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Wiegenlied "Schlafe, mein Prinzchen"

Bernhard Flies (1770–1825) · sheet music

  • Time 6/8
  • Levels 6–9
  • Passages 11

Your turn · both hands

 

 

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Bernhard Flies, German classical (1770–1825). The reading release has 11 passages from this piece at levels 6–9; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 1–2 for the right hand alone.

Practice the hard bars →

The hardest stretch is bars 1–12 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 Wiegenlied "Schlafe, mein Prinzchen".

  1. Right hand alone · bars 1–2 level 6
  2. Left hand alone · bars 3–10 level 6
  3. Hands together · bars 5–8 level 6
  4. The hardest bars · bars 1–12 level 9

How to play Wiegenlied "Schlafe, mein Prinzchen"

  1. Tempo:Keep it slow and calm, with two gentle beats to the bar, each divided into three; imagine rocking a cradle.
  2. Right hand:The tune is doubled in thirds and later in three-note chords, so let the top note sing slightly above the others and keep the lower notes soft.
  3. Left hand:Play the rocking accompaniment evenly and very softly so it never competes with the tune.
  4. Hands together:Match the sway of the two hands: the left hand often places a bass note on the first and fourth eighth notes, and the right hand's chords should land exactly with it.
  5. Rhythm:Feel two big beats rather than six small ones, which keeps the lullaby smooth.
  6. Pedal:Use light pedal, changing when the harmony changes, so the sound blends without blurring.
  7. Dynamics:Stay in a soft range from start to finish, and let the last phrase fade as though the listener were falling asleep.
  8. Practice:Play the left hand alone until it feels automatic, then add the tune one phrase at a time.

Common mistakes

  • Letting the accompaniment get louder than the melody. Fix: Practice the left hand at a whisper while the right hand sings.
  • Playing the 6/8 as six equal beats. Fix: Count one-and-a two-and-a, and place the weight on one and four.
  • Rushing the quiet endings of phrases. Fix: Let the last note of each phrase breathe before the next begins.

Structure: short song in two halves

The version on this page presents the song as a short piano piece in two halves. The first half states the gentle tune in thirds and turns toward C major; the second half rises to fuller chords over a repeated bass note and then comes back to rest in F major.

A · First half (F major)
The tune moves in parallel thirds over a rocking left hand; small sharps appear as passing notes when the music leans toward C major.
B · Second half
The right hand thickens to three-note chords over a bass that rocks between octaves, then the opening phrase returns to close the lullaby.

About Wiegenlied "Schlafe, mein Prinzchen"

Schlafe, mein Prinzchen, schlaf ein is a German lullaby whose words are by Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter, taken from his play Esther. For many years the melody was credited to Mozart and listed in the Köchel catalog as K. 350, and it is still often sold as the Mozart Lullaby.

Scholars have since moved the song to the catalog's appendix of spurious or doubtful works as K. Anh. C 8.48. The tune is now attributed to Bernhard Flies, a German amateur composer and doctor of medicine born around 1770 in Berlin, though more recent research points to Johann Friedrich Anton Fleischmann as the original composer.

Whoever wrote it, the song found a lasting place in Germany, where it was sung mostly by young choirs around Christmas, and it is still printed and recorded under Mozart's name.

  • The title translates as Sleep, my little prince, fall asleep.
  • The Mozart attribution lasted long enough that the song was given a Köchel number, K. 350, before being moved to the doubtful works.
  • The lyrics come from Gotter's play Esther, which is how a theater text ended up as a nursery song.

Why the first passage is level 6

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

A gentle rocking 6/8 lullaby. Read it in two beats per bar, with the tune in the right hand and a soft swaying pattern in the left.

Questions about Wiegenlied "Schlafe, mein Prinzchen"

How hard is Wiegenlied "Schlafe, mein Prinzchen" 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 1–12 at level 9.
Is there an easy part of Wiegenlied "Schlafe, mein Prinzchen" for beginners?
Its easiest passage is level 6, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 1–2 for the right hand alone, 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 Wiegenlied "Schlafe, mein Prinzchen" in?
The engraving on this page is in 6/8 time.
Who composed Wiegenlied "Schlafe, mein Prinzchen"?
Bernhard Flies, German classical (1770–1825). Schlafe, mein Prinzchen, schlaf ein is a German lullaby whose words are by Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter, taken from his play Esther.
Can I practice Wiegenlied "Schlafe, mein Prinzchen" online for free?
Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 11 graded passages from Wiegenlied "Schlafe, mein Prinzchen" in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
Did Mozart write the Mozart Lullaby?
Probably not. The song was long listed as Mozart's K. 350, but it has been moved to the Köchel appendix of doubtful works, and the tune is now credited to Bernhard Flies or, in newer research, Johann Friedrich Anton Fleischmann.
What are the words of Schlafe, mein Prinzchen?
The German text is by Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter, from his play Esther. The first line means Sleep, my little prince, fall asleep.
Who was Bernhard Flies?
He was a German amateur composer and doctor of medicine, born in Berlin around 1770; little else is known about his life.

Every passage, easiest first

The reading release grades 11 distinct passages of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:

Level 6
bars 1–2 right hand · bars 3–10 left hand · bars 5–8 both hands · bars 5–8 right hand
Level 7
bars 1–8 both hands · bars 1–4 both hands · bars 13–16 both hands
Level 8
bars 3–10 both hands
Level 9
bars 1–12 both hands · bars 9–12 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.

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