1. Two single-note lines a third apart
Purpose: coordinate different starting positions and listen to their changing harmony. Here “thirds,” “sixths,” and “tenths” describe the interval between the hands. Each hand plays one note at a time. Double notes within one hand are a separate topic in Part IV.
Both lines use C major’s notes. The upper line begins on E, but this is not an E-major scale: F and C remain natural. The intervals alternate between major and minor thirds as the pair moves through the key.
RH uses 1–2–3–1–2–3–4–5 for this short E-to-E route; LH uses 5–4–3–2–1–3–2–1 from C to C. These are editorial fingers for the printed study. Reverse them on the return, playing the top pair only once.
Listen vertically as well as horizontally
First play the starting pair C/E and the next pair D/F, with a rest between them. Then play four pairs in a row. Keep each attack together and avoid lifting one hand early to prepare its crossing. At the close spacing, position the hands so they do not obstruct each other; begin slowly and adjust your approach rather than pressing the hands together.
Make RH slightly more prominent for one pass, then LH for another. A clear upper melody should not require a louder overall sound. Keep the quieter line audible enough to judge its timing.
Checkpoint: you can name both notes of a pair and hear which hand leads the sound. The hands retain different finger routes even when their rhythm matches.
2. Compare sixths and tenths
In sixths, the starting pair is C/A. Keep the same C-major pitch collection, so the upper line uses F-natural and G-natural. Play the short route separately in each hand before combining it. The fingers suit this isolated octave; longer ranges need continuation fingers at internal boundaries.
A tenth is a third expanded by an octave. Compare this example with the previous page: the RH line is unchanged, while LH is one octave lower. No hand must stretch a tenth. The interval belongs to the space between two separately moving hands.
Compare the sound, not the speed
Play thirds, sixths, then tenths at a shared comfortable pulse, with a pause to establish each starting position. Name the bottom and top notes before beginning. Listen to how register changes the blend; keep LH lighter if its lower range obscures the upper line.
These intentional interval spacings are exceptions to the ordinary one-octave separation used for matching scales elsewhere in the book. Do not “correct” them to an octave: their different spacing is the exercise itself.
Musical connection: when a melody is doubled at a third or sixth in your repertoire, isolate those two lines and retain their actual key, articulation, and rhythm. These studies prepare coordination; they are not substitute fingerings for the passage.
Checkpoint: you can distinguish thirds, sixths, and tenths by their starting notes, and can maintain a chosen balance through both hands’ crossings.