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The short answer
Kind im Einschlummern (Child Falling Asleep), Kinderszenen Op. 15 No. 12 is a character piece by Robert Schumann from the Romantic era. PlayPiano puts it at Level 6, an estimate.
- character piece
- Romantic
- dreamy
- gentle
- block chords
- hand independence
- repeated notes
History
The title of the twelfth scene in Schumann’s Kinderszenen imagines a child falling asleep. The collection looks back at childhood from an adult perspective; it should not be mistaken for a set of first piano lessons simply because its title mentions children.
Sources
What to listen for
An opening that begins underneath
The upper voice rests for the first beat while lower voices are already moving. Hear the accompaniment establish the texture before the upper B arrives.
A recurring inner figure
The lower staff repeats a B-C-B figure and reaches F-sharp above it. Try to hear this as an inner strand rather than a series of bass accents.
A small change of colour
The upper B and G figure returns, but a lower D-natural replaces the earlier D-sharp. Listen for the changed colour within an otherwise familiar pattern.
The upper line turns inward
The upper destination changes from G to E while the lower chords descend. Let the line stay connected without making every accompaniment note equally prominent.
How to practise it
Keep the upper figure distinct from its repeating inner support.
- Keep the delayed upper entry in time.
- Make dotted and shorter notes distinct.
- Balance the repeating inner pattern below the melody.
How hard is it
The retained native bars begin with an active lower line before the upper voice enters, later use chord groups, and end with quarter-note events and rests. This intermediate proposal values balance and independent releases across those changes.
About this piece
- Collection
- Small scenes, big imagination
- Licence
- CC0
- Source
- musescore.com
More by Robert Schumann
- Album for the Young, Op. 68 No. 1, MélodieLevel 2, estimatedOpen to everyone
- Träumerei, Kinderszenen Op. 15 No. 7Level 6, estimatedWith Maestro
- Toccata in C major, Op. 7Level 10, estimatedWith Maestro
