Piano songs · Beginner to intermediate
Minuet in G on piano
The Minuet in G is the classic first "real" classical piece: a bright tune in the right hand and a simple second line in the left, in an elegant three. Here's the whole first half.
this song
Minuet in G sheet music
The same notes as the player above, as a piano score: G major, 3/4 time. Press Play and the notes light up as they sound. Free to print or save as a PDF.
How to read the rhythms · how to read the notes
About the piece
It's in the notebook Johann Sebastian Bach gave his wife, Anna Magdalena, in 1725, and for 250 years it was thought to be Bach's. In the 1970s scholars showed it was by the Dresden organist Christian Petzold. It's still known everywhere as "Bach's Minuet in G".
The notes
The letters above are the tune, played by your right hand: D G A B C D; G G E C D E F♯ G; G G C D C B A B; C B A G F♯; G A B G A; D G A B C D; G G E C D E F♯ G; G G C D C B A B; C B A G A; B A G F♯ G. 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 opening: D, then G A B C, then D G G. The right hand walks up the G major scale.
- Two lines, not chords: the left hand is a melody too. Learn each hand alone until both are easy.
- Three beats: a minuet is a dance: lean on the first beat of each bar.
- Detached, not choppy: play the quarter notes slightly separated, and the quick notes smooth.
Learning Minuet in G 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
Who wrote the Minuet in G?
Christian Petzold, though it was credited to J. S. Bach for centuries because it appears in Bach's 1725 notebook for Anna Magdalena.
Is the Minuet in G good for beginners?
Yes: it's often the first classical piece students learn, after about six months to a year of lessons.
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.