Easy pieces you can hear
Five tunes that students meet early, each written out for the instruments that play them, in a key that suits the instrument. Every page plays the notes in your browser: slow them down, loop a few bars, play along. Parts for B♭ and E♭ instruments are in written pitch.
Ode to Joy
The tune comes from the last movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, first performed in Vienna in 1824, where it sets Friedrich Schiller's poem “An die Freude”. It moves almost entirely by step, which is why it is one of the first melodies many players learn.
| Instrument | Written in | Sounds in |
|---|---|---|
| Ode to Joy for Violin | G major | G major |
| Ode to Joy for Cello | G major | G major |
| Ode to Joy for Flute | G major | G major |
| Ode to Joy for Clarinet | A major | G major |
| Ode to Joy for Trumpet | A major | G major |
| Ode to Joy for Alto Sax | E major | G major |
Minuet in G
The Minuet in G major, BWV Anh. 114, is in the notebook J. S. Bach gave his wife Anna Magdalena in 1725. It was printed as Bach's for a long time; scholars now credit it to the Dresden organist Christian Petzold.
| Instrument | Written in | Sounds in |
|---|---|---|
| Minuet in G for Violin | G major | G major |
| Minuet in G for Viola | C major | C major |
| Minuet in G for Cello | G major | G major |
| Minuet in G for Flute | G major | G major |
| Minuet in G for Clarinet | A major | G major |
| Minuet in G for Alto Sax | E major | G major |
Musette in D
The Musette in D major, BWV Anh. 126, is another piece from the 1725 notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach. Nobody knows for certain who wrote it; older books print it as Bach's.
| Instrument | Written in | Sounds in |
|---|---|---|
| Musette in D for Violin | D major | D major |
| Musette in D for Viola | G major | G major |
| Musette in D for Cello | D major | D major |
| Musette in D for Flute | D major | D major |
| Musette in D for Clarinet | E major | D major |
| Musette in D for Trumpet | E major | D major |
| Musette in D for Alto Sax | B major | D major |
Bourrée
A bourrée from Handel's Flute Sonata in G, HWV 363b, in the violin arrangement by Friedrich Hermann (1828–1907) printed by Edition Peters in his Klassische Stücke.
| Instrument | Written in | Sounds in |
|---|---|---|
| Bourrée for Violin | G major | G major |
| Bourrée for Viola | C major | C major |
| Bourrée for Cello | G major | G major |
| Bourrée for Flute | G major | G major |
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
The tune is the French song “Ah! vous dirai-je, maman”, printed in 1761. Mozart wrote twelve variations on it, K. 265, and the English words are Jane Taylor's poem “The Star”, from 1806.
| Instrument | Written in | Sounds in |
|---|---|---|
| Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star for Violin | A major | A major |
| Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star for Viola | A major | A major |
| Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star for Cello | D major | D major |
| Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star for Flute | D major | D major |
Études
The study books teachers hand out, each study checked note by note and playing the same way: Wohlfahrt Op. 45, Kayser Op. 20, Rose 32 Etudes, Ferling Op. 31, and the rest of the library.
Transposing instruments
Not sure why the clarinet part is in a different key? Concert pitch and written pitch, explained with audio, and a printable transposition chart.
Hymns
Hymn melodies such as Amazing Grace and Be Thou My Vision, written for trumpet, sax, clarinet, horn, flute and strings.
Your piece isn’t here?
Photograph the page with ScoreLens and it plays in the app the same way: slower, looped, in your key. It reads single-line parts from printed music.
