EASIEST Beethoven Sonatas! -or- Which Beethoven Sonatas do you teach first?

One of my most visited blog posts answers the question “Which Beethoven Sonatas do you teach first?” Beethoven is wildly popular amongst pianists, and students often want to play his works before they are truly ready. Hopefully my answer today will help guide you in selecting pieces for your students that will fit them best. You can read the original post here: https://www.jannawilliamson.com/blog/...

To further help you determine the difficulty of an individual piece such as one of the Sonatas mentioned, please download my free Repertoire Difficulty Worksheet. https://www.jannawilliamson.com/blog/...

Books that have preparatory material:
Beethoven: An Introduction to his Piano Works (Willard Palmer): https://amzn.to/3azDQ5R
At the Piano with Beethoven (Maurice Hinson): https://amzn.to/3aCmpS8

Suggested editions of the Sonatas:
➡️ The Henle edition is an expensive urtext option, but it’s what I own for my own personal use, and I use it sometimes with students who are able to make an investment. Click here for volume 1 https://amzn.to/3M0hAzn and here for volume 2 https://amzn.to/3xjGENH
➡️ Students often do just fine with the Dover as a reliable, yet cheaper alternative - click here for volume 1 https://amzn.to/379pGHh and here for volume 2 https://amzn.to/3EfHRHd
➡️ The Alfred Masterworks edition done by Stewart Gordon fall in a similar price range per volume to the Dover and are also excellent student editions. Note that these come in four volumes as opposed to two. Click here for volume 1 https://amzn.to/36aDW1U here for volume 2 https://amzn.to/3KBtGyD here for volume 3 https://amzn.to/3rlk6rY or here for volume 4 https://amzn.to/3JA3Nh9
➡️ There are also some single sonata options in this Alfred edition, such as the Moonlight (Op.27, No.2), and this might be a good option for a recreational student just needing to purchase one piece. https://amzn.to/3KCxxLH
➡️ Click here to see or purchase sonatina collections or other books containing preparatory Beethoven pieces. https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/accoun...

Want to improve your skill at training their students to perform? Check out my new course, PREPARING CONFIDENT PERFORMERS: a six week training designed to help you build a healthy performance culture in your studio. More info here: https://jannawilliamson.thinkific.com...

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Disclaimer: The links above are Amazon and Sheet Music Plus affiliate links. As an affiliate, I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.

0:00 Introduction
2:15 Preparation for studying sonatas
7:04 Editions for studying sonatas
8:16 The easiest sonata
10:39 Second easiest sonata
13:29 Third easiest sonata