PlayPiano
The short answer
Sa taille is a waltz by Erik Satie. PlayPiano puts it at Level 4, an estimate.
- waltz
- playful
- block chords
- voicing
History
Sa taille opens Satie's three waltzes portraying a 'précieux dégoûté,' or fastidious dandy. The score dedicates this first portrait to Roland-Manuel and prefaces it with a passage from La Bruyère about sacrificing another person's reputation for a clever remark.
Sources
What to listen for
A lone note, then close groups
A low G begins alone before a track adds several close three-note groups. Hear the space before those groups and the way they change the sound’s colour.
The same outline comes back
The low G and the following close groups recur in the next short file segment. Compare the repeated spacing instead of pushing each chord as an isolated event.
How to practise it
- Play the initial low G and count through the gap before adding the close three-note groups. Repeat the segment, checking that the first group does not arrive early.
- Play the next recurrence of the low G and chord groups, then join it to the opening segment. Keep the low-note-to-group spacing consistent across the join.
How hard is it
Brief character writing needs precise articulation, reliable coordination and clearly shaped contrasts rather than treating short length as beginner difficulty.
About this piece
- Collection
- At the dance floor
- Licence
- Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0
- Source
- mutopiaproject.org
- Credit
- “Sa Taille” by E. Satie (1866 to 1925). Mutopia edition maintained by Knute Snortum. Source: https://www.mutopiaproject.org/cgibin/piece-info.cgi?id=2021. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/. Changes to the supplied file: none; any later conversion or edit must be disclosed separately.
More by Erik Satie
- Gymnopédie No. 3Level 4, estimatedWith Maestro
- Gymnopédie No. 1Level 4, estimatedOpen to everyone
- Gnossienne No. 2Level 5, estimatedWith Maestro
