Gnossienne No. 2
Erik Satie · Level 3 (Late beginner) · Impressionist · Piano
A piece by Erik Satie, pioneer of musical simplicity and humour. A minor, 12/8, 39 bars (about 4 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.
- Soft, even tone and an unchanging pulse: the beauty comes from simplicity. In 12/8, count the beats as groups of three eighths (dotted beats) to keep the lilt. One hand sometimes plays two voices: hold the long notes for their full value and let the main line sing louder than the accompaniment. The left hand makes wide leaps: look at the landing note in advance and move early, without rushing the rhythm.
More pieces by Erik Satie
- Celle qui parle trop – The Woman Who Talks Too Much (Chapitres tournés en tous sens, No. 1)
- Le porteur de grosses pierres – The Carrier of Large Stones (Chapitres tournés en tous sens, No. 2)
- Regrets des enfermés – Regrets of the Prisoners (Chapitres tournés en tous sens, No. 3)
- Sa Taille (Three Distinguished Waltzes of a Jaded Dandy)
- Danse maigre (Croquis et agaceries)
- Tyrolienne turque
- Españaña (Croquis et agaceries)
- Ses Jambes (Three Distinguished Waltzes of a Jaded Dandy)
Source : Mutopia Project · CC BY-SA 4.0