Gymnopédie No. 1 sheet music

Erik Satie (1866–1925), Level 8 · Advanced, 2:21

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What changed in this conversion
  • Some held notes in bars 5–11, 13–37, 40–45 are shown shorter because that hand plays more than one rhythm at once. No notes were removed.
Gymnopédie No. 1, keyboard staff, page 1 of 3Gymnopédie No. 1Erik Satie (1866–1925). Regular keyboard staff. Print at 100%, not fit-to-page.CCDDEFFGGAABBold red line: C4 · Solid line: other Cs, D F G A · Dotted grey line: E | F and B | CC3341BDF♯AC♯F♯BDF♯AC♯F♯GDGDC3C55BDF♯F♯AGAC♯F♯F♯C♯BBDF♯C♯DAAC♯F♯GDGDC39F♯BDF♯BDF♯AC♯F♯AC♯F♯BDF♯BDF♯AC♯F♯GDGDC3C513BDF♯F♯AGAC♯F♯F♯C♯BBDF♯C♯DAAC♯F♯GDGDSource: "Gymnopédie No. 1", typeset by Evin Robertson, The Mutopia Project, https://www.mutopiaproject.org/cgibin/piece-info.cgi?id=37.Gymnopédie No. 1 · Page 1 of 3
Gymnopédie No. 1, keyboard staff, page 2 of 3C3C517C♯AC♯F♯F♯BDF♯EEF♯BEBGEGDBC3C521EABCEDBDCBDDAE♯AECADEBGDEBGDC3C525DDDEE♯GACDDDAECDDAF♯CDE♯CADECAC3C529EDBDDDGBEGDEBGDDDAECDDAF♯CESource: "Gymnopédie No. 1", typeset by Evin Robertson, The Mutopia Project, https://www.mutopiaproject.org/cgibin/piece-info.cgi?id=37.Gymnopédie No. 1 · Page 2 of 3
Gymnopédie No. 1, keyboard staff, page 3 of 3C3C533F♯AC♯F♯BBDF♯ABC♯C♯EADEC♯AC♯F♯ADEF♯BEEC3C537F♯ADBDGCEACDF♯ADGBEGE♯ADE♯AEBEGADADEEC3C542BACE♯CE♯ECEADCEACE♯ADCE♯ADBDGEEEEBEC3C546CEACDE♯ADGADADSource: "Gymnopédie No. 1", typeset by Evin Robertson, The Mutopia Project, https://www.mutopiaproject.org/cgibin/piece-info.cgi?id=37.Gymnopédie No. 1 · Page 3 of 3
Painted portrait of Erik Satie
Erik Satie. Suzanne Valadon, 1893. Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.

Key facts

Level
Level 8 · Advanced. Estimated from the notes (3 of 8 on our difficulty score)
Time signature
3/4
Key signature
2 sharps
Length
47 bars, 3 pages
Playing time
2:21
Notes
282
Range
A1 to A5
  • The source file does not write out repeats, so marked repeats sound and show once.

Source and licence

Licence of the source: Public Domain dedication.

Source: "Gymnopédie No. 1", typeset by Evin Robertson, The Mutopia Project, https://www.mutopiaproject.org/cgibin/piece-info.cgi?id=37.

Source: The Mutopia Project, from the edition Dover Edition.

Playback sounds: Salamander Grand Piano by Alexander Holm (CC BY 3.0); Upright Piano KW by Gonzalo and Roberto of FreePats (CC0 1.0); Fluid R3 GM by Frank Wen and contributors (CC BY 3.0). Full sound credits.

How to play Gymnopédie No. 1

Calm, slow and hypnotic. There are no fast notes at all; the skill here is in reaching the chords smoothly and keeping the swaying three-beat pulse.

Where your hands go

The key signature has two sharps, F♯ and C♯, and the time is 3/4.

In this edition, bars 1 to 16 give the left hand a low bass note and the right hand a chord (stems up), such as G2 then B3, D4, F♯4 in bar 1. From bar 5 the tune is added on top of the chord, and the whole stack, from B3 up to F♯5, is too wide for one hand.

Split it like this: the left hand plays the bass note on beat 1, then hops up to take the chord on beat 2, so the right hand is free for the tune.

The tricky bars

Bars 1–4
The introduction: bass note, then chord, rocking between G2 and D2 in the bass. Use it to practise the left-hand hop.
Bars 5–8
The tune enters on F♯5 and A5 and wanders down to A4 while the chords keep rocking underneath.
Bars 17–21
The bass dips to F♯2 and B1, then the right hand holds E4 for three whole bars while the left hand plays the chords.
Bar 36
A five-note chord, A3, C♯4, F♯4, A4, D5. Spread it over both hands.
Bars 38–39
The first ending, two held chords. The second ending in bars 46 and 47 finishes the piece the same way.

Your practice plan

  1. Left hand alone, bars 1 to 4: bass note, hop up, chord. Do it until it is smooth with your eyes closed.
  2. Right hand alone, the tune from bar 5, singing it if you like.
  3. Put them together for bars 5 to 16, slowly.
  4. Learn bars 17 to 31, then the two endings.
  5. Play the whole piece with Listen on, keeping the pulse slow and even.

Watch out for

  • Trying to play the chord and the tune in one hand. Split them between the hands.
  • Rushing. Every bar should feel as long as the one before.
  • Cutting the long held notes short, such as the E4 that lasts through bars 19 to 21.

Power-up: press Loop, tap the first and last of the tricky bars, and they repeat until they feel easy. Hands in Options lets you practise one hand at a time. New to the notation? Start with how to read keyboard staff, then how to practise piano.