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The library · Classical

Arabesque, Op. 100 No. 2

Friedrich Burgmüller

The study that learners love: fast runs in the right hand over very simple left-hand chords.

A minor · 2/4 · 152 beats per minute · 33 bars · 26 s · intermediate level

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The form

The sections of the piece and their chords: the map you learn before playing a single note.

A B C D E F A' G Coda

SectionBarsChordsPhrase ending
A 1–4 Am
i		 —
B 5–8 Dm/A · Am · C/G · G7
iv · i · III · VII7		 —
C 9–12 G7 · C · E/G♯
VII7 · III · V		 Imperfect cadence
D 13–16 Am · Esus4 · E/G♯ · Am · Esus4 · A/C♯
i · Vsus4 · V · i · Vsus4 · V/iv		 Perfect cadence
E 17–20 Dm · Am7 · Fmaj7 · D6 · E7 · Cmaj7 · Am
iv · i7 · VImaj7 · IV6 · V7 · IIImaj7 · i		 —
F 21–24 Am · Dm/A · Am · Asus4
i · iv · i · Isus4		 —
A' 25–28 Am · Asus4 · Am
i · Isus4 · i		 —
G 29–32 Dm/A · Am · Dm/A · E7sus4/D
iv · i · iv · V7sus4		 Imperfect cadence
Coda 33–33 Am
i		 —

The key

A minor
No sharps or flats
Scale
A · B · C · D · E · F · G
Pillar chords
I = Am · IV = Dm · V7 = E7

The tricky passages

  • Bar 16: fast runs (5.1 notes per second), a melodic leap (octave), notes outside the key, lots of notes
  • Bar 20: fast runs (10.1 notes per second), a melodic leap (perfect fifth)
  • Bars 31–32: fast runs (10.1 notes per second), a melodic leap (more than an octave (29 semitones))

The plan: 16 days

Half an hour a day. First I help you understand the map of the piece, then we lay down the chord framework, learn each section phrase by phrase, work on the tricky passages, put it together and bring it up to tempo, until you can play it from memory.

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