What is the Alberti Bass?

The Alberti Bass is a commonly used idiom in classical music, starting from the classical era with Haydn and Mozart. In solfege, you would sing it as Do-Sol-Mi-Sol. Another way to describe the Alberti Bass is that it goes one-five-three-five. 

What is the function of Alberti Bass?

It's very simple. The bass line fills each beat with a note, and the combination of these three notes create a triad. In other words, the line creates constant movement, yet harmonic stability.

What Makes Playing the Bass Line Difficult on the Piano?

The bass line seems simple enough--the pattern itself is not difficult to memorize. The hand position is very natural to the curvature of the hand. The difficulty in playing this figure is in the evenness of the line. The faster you play the bass line, the harder it is to keep it even due to the difference in finger lengths, especially at the thumb.

How Do I Play the Alberti Bass Evenly and Effortlessly?

A good way to play the Alberti Bass, be it in Mozart or Schubert, is to use more of your weight from the arms to play the notes, rather than using your individual fingers to create the sound. Each touch of the keys should begin from your arm, rather than from your fingers. Use weight to play the first note. When one finger is played, immediately aim for the weight to be redistributed to the next finger. The key is to not take the weight off your hand at any given time.