Berceuse in D-flat major, Op. 57

Frédéric Chopin (1,810–1,849)

First published: 1845
Key: D-flat major
Style: Romantic
Level: Diploma
Roughly: RCM ARCT · ABRSM ARSM · Trinity ATCL · Henle 7
Lesson: D.6 Vary a line over a continuing bass
Musicianship: D.6 Chromatic bass lines
Focus: Stable bass ostinato and progressively ornamented upper voice; independent voicing, soft control and coherent variation pacing.

What its lesson teaches

D.6 Vary a line over a continuing bass

Prepare Chopin’s complete D-flat Berceuse, Op. 57. Locate the recurring bass framework and compare how two successive decorations change the melodic surface. Practise the bass alone, then retain its quiet continuity while restoring the ornamented line. Use the D-flat inverted-arpeggio preparation for secure spacing, not as a replacement for the original variations. Plan the work’s larger rise and release instead of accenting every new decoration.

Ideas: Ground bass, chaconne and passacaglia
Theme and variations
The trill
Long-range lines
Theory cards: What a variation keeps
Pedal and finger layers
Technique: D-flat major scale, hands together, 4 octaves
D-flat major arpeggio in second inversion, hands together, 4 octaves

Edition and licence

Score: First Editions of Fryderyk Chopin's Music

Website: https://chopinscores.org

Digital scores: https://github.com/pl-wnifc/humdrum-chopin-first-editions

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Adapted by Musalea: converted to MusicXML with every bar the converter misread rebuilt from the encoding and the performance markings restored; a complete cycle or sonata is joined in order without changing the music.

Practice tempos: from the encoding where it gives them, otherwise from Kullak's recommendations (1881–1883) or chosen by Musalea; they are practice targets, not the composer's metronome marks. The printed tempo words are kept and no number is shown in the score.

Paris: J. Meissonnier, first French edition, 1845, plate J.M.2186

Encoding source: https://github.com/pl-wnifc/humdrum-chopin-first-editions

Digital licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ · CC BY 4.0

Berceuse

First Editions of Fryderyk Chopin's Music

Digital licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: https://github.com/pl-wnifc/humdrum-chopin-first-editions/blob/95dfb105c1669c72d10b04088566154f12d3dc1c/kern/057-1a-MEIj.krn

Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

The other lesson pieces of Diploma

Prelude and Fugue in F minor, BWV 857 — complete pair, Johann Sebastian Bach
Piano Sonata No. 6 in F major, Op. 10 No. 2 — complete, Ludwig van Beethoven
Étude in B-flat minor, Op. 8 No. 11, Alexander Scriabin
Prelude and Fugue in F-sharp minor, BWV 859 — complete pair, Johann Sebastian Bach
Piano Sonata No. 24 in F-sharp major, Op. 78 — complete, Ludwig van Beethoven
Prelude and Fugue in B-flat minor, BWV 867 — complete pair, Johann Sebastian Bach
Impromptu in F minor, D. 935 No. 4 (Op. 142 No. 4) — complete, Franz Schubert
Piano Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90: II. Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorgetragen, in E major, Ludwig van Beethoven
Mallorca (Barcarola), Op. 202, Isaac Albéniz
Sonatine, M.40 — I. Modéré, Maurice Ravel
Intermezzo in A major, Op. 118 No. 2, Johannes Brahms
Étude in G major, Op. 40 No. 1, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37: I. Allegro con brio, Ludwig van Beethoven

Practise all 157 lessons at your piano

In Musalea each lesson runs step by step, and after every run the app tells you what to fix: the bar, the hand and how to practise it.

14 practice days · everything unlocked · no card