Piano songs · Advanced
Clair de Lune on piano
Clair de Lune is one of the most beautiful pieces ever written for piano, and its opening is quiet, slow and spacious. Here are the first bars, with both hands, slowly.
The tune in letter names, lit as it plays. Right hand in peach, left hand in lilac. Turn off "Both hands" to hear the tune alone.
About the piece
Clair de Lune ("moonlight") is the third movement of Claude Debussy's Suite bergamasque, begun around 1890 and published in 1905. Its title comes from a poem by Paul Verlaine. It's in D♭ major, in a gently rocking 9/8.
The notes
The letters above are the tune, played by your right hand: A♭ F E♭ F E♭; D♭ E♭ D♭ F D♭; C D♭ C B♭ C B♭ E♭ B♭ A♭ B♭ A♭; G♭ A♭ G♭ F F G♭ F B♭ F E♭ F E♭; D♭ E♭ D♭ C. Longer boxes are longer notes. Press Play and follow along, then slow it down with the speed slider and play with it.
How to learn it
- Five flats: it's in D♭ major, so most notes are black keys. Learn where your hand sits before you worry about rhythm.
- Thirds: the opening melody is in pairs of notes a third apart. Practise each pair as one shape.
- Very quiet: Debussy marks it pianissimo. Play close to the keys and let the pedal hold the sound.
- Rubato: the timing breathes; learn it strictly first, then let it flow.
Learning Clair de Lune? Ivory listens to you play and tells you what's off: a note that's missing, a hand that lands late, a rhythm that runs away. Then it shows you how it should go.
Questions people ask
Is Clair de Lune hard to play?
Yes, the full piece is advanced. The opening bars are within reach of an intermediate player who's comfortable with black keys and pedalling.
What key is Clair de Lune in?
D♭ major, with five flats, in 9/8 time.
More songs to play
Notes checked against the public-domain Mutopia Project edition (mutopiaproject.org). Piano sound: Salamander Grand Piano by Alexander Holm, CC BY 3.0.