Czerny Op. 299 No. 2: tempo and how to practice it

Czerny Op. 299 No. 2 is part of “Die Schule der Geläufigkeit (The School of Velocity), Op. 299” by Carl Czerny (1791–1857). Main focus: speed with relaxation and clarity in sixteenth-note passages. In our transcription it is in C major, in 4/4 time, and 21 bars long. Suggested tempos: start at ♩ = 104 to learn it, practice at ♩ = 160 and work up to the target of ♩ = 208. Difficulty 4/10 (intermediate).

The pattern and its fingering

First bar of our transcription, note by note, with the fingering the app shows.

Right hand	E–C–E–C–E–C
Left hand	C–D–E–F–G–A–B–C–D–E–F–G–A–B–C

■ right hand (finger above) · ■ left hand (finger below)

What it trains

Speed with relaxation and clarity in sixteenth-note passages.
Fast thumb crossings in scales and arpeggios.

How to practice it

Practice in bursts: short groups at a fast tempo separated by pauses, then join them up.
Change the rhythm (dotted, then reversed) to secure every note.
Raise the metronome 4 at a time and go back if you lose clarity.

Tempo ladder: ♩ = 104 → ♩ = 132 → ♩ = 160 → ♩ = 184 → ♩ = 208. Only move up a step once the take comes out clean; in the app, the progressive metronome does it for you.

Composer	Carl Czerny (1791–1857)
Work	Die Schule der Geläufigkeit (The School of Velocity), Op. 299
Difficulty	4/10 · Intermediate
Key	C major
Time signature	4/4
Bars	21
Suggested tempos	learn ♩ = 104 · practice ♩ = 160 · target ♩ = 208
Where the target tempo comes from	metronome mark from a historical edition: half note = 104, i.e. ♩ = 208, in the New York edition, 1893 (book I), edited by Max Vogrich; it is the editor's, not the composer's; agrees with: Leipzig edition, c. 1910; The Hague edition, 19th century; Cologne edition, c. 1900
Transposable	no
Status in the app	Available
Copyright	public domain: Czerny died in 1857