Musette in D major

About this piece

A musette is a dance named after a small bagpipe, and the left hand imitates its drone by jumping between low and high D. In bars 3 and 4 both hands play the same notes, two octaves apart. Bars 5 to 8 repeat the opening, and each half of the piece is played twice.

What it practices

• D major
• left-hand octave jumps
• both hands playing the same notes
• sixteenth notes

Where the notes come from

Mutopia Project edition of BWV Anh. 126 (Allen Garvin, from the Bach-Gesellschaft edition; public domain), compared with this file note by note by our checking script. IMSLP notes that Bach’s authorship is uncertain.

How to practice with it

1. Listen first. Press Play and follow the moving line with your eyes. The lit notes and keys show what sounds right now: blue is the right hand, orange the left.
2. Slow it down. Use − and + to set the tempo. 60% is a good place to start.
3. One hand at a time. Choose Right or Left, learn that hand, then put them together.
4. Wait for me. Turn it on and press Start. The lit keys show what to play, and the music waits until you play them, on the screen, on your computer keyboard or on a MIDI keyboard.
5. Loop the hard part. Turn on Loop, pick the bars, and play them a few times in a row.

Click a bar in the music to start from there. Space plays and pauses. The computer keys A S D F G H J K play C D E F G A B C (press ⌨ Computer keys under the music to see them on the piano).