Interactive piano piece
Learn Sonata KV 331 - Variation I
The first embellishment in Mozart's A major variation set — Variation I adds flowing sixteenth-note figuration to the right hand while the left hand keeps the harmonic pulse. The interactive score and tempo slider let you unpack how Mozart's first variation transforms the theme — use the loop to compare any bar of the variation against the equivalent bar of the Tema.
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Press Play for the full piece, or choose Opening and switch to Wait for note for guided right-hand practice.
About the piece
How Mozart starts to vary — sixteenth-note motion over the same harmony.
The first of six variations on the KV 331 theme introduces the simplest classical variation technique: the melody of the theme is embellished with faster note values — primarily sixteenth notes — while the harmony remains essentially unchanged. The right hand decorates; the left hand anchors. This is the 'figuration variation,' the building block from which Mozart will construct the more complex variations that follow.
Understanding Variation I as a deliberate pedagogical step illuminates the whole movement: Mozart shows the listener how variation works before making it more surprising. The technique was well established by 1783 — Haydn and C.P.E. Bach both used it — but Mozart's figuration is always singable, always connected to the original melody even as it moves twice as fast.
Practice path
See the original theme inside the variation.
Before practising Variation I, play the Tema slowly and sing the melody. Then play the variation at 50% tempo and identify which sixteenth notes are the 'real' melody notes and which are passing ornaments. Once you can see the skeleton inside the decoration, the passagework has direction and the phrase shapes emerge naturally.
Score basis: Generated MusicXML from Mutopia MIDI. Public domain composition; Public Domain; MusicXML generated for Pianodemy. Attribution: Mutopia Project (https://www.mutopiaproject.org/ftp/MozartWA/KV331/KV331_1_2_var1/).
MIDI source: Mutopia Project (https://www.mutopiaproject.org/ftp/MozartWA/KV331/KV331_1_2_var1/). Public Domain.
Questions
Before you practice.
Short answers for learners and for searchers deciding whether this is the right version to start with.
01Do I need to learn the theme before Variation I?
Yes — the theme and Variation I share the same harmonic structure. Knowing the theme lets you hear how the sixteenth-note runs elaborate the original melody, which makes both pieces easier to memorise.
02How long is Mozart KV 331 Variation I?
Like the theme, each variation repeats its two sections, giving about 36 bars in total. At a moderate Andante tempo it lasts roughly one to two minutes.
How to use this V1
The skeleton notes must sing louder than the passing notes.
At 50% tempo, play the right hand alone and highlight the first note of each beat with a slight emphasis — these are the melody notes from the Tema. At 80%, even out the passagework so the melody notes are only slightly louder rather than accented. Use wait-for-note mode at the join between repeated sections to keep the 6/8 lilt intact.