Ecossaise in G major, WoO 23
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) · sheet music
- Key G major
- Time 2/4
- Levels 7–9
- Passages 8
Your turn · both hands
Preparing your passage…
Ludwig van Beethoven, German classical (1770–1827). The reading release has 8 passages from this piece at levels 7–9; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 1–4 for both hands together.
The hardest stretch is bars 1–16 at level 9.
Your practice path
Learn it the way teachers do: each hand on its own, then together, then the hard bars. Each step is a real graded passage of Ecossaise in G major, WoO 23.
- Hands together · bars 1–8 level 7
- The hardest bars · bars 1–16 level 9
How to play Ecossaise in G major, WoO 23
- Tempo:Play it at a brisk but comfortable dance tempo, one clear pulse per bar, as if couples were stepping through it; it should never feel hurried.
- Right hand:The tune starts with a quick pair of sixteenth notes as a pickup and then falls by step; keep the pickup light so the first full note lands with weight.
- Left hand:The left hand plays a low note followed by repeated eighth-note chords, like a band's accompaniment; keep the chords short and even and the low note a bit stronger.
- Hands together:Practice the left-hand pattern until it is automatic, then add the right-hand tune so your eyes can stay on the melody.
- Rhythm:Count in eighths: the left-hand pattern is the same all the way through, so tap it on your knee while you sing the tune.
- Dynamics:Brass-band style suggests clear contrasts, so start boldly and give each answering phrase a slightly softer tone.
- Practice:Learn each strain separately, play it with a metronome until it is steady, then connect the two and repeat the whole dance.
- Reading:Remember the F-sharp in the key signature, and watch for the A-sharp passing note in the first strain and the D bass notes that anchor the second.
Common mistakes
- Letting the repeated left-hand chords turn into long, heavy notes. Fix: Release each chord quickly, like a staccato tap, and keep the wrist loose.
- Dragging the opening sixteenth-note pickup. Fix: Practice the pickup alone on a high note, then connect it to the next note without a pause.
- Forgetting the F-sharp. Fix: Say "F sharp" aloud each time you reach the note, and circle it in the score.
Structure: dance in two strains (the lost original also had a trio)
The surviving piano version is a short dance in two strains, with phrases that answer one another in regular pairs. Beethoven's band original also had a trio, which the arrangement does not include.
- A · First strain (G major)
- A snappy tune opens with a quick pickup and falls by step over steady eighth-note chords in the left hand; one chromatic passing note, an A-sharp, colors the repeat of the phrase.
- B · Second strain (G major)
- The right hand switches to repeated thirds and quick sixteenth-note turns over a bass that keeps returning to D, then the tune closes back in G major.
- Trio · Trio (lost)
- Part of Beethoven's original band score but not preserved in the piano arrangement.
About Ecossaise in G major, WoO 23
An ecossaise is a lively dance, usually in 2/4, whose name means "Scottish" in French even though the dance is French in origin. It was a type of contradanse popular in France and Britain around 1800, danced by men and women facing each other in two lines, and Beethoven, Schubert and Chopin all wrote ecossaises.
Beethoven wrote this one around 1810 for military wind band, in the same period as another band ecossaise in D major, WoO 22. The band score of the G major piece is lost, and it survives only in a piano arrangement attributed to Carl Czerny; it was first printed in 1827, the year Beethoven died.
Beethoven's original also had a trio, a contrasting middle section that the piano version does not include. On this page, the tune sits in the right hand over steady eighth-note chords in the left hand, much like a band's accompaniment.
- The original wind-band score is lost, and the piece is known only through a piano arrangement attributed to Carl Czerny.
- Beethoven's band version included a trio that did not make it into the surviving piano arrangement.
- Beethoven also wrote ecossaises for solo piano, catalogued as WoO 83 and WoO 86.
- Although its name means "Scottish," the ecossaise is a French dance.
Why the first passage is level 7
That passage is level 7 rather than 6 because it has syncopated rhythms.
Eight excerpts at levels 7 to 9 cover the whole dance; the first four-note groups are the easiest entry, and the later ones add chromatic notes and quicker figures.
Questions about Ecossaise in G major, WoO 23
- How hard is Ecossaise in G major, WoO 23 to play?
- Its passages grade from level 7 to level 9 on Real Sight Reader's ten-level reading scale, so the full piece is intermediate to advanced reading. The hardest stretch is bars 1–16 at level 9.
- Is there an easy part of Ecossaise in G major, WoO 23 for beginners?
- Its easiest passage is level 7, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 1–4 for both hands together, the level-7 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 7 because it has syncopated rhythms.
- What key and time signature is Ecossaise in G major, WoO 23 in?
- Ecossaise in G major, WoO 23 is in G major, 1 sharp. The engraving on this page is in 2/4 time.
- Who composed Ecossaise in G major, WoO 23?
- Ludwig van Beethoven, German classical (1770–1827). An ecossaise is a lively dance, usually in 2/4, whose name means "Scottish" in French even though the dance is French in origin.
- Can I practice Ecossaise in G major, WoO 23 online for free?
- Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 8 graded passages from Ecossaise in G major, WoO 23 in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
- Why is Beethoven's Ecossaise in G known only as a piano piece?
- Its original scoring for wind band is lost, and the only surviving form is a piano arrangement attributed to Carl Czerny.
- What is an ecossaise?
- A French contradanse, usually in 2/4, that was popular in France and Britain around 1800. Despite the name, which means Scottish, it is French in origin, and the dancers formed two facing lines.
- Did Beethoven write other ecossaises?
- Yes. He wrote another for military band, WoO 22 in D major, and ecossaises for solo piano catalogued as WoO 83 and WoO 86.
Every passage, easiest first
The reading release grades 8 distinct passages of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:
- Level 7
- bars 1–8 both hands · bars 1–12 both hands · bars 1–4 both hands · bars 5–8 both hands · bars 9–12 both hands
- Level 8
- bars 13–16 both hands
- Level 9
- bars 1–16 both hands · bars 9–16 both hands
More pieces to sight-read
Score: public-domain engraving from the corpus (pdmx), graded by the piano-reading-v2-20261023-identity-audit reading release.