Hungarian Melody in B minor (D. 817)

Franz Schubert · Level 4 (Intermediate) · Romantic · Piano

A short piece from 1824, written during Schubert’s stay with the Esterházy family in Hungary: a melody with a Gypsy flavour over a steady bass-and-chord accompaniment, which he reused in the Divertissement à la hongroise. A piece by Schubert, master of the Lied, whose piano writing sings like a voice. B minor, 2/4, 103 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 accompanying chords light and even; let the melody, with its dotted rhythms, take centre stage. Let the melody sing and keep the accompaniment very steady and light. One hand sometimes plays two voices: hold the long notes for their full value and let the main line sing louder than the accompaniment. Triplets and other tuplets must be perfectly even: count them aloud with the metronome.

More pieces by Franz Schubert

• Impromptu in F minor Op. 142 No. 1 (D. 935)
• Impromptu in A-flat major Op. 90 No. 4 (D. 899)
• Moment Musical No. 3 in F minor (D. 780)
• Impromptu in C minor Op. 90 No. 1 (D. 899)
• Impromptu in G-flat major Op. 90 No. 3 (D. 899)
• Trois Marches militaires (D.733-1 (Op. 51))
• Trois Marches militaires (D.733-2 (Op. 51))
• Trois Marches militaires (D.733-3 (Op. 51))

Source : Mutopia Project · Public Domain