How hard is La Chasse (The Chase), Op. 100 No. 9 to play?

Its passages grade from level 6 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 9–16 at level 9.

Is there an easy part of La Chasse (The Chase), Op. 100 No. 9 for beginners?

Its easiest passage is level 6, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 17–20 for both hands together, the level-6 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 6 because it is in 6/8, not 4/4.

What key and time signature is La Chasse (The Chase), Op. 100 No. 9 in?

La Chasse (The Chase), Op. 100 No. 9 is in C major, no sharps or flats. The engraving on this page is in 6/8 time.

Can I practice La Chasse (The Chase), Op. 100 No. 9 online for free?

Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 7 graded passages from La Chasse (The Chase), Op. 100 No. 9 in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.

What does La Chasse mean?

It is French for the hunt. Edition titles also render it in English as The Chase and in German as Die Jagd, so you may see any of the three names on a score.

Which studies sit next to La Chasse in Op. 100?

No. 8 is La Gracieuse and No. 10 is Tendre fleur. Op. 100 runs from La candeur (No. 1) to La chevaleresque (No. 25).

Are the Op. 100 studies meant to be played in order?

The set is titled progressive, so teachers often assign the pieces roughly in order, though students also pick favorites like La Chasse out of sequence.

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La Chasse (The Chase), Op. 100 No. 9

Friedrich Burgmüller (1806–1874) · sheet music

Key C major
Time 6/8
Levels 6–9
Passages 7

Your turn · both hands

Preparing your passage…

Friedrich Burgmüller, German-French romantic (1806–1874). The reading release has 7 passages from this piece at levels 6–9; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 17–20 for both hands together.

Practice the hard bars →

The hardest stretch is bars 9–16 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 La Chasse (The Chase), Op. 100 No. 9.

Hands together · bars 17–20 level 6
The hardest bars · bars 9–16 level 9

How to play La Chasse (The Chase), Op. 100 No. 9

Tempo:Think of 6/8 as two big beats, one hoofbeat group per beat, and keep that pulse even through the pauses. The edition engraved here prints Allegro vivace, but learn it at half speed first so the leaps stay accurate.
Right hand:The hammered G figure leaps a full octave on every beat, so keep the hand loose and let the arm help. The printed fingering 5-2-1 keeps the hand spread over the octave instead of chasing each note.
Left hand:The left hand mostly supplies steady chords or a soft pulse under the right hand's jumps. Play them short and light so they never cover the melody.
Hands together:Put the hands together only after each hand is secure alone. In the quieter half of the refrain the left hand slips short offbeat figures under the right hand's Gs, so practice those spots slowly until the two lines interlock.
Dynamics:Burgmüller marks sudden changes between forte and piano, and the effect depends on contrast. Save the loudest playing for the refrain and let the episodes drop right back.
Practice:Loop the refrain on its own with the metronome, then add the episode that follows it. Play the leaping figure first as slow single notes with the metronome so your hand learns where each jump lands.
Reading:Notice how few different notes the refrain uses. Read the G figure once as a shape (high G then two lower Gs) instead of note by note, and watch for the high C above the staff that closes each refrain phrase.

Common mistakes

Rushing the refrain because the leaps feel exciting. Fix: Set the metronome slower than feels necessary and count two beats per bar until the jumps land every time.
Banging every repeated G at the same volume. Fix: Accent the first note of each group lightly and keep the other two softer, so the figure sounds like a gallop and not a drumroll.
Letting the last section stay loud instead of fading. Fix: Plan the decrescendo from the start of the coda so there is room to reach a real pianissimo before the final chord.

Structure: rondo-like (a recurring chase refrain between contrasting episodes)

A call of left-hand chords opens the piece, then a hammered-G refrain returns between contrasting episodes: one in restless chords with E-flats, one in A minor. The refrain's repeated G figure is the trademark, and the ending breaks it into fragments separated by silence over the opening chords, so the music seems to move off into the distance.

Intro · The signal: The left hand alone plays a rhythmic call of chords that grows louder and stops on a held chord with a pause. Easy to read, and a chance to set a steady 6/8 pulse before the right hand enters.
A · The chase refrain (C major): The right hand hammers G in octave leaps while the left hand holds chords underneath, then answers with little offbeat figures in the treble clef. New to read: repeated notes and jumps rather than melody.
B · Agitato episode: Thirds in the right hand over left-hand chords, marked un poco agitato, with E-flats darkening the harmony. The hands move together in blocks, so the challenge is quick chord reading.
C · Dolente episode (A minor): A short repeated stretch in A minor with a singing, sadder line (marked dolente) over broken-chord eighths.
Coda · Riding away: Fragments of the hammered G figure alternate with silences over the opening chord call, marked perdendosi and rall., and the piece ends on a soft held chord.

About La Chasse (The Chase), Op. 100 No. 9

Friedrich Burgmüller was born in Regensburg in 1806 and settled in Paris in 1832, where he spent the rest of his life writing salon pieces, two ballets and piano studies for young players. His 25 Études faciles et progressives, Op. 100, were first published in Paris in 1851 by Benoît aîné, and the full French title says they were composed and fingered expressly for small hands.

Every study in the set carries a picture title, and La Chasse is the hunting piece. In the Collection Litolff text it opens with the left hand alone tapping out a rhythmic call of chords that ends on a held chord, then sets off in a lively 6/8 where the right hand hammers G in octave leaps like hoofbeats. Contrasting stretches are marked un poco agitato and dolente, and the end is marked perdendosi, dying away as if the riders pass out of earshot.

Op. 100 is aimed at early intermediate students, and its long run of editions (Schott, Schirmer, Peters, a Polish edition and a 1990 Wiener Urtext) shows how steadily it has stayed in teaching use.

The Op. 100 title says the studies were fingered expressly for the span of small hands.
Burgmüller followed Op. 100 with two more collections for more advanced students, Op. 105 (12 études) and Op. 109 (18 études).
A pas de deux Burgmüller wrote, originally called Souvenirs de Ratisbonne, was added to the 1841 premiere of the ballet Giselle as the Peasant Pas de Deux.
The Collection Litolff edition prints the title in three languages, La Chasse, Die Jagd and The Chase.

Why the first passage is level 6

That passage is level 6 rather than 5 because it is in 6/8, not 4/4.

The key signature is empty, but E-flats, F-sharps and G-sharps appear in the episodes. Read the refrain by pattern (one high G, two lower Gs) and keep an eye out for ledger lines above the staff.

Questions about La Chasse (The Chase), Op. 100 No. 9

How hard is La Chasse (The Chase), Op. 100 No. 9 to play?: Its passages grade from level 6 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 9–16 at level 9.
Is there an easy part of La Chasse (The Chase), Op. 100 No. 9 for beginners?: Its easiest passage is level 6, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 17–20 for both hands together, the level-6 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 6 because it is in 6/8, not 4/4.
What key and time signature is La Chasse (The Chase), Op. 100 No. 9 in?: La Chasse (The Chase), Op. 100 No. 9 is in C major, no sharps or flats. The engraving on this page is in 6/8 time.
Who composed La Chasse (The Chase), Op. 100 No. 9?: Friedrich Burgmüller, German-French romantic (1806–1874). Friedrich Burgmüller was born in Regensburg in 1806 and settled in Paris in 1832, where he spent the rest of his life writing salon pieces, two ballets and piano studies for young players.
Can I practice La Chasse (The Chase), Op. 100 No. 9 online for free?: Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 7 graded passages from La Chasse (The Chase), Op. 100 No. 9 in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
What does La Chasse mean?: It is French for the hunt. Edition titles also render it in English as The Chase and in German as Die Jagd, so you may see any of the three names on a score.
Which studies sit next to La Chasse in Op. 100?: No. 8 is La Gracieuse and No. 10 is Tendre fleur. Op. 100 runs from La candeur (No. 1) to La chevaleresque (No. 25).
Are the Op. 100 studies meant to be played in order?: The set is titled progressive, so teachers often assign the pieces roughly in order, though students also pick favorites like La Chasse out of sequence.

Every passage, easiest first

The reading release grades 7 distinct passages of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:

Level 6: bars 17–20 both hands
Level 7: bars 1–8 both hands · bars 41–48 both hands
Level 9: bars 9–16 both hands · bars 17–24 both hands · bars 25–32 both hands · bars 49–56 both hands

More pieces to sight-read

Score: public-domain engraving from the corpus (mutopia-ly), graded by the piano-reading-v2-20261023-identity-audit reading release.

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