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Glite Dictionary
sonatina

sonatina

8.4
A short simple piece of music often for piano or violin
  • noun
  • /ˌsɒnəˈtiːnə/
translation icon : sonatina
  • Her teacher assigned her a sonatina to help improve her technique on the keyboard.

Examples

  • For example, "Kathy Shubina from Mr. Rossolovsky's class playing Sonatina by Clementi.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • The young pianist performed a delightful sonatina at the music festival.

  • Many students begin their piano studies with a simple sonatina to build confidence.

How Complex

symphony
72 5.6
concerto
32 7.5
sonata
9 7.8
sonatina
8.4
bagatelle
9.9

Surface Forms

sonatina singular
sonatinas plural

Morphology

sonatina = sonata (semi-transparent) = sonata + ina

The word is formed from 'sonata' plus the diminutive suffix '-ina', but '-ina' is a non‑productive Italian diminutive in English so the nuance may not be fully predictable to learners.

Etymology

The word sonatina comes from Italian and is a small form of sonata. The root sonare means 'to sound' and is like the English word 'sound', and the ending -ina means 'little', so a sonatina is a 'little sonata' and therefore a short, simple piece of music.