Description
The opening piece of Tchaikovsky's Children's Album, Op. 39. The set is arranged to follow a child through a single day: it begins with a morning prayer and passes through a winter morning, games, dances and stories before closing with prayer in church. This first piece is the music of that day's beginning.
In G major and triple time, melody and harmony take the plain shape of Russian Orthodox chant, four-voice chords accumulating quietly. There is no dramatic swell; the devotional character comes from the harmonic motion alone. The piece lasts about a minute and contains under 250 notes.
The task is how the chords are sounded. When four notes are struck together, whether the melody in the top voice can be brought marginally forward is what decides whether the succession of chords becomes a song. Change the pedal cleanly at each change of harmony so nothing is dragged across. Played in sequence, keeping in mind that this stillness is the start of a day makes the contrast with what follows tell.
Twenty-four piano pieces Tchaikovsky composed in 1878 for children, yet musically rich enough to reward listeners of any age.
Browse all songs in Children's Album →Sheet Music
Sheet music provided by Mutopia Project
What this piece teaches
The first piece of Tchaikovsky's Children's Album: G major, triple time, four-voice chords moving quietly like a chant. The lesson is letting the top note of each chord - the melody - sound a shade above the rest.
How to practise it
- At 0.5x, play only the top note of each chord as a melody first, then add the other notes underneath.
- Change the pedal with each new chord so nothing carries over - but start without it, joining the chords with the fingers alone.
- It opens a set that follows a child through one day. Build no big climax; let it stay quiet to the end.
Practice guides using this piece
Connecting a MIDI keyboard and using practice mode
How to connect a digital piano or MIDI keyboard to the browser, and how practice mode waits for the right keys - and what it does not check.
About the Composer
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was Russia's foremost Romantic composer, achieving worldwide fame through ballets such as Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. His style blends Western compositional technique with Russian melodic warmth, and his pedagogical piano collection Children's Album remains a beloved favorite. This site includes 7 of his works, including pieces from that collection and The Seasons.
View all works by Tchaikovsky →