In this lesson, American pianist Andrew Tyson guides you through the first movement of Schubert’s Piano Sonata in A Major, D. 664. As you prepare this piece, Tyson believes that all of your technical pursuits should be grounded in, and motivated by, your musical intentions. This lesson will offer you both interpretive guidance and technical tips.

First, Tyson will introduce you to the natural imagery (e.g. forests, meadows) that inspired many Romantic composers. He invites you to consider these images as you craft your own interpretation of Schubert’s work. Tyson also attunes you to the motifs that unify the movements of this sonata and, more broadly, some of the trends that characterize Schubert’s aesthetic.

Finally, you will learn various technical tips on phrasing and octave work. Whenever shorter phrases are followed by longer phrases, Tyson suggests that you start the shorter ones softer (and possibly slower) to signal the coming variation. Whenever you are confronted with a series of octaves, Tyson encourages you to focus your physical and mental efforts on the tips of your playing fingers. This will boost your clarity and precision and allow you to release tension in the rest of your arm and upper body.

In this lesson, American pianist Andrew Tyson guides you through the second movement of Schubert’s Piano Sonata in A Major, D. 664. This hymn-like piece, Tyson believes, is the pinnacle of Schubert’s sonata – the movement that makes it the composer’s “first mature masterpiece.”

First, Tyson introduces you to the concept of “developing variation,” namely, the presence of motifs that bind together the different movements of Schubert’s sonata. He encourages you to describe these motifs with words and images that will guide your musical interpretation.

If you, for instance, wish to evoke a “halo” of sound, he invites you to voice chords homogenously. Voicing, Tyson believes, is a subjective matter and deserves experimentation. To improve your voicing, Tyson advises you to practice bringing out each note of a chord independently until you can do so with ease.

Finally, Tyson teaches you ways of enhancing your cantabile playing. The high notes in melodic leaps, he believes, will pop on their own – refrain from playing them louder. In fact, consider playing them softer!

In this lesson, American pianist Andrew Tyson guides you through the third movement of Schubert’s Piano Sonata in A Major, D. 664, focusing your attention on scales, arpeggios, dotted rhythms, and jumps.

Many of the scales featured in this work are marked forte. Tyson invites you to shape them dynamically with “reverse hairpins” so that they don’t sound heavy-handed or stagnant. To increase the speed of your arpeggios, you will learn to move your forearm horizontally across the keyboard, allowing yourself to shift hand positions without worrying about your thumb.

When you practice dotted rhythms, Tyson encourages you to think of them as a single physical gesture – a “double drop” of the hand where the second ricochets off the first. Finally, Tyson offers you strategies for increasing the accuracy and comfort of your jumps by re-focusing your attention and teaching you ways of choreographing your hands.