Hunting Song, Op. 68 No. 7
Hunting Song (Jägerliedchen), No. 7 of Schumann's Album for the Young, Op. 68, is a lively piece in F major and 6/8, Octotune grade 5 of 8. It opens with a horn call, both hands in octaves, and gallops on in quick broken chords.
At a glance
| Composer | Robert Schumann (1810–1856) |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | Intermediate: grade 5 of 8 |
| Key | Key signature: 1 flat (B♭) |
| Time | 6/8 |
| Tempo | 140 quarter-note beats a minute, as the app starts it (it can go slower) |
| Length | 56 measures, about 1:12 |
| Hands | both hands |
| Right hand | A3 to B♭5 |
| Left hand | A2 to A4 |
It reaches past the staff: see ledger lines explained.
Levels in the app
| Version | Grade | Levels |
|---|---|---|
| Hunting Song (Album for the Young), Op. 68 No. 7 | 5 of 8 | Melody, Melody and bass, Full |
Practice notes
Jägerliedchen, "Little Hunting Song", is No. 7 of Schumann's Album for the Young, Op. 68 (1848). You can hear the hunting horns: bold calls on the notes of a chord, in F major (one flat, B flat) and a galloping 6/8.
How it is built. It opens on a pick-up, C, and a horn call: F C F C, then a long F, played by both hands together, an octave apart. Then both hands run up a broken F major chord, F A C F. Horn calls only use a few notes, so much of the piece is built from the notes of chords.
The tricky parts
- Hands in octaves. Both hands play the same notes, and must land exactly together.
- 6/8 at speed. Two beats in a measure, each of three eighths. The long-short pattern, quarter then eighth, gives it its gallop: keep it even.
- Leaps. Both hands jump more than an octave in places. Look ahead.
- Accidentals, as the music leaves F major for a while.
Practice plan
- Each hand alone in Wait for me; notice how often they play the same notes.
- Both hands at 50% speed; listen for the octaves landing together.
- Play along, raising the speed with the Speed control until it gallops.
Before you start: Octotune's path through Unit 10, which teaches B flat. The accidentals go a step beyond it. Also try The Wild Horseman, No. 8, which follows it in the book.
Questions
Is Schumann's Hunting Song hard?
It is an early-intermediate piece, Octotune grade 5 of 8. It is quick and loud: both hands often play the same notes an octave apart, and the 6/8 rhythm must stay steady at speed.
Credits and license
- Music: Robert Schumann (1810–1856)
- Typeset by Philippe Hézaine for the Mutopia Project
- License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0
- Source and printable sheet music: the Mutopia Project’s page for this piece