Old French Song (Op. 39 No. 16)

Piotr Ilitch Tchaïkovski · Level 3 (Late beginner) · Romantic · Piano

From the Album for the Young Op. 39 (1878), 24 easy pieces inspired by Schumann’s Album. G minor, 2/4, 33 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.
• 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. Start hands separately in Wait mode, then put hands together at a slow tempo before speeding up gradually.

More pieces by Piotr Ilitch Tchaïkovski

• Swan Lake: Neapolitan Dance (piano arrangement)
• The Seasons: January (O 37,1)
• The Seasons: February (Carnival)
• The Seasons: August (Harvest)
• March of the Wooden Soldiers (Op. 39 No. 5)
• Morning Prayer (Op. 39 No. 1)
• Swan Lake, swan theme
• Winter Morning (Album for the Young Op. 39 No. 2)

Source : Mutopia Project · Public Domain