Piano songs · Early intermediate
Gnossienne No. 1 on piano
Satie's Gnossienne No. 1 is strange, slow and hypnotic: a winding, exotic melody over a left hand that rocks between a low note and a chord. Here are its first eight bars.
this song
About the piece
Erik Satie wrote Gnossienne No. 1 in 1890, after the Gymnopédies. He invented the word "gnossienne", and printed the music with no time signature and no bar lines, and with odd instructions instead of the usual Italian ones, such as "Très luisant" (very shiny) and "Questionnez" (question). Most editions add bar lines to make it easier to read, as here.
The notes
The letters above are the tune, played by your right hand: C E♭ D C B; B C E♭ D C F; F C E♭ D C B; G G G G F; F. Longer boxes are longer notes. Press Play and follow along, slow it down with the speed slider, or turn on Wait for me and play each note yourself.
How to learn it
- The left hand alternates a low F with an F minor chord, the same all the way through. Get it automatic first.
- The melody winds around C: C, E♭, D, C, B, with a B natural that gives it its eastern sound.
- Free time: Satie wrote no bar lines. Keep the left hand steady and let the melody breathe over it.
- Quiet: it should feel like a thought, not a performance.
Learning Gnossienne No. 1 on a real piano? 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 Gnossienne No. 1 hard to play?
It's early intermediate: the left hand is one repeated pattern and the melody is slow. The challenge is the free, hypnotic feel.
Why does Gnossienne No. 1 have no bar lines?
Satie wrote it without time signature or bar lines so it would flow freely. Most editions add them for reading.
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.