Pieces / Satie
Trois Gymnopédies · No. 1

Gymnopédie No. 1

Erik Satie, 1888 · Lent et douloureux · 42 keys · Easy

About the piece

Erik Satie was 22 and playing piano in a Montmartre cabaret when he published his three Gymnopédies in 1888. The first one asks to be played “slow and painful”, over a left hand that rocks between two chords.

The melody here comes from the opening pages, moved a fourth lower so it fits the 17 keys. The second phrase stops on its high note instead of falling to the low E.

Key
D major
Played in
A major, a fourth lower
Time
3/4
Keys
42
Licence
Public domain

Gymnopédie No. 1 letters

The whole passage, as letters to type. P is a black key; a dash holds the note a little longer.

O ; L O Y T Y H D - W -
O ; L O Y T Y H D - Y - O -
D T G J H T H G T H -
H J K L ; G H J H T H -
Next in the programmeCanon in D · Pachelbel →