Description
The best known of Chopin's nocturnes and one of the most familiar pieces in the whole piano repertoire. Written around 1830, it is the second of the Op. 9 set. Its melody inherits John Field's manner, but the practice of rewriting the ornamentation at every repetition is already Chopin's own.
In E-flat major and 12/8, the left hand keeps an accompaniment of bass note and chord on each beat while the right sings an eight-bar melody. That melody appears three times, gathering more ornament with each return, until near the end the decoration is at its thickest and a cadenza-like run leads to a quiet close.
It is rated intermediate, but it is not an easy piece. The ornaments carry many notes, while the tempo may be bent and where the time is spent is left to the player. Do not cram the ornaments in mechanically: settle the skeleton of the melody first and lay the decoration on afterwards. Whether the waltz-like left hand stays even is what decides the piece's stability.
One of Chopin's signature genres — beautiful, lyrical piano pieces that evoke the stillness and poetry of the night.
Browse all songs in Nocturnes →Sheet Music
Sheet music provided by Mutopia Project
What this piece teaches
The goal of this path: the Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9 No. 2. In 12/8, the left hand plays a bass note and chords to each beat while the right hand sings. The melody appears three times, more ornamented at each return.
How to practise it
- Settle the skeleton of the melody without its ornaments first, then lay the decoration on top. Loop the most ornamented passages at 0.5x.
- Whether the left hand stays even decides how stable the piece sounds. Make sure you can play the left hand through on its own.
- This MIDI carries no pedal information, so no pedal indicators appear. Use the changes you have learned on the way, checking them by ear.
About the Composer
Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
Frederic Chopin was born in Poland and made his career in Paris, remaining unusual among great composers for writing almost exclusively for piano. He poured his longing for his homeland into mazurkas and polonaises, while his ballades and etudes combine poetic melody with harmonic innovation. This site includes the "Revolutionary" and other etudes, Ballades No. 1 and No. 4, nocturnes, and the Preludes, Op. 28.
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