Song without Words Op. 19 No. 1 in E major

Felix Mendelssohn · Level 4 (Intermediate) · Romantic · Piano

The very first of the Songs without Words (1830): a tender melody carried by a sixteenth-note accompaniment shared between the hands. From Mendelssohn’s Songs without Words (Lieder ohne Worte): short pieces in which the piano sings like a voice. E major, 4/4, 50 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 accompaniment very soft and even; the melody, played by the strong fingers of the right hand, sings above it. Key signature with 4 sharps: name them aloud before playing and spot the places where accidentals cancel them. 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 Felix Mendelssohn

• Venetian Gondola Song Op. 30 No. 6 (Songs without Words)
• Song without Words Op. 102 No. 3 in C major
• Scherzo in E minor (Op. 16, No. 2)
• Song without Words Op. 19 No. 6 “Venetian Gondola Song”
• Song without Words Op. 85 No. 1
• Song without Words Op. 53 No. 5 “Folk Song”
• Song without Words Op. 19 No. 5 “Restlessness”
• Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Source : PDMX / MuseScore · CC0 1.0