Prelude in A major (Op. 28 No. 7)

Background

The Prelude in A major is No. 7 of Chopin's 24 Preludes, Op. 28, published in 1839. In the set's order it comes straight after the dark, slow B minor prelude, so it arrives like a patch of sunlight. It is also one of the shortest of the 24: sixteen bars after a single upbeat note, over in well under a minute.

Chopin marked it Andantino, a gently moving pace, and it is often compared to a mazurka, the Polish dance in three beats that he wrote throughout his life. Remarkably, the whole piece is made from one two-bar rhythm. A dotted figure and two chords fill the first bar, a long chord and an upbeat fill the second, and that pattern is heard eight times in a row. Only the harmony and the height of the melody change, yet it never sounds repetitive.

How to practise it

Because the rhythm never changes, learn it before the notes. Clap or tap it: a dotted eighth and a sixteenth, two quarter notes, then a half note and a quarter-note upbeat. Count "1 (and) a 2 3, 1 2 3" until the little sixteenth feels like a lift into beat 2 rather than a jolt.

In most bars the right hand plays chords under the melody. Set your hand in the shape of each chord before you play it, then lean very slightly towards the little finger, so the top note sings and the lower notes stay soft.

The left hand looks easy and is easy to rush. It plays a low bass note on beat 1, then a lighter pair of notes on beats 2 and 3. Let the bass ring, and keep the two pairs quiet and level.

The only real stretch comes in bar 12, the warmest moment of the piece, where a large chord containing A sharp lands on beat 1.

If your right hand cannot reach a tenth, roll the chord: spread the notes quickly upwards, with the top C sharp sounding last and most clearly. Many pianists roll it even when they can reach, because it softens the arrival.

A plan:

1. Clap the rhythm, then play the top line alone.
2. Left hand alone, with the pedal changing on every beat 1.
3. Right hand alone, voicing the top note of each chord.
4. Hands together at 44 beats a minute, then 54, then the full 66.

Think of the piece as eight short breaths. Let each two-bar phrase swell a little towards its long chord, then relax, and avoid accenting the dotted note, which should feel graceful rather than sharp. Because the prelude is so short, every detail is audible, so aim for an even, unhurried pulse from the first note to the last.

Dotted rhythms are explained in the note lengths and rhythm guide.