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The short answer
Menuet, French Suite No. 4, BWV 815 is a piece by Johann Sebastian Bach from the Baroque era. PlayPiano puts it at Level 5, an estimate.
- menuet
- Baroque
- Key of E-flat major
- dancing
- playful
- hand independence
- ornaments
Also known as French Suite No. 4 in E-flat major, BWV 815; J.S. Bach.
History
The opening moves upward through a spread-out upper shape while the lower part mixes eighths and quarters. A rapid neighboring-note figure soon appears. Keep the smaller detail inside a clear dance phrase.
Sources
What to listen for
A spread-out phrase
The upper G, B-flat and E-flat outline a broad rise. Hear the phrase across the intervals rather than resetting at each note.
A compact burst of detail
The third position alternates A-flat and G very quickly while the lower line continues in eighths. Let the decoration sit inside the pulse.
How to practise it
- Keep the written-out neighboring-note decoration inside the phrase without adding extra notes.
- Practise the independent lines separately, then combine their different rhythmic roles.
How hard is it
The two lines move at different note lengths, with a long written-out thirty-second alternation in the third position. This is an intermediate source version rather than an uncomplicated beginner minuet.
About this piece
- Licence
- cc-zero
- Source
- musescore.com
More by Johann Sebastian Bach
- Prelude in C major, BWV 846Level 4, estimatedOpen to everyone
- Two-Part Invention No. 1 in C major, BWV 772Level 5, estimatedWith Maestro
- Italian Concerto in F major, BWV 971: III. PrestoLevel 9, estimatedWith Maestro
