Transit of Venus March

John Philip Sousa · Level 5 (Advanced) · Romantic · Piano

A work by John Philip Sousa (1854–1932), a piece from the Romantic era. A public-domain or freely licensed piece from the Mutopia Project catalogue. G major, 6/8, 116 bars (about 2 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.
• In 6/8, count the beats as groups of three eighths (dotted beats) to keep the lilt. The left hand makes wide leaps: look at the landing note in advance and move early, without rushing the rhythm. For chords, shape the hand in the air before landing, all notes together. Fast writing: work section by section in Wait mode, then in dotted rhythms, and raise the tempo in steps of 5–10%.

More pieces by John Philip Sousa

• Hands across the Sea
• The Gladiator
• The Washington Post (march)
• The Stars and Stripes Forever (march)
• The Liberty Bell (march)
• The Invincible Eagle (march)

Source : Mutopia Project · Public Domain