The short answer
An étude written for another musician’s piano tutor. Nouvelle Étude No. 1 in F minor, B. 130 is an etude by Frédéric Chopin from the Romantic era. PlayPiano puts it at Level 7, an estimate.
- etude
- Romantic
- gentle
Also known as Trois Nouvelles Etudes, No. 1 F Minor.
History
This F-minor étude belongs to the three studies Chopin contributed to the Méthode des Méthodes. Roy Howat’s scholarly edition identifies the collection as a tutor compiled by François-Joseph Fétis and Ignaz Moscheles. The work therefore has a teaching-publication origin beyond Chopin’s two numbered sets of études.
Sources
What to listen for
An upper triplet line begins alone
Hear the upper contour across its triplet groups while the lower line waits.
Straight lower notes meet triplets
The lower eighths enter before the textures overlap. Listen to both patterns without assuming a physical fingering prescription.
Agitated growth reaches a descending reply
The stronger expansion rises before the upper response descends. Hear the turn in its larger phrase shape.
Quieter cells lead to a held low chord
The ending quietens through triplets and lower rests. Listen to the last held chord without treating cue alternatives as extra time.
How to practise it
Chromatic rise with a displaced continuation; a recurring six-note shape.
- Sing the first three semitone steps, then practise the drop to 58 and leap to 65 as the distinctive turn.
- Compare the two six-note statements slowly, aiming for the same contour and spacing before increasing speed.
How hard is it
Differing rhythmic groupings between lines require independent coordination and an unforced singing phrase.
About this piece
- Collection
- The study studio
- Licence
- Public Domain
- Source
- mutopiaproject.org
More by Frédéric Chopin
- Prelude in A major, Op. 28 No. 7Level 5, estimatedWith Maestro
- Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9 No. 2Level 7, estimatedWith Maestro
- Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52Level 10, estimatedWith Maestro

