Morning Prayer, Op. 39 No. 1
Morning Prayer, No. 1 of Tchaikovsky's Album for the Young, Op. 39 (1878), is a slow, hymn-like piece in 3/4 with one sharp, Octotune grade 3 of 8. Both hands play quiet chords that move together, like voices in a choir.
At a glance
| Composer | Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | Beginner: grade 3 of 8 |
| Key | Key signature: 1 sharp (F♯) |
| Time | 3/4 |
| Tempo | 62 quarter-note beats a minute, as the app starts it (it can go slower) |
| Length | 24 measures, about 1:10 |
| Hands | both hands |
| Right hand | F♯3 to G5 |
| Left hand | F♯2 to F♯4 |
It reaches past the staff: see ledger lines explained.
Levels in the app
| Version | Grade | Levels |
|---|---|---|
| Morning Prayer (Album for the Young), Op. 39 No. 1 | 3 of 8 | Melody, Melody and bass, Full |
Practice notes
Morning Prayer opens Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Album for the Young, Op. 39, the 24 short pieces he wrote in 1878 for young players. It is a quiet start to the day: slow, calm and written like a hymn.
How it is built. The piece is in chords. The right hand plays two or three notes at a time, the left hand two, and the parts move together, as four voices of a choir would. The tempo is slow, and many chords are held for two or three beats. It is in 3/4, with a key signature of one sharp (F sharp).
The tricky parts
- Reading chords. Read each one from the bottom note up, and notice its shape: two notes on neighboring lines, or neighboring spaces, are a third apart.
- Accidentals. D sharp, C sharp and a few others come and go as the harmony moves. Each is written beside its note.
- Holding. Keep each chord down for its full length, and join one chord to the next as smoothly as you can.
- Balance. Let the top note of the right hand sing a little above the rest.
Practice plan
- The top line alone with the Melody level, to learn the tune.
- Each hand alone at the Full level in Wait for me, which waits until every note of the chord is down.
- Both hands slowly. Speed matters little here; smoothness does.
Before you start: Octotune's path through Unit 11, which teaches chords. The accidentals go a step beyond it.
Questions
Is Tchaikovsky's Morning Prayer easy?
It is a Beginner piece, Octotune grade 3 of 8. It is slow, but it is written in chords, two or three notes in each hand, with several accidentals, so the work is reading and holding the chords.
What is Tchaikovsky's Album for the Young?
A set of 24 short piano pieces, Op. 39, that Tchaikovsky wrote in 1878 for young players. Morning Prayer is the first.
Credits and license
- Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893)
- Typeset by Rem Zolotykh for the Mutopia Project
- License: Public Domain
- Source and printable sheet music: the Mutopia Project’s page for this piece