There are mainly two tips for performing this piece.

• One concerns the shaping of the left-hand accompaniment figure. Especially in measures 1-2, before the melody line begins, the left hand should be played so as not to sound flat, moving towards F# and D on the first beat of measure 2, and then decaying from there. In measures 7-10, the top voice of the left-hand accompaniment figure ascends chromatically with C#, D, D#, E. Gradually build the tension. In measures 9-10, this time, be aware of the off-beat F#, G#, B, A. Moving voices are the most perceptible to the human ear, so performers should be conscious of them.
• The other concerns the melody line. In measure 3, the melody on the first and second beats has two E's in a row. This pattern of repeated notes also appears in measure 5 and measure 11 (two G#'s). In such cases, even with two identical notes, treat the latter note (on the second beat) with great care. The key is not to place an accent on the second beat, nor to play it exactly like the first beat. Instead, play the second beat with a slight hesitation, almost imperceptible unless pointed out, as if striking the note. Strive to play it carefully, as something precious.

Musical Structure

• Introduction (measures 1-2)
• A [Theme Presentation] (measures 3-10)
• B [Theme Development in C-sharp minor] (measures 11-18)
• A1 [Theme Recapitulation] (measures 19-26)
• Coda (measures 27-30)

The movement of quarter notes and eighth notes in the introduction expresses the act of rowing a boat and the swaying of waves. Since the dynamics also begin at mp (mezzo piano), it evokes the image of gently swaying on small waves. The bright major triad of the tonic A major, the sound of the tonic chord I, is obtained with quarter notes and eighth notes in the opening measure, suggesting an image of a calm, sunny spring day.

Furthermore, the title is not 'Funauta' (boat song) but 'Funauta' (boat uta). While the composer's true intention for deliberately choosing 'uta' (唄) is unknown, 'uta' is often used when singing folk songs or children's songs, leading to the speculation that it might convey a light, humming-like atmosphere. This conjecture is supported by the absence of thick chords that resonate loudly or very low bass notes in the piece, with the overall texture concentrated in the middle register.

The melodic theme is characterized by the repetition of the same note in long note values, such as dotted quarter notes, quarter notes, or notes tied together, indicating a strong vocal nuance. The harmonic progression that constitutes the theme is a simple I→IV→V→I, and in section A, this harmonic cadence is repeated twice while the melodic line is varied. From measures 1 to 8, the eighth notes on the dominant E on beats 3 and 6 are pedal points. Although the harmony and melody change gradually, these pedal points and rhythms express the continuous motion of a boat, and from such a structure, extreme tempo fluctuations would likely feel unnatural.

Looking at the accompaniment, counter-melodies can occasionally be found by connecting beats 1 and 3, or conversely, beats 3 and 6. The most prominent instance is at the end of the main melodic line, in measures 9-10, where connecting beats 3 and 6 reveals a counter-melody: F-sharp → G-sharp → B → A. Furthermore, stepwise lines can be found by connecting beats 1 and 3 in measures 4-5 and 7-9. By being aware of these horizontal connections, a more three-dimensional expression becomes possible. For piano students performing this work, searching for stepwise lines in the accompaniment and inner voices is considered meaningful as it provides a foothold for understanding the multi-layered structure found in more advanced and larger-scale pianistic works by Chopin and others.

The middle section B is not a new theme presentation but a section that modulates the A theme to C-sharp minor and further develops it. Therefore, considering that the basic characteristics remain unchanged, it is understood as a nuance of feeling a shadow in the same flow of music, rather than a dramatic change occurring here.

The chord on beats 1-3 of measure 16 is a Dorian IV7. Historically, the Dorian IV was developed to avoid the augmented second interval between the sixth scale degree and the leading tone in a minor key's IV→V progression, thus emphasizing the horizontal flow of the phrase. Furthermore, a characteristic of the Dorian IV7 is the formation of a diminished fifth (or augmented fourth) dissonant interval between its third and seventh scale degrees, creating a tension not felt in the subdominant of diatonic chords. It would be beneficial to express this harmonic tension and its eventual resolution by the tonic chord with conscious phrasing.

In measure 25, the starting note F-sharp is an appoggiatura. Although a long slur exists from measure 24 to 26, by emphasizing this appoggiatura just slightly (perhaps merely being aware of it), a flat, monotonous expression of the long slur can be avoided. Incidentally, the starting note B in measure 26 can similarly be interpreted as an appoggiatura, but it can also be understood as a III7 chord. While such a seventh chord is based on a minor triad, removing the root transforms it into the bright sound of a major triad, so depending on the arrangement of its constituent notes, it can sometimes sound bright. From this, it is possible to express subtle nuances, such as rendering measure 26 with a slightly brighter color than measure 25. In such long slurs, making subtle expressions stand out by considering the nature of non-harmonic tones, the contrast between bright and dark chords, harmonic function, and the resonance of intervals, helps in interpreting the extensive slurs found in many Romantic works, such as those by Chopin.