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Late Romantic and Impressionist · prelude

Des pas sur la neige, Préludes I No. 6

Claude Debussy · Level 7, estimated · With Maestro

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The short answer

A private audience, without an invented snow story. Des pas sur la neige, Préludes I No. 6 is a prelude by Claude Debussy from the Late Romantic and Impressionist era. PlayPiano puts it at Level 7, an estimate.

On this page
  • prelude
  • Late Romantic and Impressionist
  • melancholic

Also known as Debussy - Préludes - Book I - VI; Des pas sur la neige: Préludes I No. 6; Préludes, 1: Des pas sur la neige (no. 6).

History

Debussy told Louisa Liebich that Des pas sur la neige, like Danseuses de Delphes, was meant for an intimate audience. Lesure cautions against claiming a precise source for its title.

Sources

What to listen for

  1. A repeated stepping figure supports the melody

    The repeated D-E-F figure begins beneath the melody. Hear its continuing rhythm while following the longer line above it.

  2. The melody changes its register

    Related melodic shapes continue at changed registers and pitches. Listen for their relationship without adding a programme the file does not supply.

  3. The stepping figure returns under a changed line

    The recurring figure comes back beneath a changed melody. Hear both its familiarity and the upper line’s new direction.

  4. Higher sound settles into a very quiet chord

    A higher continuation leads to the very quiet final chord. Listen through the remaining movement to the last sustained sound.

How to practise it

Keep the recurring lower gesture quiet as the upper line enters.

  1. Practise the two small approaches and sustain their continuations.
  2. Add the upper entry only after the lower figure is quiet and settled.
  3. Connect the examined phrase at a comfortable tempo while keeping its stated layers and releases distinct.

How hard is it

Level 7, estimated

A restrained recurring gesture and separated melodic layers need subtle balance and patient expressive timing.

About this piece

Interpretive sketch of Claude Debussy, an illustration and not a verified likeness
An illustration, not a portrait
Collection
French piano colors
Licence
CC0
Source
musescore.com

More by Claude Debussy

  1. The Little Shepherd, Children's Corner No. 5Level 5, estimatedWith Maestro
  2. Clair de lune, Suite bergamasque, L. 75Level 8, estimatedWith Maestro
  3. La cathédrale engloutie, Préludes I No. 10Level 8, estimatedWith Maestro

With Maestro

Play it, slow it down, hear where you land

Keep the recurring lower gesture quiet as the upper line enters.

Practise it in PlayPiano