The Happy Farmer (Album for the Young Op. 68 No. 10)

Robert Schumann · Level 3 (Late beginner) · Romantic · Piano

The Happy Farmer: the tune is in the left hand under right-hand chords. From the Album for the Young Op. 68 (1848), 43 pieces Schumann wrote for his eldest daughter’s birthday. F major, 4/4, 21 bars (about one minute), 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.
• Each piece tells a little scene: look for the character suggested by the title. The piece starts with a pickup: count the incomplete bar before coming in. 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.

More pieces by Robert Schumann

• Siciliano (Album for the Young Op. 68 No. 11)
• May, Dear May, Soon You’ll Be Here Again! (Album for the Young Op. 68 No. 13)
• Untitled piece “* * *” (Album for the Young Op. 68 No. 26)
• Italian Sailors’ Song (Album for the Young Op. 68 No. 36)
• A Curious Story (Kinderszenen Op. 15 No. 2)
• Blind Man’s Buff (Kinderszenen Op. 15 No. 3)
• Happy Enough (Kinderszenen Op. 15 No. 5)
• An Important Event (Kinderszenen Op. 15 No. 6)

Source : Mutopia Project · CC BY-SA 2.5