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Minuet in G
Christian Petzold (formerly attributed to J. S. Bach), c. 1725. Complete melody, written out for reading practice.
- Music
- Christian Petzold (formerly attributed to J. S. Bach)
- Date
- c. 1725
- Key
- G major
- Time
- 3/4
- Clef
- Treble
- Level
- Easy
- Length
- Complete melody
About the music
This minuet appears in the notebook Johann Sebastian Bach compiled for his wife, Anna Magdalena, in 1725, and for two centuries it was known as “Bach’s Minuet in G”. Scholars now credit it to the Dresden organist Christian Petzold. It is still one of the first real pieces most piano students learn.
A minuet is a dance in three, and this one has a clear pattern: a quarter note followed by four running eighths, then three quarter notes. This is the complete first section, sixteen bars, in G major.
Reading tips
- Every bar is either “quarter + four eighths” or “three quarters”. Spot which before you read the notes.
- Bars 1–4 climb a scale and then jump down an octave from G5 to G4. Expect it.
- The two halves differ only at the end: the first finishes on A, the second comes home to G.
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.
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