How do you play Minuet in G on the piano?

Minuet in G piano notes

The Minuet in G starts D G A B C, D G G, then E C D E F#, G G G. It is in G major, so every F is F#, the black key just left of G. Play it at a calm three beats a bar, and make the first note of each bar a little stronger.

Play it on the virtual piano

The notes, line by line

Each line shows the letters to play, then each key with its octave: C4 is middle C. The box under a key is the computer key that plays it on the virtual piano.

D G A B C D G G E C D E F# G G G
D5OG4TA4YB4UC5ID5OG4TG4TE5PC5ID5OE5PF#5=G5]G4TG4T
C D C B A B C B A G F# G A B G A
C5ID5OC5IB4UA4YB4UC5IB4UA4YG4TF#45G4TA4YB4UG4TA4Y
D G A B C D G G E C D E F# G G G
D5OG4TA4YB4UC5ID5OG4TG4TE5PC5ID5OE5PF#5=G5]G4TG4T
C D C B A B C B A G A B A G F# G
C5ID5OC5IB4UA4YB4UC5IB4UA4YG4TA4YB4UA4YG4TF#45G4T

How to play it

Put your right thumb on the G above middle C. Fingers 1 to 5 then rest on G A B C D.
Play D G A B C with fingers 5 1 2 3 4, then D G G with fingers 5 1 1.
The third bar climbs past your hand: E C D E F#. Move your hand up, so your thumb plays the C and your little finger reaches the high G. Then drop back down to the low G for the last two notes of the bar.
Learn it four bars at a time. Lines 1 and 3 are the same, and lines 2 and 4 differ only in their last two bars.

Fingers have numbers: 1 is the thumb, 2 the index finger, 3 the middle finger, 4 the ring finger and 5 the little finger. In the virtual piano, press Listen to hear the rhythm first, and pick a slower speed while you learn.

关键信息

层次	中等
Notes in the melody	64
Keys	9: F#4 G4 A4 B4 C5 D5 E5 F#5 G5
Black keys	F#4 F#5
Lowest and highest note	F#4 – G5
First note	D5
Melody by	Christian Petzold, 1725

The notes in do re mi

In fixed do, C is always Do, as in Spanish, French and Italian.

Re Sol La Si Do Re Sol Sol Mi Do Re Mi Fa# Sol Sol Sol
Do Re Do Si La Si Do Si La Sol Fa# Sol La Si Sol La
Re Sol La Si Do Re Sol Sol Mi Do Re Mi Fa# Sol Sol Sol
Do Re Do Si La Si Do Si La Sol La Si La Sol Fa# Sol

About the song

This minuet is in the second music notebook of Anna Magdalena Bach, which was started in 1725. The notebook does not name its composer, so for a long time people thought that J. S. Bach wrote it.

In a 1979 study, the scholar Hans-Joachim Schulze showed that it is by Christian Petzold, a composer in Dresden. The 1965 hit A Lover's Concerto by The Toys is based on its melody.

常见问题

Did Bach write the Minuet in G?

No. It was long credited to Johann Sebastian Bach, because it is in a notebook of his family. Since a 1979 study, it is credited to Christian Petzold.

Is the Minuet in G a piece for beginners?

It is a classic early piece. The melody moves mostly one key at a time, but your hand must move up and down, so learn it after the songs that stay in one hand position.