Erik Satie: piano pieces, easiest first
Erik Satie (1866–1925) was born in Honfleur, in Normandy, and spent most of his life in and around Paris. He earned a living for years as a pianist in the cabarets of Montmartre, and he was famous for his eccentricity: his odd titles, his instructions to the player written into the music, his identical gray velvet suits. His music was quiet, plain and repetitive at a time when most music was grand, and composers from Debussy and Ravel to much later ones admired him for it.
Satie's piano pieces are slow and use few notes, which makes them approachable. The difficulty is elsewhere: holding a calm, even tone, and letting silence and long notes do their work.
Satie in Octotune
- The three Gymnopédies (1888): slow pieces in 3/4 over a rocking bass and chord.
- Gnossienne No. 1, with no bar lines in the original and a melody full of turns.
They are listed below, easiest first.