not afford a good teacher. I am not going to argue on that.

By the way, this arrangement is from Alfred's group piano, one of the best piano pedagogy books out there.

None of the comments were meant to ignore the millions of beginners who are self teaching( and there was no comment made that a teacher is required. Self-taught pianists can play this, but just like those with a teacher, the skills to play it need to be developed. It takes time.

Better to put the original on your ‘one day I will list’ rather than learn a bad arrangement which does not reflect the beauty of the original. Shame on Alfred .

You seriously think this is a bad arrangement? Do not be too picky on these level 1 pieces.
I have heard much worse when the original ones were played poorly.

You have received three different comments that it is a bad arrangement. You obviously don’t agree and that’s fine. There seems like there is nothing to be discussed. .. at least, from my end.

Yes, agree and if all they want is facsimile, it's fine. Just saying, if they wish to continue and get good, they should wait.


Yes and that is where it belongs. In other genres.


Even so, it is not Beethoven.

As a piano teacher, I would never give any student a simplified arrangement of any classical piano piece to learn. If they want to learn it by themselves, that's up to them, and I'll give help if required, but first I'll play them the original to show what's missing - and what is wrong - with the simplified arrangement.

Invariably, every time I've done that, the student realises that the simplification does no justice to the music or the composer's intentions, and will take my advice to wait (a few months to a few years) until he is able to learn the original.

The situation is, of course, different with music not originally composed for piano. Orchestral tunes are often simplified to the bare bones and used for beginners in beginners' books, which is perfectly fine. (I give my students a recording of the original piece to listen to, so that they know what it sounds like in its original guise.)

It’s great to read a teacher’s well-explained perspective. Thanks 😊

Good to hear your perspective. But I do feel it is a double standard when you say simplified orchestral tunes are different. Then how about Mozart's Viennese Sonatinas?

I am more open minded to these arrangements. A good arrangement is valuable for many reasons, especially on the education side, to learn the fundamental structure, chords etc. Even for difficult originals, you do not learn everything all together. I will not argue more beyond that.

Just as a reference, this is one of the most popular pieces for the college level 1 piano course, music major.
In my opinion, it is not a bad arrangement for beginner level.
You can snob about how it is worse than the original, that's not my point. No one can compete with Beethoven.

This is a desecration of a great work. How do you think Beethoven would have reacted to hearing this?

Yes, the arrangement sounds very poor compared with the original, but if the student knows of and has a great desire to play the arrangement I don't think that should be discouraged. Keeping up the student's interest and motivation is extremely important. OTOH I don't think a teacher should suggest this piece to the student.

I think stuff like (essentially) omitting voices is okay. For example, an arrangement which only has the melody, but reproduced accurately, or the melody along with bass notes or a good simplified pattern. I would shy away from using actual piano music in this manner, but orchestral arrangements should be fine.

Beethoven has a big ego, His pieces are flashy for a purpose. I am sure he will not like it.
I still appreciate the arrangement as a good piece for beginner to learn, since I am just a piano student, and have no big ego, lol

[quote=scientistplayspian]Beethoven has a big ego, His pieces are flashy for a purpose. I am sure he will not like it.
I still appreciate the arrangement as a good piece for beginner to learn, since I am just a piano student, and have no big ego, lol

Umm, isn't Beethoven dead?

I have been very happy playing altered, simplified versions of classical music. But if you don't like that, then of course, don't do it.

But there is no unlearning involved when you first play a simplified version and two years later the original version. I would almost say, I wish. But no. I have completely forgotten how I played that piece, and it is just the same as learning a new piece from scratch. Except, most of the times, for one thing: I have an idea of how it should sound. But even that can be forgotten.

I think the point I was trying to make in my earlier comment on this piece was that the arrangement (in my opinion) would not lead to an understanding of how it should sound. Instead I believe it perpetuates the notion that it is all about the triplets. Therefore if the intention is to study the real thing at a latter date one has to adjust the the way those triplets are played. Of course if there is no intention ever to play the original it may be of no consequence.