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Minuets for piano

22 minuets to read and learn at your keyboard, levels 2 to 4, easiest first, each with easier versions made from the score itself.

What a minuet is

A French court dance in small, even steps, danced at Louis XIV's court from the 1660s and all over Europe for a century after. Bach's family notebook, Mozart's first pieces at five and the middle movements of many of Haydn's sonatas are minuets.

How it goes

Three beats in a bar at a moderate pace, each one even, never rushed: it was walked, not spun. Usually written in 3/4.

What to read for

Two halves, each played twice: look for the repeat signs at the double bars. Phrases are usually four bars long. A Minuet and Trio has a second minuet, the trio, and then the first is played again (Menuet da capo).

What the library's 22 minuets print

Time signatures: all 22 in 3/4. Tempo words at the start: Allegretto (2) and Andante (1); 19 print none. Keys: 15 major and 7 minor, most often F major (5), G major (4), and G minor (3).

By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (8), Anonymous (6), Joseph Haydn (2), Christian Petzold (2), Leopold Mozart, Jean-Philippe Rameau, George Frideric Handel, and Johann Sebastian Bach.

Pieces
22
Levels
2 to 4
Key signatures
3 flats to 3 sharps
Length
32 to 92 bars

Level 2

A tune over a simple left hand, mostly in one hand position.

Level 3

Both hands busy, the hand moves around, a sharp or flat or two.

Level 4

Real independence between the hands and more accidentals.

A piece is listed here when its title calls it a minuet, in English, German, French or Italian.

Other forms

Every form five or more library pieces are named for.

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