After hearing how difficult this is supposed to be, I decided to look at it. I purchased the sonata today, and after looking at it, my reaction was "This is meant to be difficult???!!!????". All it is (for the most part) is a series of broken chords- the only remotely difficult thing about it is the speed. Not to mention the fact that all the music sits VERY nicely under one`s hand.

It sounds like you`ve already made up your mind about the difficulty, but it`s really not all that easy and not all that difficult either. What`s the most advanced piece you have learned thus far?

Flight of the Bumble Bee

The most advanced so far would probably be the Brahms b minor Rhapsody, which I`m working on at the moment.
I also just got Liszt-la Campanella, which looks hard.

Well, I`ve been playing piano for about 3-4 years. I`m nearly 16 in less than a month. I quit taking lessons about 2 years ago and for 1 year I did nothing. Suddenly, I wanted to play again but couldn`t. Now, I guess the most difficult piece for me would be Beethoven`s Moonlight Sonata- The complete edition.

i already played the 3rd movement. it`s very hard. not because of the msuic itself. it`s hard for me because of the speed. and im sure there are not so much people which can play it really presto. as i campared my speed with horowitz, i saw that the difficulty is just the speed. you need really god fingers to play this. also with the flight of the bumble bee. very fast. huh O_o

hey.i`m 17 and have been playing piano for almost 4 years and was thinking about trying the 3rd movement. any suggestions?

Play the long scales slowly and build your way up... once you catch the pattern - it is quite doable at Beethoven pace.

Hey im 16 as well i played piano for 4 years and moonlight sonata is my favourite song on piano-im not very good at piano as i quit and took a logn brake but now i jus wanna play continuously lol but i jus thought id share my views on moonlight sonata. fair enough at the base of it all its easy to play and i agree the difficulty is the speed but its a remarkable piece it brings out brilliant emotions (although i h8 the second movement-ruins the cathartic mood that the other movements have about them). i dont really have anything inportant to say though i jus wanted to say how much i love that song lol

It is a really cool piece.
The second movement is a point of repose. A book I read gave a description of it that I really like "a flower in the abyss". (The description was in French, but that`s what it translates to.)

And once you`ve got that song down, with broken chords, take a shot at chopin`s etude number one in c Major, only real notes are in the right hand, try the first 4 measures up to speed, it`s probably harder than all of the third movement of beethoven`s moonlight sonata... enjoy

Just the time that takes to learn the song makes it difficult. Third movement took me a while.

ive played the 3rd movement. After u pick it up, it turns easier. the hard part was the speed.

i was 12 yrs old when i learned the whole moonlight sonata!!!

Can any of you virtuosos answer my question?

"Hey I`m wondering what the easiest way is to practice and increase the speed of playing eighth-notes over triplets (or, in other words, 2/4 time with your right hand and 3/4 time with your left at the same time). I know how it is supposed to sound at a slower speed, and I can play it, and I know the counting, but how can I play it faster? Is there a special way to practice them, or should I just improve my finger independence before I try anything like it? If it helps, I`m trying to learn Etude No. 1, Opus 25, in A-flat major, by Chopin, and in lines 9-10 or so, you have 6 notes per beat in the right hand (sextuplets) and 4 notes per beat in the left hand (eighths). I can play the first page nearly up to tempo, so I know I`m capable of the speed in at least certain parts of the song. Any ideas appreciated."

This is from a topic I posted a few days ago.