Twinkle, Twinkle

Kay guys so two weeks ago I accidentally did the Rondo blog...so now I'm gonna get with it and do Variations, get excited!!

The piece I am analyzing is Mozart's Variations on Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman, better known as twinkle, twinkle little star! There are 12 variations based on the theme in this piece; in most of the variations you can hear the skeleton of the original theme. Alright now I'm gonna go over each of the variations individually and you know just describe some defining characters of them. I won't do the first variation cause the workbook already covers it so yep.

Variation 2 - should be paired with var. 1
Left hand does some major sixteenth action with a neighboring tone emphasis, slight chromaticism near the end.
Right hand is very similar to original theme.

Variation 3
Right hand introduces a new triplet figure, maintains melody of theme
left hand similar to original theme.

Variation 4 - should be paired with var. 3
Right and left hands switch places from variation 3.

Variation 5 - can be paired with var. 1 & 2
Okay the first thing I thought when I heard this variation was CUTE!!! I thought I'd just throw that in there. This variation has syncopated rhythms in both hands. They both preserve the original harmonies of the theme until measure 129 where the right hand does some downward chromaticism.

Variation 6
The right hand has the melody here but in quick eighth note spurts
Left hand is having a great time playing sixteenth notes. There is a neighboring tone pattern that moves slowly upward. In the middle of the variation the two hands switch spots for a few measures.

Variation 7
The melody is played in the left hand here while the right hand has mostly a sixteenth note scale figure throughout this variation.

Variation 8
Conveniently marked as minore, this variation is in the parallel minor to the original key. Crazy chromatic time starts in measure 201 and lasts until about measure 207.

Variation 9 - kind of like a reminder of original theme
This is almost the same as the theme. The major thing going on here is the left hand repeating the right hand's phrase two measures later. it creates a nice little echo effect.

Variation 10
This variation has crazy left hand technique stuff going on...ok not really, it's just that the left hand plays a lot on the "right hand" clef. What's going on here is that left hand plays a single note and then the right hand takes off from that note in a quick sixteenth note pattern that goes up a fourth and then back down a fourth.

Variation 11
This variation has the theme in slow-mo all the way through. the basic harmonies are the same but it is a little difficult to hear the original them because it is sooo slow! the right hand plays 32nd notes often and this variation has a very free flowing rubato-ish feel to it.


Variation 12 - summarizes rest of variations
The last variation picks up the tempo quite a bit and acts as a finale for all of the variations. The left hand does about the same thing that happens in variation 2 while the right hand starts a new variant...thats finale appropriate I suppose. There are a lot of trills involved. In the middle both hands are having good times with sixteenth notes. Then end of the variation rounds out with one last exclamation from the right hand in the form of rising sixteenth notes.