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Romantic · character piece

Album for the Young, Op. 68 No. 14, Petite Etude

Robert Schumann · Level 4, estimated · With Maestro

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The short answer

A little study that began without a title. Album for the Young, Op. 68 No. 14, Petite Etude is a character piece by Robert Schumann from the Romantic era. PlayPiano puts it at Level 4, an estimate.

On this page
  • character piece
  • Romantic
  • gentle

Also known as Album for the Young, Op. 68 No. 14: Petite Etude; Album pour la jeunesse - 14.Petite Etude.

History

Schumann’s autograph has no title for Op. 68 No. 14. The familiar “Kleine Studie” (“Little Study”) emerged later in the publication process.

Sources

What to listen for

  1. Broken figures rise and fall

    A continuous moving line is distributed across both staves. Follow its rising and falling shapes without treating every staff change as a new voice or fixed hand instruction.

  2. New low starts change the route

    The next broken groups begin from changed low notes and connect toward a brighter register. Listen to the changed starting points within the continuous motion.

  3. A repeated half introduces new contrasts

    The second half begins with lower D-based groups and chromatic changes. Hear the new starting colour while keeping the running line connected.

  4. An extended close finds a short release

    The closing continuation settles onto a short low G followed by rests. Hear the longer route into that compact release rather than holding the last note beyond its written ending.

How to practise it

Make the cross-staff broken chords one light, even gesture.

  1. Choose a comfortable distribution and connect all six notes evenly.
  2. Practise the two broken-chord shapes in sequence without accenting the transfer.

How hard is it

Level 4, estimated

Recurring patterns develop evenness and coordination, but the melodic direction should remain audible above the exercise-like surface.

About this piece

Interpretive sketch of Robert Schumann, an illustration and not a verified likeness
An illustration, not a portrait
Collection
Small scenes, big imagination
Licence
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5
Source
mutopiaproject.org
Credit
“Album pour la jeunesse - 14.Petite Etude” by R. Schumann (1810 to 1856). Mutopia edition maintained by Philippe Hézaine. Source: https://www.mutopiaproject.org/cgibin/piece-info.cgi?id=786. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/. Changes to the supplied file: none; any later conversion or edit must be disclosed separately.

More by Robert Schumann

  1. Album for the Young, Op. 68 No. 1, MélodieLevel 2, estimatedOpen to everyone
  2. Träumerei, Kinderszenen Op. 15 No. 7Level 6, estimatedWith Maestro
  3. Toccata in C major, Op. 7Level 10, estimatedWith Maestro

With Maestro

Play it, slow it down, hear where you land

Make the cross-staff broken chords one light, even gesture.

Practise it in PlayPiano