How hard is Étude enfantine, Op. 37 No. 2 to play?

Its passages grade from level 7 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 1–8 at level 9.

Is there an easy part of Étude enfantine, Op. 37 No. 2 for beginners?

Its easiest passage is level 7, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 9–12 for both hands together, the level-7 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 7 because its chords stretch wide and it reaches 3 ledger lines.

What key and time signature is Étude enfantine, Op. 37 No. 2 in?

The engraving on this page is in 2/2 time.

Who composed Étude enfantine, Op. 37 No. 2?

Henry Lemoine, French romantic (1786–1854). Lemoine's Études enfantines were first published in 1841.

Can I practice Étude enfantine, Op. 37 No. 2 online for free?

Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 7 graded passages from Étude enfantine, Op. 37 No. 2 in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.

What are Lemoine's Études enfantines?

A set of 50 short piano studies for young students, first published in 1841 and dedicated to young pupils.

How long does it take to learn Lemoine Op. 37 No. 2?

For a student who can already play a left-hand C major scale, a few days; the main task is finding each new starting note in time.

Can I find the score online?

Yes. IMSLP hosts scans of the whole set, and the work page also has a complete recording of all 50 studies.

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Étude enfantine, Op. 37 No. 2

Henry Lemoine (1786–1854) · sheet music

Time 2/2
Levels 7–9
Passages 7

Your turn · both hands

Preparing your passage…

Henry Lemoine, French romantic (1786–1854). The reading release has 7 passages from this piece at levels 7–9; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 9–12 for both hands together.

Practice the hard bars →

The hardest stretch is bars 1–8 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 Étude enfantine, Op. 37 No. 2.

Hands together · bars 9–12 level 7
The hardest bars · bars 1–8 level 9

How to play Étude enfantine, Op. 37 No. 2

Tempo:Count two half-note beats per bar and let the left hand's eight even eighth notes set the speed; the chords are slow, so the scale decides the tempo.
Left hand:Use standard left-hand fingering, crossing the third finger over the thumb on the way up, and plan the fingering again whenever a scale starts on a new note.
Right hand:Read the chords as hand shapes; most of them sit above the staff, so place the whole hand at once and keep the wrist relaxed.
Hands together:Play each right-hand chord exactly with the first note of the left-hand scale, then keep it held while the scale continues.
Reading:The right-hand chords use several ledger lines; work out the top note of each chord first and read the others down from it.
Practice:Play the left-hand scale starting on C, D, E, F and G in turn, since the study uses each of those starting notes.

Common mistakes

A bump at the thumb crossing in the left-hand scale. Fix: Practice slowly and move the third finger over early so the thumb note does not jump out.
Releasing the right-hand chord before its full value. Fix: Count the beats and keep the chord down while the scale runs underneath.
Misreading the high chords. Fix: Name the notes of each chord aloud on the first read-through.

Structure: left-hand scale study

A single idea runs from start to finish: the left hand plays a rising one-octave scale in eighth notes in every bar, while the right hand plays chords in half notes or holds them across the bar line. The chords move between C, G and F harmonies and come home to C, with the last scale starting after a rest.

A · Scales from C and D: The left hand climbs from C and then from D while the right hand alternates short C major chords with a long held G seventh chord.
B · Wider shifts: The starting note moves around, including a run that begins on E and one that starts low on G after a rest, so the left hand has to jump to each new starting point.
C · Close on F and C: Several scales start from F under F major chords, and a last run, beginning after a rest, leads into a held C major chord.

About Étude enfantine, Op. 37 No. 2

Lemoine's Études enfantines were first published in 1841. IMSLP records a line from the title page saying the studies were written expressly for small hands, and a dedication to young pupils.

Studies 1 and 2 of the set are mirror images. In No. 1 the right hand runs down the C major scale over held left-hand chords; in No. 2 the left hand runs up the scale in eighth notes while the right hand holds chords above the staff. Every left-hand run goes upward, and its starting note shifts to fit the chord above it.

Henry Lemoine was a Paris pianist, teacher and publisher who took over his father's music publishing firm in 1816. IMSLP notes that the original edition presents these studies as a companion to Bertini's Op. 100.

The first edition of 1841 names Hofmeister of Leipzig and Lemoine of Paris, according to IMSLP.
Lemoine's firm survives today as Éditions Henry Lemoine, and Wikipedia notes that it published works by Chopin.
The 1893 Schirmer edition of the set was revised and fingered by William Scharfenberg.

Why the first passage is level 7

That passage is level 7 rather than 6 because its chords stretch wide, it reaches 3 ledger lines, its chords go beyond simple triads.

The right hand reads high ledger-line chords that change slowly; the left hand reads one rising scale per bar whose starting note keeps moving.

Questions about Étude enfantine, Op. 37 No. 2

How hard is Étude enfantine, Op. 37 No. 2 to play?: Its passages grade from level 7 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 1–8 at level 9.
Is there an easy part of Étude enfantine, Op. 37 No. 2 for beginners?: Its easiest passage is level 7, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 9–12 for both hands together, the level-7 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 7 because its chords stretch wide and it reaches 3 ledger lines.
What key and time signature is Étude enfantine, Op. 37 No. 2 in?: The engraving on this page is in 2/2 time.
Who composed Étude enfantine, Op. 37 No. 2?: Henry Lemoine, French romantic (1786–1854). Lemoine's Études enfantines were first published in 1841.
Can I practice Étude enfantine, Op. 37 No. 2 online for free?: Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 7 graded passages from Étude enfantine, Op. 37 No. 2 in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
What are Lemoine's Études enfantines?: A set of 50 short piano studies for young students, first published in 1841 and dedicated to young pupils.
How long does it take to learn Lemoine Op. 37 No. 2?: For a student who can already play a left-hand C major scale, a few days; the main task is finding each new starting note in time.
Can I find the score online?: Yes. IMSLP hosts scans of the whole set, and the work page also has a complete recording of all 50 studies.

Every passage, easiest first

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

Level 7: bars 9–12 both hands
Level 8: bars 1–4 both hands · bars 9–14 both hands
Level 9: bars 1–8 both hands · bars 1–12 both hands · bars 5–8 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.

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