Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum (Children’s Corner No. 1)

Claude Debussy · Level 6 (Expert) · Impressionist · Piano

The first piece of Children’s Corner (1908), a suite written for Debussy’s daughter Chouchou: he pokes fun at Clementi’s studies (the Gradus ad Parnassum) as a child practises them dutifully, drifts into a daydream, then sets off again with renewed energy. A piece by Debussy, a leading figure of musical Impressionism. C major, 4/4, 76 bars (about 3 minutes), complete score.

▶ Play this piece with the interactive score

How to practise it

• Listen first: the site plays it while the score scrolls.
• Wait mode: the score waits for you at every note, at your own pace.
• Tempo challenge: play in time, with a score and a map of the bars you got right.
• Keep the right-hand sixteenths even and light, fingers close to the keys; in the slower middle section, let the music daydream. One hand sometimes plays two voices: hold the long notes for their full value and let the main line sing louder than the accompaniment. For chords, shape the hand in the air before landing, all notes together. Start hands separately in Wait mode, then put hands together at a slow tempo before speeding up gradually.

More pieces by Claude Debussy

• Danseuses de Delphes (Préludes, Book I, No. 1)
• Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l’air du soir (Préludes, Book I, No. 4)
• Deuxième Arabesque (L66 No.2)
• Arabesque No. 1 in E major
• Jimbo’s Lullaby (Children’s Corner No. 2)
• Sarabande (Pour le piano No. 2)
• Valse romantique
• Clair de lune (Suite bergamasque)

Source : PDMX / MuseScore · CC0 1.0