In the Hall of the Mountain King
In the Hall of the Mountain King, from Grieg's music for Peer Gynt (Op. 46 No. 4), is an Advanced piece in this piano version (Octotune grade 7 of 8). One short, sneaking theme in B minor repeats over and over, climbing higher, louder and faster.
At a glance
| Composer | Edvard Grieg (1843–1907) |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | Advanced: grade 7 of 8 |
| Key | B minor (2 sharps (F♯, C♯)) |
| Time | 4/4 |
| Tempo | 138 quarter-note beats a minute, as the app starts it (it can go slower) |
| Length | 88 bars, about 2:25 |
| Hands | both hands |
| Right hand | B1 to D♯7 |
| Left hand | B0 to B3 |
It reaches past the staff: see ledger lines explained.
Levels in the app
| Version | Grade | Levels |
|---|---|---|
| In the Hall of the Mountain King, Op. 46 No. 4 | 7 of 8 | Melody, Melody and bass, Full |
Practice notes
In the Hall of the Mountain King comes from Edvard Grieg's music for Ibsen's play Peer Gynt (1875), and is the fourth piece of his Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46. Peer has blundered into the troll king's hall, and the trolls close in on him.
How it is built. One short theme in B minor, B C♯ D E F♯ D F♯, then a slide down by semitones, repeated again and again. It starts very low and very quiet, in the bass, marked staccato: short and detached. With each repeat it climbs higher, grows louder and speeds up, until the whole keyboard is thundering.
Why Octotune grades it 7
- Speed, and it gets faster: this edition steps the tempo up partway through.
- Range. It starts near the very bottom of the piano and ends near the top.
- Accidentals. The sliding answer to the theme is chromatic, and the sharps change with every repeat.
- Stamina. Loud, fast repeated chords at the end, without tensing up.
Practice plan
- Learn the theme alone until you can play it staccato and evenly, very quietly, in the bass. That on its own is a good piece of practice.
- Section by section, with the A–B loop, at 50% speed. Each time the theme returns, notice what has changed: octave, hand, harmony.
- Plan the build. Save the loudest playing for the end. Start almost at a whisper.
- Raise the speed gradually. The accelerando is part of the piece; start slower than you think.
Before you start: the whole Octotune path, plus ledger lines well beyond low and high C. The opening sits below the bass staff.
Questions
Is In the Hall of the Mountain King hard on piano?
The full piano version is advanced: Octotune grades it 7 of 8, for its speed, its very wide range and its many accidentals. The theme itself, alone, is a good early-intermediate exercise.
What are the notes of In the Hall of the Mountain King?
In B minor, the theme begins B C sharp D E F sharp D F sharp, then slides down by semitones, and repeats. It starts very low and quiet.
Credits and licence
- Music: Edvard Grieg (1843–1907)
- Typeset by Coyau for the Mutopia Project
- Licence: Public Domain
- Source and printable sheet music: the Mutopia Project’s page for this piece