Melody, Op. 68 No. 1
Robert Schumann (1810–1856) · sheet music
- Key C major
- Time 4/4
- Levels 7–9
- Passages 3
Your turn · both hands
Preparing your passage…
Robert Schumann, German romantic (1810–1856). The reading release has 3 passages from this piece at levels 7–9; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 1–4 for both hands together.
The hardest stretch is bars 9–12 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 Melody, Op. 68 No. 1.
- Hands together · bars 1–4 level 7
- The hardest bars · bars 9–12 level 9
How to play Melody, Op. 68 No. 1
- Tempo:Schumann's marking is Nicht schnell, not fast; the pianist and teacher Melanie Spanswick suggests about 96 quarter notes per minute, which keeps the song relaxed but moving.
- Right hand:Sing the tune with a connected touch, rising slightly toward the middle of each phrase and relaxing at the end.
- Left hand:Keep the eighth-note accompaniment light and even, letting the lowest note of each group sing a little more than the repeated upper notes, which are best kept soft under the thumb.
- Hands together:Listen for balance: the tune should be clearly louder than the accompaniment, and the hands should land together.
- Fingering:Choose fingerings that keep the hand moving smoothly, and use finger changes on repeated or held notes to keep the line connected.
- Pedal:Use only a little pedal, changing with the harmony, so the sound stays clear.
- Dynamics:With only piano marked, add your own small swells with the shape of the melody so the phrases sound alive.
- Practice:Sing the tune out loud while you play the left hand, then reverse, to hear where the phrases breathe.
Common mistakes
- Playing every note at the same volume. Fix: Follow the shape of the melody and press a little more into the high notes.
- Letting the left hand overpower the tune. Fix: Practice the accompaniment very softly until it becomes natural.
- Rushing the quarter-note beats between phrases. Fix: Count the long notes through and breathe with the phrase.
Structure: short phrase-based song
Melody is built mainly from short two-bar phrases strung together like a song. The tune lives in the right hand, and a steady eighth-note accompaniment, whose lowest notes often form a countermelody, sits beneath it. There is no big contrast to learn; the piece is about how you shape each phrase.
- A · Opening phrases (C major)
- The tune begins quietly and rises and falls in short, balanced phrases over the accompaniment.
- B · Closing phrases
- The phrases move toward a gentle close and return to C major; keep the line connected and let the last note fade.
About Melody, Op. 68 No. 1
Robert Schumann wrote his Album for the Young in 1848. It was first conceived as a birthday album for his daughter Marie and grew into a collection of 43 short pieces, written with his daughters in mind and, unlike his earlier Kinderszenen, actually playable by children and beginners.
Melody opens the album. Schumann marks it Nicht schnell, not fast; the right hand carries a simple song while the left hand keeps up a soft stream of eighth notes in a pattern close to an Alberti bass. The only printed dynamic is piano, so the shape of the line has to come from the player.
Teachers value the piece because it looks easy and sounds lovely, and the work lies in singing a legato line, balancing the hands and shaping short phrases.
- The album has two parts; the second starts at No. 19, Kleine Romanze, and is marked for more grown-up players.
- Erinnerung, in the album's second part, is a tribute to Felix Mendelssohn, dated 4 November 1847.
- Nordisches Lied, near the end of the album, is built on the notes G-A-D-E in honor of the Danish composer Niels Gade.
Why the first passage is level 7
That passage is level 7 rather than 6 because it reaches 3 ledger lines.
A simple C major tune over a soft accompaniment. Read it in two-bar phrases and notice which notes rise and fall; that shape tells you how to play it.
Questions about Melody, Op. 68 No. 1
- How hard is Melody, Op. 68 No. 1 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 9–12 at level 9.
- Is there an easy part of Melody, Op. 68 No. 1 for beginners?
- Its easiest passage is level 7, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 1–4 for both hands together, the level-7 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 7 because it reaches 3 ledger lines.
- What key and time signature is Melody, Op. 68 No. 1 in?
- Melody, Op. 68 No. 1 is in C major, no sharps or flats. The engraving on this page is in 4/4 time.
- Who composed Melody, Op. 68 No. 1?
- Robert Schumann, German romantic (1810–1856). Robert Schumann wrote his Album for the Young in 1848.
- Can I practice Melody, Op. 68 No. 1 online for free?
- Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 3 graded passages from Melody, Op. 68 No. 1 in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
- What is Schumann's Album for the Young?
- It is Op. 68, a collection of 43 short piano pieces composed in 1848, many suitable for children and beginners, with a second part for more advanced players.
- Why did Schumann write it?
- It began as a birthday album for his daughter Marie, and Schumann went on to write pieces that children and beginners could actually play.
- Is Schumann's Melody a good first Romantic piece?
- Yes; it is the first piece of the album, and teachers use it to introduce singing legato and phrase shaping.
Every passage, easiest first
The reading release grades 3 distinct passages of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:
- Level 7
- bars 1–4 both hands
- Level 9
- bars 9–12 both hands · bars 17–20 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.