Real Sight Reader
Piano sound
Browser piano

Play your MIDI keyboard through this device’s audio output. Plug headphones into this device and turn down your piano’s own speakers.

← All pieces

Russian Folk Song, Op. 107 No. 3

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) · sheet music

  • Key G major
  • Time 2/4
  • Levels 2–5
  • Passages 13

Your turn · both hands

 

 

Loading passage…

Preparing your passage…

Ludwig van Beethoven, German romantic (1770–1827). The reading release has 13 passages from this piece at levels 2–5; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 1–4 for the right hand alone.

Practice the hard bars →

The hardest stretch is bars 1–8 at level 5.

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 Russian Folk Song, Op. 107 No. 3.

  1. Right hand alone · bars 1–4 level 2
  2. Left hand alone · bars 9–12 level 3
  3. Hands together · bars 1–8 level 5

How to play Russian Folk Song, Op. 107 No. 3

  1. Tempo:The set marks No. 3 Vivace, but start slowly, because the repeated notes in the melody need a very even touch before they can run fast.
  2. Right hand:The tune begins with a skip up to repeated D notes and then steps up and down; keep your fingers close, and lift slightly at the end of each little phrase.
  3. Left hand:The left hand plays steady quarter-note bass notes in simple intervals; keep them soft so they support the melody without leading it.
  4. Hands together:Play each hand alone first, then put them together at half speed, listening to make sure the melody stays slightly louder than the bass.
  5. Rhythm:Count two beats per bar and notice the level 5 excerpts with dotted rhythms; clap the dotted figures before you play them.
  6. Dynamics:Make the repeated phrases sound different: play the first statement of each phrase a bit louder and the repeat softer.
  7. Practice:Learn the right hand in four-bar units, then add the bass; loop the last unit, which has the quickest notes, several times.
  8. Reading:Remember the F-sharp in the key signature, and look for ledger-line notes in the left-hand-only excerpts.

Common mistakes

  • Rushing the repeated notes because they look easy. Fix: Practice them with a metronome at a slow speed and keep each note identical in volume.
  • Letting the left hand overpower the tune. Fix: Play the left hand alone as softly as you can and keep that touch when the right hand enters.
  • Forgetting the F-sharp. Fix: Say "F sharp" aloud each time you play it.

Structure: theme and variations (this page: the theme)

Each number of Op. 107 presents a folk melody and then varies it. In No. 3 the tune is followed by five variations, a slow Adagio sostenuto and a return to the opening tempo. This page covers the tune itself, a short G major melody made of balanced, repeating phrases.

Theme · Folk tune (G major)
A repetitive, dance-like tune that starts on repeated notes and moves by step; both hands play simple patterns, so it reads like a children's song.
Var. 1-5 · Variations (not on this page)
Five variations dress the tune up for flute and piano in different ways.
Adagio · Adagio sostenuto (not on this page)
A slow, sustained section that contrasts with the quick dance before the original tempo comes back to finish.

About Russian Folk Song, Op. 107 No. 3

Beethoven wrote the Ten National Airs with Variations, Op. 107, in 1818-19 for George Thomson, a wealthy Edinburgh publisher of folk-song settings, with whom he had a difficult business relationship. The set is for flute (or violin) and piano, and each number takes a folk melody and writes variations on it.

No. 3 is titled "Air de la petite Russie" in the published set and is also known as "Volkslied aus Kleinrussland"; Little Russia was an old name for much of Ukraine, and the tune is described as a Ukrainian dance. It is marked Vivace and is in G major.

Op. 107 was first published in 1819 in London and Vienna, and the Simrock edition from Bonn appeared around 1820. The tune is simple enough that Michael Toepel included No. 3 in his Barenreiter volume of easy Beethoven piano pieces and dances.

  • The Op. 107 set draws on Tyrolean, Scottish and Russian or Ukrainian folk tunes, each followed by variations.
  • Michael Toepel's Barenreiter edition of easy Beethoven piano pieces and dances includes No. 3 as a solo piano piece.
  • Another number in the set, No. 7, uses a Ukrainian tune known in Germany as "Schone Minka".
  • In the full set, No. 3's quick variations are interrupted by a slow Adagio sostenuto before the opening tempo returns.

Why the first passage is level 2

That passage is level 2 rather than 1 because notes come faster than one per beat, it leaps a major third, it moves in eighth notes.

Thirteen short excerpts from level 2 to 5, mostly right hand alone at first, then hands together; this is one of the gentlest pieces on the site.

Questions about Russian Folk Song, Op. 107 No. 3

How hard is Russian Folk Song, Op. 107 No. 3 to play?
Its passages grade from level 2 to level 5 on Real Sight Reader's ten-level reading scale, so the full piece sits around early intermediate. The hardest stretch is bars 1–8 at level 5.
Is there an easy part of Russian Folk Song, Op. 107 No. 3 for beginners?
Yes. Start with bars 1–4 for the right hand alone, the level-2 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 2 because notes come faster than one per beat and it leaps a major third.
What key and time signature is Russian Folk Song, Op. 107 No. 3 in?
Russian Folk Song, Op. 107 No. 3 is in G major, 1 sharp. The engraving on this page is in 2/4 time.
Who composed Russian Folk Song, Op. 107 No. 3?
Ludwig van Beethoven, German romantic (1770–1827). Beethoven wrote the Ten National Airs with Variations, Op.
Can I practice Russian Folk Song, Op. 107 No. 3 online for free?
Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 13 graded passages from Russian Folk Song, Op. 107 No. 3 in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
Where does this tune come from?
It is titled "Air de la petite Russie" and is described as a Ukrainian dance; Little Russia was the historical name for much of Ukraine.
Is Op. 107 for flute or for piano?
The set is for flute (or violin) and piano, written for the Edinburgh publisher George Thomson. The tune on this page is arranged as a short piano piece.
When was Op. 107 written?
In 1818-1819, for George Thomson of Edinburgh.

Every passage, easiest first

The reading release grades 13 distinct passages of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:

Level 2
bars 1–4 right hand · bars 11–12 right hand
Level 3
bars 1–8 right hand · bars 3–8 right hand · bars 5–8 right hand · bars 9–12 left hand · bars 11–14 left hand
Level 5
bars 1–8 both hands · bars 1–4 both hands · bars 5–8 both hands · bars 9–16 both hands · bars 9–12 both hands · bars 13–16 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.

Keep training on your phone Practice with your own pieces — free on the App Store