Although Schoenberg left relatively few piano pieces, they were always composed at important junctures in his creative development. These Three Piano Pieces were also written during his transition from a late-Romantic style to what is known as free atonality. In 1909, in addition to these piano pieces, he completed works such as the song cycle The Book of the Hanging Gardens, Op. 15, Five Orchestral Pieces, Op. 16, and the monodrama Erwartung. Schoenberg's ideal during this period was freedom of expression and composition unconstrained by form or logic. Specifically, themes for motivic development were gradually abandoned, and continuous changes in musical ideas and contrasts became more pronounced.

From a formal perspective, the first and second pieces are relatively classical. In particular, the second piece is the clearest three-part form among the three, with its exposition and recapitulation characterized by a bass ostinato. The two thematic elements that appear above it are developed and varied, maintaining the overall stability of the piece.

Similarly, the first piece also strongly retains the influence of classical compositional methods, in that motives and their intervals from the opening theme are woven throughout. However, the use of flageolet-like effects, the occasional insertion of free 32nd-note passages, irregular rhythmic changes, and chords that do not require resolution can be considered clear deviations from traditional elements. Schoenberg himself seems to have considered the first piece closer to his ideal than the second at the time, and the reasons for this can be inferred from the points mentioned above.

In the third piece, composed several months after the first two, themes are no longer developed or varied, and chords are expressed with complete freedom in terms of their liberation from functional harmony. Furthermore, characteristics such as abrupt changes in musical ideas and dynamics are more pronounced, and a similarity to the Five Orchestral Pieces, which were being composed concurrently, can be pointed out. Thus, the Three Piano Pieces can be said to capture Schoenberg's rapid transformation of his compositional methods in a short period, towards the realization of the ideals he held during this time.