Little Toy Lost
Little Toy Lost, by A. Sidwell, shared through the Mutopia Project, is an 11-measure piece in C major and 4/4, Octotune grade 3 of 8. A wistful right-hand tune high above the staff moves over long, held left-hand chords.
At a glance
| Composer | A. Sidwell |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | Beginner: grade 3 of 8 |
| Key | Key signature: no sharps or flats |
| Time | 4/4 |
| Tempo | 100 quarter-note beats a minute, as the app starts it (it can go slower) |
| Length | 11 measures, about 26 seconds |
| Hands | both hands |
| Right hand | G4 to C6 |
| Left hand | E3 to F5 |
| On the path | Unit 9, Ledger lines |
It reaches past the staff: see ledger lines explained.
Levels in the app
| Version | Grade | Levels |
|---|---|---|
| Little Toy Lost | 3 of 8 | Melody, Melody and bass, Full |
Practice notes
Little Toy Lost is a short modern piece by A. Sidwell, shared freely through the Mutopia Project under a Creative Commons license. It lasts under half a minute: a small, wistful tune, as its title suggests.
How it is built. The right hand plays the tune, starting high above the treble staff, on B and C, in quick eighth notes that rock between two notes and then settle on a longer one. Later phrases sit lower, back on the staff. The left hand holds long chords, most of them a whole measure.
The tricky parts
- Ledger lines. High C, on the second ledger line above the staff, is a landmark: read B, A and G down from it.
- Rocking eighths. B C B C B A G: the hand rocks between two notes, then steps down. Keep it even.
- Dotted quarter notes. Count "1 2 and" through each one.
- A few sharps. G sharp and C sharp appear in the left hand's chords near the middle.
Practice plan
- The tune alone with the Melody level in Wait for me. This is how Unit 9 plays it.
- Play along with the tune at a gentle speed, counting aloud.
- Then the chords: choose Left hand and the app plays the tune, then both hands together.
In the path: Unit 9 for grown-ups, whose lesson is ledger lines.
Questions
Is Little Toy Lost hard?
No. It is a Beginner piece, Octotune grade 3 of 8, and only 11 measures long. The tune starts high above the treble staff, so it is good practice for ledger lines.
Credits and license
- Music: A. Sidwell
- Typeset by Andrew Sidwell for the Mutopia Project
- License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5
- Source and printable sheet music: the Mutopia Project’s page for this piece