ion with both
hands together, for you do not yet strike the skipping bass evenly
enough and with sufficient precision; and you might accustom yourself to
inaccuracies, especially as your left hand has, as usual, been
neglected, and is inferior to the right in lightness and rapidity. We
shall find this a hindrance; for the object is not to practise much, but
to practise correctly. Therefore play these passages first slowly, then
quicker, at last very fast; then slow again, sometimes _staccato_,
sometimes _legato_, _piano_, and also moderately loud; but never when
the hands and fingers are fatigued, therefore not too continuously; but
many times in the course of the day, and always with fresh energy. At
present, you need not play _fortissimo_, or with the pedal: for in that
way you might be led into a tramping style, with a weak, stiff touch,
and a habit of striking at the keys with straight fingers; and that I do
not like. We will look for the true and the beautiful in a very
different treatment of the piano; and, first of all, in a clear,
unaffected, healthy performance, free from any forced character.

_Second Lesson._ Transposition of the triads and dominant chord in their
three positions, and in various kinds of measure; and practice of these,
with careful attention to a correct touch and loose wrist; cadences on
the dominant and sub-dominant; practice of the skipping bass in the
theme, and in the first and third variations, with practice in striking
and leaving the chords, observing carefully the precise value of the
notes. You must attend also to striking them not too forcibly or too
feebly, and take special care with regard to the fourth and fifth
fingers, which do not easily give the tone with so full a sound as the
other three fingers. Now we will try the theme with both hands together,
and consider the correct expression, and likewise the _piano_ and
_forte_, as well as the nicest _crescendo_ and _diminuendo_. We will
then take the first easy variation, of which you have already acquired a
mastery: we will play it exactly _a tempo_ and with the bass chords,
which should usually be given _staccato_, and which must be played with
delicacy and flexibility; but it will be well for you to practise first
the bass part once alone, in order that you may hear whether all the
tones sound evenly. Now the first variation will go pretty well with
both hands together; with increasing mastery of it, the requisite
shading in t