Album for the Young: Schumann and Tchaikovsky
Schumann wrote his Album for the Young, Op. 68, in 1848 for his children, and Tchaikovsky took it as the model for his own thirty years later, Op. 39. Both are real music written to be within reach: The Wild Rider, The Happy Farmer, First Loss and Knecht Ruprecht from Schumann, the March of the Wooden Soldiers and a Waltz from Tchaikovsky. They run from level 3 to level 5 here, and each has easier versions made from the score itself, so you can start with the melody alone and work up to the piece as written.
- Pieces
- 19
- Levels
- 3 to 5
- Key signatures
- 3 flats to 4 sharps
- Length
- 21 to 128 bars
Level 3
Both hands busy, the hand moves around, a sharp or flat or two. Most of the Notebook minuets, sonatinas, The Entertainer.
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The Happy Farmer, Op. 68 No. 10
Robert Schumann 1 flat, 4/4, 21 bars -
Humming Song, Op. 68 No. 3
Robert Schumann no sharps or flats, 4/4, 24 bars -
Melody, Op. 68 No. 1
Robert Schumann no sharps or flats, 4/4, 24 bars -
Chorale, Op. 68 No. 4
Robert Schumann 1 sharp, 4/4, 32 bars -
The Wild Rider, Op. 68 No. 8
Robert Schumann no sharps or flats, 6/8, 33 bars -
The Reaper's Song, Op. 68 No. 18
Robert Schumann no sharps or flats, 6/8, 44 bars -
March of the Wooden Soldiers, Op. 39 No. 5
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 2 sharps, 2/4, 48 bars -
Soldiers' March, Op. 68 No. 2
Robert Schumann 1 sharp, 2/4, 48 bars -
Hunting Song, Op. 68 No. 7
Robert Schumann 1 flat, 6/8, 57 bars -
Little Study, Op. 68 No. 14
Robert Schumann 1 sharp, 6/8, 128 bars
Level 4
Real independence between the hands and more accidentals. Bach's inventions and little preludes, Für Elise, Chopin's easier preludes.
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Little Romance, Op. 68 No. 19
Robert Schumann no sharps or flats, 4/4, 21 bars -
The Little Morning Wanderer, Op. 68 No. 17
Robert Schumann 3 sharps, 2/4, 42 bars -
Spring Song, Op. 68 No. 15
Robert Schumann 4 sharps, 6/8, 46 bars -
First Loss, Op. 68 No. 16
Robert Schumann 1 sharp, 2/4, 49 bars -
Sicilienne, Op. 68 No. 11
Robert Schumann no sharps or flats, 6/8, 49 bars -
Mignon, Op. 68 No. 35
Robert Schumann 3 flats, 4/4, 61 bars -
Waltz, Op. 39 No. 8
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 3 flats, 3/4, 85 bars -
Knecht Ruprecht, Op. 68 No. 12
Robert Schumann no sharps or flats, 2/4, 112 bars
Level 5
The edge of early intermediate: dense textures, fast passages and far keys. The Moonlight Sonata, Maple Leaf Rag, Solfeggietto.
Open a piece to print any of its versions free, or to play it at your MIDI keyboard with every note marked. New to reading? The level 2 sight-reading exercises are a good warm-up.