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Eine kleine Nachtmusik (opening)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1787. Excerpt, written out for reading practice.
- Music
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Date
- 1787
- Key
- G major
- Time
- 4/4
- Clef
- Treble
- Level
- Easy
- Length
- Excerpt
About the music
Mozart finished his Serenade No. 13 for strings, K. 525, in Vienna in August 1787, while he was also working on the opera Don Giovanni. The title means “a little night music”, a light piece for an evening’s entertainment. Its opening is one of the most recognisable phrases in classical music.
These four bars, in G major, outline two chords: G major going up, then D major (with F♯) coming down. The rests are as important as the notes: they give the music its crisp, bouncing character.
Reading tips
- The first bar is just G and D. Count the eighth rests carefully so the D falls on the “and”.
- Bar 2 is a broken G major chord: G, D, G, B, D.
- Bars 3 and 4 copy the pattern one step lower, on the D major chord.
How to practice it
Read the piece through once without playing, naming the starting note and looking for patterns and repeats. Then press Play and follow the notes as they light up. When you are ready, choose Practice this piece: it opens in the practice tool, where you can slow it down, play along on the on-screen piano, a MIDI keyboard or your voice, and have every note checked.