Every student of classical piano has learned at least one of Muzio Clementi's "Progressive" Sonatinas, Op. 36. The pieces were originally published in 1797 and have all but replaced his Gradus ad Parnassum as his most famous work. Clementi intended them as teaching tools, meant for the youth among the burgeoning amateur pianist public. It is a credit to him that they are still used just as he intended. They are "progressive" in that the difficulty of the sonatinas increases with each subsequent one. The first contains little for the left hand to do, but in the sixth, there are more complex rhythms, phrasing, and accompaniment, with the left hand taking the melody in a couple of spots. The emphasis throughout all is on basic piano skills: dynamic control, even touch, and melodic phrasing. However, within each one there are more specific lessons on ornamentation, arm and wrist motion, arpeggios, and more. When the set was re-published in 1803 as a supplement to Clementi's Introduction to the Art of Playing on the Piano Forte, he included specific instructions on how to play certain ornaments and interpret markings. For example, when discussing the use of staccato, he stated it should be reserved "to give spirit occasionally to certain passages, and to set off the higher beauties of the legato." Sonatina No. 1 in C major is the most widely known, with No. 3, also in C major, and No. 6 in D major following it in popularity. The theme of the opening of the first sonatina shows a strong resemblance to the opening of Scarlatti's Sonata K. 460. (Clementi had studied Scarlatti's works in his own youth.) The second movement of the Sonatina No. 2 introduces easy dotted rhythms to be played dolce, with the note "dolce means sweet, as in taste; now and then swelling some notes." No. 3 is a study of scalar runs, while sextuplet figures are extensively used in the final movement of Sonatina No. 4. No. 5 has an "Original Swiss Air" with six-bar phrases instead of the usual four-bar ones. No. 6 is just two movements, brief but lively. The sonatinas have distinct characters, formed by graceful, charming melodies without much drama and, surprisingly, without much of that bane of the Classical era: the Alberti bass.

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