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Humming Song, Op. 68 No. 3

Robert Schumann (1810–1856) · sheet music

  • Key C major
  • Time 4/4
  • Levels 1–7
  • Passages 9

Your turn · both hands

 

 

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Robert Schumann, German romantic (1810–1856). The reading release has 9 passages from this piece at levels 1–7; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 1–2 for the right hand alone.

Practice the hard bars →

The hardest stretch is bars 1–4 at level 7.

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 Humming Song, Op. 68 No. 3.

  1. Right hand alone · bars 1–2 level 1
  2. Left hand alone · bars 9–12 level 3
  3. Hands together · bars 1–4 level 7

How to play Humming Song, Op. 68 No. 3

  1. Tempo:Play at a relaxed, moderate pace that lets the tune sound like humming rather than hurrying.
  2. Right hand:Keep the melody light and rounded, with notes of a phrase leaning toward its high point.
  3. Left hand:In the outer sections, keep the left-hand eighths soft and even, and let the repeated G under the thumb stay lighter than the moving lower notes.
  4. Hands together:In the middle section the left hand carries the tune, so bring it out with a fuller tone and play the right-hand eighths at a whisper.
  5. Rhythm:Count the beats aloud at first so the repeated rhythm stays even.
  6. Reading:There are no sharps or flats in the key signature, but the middle section adds F sharps as it moves toward G major; spot them before you start.
  7. Dynamics:Add small crescendos and diminuendos to match the rise and fall of the tune.
  8. Practice:Hum or sing the melody while you play it, which helps shape the phrases the way the title suggests.

Common mistakes

  • Playing each phrase with equal weight. Fix: Choose one note per phrase as its peak and grow toward it.
  • Stopping at the end of every bar. Fix: Think in longer phrases and carry the sound across the barline.
  • Letting the running eighths drown the tune, in whichever hand they are. Fix: Practice the eighth-note part alone at a whisper before adding the tune.

Structure: ternary (A–B–A)

As printed on this page, the piece has three short parts. A quarter-note tune in C major over steady left-hand eighths is followed by a middle section that turns toward G major with the roles swapped, and then the opening returns unchanged.

A · Opening tune (C major)
The right hand hums a stepwise tune in quarter notes while the left hand keeps up broken chords that keep returning to G.
B · Hands swap roles (G major)
The left hand takes the tune and the right hand plays the running eighths; F sharps signal the turn toward G major.
A · Return (C major)
The opening comes back note for note, so you can focus on a softer, more shaped performance.

About Humming Song, Op. 68 No. 3

Humming Song, in German Trällerliedchen and also translated as Lilting Song, is the third piece in Robert Schumann's Album for the Young, Op. 68, written in 1848. It comes after Melody and the Soldiers' March and just before the Chorale.

The album was written for Schumann's daughters and is meant to be playable by children and beginners, unlike his earlier Scenes from Childhood. The pieces in the first part are short and tuneful, with titles that suggest a scene or a mood.

Humming Song fits that plan: a tune in plain quarter notes over a running eighth-note accompaniment, with a middle section in which the left hand takes over the melody.

  • The album's first piece, Melody, and its third, Humming Song, are both in C major, so a student can learn two pieces without changing the key signature.
  • The rocking eighth-note accompaniment of the album's first piece, Melody, comes back in Humming Song and again in No. 5, A Little Piece.
  • Wilder Reiter, the wild horseman, is No. 8 in the same album, and Fröhlicher Landmann, the happy farmer, is No. 10.

Why the first passage is level 1

That passage is level 1, the first rung: it moves by whole steps or less, in quarter-note values, in one hand.

A cheerful C major tune with no sharps or flats in the key signature. Read it phrase by phrase, and notice where the left hand takes over the melody.

Questions about Humming Song, Op. 68 No. 3

How hard is Humming Song, Op. 68 No. 3 to play?
Its passages grade from level 1 to level 7 on Real Sight Reader's ten-level reading scale, so the full piece is intermediate to advanced reading. The hardest stretch is bars 1–4 at level 7.
Is there an easy part of Humming Song, Op. 68 No. 3 for beginners?
Yes. Start with bars 1–2 for the right hand alone, the level-1 passage in the reader at the top of this page.
What key and time signature is Humming Song, Op. 68 No. 3 in?
Humming Song, Op. 68 No. 3 is in C major, no sharps or flats. The engraving on this page is in 4/4 time.
Who composed Humming Song, Op. 68 No. 3?
Robert Schumann, German romantic (1810–1856). Humming Song, in German Trällerliedchen and also translated as Lilting Song, is the third piece in Robert Schumann's Album for the Young, Op.
Can I practice Humming Song, Op. 68 No. 3 online for free?
Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 9 graded passages from Humming Song, Op. 68 No. 3 in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
What does Trällerliedchen mean?
It is German for a little humming or lilting song, and the album's English editions also call it Lilting Song.
Where does Humming Song come from?
It is No. 3 of Schumann's Album for the Young, Op. 68, a set of 43 short piano pieces from 1848.
What pieces should I learn after Humming Song?
The pieces around it in the album, Melody, the Soldiers' March and the Chorale, are natural companions at a similar level.

Every passage, easiest first

The reading release grades 9 distinct passages of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:

Level 1
bars 1–2 right hand · bars 5–6 right hand
Level 2
bars 5–8 right hand
Level 3
bars 1–8 right hand · bars 1–4 right hand · bars 9–12 left hand
Level 7
bars 1–4 both hands · bars 5–8 both hands · bars 17–24 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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