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Serenade (Ständchen), D. 957 No. 4

Franz Schubert (1797–1828) · sheet music

  • Key D minor
  • Time 3/4
  • Levels 8–9
  • Passages 10

Your turn · both hands

 

 

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Franz Schubert, Austrian romantic (1797–1828). The reading release has 10 passages from this piece at levels 8–9; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 1–4 for both hands together.

Practice the hard bars →

The hardest stretch is bars 9–16 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 Serenade (Ständchen), D. 957 No. 4.

  1. Hands together · bars 1–4 level 8
  2. The hardest bars · bars 9–16 level 9

How to play Serenade (Ständchen), D. 957 No. 4

  1. Tempo:Take it at a relaxed, walking pace; the song is a serenade, not a dance. Pick a speed at which the accompaniment chords never feel rushed and the melody has time to sing.
  2. Right hand:The right hand carries the voice part. Connect the notes like a singer: lean gently into the long notes and let each phrase taper before the next one begins.
  3. Left hand:The left hand supplies a light chordal accompaniment under the tune. Play the chords short and soft, and avoid pressing the keys down hard.
  4. Hands together:Balance is the whole challenge here. Practice the accompaniment alone at a quiet level, then add the melody so it sits clearly on top.
  5. Dynamics:Keep the volume low overall and save any louder sound for the turn to the major key. A small, steady swell reads as longing; a big one sounds forced.
  6. Pedal:Use the pedal sparingly, changing with each harmony. Too much pedal turns the light, detached accompaniment into a blur.
  7. Practice:Sing or hum the melody while you play the left hand alone. Once you can hear the line in your head, adding it to the right hand becomes much easier.

Common mistakes

  • Playing the accompaniment chords too heavily so they compete with the tune. Fix: Play them as quietly as you can while still hearing every chord.
  • Pushing the tempo forward on the long melody notes. Fix: Count the full length of each long note and let the phrase end before you move on.
  • Using the pedal all the time, which smears the detached accompaniment. Fix: Change the pedal with every chord or lift it often, and listen for clean chord endings.
  • Treating every phrase with the same volume and shape. Fix: Decide on a high point for each phrase and shape the notes toward and away from it.

Structure: song with a minor-to-major turn

One long, pleading melody carries the song, sung over a quiet piano accompaniment. The music is centered on D minor and opens out into D major as the plea grows warmer. On this page the singing line becomes the right-hand melody.

Intro · Piano introduction (D minor)
A short, quiet introduction sets the pulse before the voice enters. Nothing is hurried here.
A · The pleading melody (D minor)
The main melody enters with a gentle, pleading feel. Pay attention to phrase endings and to the long notes.
B · Turn to the major (D major)
The music brightens into D major, with a warmer tone and a wider reach for the melody.

About Serenade (Ständchen), D. 957 No. 4

Schubert set this poem by Ludwig Rellstab in 1828, the last year of his life. It is the fourth of fourteen songs that were published together in 1829, a few months after his death. The publisher Tobias Haslinger gave the collection the title Schwanengesang, so it was not Schubert's own idea of a cycle.

In the poem the singer calls softly to his beloved through the night, in a quiet moonlit grove, and begs her to come and make him happy. Schubert's setting moves between D minor and D major, so the pleading carries both shadow and warmth.

The melody has traveled well beyond the voice. Franz Liszt transcribed it for solo piano, and the Viennese publisher Haslinger brought out his version in May 1838. Liszt later arranged the whole Schwanengesang collection.

  • Schwanengesang contains seven songs on poems by Rellstab, six by Heinrich Heine and one by Johann Gabriel Seidl.
  • The title Schwanengesang, meaning swan song, was chosen by the publisher Haslinger and not by Schubert.
  • Schubert had first offered the Heine songs to a different publisher on 2 October 1828, which suggests he may have planned two separate collections.
  • Liszt arranged the whole collection for solo piano, keeping close to Schubert but changing the piano texture to comment on the words.

Why the first passage is level 8

That passage is level 8 rather than 7 because it leaps a major third plus an octave.

The passages here turn Schubert's song into piano reading: the singer's line becomes the right-hand melody and the accompaniment moves under it. Focus on a singing right hand and quiet left-hand support.

Questions about Serenade (Ständchen), D. 957 No. 4

How hard is Serenade (Ständchen), D. 957 No. 4 to play?
Its passages grade from level 8 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 9–16 at level 9.
Is there an easy part of Serenade (Ständchen), D. 957 No. 4 for beginners?
Its easiest passage is level 8, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 1–4 for both hands together, the level-8 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 8 because it leaps a major third plus an octave.
What key and time signature is Serenade (Ständchen), D. 957 No. 4 in?
Serenade (Ständchen), D. 957 No. 4 is in D minor, 1 flat. The engraving on this page is in 3/4 time.
Who composed Serenade (Ständchen), D. 957 No. 4?
Franz Schubert, Austrian romantic (1797–1828). Schubert set this poem by Ludwig Rellstab in 1828, the last year of his life.
Can I practice Serenade (Ständchen), D. 957 No. 4 online for free?
Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 10 graded passages from Serenade (Ständchen), D. 957 No. 4 in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
Who wrote the words to Schubert's Serenade?
Ludwig Rellstab wrote the poem that Schubert set as No. 4 of Schwanengesang. Seven of the fourteen songs in the collection use Rellstab texts.
What does Ständchen mean?
Ständchen is German for serenade, a song performed outdoors at night, traditionally to honor or woo someone.
Is Schubert's Serenade the same as Ständchen D 889?
No. Schubert also wrote a separate song called Ständchen, D. 889, based on Shakespeare's Cymbeline. The popular Serenade is No. 4 of Schwanengesang, D. 957.
Did Liszt arrange Schubert's Serenade for piano?
Yes. Liszt transcribed it for solo piano, and the Viennese publisher Haslinger issued his Ständchen in May 1838, according to Henle's edition notes.

Every passage, easiest first

The reading release grades 10 distinct passages of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:

Level 8
bars 1–4 both hands
Level 9
bars 9–16 both hands · bars 9–12 both hands · bars 13–16 both hands · bars 17–20 both hands · bars 29–32 both hands · bars 33–36 both hands · bars 33–40 both hands · bars 37–40 both hands · bars 41–44 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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