Movement 1

Andante*

4/4*

Blacks and white, sharps and flats

A straight line of keys, an exacting technique

In commanding whispers it sems the keys speak

Saying "practice, practice, don't delay

Yet don't neglect the rest of your day"

Like an oxen's yoke they teache me to stay

Disciplined, controlled, steady, and true

Its weight can chafe, yet it guides me straight

In music I learn the value of work

Yet beneath my yoke I am free

Movemet 2

Prestissimo*

2/4*

Rubato*

The seed of structure breeds unexpected blooms

Song bursts forth from a bed of work

A marvelous garden grows before me

Blooms of joy and of laughter and pain

Created from fingertips, watered in notes

in such a brilliant a beautiful world

My soul flies free as though held on a breeze

Notes swirl about me, the most liberating chains

And in this freedom something new is found

A feeling of longing, a curiousity

Movement 3

Largo*

3/4*

Calmado*

A gift of longing the keys bestow me

Satiated not in the notes alone

My soul is awakened to curiousity

Endless book pages and wonderous talks

A fire sparked in song blazes in me

Kindled by questions the flame rages on

An endless inferno begot in a song

In some way my mind finds peace in the blaze

Understanding more of this world brings me joy

a joy without measure

Coda*

All of it      All of it

Discipline

and freedom

peace and joy

Is due to piano

My life's driving force

*a sonata is a three movement piano piece. Each movement is distinct and may sound unrelated but are connected by the same musical theme

*andante literally means "walking speed"

*4/4 is the most common and simple time signature

*prestissimo is one of the fastest possible musical speed markings

*2/4 is generally a very fast time signature

*rubato means "with freedom" or "feeling"

*Largo means very slowly

*3/4 is generally a waltz timing

*Calmado means calm

*A coda is a small finishing section of a piece which draws the piece together and to a close