Level 26 of 36 · Book III: Intervals and chords
Alberti bass exercises: sight reading broken chords
The Alberti bass: a broken chord played low, high, middle, high in eighth notes. It is the accompaniment of many classical sonatinas, Mozart’s and Haydn’s among them, and reading it quickly comes down to seeing the chord, not eight separate notes.
- Hands together
- C major
- 4/4 time
- = 50 to start
8 different exercises, each 8 bars. Listen first, or play it yourself: the music waits for each note.
What level 26 adds
Each bar of the left hand is one chord (I, IV or V, in the nearest inversion), played as eight eighth notes in the order low–high–middle–high, twice. The last bar holds the chord. The right hand plays a melody in halves and quarters above it, at ♩ = 50.
What to watch for
- The zigzag: low, high, middle, high. The thumb plays the high note every other eighth.
- Chord changes: the figure stays the same, so the only new thing in a bar is which chord it outlines.
- Evenness: the thumb’s repeated note tends to be louder. Keep all eight notes even.
How to practise it
- Before each bar, hold the chord as a block for a moment in your mind (or your hand). Then play it broken.
- Practise the pattern on one chord until your hand knows it, then read only the chord changes.
- Keep the melody on top a little louder than the Alberti bass.
Each exercise is new music, written for this level by the same generator the app uses, so you can’t have learned it by ear. Read it once before you play, keep a steady beat, and play on through mistakes. Play it yourself checks your notes from a MIDI keyboard, the mouse or your computer keys, and Print gives you the music alone, to read at the piano.
A new piece every day, at your level
Pianomi is the app these exercises come from. It listens to your MIDI keyboard, grades every note and every beat, and moves you up the 36 levels as your reading improves. It’s free.