Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star)
Muzio Clementi (1801)
Description
A piece on the old French song "Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman" — the tune known in English as Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and as the alphabet song, and famous as the theme of Mozart's twelve variations, K. 265, of around 1781. Clementi reworked the same melody, concisely, as teaching material for his Op. 42.
In G major and duple meter: 212 notes, under a minute. After the theme is stated, variations follow in which the right-hand notes are subdivided — the most basic shape a variation set can have. The left hand keeps to a simple accompaniment throughout, with every change placed on the right-hand side.
A beginner piece. Because everyone knows the tune, the notes alone will pass for the piece, which leaves nowhere to hide. Hold the same tempo through the variations as the notes get smaller, and keep the left-hand accompaniment at the volume it had under the theme; do that, and the shape of a variation set becomes audible.
A piano method Clementi published in 1801, comprising 50 lessons that arrange famous Baroque and Classical works for solo piano.
Browse all songs in Introduction to the Art of Playing on the Piano Forte Op.42 →Sheet Music
Sheet music provided by Mutopia Project
About the Composer
Muzio Clementi (1752-1832)
Muzio Clementi was born in Rome and moved to England while still young, building a career in London as a pianist, composer, and instrument manufacturer. Often called the "father of the pianoforte," he wrote the study collection Gradus ad Parnassum and numerous sonatinas that remain staples of piano pedagogy. This site includes pieces from his Op. 42 tutor, built on "Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman" and melodies by Haydn and Mozart, along with movements from the Sonatina, Op. 36, No. 1.
View all works by Clementi →