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Tarantella in A Minor

Albert Pieczonka (1828–1912) · sheet music

  • Key A minor
  • Time 6/8
  • Levels 6–9
  • Passages 15

Your turn · both hands

 

 

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Albert Pieczonka, German romantic (1828–1912). The reading release has 15 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 57–64 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 Tarantella in A Minor.

  1. Hands together · bars 17–20 level 6
  2. The hardest bars · bars 57–64 level 9

How to play Tarantella in A Minor

  1. Tempo:A tarantella is fast but must never feel hurried: set the metronome so that you feel two big pulses per bar of 6/8, and build up gradually.
  2. Right hand:The right hand alternates repeated notes with quick scale fragments; keep the repeated notes light and change fingers on them if it helps them stay even.
  3. Left hand:The left hand mostly plays a bass note followed by a chord in each half of the bar; practice the jump from bass to chord without looking and aim for the bass note first.
  4. Hands together:Join the hands at a slow tempo and make sure the first of every group of three lines up exactly with the left-hand bass.
  5. Rhythm:Practice the 6/8 rhythm by counting 'one-la-lee two-la-lee' aloud, so the groups of three never drift.
  6. Dynamics:Build contrast with a quieter refrain on return and a crescendo into the louder sections, saving the greatest volume for the end.
  7. Practice:Pick the three hardest passages and give each its own slow practice session, rather than always starting at the beginning.
  8. Reading:In A minor there is no key signature, so watch for sharps added to the raised seventh (G sharp) and other accidentals in the fast runs.

Common mistakes

  • Rushing the opening because the piece feels exciting. Fix: Start at a modest speed and let the tempo grow only after the notes are secure.
  • Playing 6/8 as if it were 3/4. Fix: Feel two beats per bar, each divided into three, and accent beats one and four lightly.
  • Forgetting the G sharp in A minor passages. Fix: Name the raised seventh when you see the leading tone and practice the harmonic minor scale first.
  • Playing every section at the same volume. Fix: Mark where the music should get louder or softer and follow your plan on every run-through.

Structure: salon tarantella

The Tarantella is a long piece that keeps its 6/8 drive from start to finish. On this page the music alternates between a tune built on repeated notes over simple left-hand chords and denser passages in both hands, and the graded passages range from early in the piece to near its end. The sources do not describe the layout of the original in more detail.

A · Main tarantella theme
A driving A minor tune on repeated notes and short scale fragments, over left-hand chords that keep the two-beat swing.
B · Denser passages
Faster figuration and fuller chords in both hands, which supply most of the page's harder passages.

About Tarantella in A Minor

Albert Pieczonka (1828-1912) was born in Königsberg in East Prussia and entered the Leipzig Conservatory in 1847, where he studied piano with Ignaz Moscheles. He later spent many years in London, giving concerts and teaching, then emigrated to the United States in 1880 and died in Manhattan.

The Tarantella in A minor dates from his London years and is by far his best-known piece; it is still a popular piano standard more than a century after his death. A publisher's note describes it as a fairly substantial piece from his Danses de Salon.

A tarantella is a fast southern Italian folk dance, usually in 6/8, whose name is linked to the town of Taranto and to an old belief that dancing could cure a spider's bite. Chopin, Liszt, Rossini and Heller all wrote concert tarantellas, which have only a loose connection to the folk dance.

  • Pieczonka also wrote Dancing Waves and Polish Chivalry during his years in London.
  • In the 1880s he performed in the United States with his wife and daughters as the Kempa Ladies' Orchestra, and he later gave solo concerts at Carnegie Hall.
  • The folk tarantella had two forms: a graceful courtship dance for couples and an agitated solo healing dance said to sweat out spider venom.

Why the first passage is level 6

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

Start with the quieter 6/8 passages that run at level 6, then move to the eighth-note-heavy two-hand sections; the final passages are the densest, so save them for last.

Questions about Tarantella in A Minor

How hard is Tarantella in A Minor 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 57–64 at level 9.
Is there an easy part of Tarantella in A Minor 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 Tarantella in A Minor in?
Tarantella in A Minor is in A minor, no sharps or flats. The engraving on this page is in 6/8 time.
Who composed Tarantella in A Minor?
Albert Pieczonka, German romantic (1828–1912). Albert Pieczonka (1828-1912) was born in Königsberg in East Prussia and entered the Leipzig Conservatory in 1847, where he studied piano with Ignaz Moscheles.
Can I practice Tarantella in A Minor online for free?
Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 15 graded passages from Tarantella in A Minor in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
Who was Albert Pieczonka?
A pianist, composer and teacher (1828-1912) born in Königsberg, East Prussia, who worked in London and later in New York; his Tarantella in A minor is his best-known work.
What is a tarantella?
A fast southern Italian folk dance, usually in 6/8 time, traditionally linked to the town of Taranto and to the supposed cure for a spider's bite.
Is Pieczonka's Tarantella in the public domain?
Yes. Pieczonka died in 1912, so the composition is in the public domain; some modern editions carry their own editorial copyright.

Every passage, easiest first

The reading release grades 15 distinct passages of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:

Level 6
bars 17–20 both hands · bars 57–60 both hands
Level 8
bars 13–16 both hands · bars 41–48 both hands · bars 41–44 both hands · bars 45–48 both hands · bars 53–56 both hands · bars 185–188 both hands · bars 185–192 both hands · bars 189–192 both hands
Level 9
bars 57–64 both hands · bars 61–64 both hands · bars 181–184 both hands · bars 193–196 both hands · bars 201–204 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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