How hard is March of the Dwarfs, Op. 54 No. 3 to play?

Its passages grade from level 3 to level 10 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 10.

Is there an easy part of March of the Dwarfs, Op. 54 No. 3 for beginners?

Yes. Start with bars 57–64 for the left hand alone, the level-3 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 3 because it carries accidentals outside the key and it leaps a fifth.

What key and time signature is March of the Dwarfs, Op. 54 No. 3 in?

March of the Dwarfs, Op. 54 No. 3 is in D minor, 1 flat. The engraving on this page is in 2/4 time.

Can I practice March of the Dwarfs, Op. 54 No. 3 online for free?

Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 35 graded passages from March of the Dwarfs, Op. 54 No. 3 in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.

Is Grieg's March of the Dwarfs the same as March of the Trolls?

Yes. Troldtog, the Norwegian title, is translated both as March of the Trolls and as March of the Dwarfs.

Which Grieg Lyric Piece is March of the Dwarfs?

It is the third piece in Book V of the Lyric Pieces, Op. 54, published in 1891.

Did Grieg orchestrate March of the Dwarfs?

Yes. It appears in his Lyric Suite for orchestra, based on an arrangement by Anton Seidl that Grieg revised in 1905, as the final movement.

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March of the Dwarfs, Op. 54 No. 3

Edvard Grieg (1843–1907) · sheet music

Key D minor
Time 2/4
Levels 3–10
Passages 35

Your turn · both hands

Preparing your passage…

Edvard Grieg, Norwegian romantic (1843–1907). The reading release has 35 passages from this piece at levels 3–10; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 57–64 for the left hand alone.

Practice the hard bars →

The hardest stretch is bars 1–12 at level 10.

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 March of the Dwarfs, Op. 54 No. 3.

Right hand alone · bars 1–12 level 10
Left hand alone · bars 57–60 level 3
Hands together · bars 145–148 level 8
The hardest bars · bars 1–12 level 10

How to play March of the Dwarfs, Op. 54 No. 3

Tempo:Allegro moderato in two-four: a steady, moderately lively march with two beats per bar. Keep the same pace as the music grows louder; the excitement should come from volume, not speed.
Right hand:Play the march figures crisply, with short, bouncy staccato notes that lift off the keys at once. In the lyrical middle section, switch to a connected touch and let the tune sing.
Left hand:The left hand stamps out a low D and A in staccato eighth notes for long stretches, then thunders in octaves at the climax. Keep the eighths even and light at first, and practice the octave shifts by looking ahead to the next note.
Hands together:The two hands must land together on every beat of the march. Practice slowly with a metronome and listen for any gaps.
Dynamics:The march starts pianissimo and builds over many bars to fortissimo before fading again; the middle section is soft and singing, and the piece ends with one sudden fortissimo chord. Save your loudest sound for the climax so there is room to grow.
Rhythm:Count in two and keep the eighth notes rock steady. The quick thirty-second-note flourishes should snap onto the beat, not drag the pulse.
Reading:The march has one flat for D minor, but its inner line slides chromatically and is full of sharps and naturals; the middle section switches to two sharps. Check the key signature at each change.
Practice:Play the opening hands separately until the staccato is crisp, then the middle section legato. Join the three sections only when each is secure at a slow tempo.

Common mistakes

Playing the staccato notes heavily and keeping the keys down. Fix: Practice releasing each key at once, as if the keys are hot.
Starting the march too loudly, so there is nowhere to go when the music grows. Fix: Start as softly as you can, as marked, and plan the crescendo so the loudest moment comes at the climax.
Rushing as the march gets louder. Fix: Keep the metronome at the same tempo and let the volume, not the speed, increase.
Playing the lyrical middle section with the same short touch as the march. Fix: Practice the middle section legato, listening for a connected sound.

Structure: ternary (A-B-A)

The march has three parts. A staccato D minor march starts almost inaudibly, builds to a fortissimo, then dies away; a quiet, singing middle section in D major follows; and the march returns note for note, ending with a sudden loud chord.

A · The march (D minor): Over a stamping left-hand bass on D and A, the right hand plays short staccato chords with a sliding chromatic inner line and quick upward flourishes. Marked pianissimo at first, it grows to fortissimo octaves before fading away.
B · Cantabile middle (D major): The key signature changes to two sharps for a soft, singing melody marked cantabile, decorated with little grace notes. The player must switch from short, detached notes to a connected line.
A · The march returns (D minor): The opening march comes back unchanged, swelling and fading again, until a final fortissimo chord snaps the piece shut.

About March of the Dwarfs, Op. 54 No. 3

Edvard Grieg published his Lyric Pieces in ten books between 1867 and 1901, 66 short piano pieces in all. This one comes from Book V, Op. 54, which was composed in 1889 to 1891 and published in 1891. The book's six pieces are Shepherd Boy, Gangar (Norwegian March), March of the Trolls, Notturno, Scherzo and Bell Ringing.

The Norwegian title is Troldtog, a troll procession. English editions call it March of the Trolls or March of the Dwarfs, and the German title is Zug der Zwerge. It is a three-part piece: a staccato march in D minor that grows from a whisper to a roar and back, a gentle D major song in the middle, and a return of the march.

The piece was later orchestrated. The conductor Anton Seidl arranged four pieces from Book V in 1894, and in 1905 Grieg revised that arrangement as his Lyric Suite, with March of the Dwarfs as the final movement.

Grieg swapped the order for the Lyric Suite, so the march that was No. 3 in the piano book became the final movement and Notturno moved ahead of it.
Troldtog is translated both as March of the Trolls and as March of the Dwarfs, which are the same piece.
Shepherd Boy, the first piece in Book V, was orchestrated by Grieg alone, while the other three suite movements started from Seidl's arrangements.
The Lyric Pieces comprise 66 short piano works in ten books, published between 1867 and 1901.

Why the first passage is level 3

That passage is level 3 rather than 2 because it carries accidentals outside the key, it leaps a fifth.

This page offers passages from easy to very demanding. In the quicker ones watch for the one-flat key signature, the chromatic accidentals and the repeated staccato chords, and read leaps by interval.

Questions about March of the Dwarfs, Op. 54 No. 3

How hard is March of the Dwarfs, Op. 54 No. 3 to play?: Its passages grade from level 3 to level 10 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 10.
Is there an easy part of March of the Dwarfs, Op. 54 No. 3 for beginners?: Yes. Start with bars 57–64 for the left hand alone, the level-3 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 3 because it carries accidentals outside the key and it leaps a fifth.
What key and time signature is March of the Dwarfs, Op. 54 No. 3 in?: March of the Dwarfs, Op. 54 No. 3 is in D minor, 1 flat. The engraving on this page is in 2/4 time.
Who composed March of the Dwarfs, Op. 54 No. 3?: Edvard Grieg, Norwegian romantic (1843–1907). Edvard Grieg published his Lyric Pieces in ten books between 1867 and 1901, 66 short piano pieces in all.
Can I practice March of the Dwarfs, Op. 54 No. 3 online for free?: Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 35 graded passages from March of the Dwarfs, Op. 54 No. 3 in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
Is Grieg's March of the Dwarfs the same as March of the Trolls?: Yes. Troldtog, the Norwegian title, is translated both as March of the Trolls and as March of the Dwarfs.
Which Grieg Lyric Piece is March of the Dwarfs?: It is the third piece in Book V of the Lyric Pieces, Op. 54, published in 1891.
Did Grieg orchestrate March of the Dwarfs?: Yes. It appears in his Lyric Suite for orchestra, based on an arrangement by Anton Seidl that Grieg revised in 1905, as the final movement.

Every passage, easiest first

The reading release grades 35 distinct passages of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:

Level 3: bars 57–60 left hand · bars 57–64 left hand · bars 61–64 left hand · bars 177–184 left hand · bars 177–180 left hand · bars 181–184 left hand · bars 185–188 left hand
Level 8: bars 145–148 both hands
Level 9: bars 25–28 both hands · bars 145–152 both hands · bars 149–152 both hands
Level 10: bars 1–12 both hands · bars 1–8 both hands · bars 1–4 both hands · bars 1–12 right hand · bars 5–8 both hands · bars 9–12 both hands · bars 13–14 right hand · bars 17–28 both hands · bars 17–24 both hands · bars 17–20 both hands · bars 21–24 both hands · bars 25–32 both hands · bars 33–36 both hands · bars 48–55 both hands · bars 49–52 both hands · bars 61–64 both hands · bars 125–128 both hands · bars 129–136 both hands · bars 129–132 both hands · bars 133–136 both hands · bars 157–160 both hands · bars 173–176 both hands · bars 181–184 both hands · bars 185–188 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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