How hard is Arabesque, Op. 100 No. 2 to play?

Its passages grade from level 5 to level 6 on Real Sight Reader's ten-level reading scale, so the full piece sits around early intermediate. The hardest stretch is bars 1–4 at level 6.

Is there an easy part of Arabesque, Op. 100 No. 2 for beginners?

Its easiest passage is level 5, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 13–16 for both hands together, the level-5 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 5 because it carries accidentals outside the key and notes come faster than one per beat.

What key and time signature is Arabesque, Op. 100 No. 2 in?

Arabesque, Op. 100 No. 2 is in A minor, no sharps or flats. The engraving on this page is in 2/4 time.

Can I practice Arabesque, Op. 100 No. 2 online for free?

Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 2 graded passages from Arabesque, Op. 100 No. 2 in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.

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Arabesque, Op. 100 No. 2

Friedrich Burgmüller (1806–1874) · sheet music

Key A minor
Time 2/4
Levels 5–6
Passages 2

Your turn · both hands

Preparing your passage…

Friedrich Burgmüller, German-French romantic (1806–1874). The reading release has 2 passages from this piece at levels 5–6; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 13–16 for both hands together.

Practice the hard bars →

The hardest stretch is bars 1–4 at level 6.

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 Arabesque, Op. 100 No. 2.

Hands together · bars 13–16 level 5
The hardest bars · bars 1–4 level 6

How to play Arabesque, Op. 100 No. 2

Play it at a lively, playful tempo, marked Allegro scherzando, but only as fast as the sixteenth notes stay even.
When the left hand takes the running figure, keep the right-hand chords short and light so the bass line stays clear; it often helps to practice the left hand alone until it matches the right.
Practice the short staccato chords alone first, crisp and even, so the running figure always has a steady frame to sit on.
Use the same fingering for every appearance of the running figure, typically starting with the fingers that let the thumb land on the strong beat, and practice in short bursts before joining bars together.

Structure

The piece is in A minor and has three short parts. The opening section is built on a quick sixteenth-note figure that both hands take turns playing. A middle passage moves to related keys and builds tension, and then the opening returns, followed by a brief, energetic ending. It lasts under a minute.

About Arabesque, Op. 100 No. 2

Friedrich Burgmüller was a German pianist and composer who settled in Paris and became a sought-after piano teacher there. His Op. 100 studies, published around 1851, are short character pieces with titles, each focused on one technical skill, and Arabesque has been a standard part of early intermediate teaching for generations.

Why the first passage is level 5

That passage is level 5 rather than 4 because it carries accidentals outside the key, notes come faster than one per beat, it leaps a octave, it moves in sixteenth notes, it runs fast figuration.

Arabesque is the second of Burgmüller's twenty-five easy studies, Op. 100, and a favourite with young pianists because it sounds harder than it is. Quick sixteenth-note figures pass between the hands over short staccato chords. Read each run as one shape and the piece moves quickly.

Questions about Arabesque, Op. 100 No. 2

How hard is Arabesque, Op. 100 No. 2 to play?: Its passages grade from level 5 to level 6 on Real Sight Reader's ten-level reading scale, so the full piece sits around early intermediate. The hardest stretch is bars 1–4 at level 6.
Is there an easy part of Arabesque, Op. 100 No. 2 for beginners?: Its easiest passage is level 5, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 13–16 for both hands together, the level-5 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 5 because it carries accidentals outside the key and notes come faster than one per beat.
What key and time signature is Arabesque, Op. 100 No. 2 in?: Arabesque, Op. 100 No. 2 is in A minor, no sharps or flats. The engraving on this page is in 2/4 time.
Who composed Arabesque, Op. 100 No. 2?: Friedrich Burgmüller, German-French romantic (1806–1874). Friedrich Burgmüller was a German pianist and composer who settled in Paris and became a sought-after piano teacher there.
Can I practice Arabesque, Op. 100 No. 2 online for free?: Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 2 graded passages from Arabesque, Op. 100 No. 2 in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.

Every passage, easiest first

The reading release grades 2 distinct passages of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:

Level 5: bars 13–16 both hands
Level 6: bars 1–4 both hands

More pieces to sight-read

Score: public-domain engraving from the corpus (mutopia-ly), graded by the piano-reading-v2-20261001-mutopia-ly reading release.

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