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Old German Dance (Terpsichore)

Michael Praetorius (1571–1621) · sheet music

  • Time 4/4
  • Levels 2–4
  • Passages 14

Your turn · both hands

 

 

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Michael Praetorius, German baroque (1571–1621). The reading release has 14 passages from this piece at levels 2–4; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 1–8 for the right hand alone.

Practice the hard bars →

The hardest stretch is bars 1–8 at level 4.

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 Old German Dance (Terpsichore).

  1. Right hand alone · bars 1–8 level 2
  2. Left hand alone · bars 1–8 level 3
  3. Hands together · bars 1–8 level 4

How to play Old German Dance (Terpsichore)

  1. Tempo:Editions mark it Moderato or Allegretto, a comfortable walking-to-lively pace. Pick a tempo you can keep steady from the first note to the last, including the eighth-note runs.
  2. Right hand:Play the tune with a gentle legato, shaping each phrase. Think of the notes as steps in a dance.
  3. Left hand:Practice the left hand alone first. Keep the notes steady and quiet so the tune stands out.
  4. Hands together:Play slowly with hands together and check that the hands land on the same beats. Increase the tempo only when the coordination is easy.
  5. Rhythm:Count four beats per measure aloud. A dance has a pulse, so keep it even and clear.
  6. Dynamics:A Baroque dance can be played with light contrasts. Try a soft repeat, or play the second strain slightly louder.
  7. Fingering:Place your hands in position before you start, and keep the same fingering each time you play.
  8. Practice:Practice in two-measure units and join them. Because the piece is short, repeat it often with a steady metronome.

Common mistakes

  • Rushing because the notes are easy. Fix: Use a metronome and keep the tempo steady.
  • Letting the left hand play louder than the right. Fix: Practice with the left hand very soft.
  • Speeding up in the eighth-note runs of the second strain. Fix: Count the eighths aloud and make the run fit exactly into its two beats.

Structure: two-strain dance

In the version on this page, the dance has two short strains in C major. The first, a stepwise tune over half-note bass notes, is played twice; the second answers with a falling eighth-note figure that passes between the hands.

A · First strain (C major)
A stepwise tune in quarter notes within five notes, over slow bass notes, stated twice.
B · Second strain (C major)
Long held notes alternate with a quick falling run of eighth notes, first in the left hand and then in the right.

About Old German Dance (Terpsichore)

Michael Praetorius, born Michael Schultze around 1571 and died in 1621, was a German composer, organist and music theorist who served as Kapellmeister to the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg at Wolfenbüttel. He wrote the Syntagma Musicum, a large treatise left unfinished, but his best-known work today is Terpsichore, a 1612 collection of more than three hundred instrumental dances.

Terpsichore draws mostly on the French dance repertoire of its day, with a few tunes from England and Spain, and Praetorius said he arranged the dances rather than composing their tunes. It names no instruments, so the dances have always been adapted freely. The short Old German Dance found in piano teaching books carries his name in that tradition.

In its usual teaching form it is a one-page piece in C major listed at preparatory level, a first taste of early music with a plain tune and a steady beat.

  • Praetorius was born Michael Schultze; Praetorius is the Latinized form of that surname.
  • Terpsichore, published in 1612, contains more than three hundred dances.
  • Praetorius wrote that he arranged the Terpsichore dances rather than composing the tunes.
  • Terpsichore does not say which instruments should play which parts.

Why the first passage is level 2

That passage is level 2 rather than 1 because it leaps a major third.

The passages on this page are in 4/4 with no sharps or flats. The tune sits in one hand position, so read by step and keep your eyes on the shape of the line.

Questions about Old German Dance (Terpsichore)

How hard is Old German Dance (Terpsichore) to play?
Its passages grade from level 2 to level 4 on Real Sight Reader's ten-level reading scale, so the full piece sits around early intermediate. The hardest stretch is bars 1–8 at level 4.
Is there an easy part of Old German Dance (Terpsichore) for beginners?
Yes. Start with bars 1–8 for the right hand alone, the level-2 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 2 because it leaps a major third.
What key and time signature is Old German Dance (Terpsichore) in?
The engraving on this page is in 4/4 time.
Who composed Old German Dance (Terpsichore)?
Michael Praetorius, German baroque (1571–1621). Michael Praetorius, born Michael Schultze around 1571 and died in 1621, was a German composer, organist and music theorist who served as Kapellmeister to the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg at Wolfenbüttel.
Can I practice Old German Dance (Terpsichore) online for free?
Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 14 graded passages from Old German Dance (Terpsichore) in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
What level is Old German Dance?
Pianocoda lists the usual teaching version at preparatory level, before grade 1. Exam boards change their lists, so check the current syllabus if you need it for an exam.
Who was Michael Praetorius?
He was a German composer, organist and music theorist, about 1571 to 1621, who worked at the Wolfenbüttel court and is best known for Terpsichore and the Syntagma Musicum.

Every passage, easiest first

The reading release grades 14 distinct passages of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:

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