Mountaineer's Song, Op. 73 No. 7
Mountaineer's Song (Lualåt), No. 7 of Grieg's Moods, Op. 73, is a piece in G minor and cut time, Octotune grade 5 of 8: the right hand's calls ring out over a low left-hand drone, like music in the Norwegian hills.
At a glance
| Composer | Edvard Grieg (1843–1907) |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | Intermediate: grade 5 of 8 |
| Key | Key signature: 2 flats (B♭, E♭) |
| Time | 2/2 |
| Tempo | 120 quarter-note beats a minute, as the app starts it (it can go slower) |
| Length | 75 measures, about 2:30 |
| Hands | both hands |
| Right hand | D3 to A6 |
| Left hand | F1 to A5 |
It reaches past the staff: see ledger lines explained.
Levels in the app
| Version | Grade | Levels |
|---|---|---|
| Mountaineer's Song (Moods), Op. 73 No. 7 | 5 of 8 | Melody, Melody and bass, Full |
Practice notes
Edvard Grieg's Moods (Stemninger), Op. 73, is one of his last collections of piano pieces. No. 7, Lualåt, "Mountaineer's Song", sounds like a call ringing out across the Norwegian hills. It is in G minor (two flats) and cut time.
How it is built. The left hand starts alone with a drone: a low D held under everything, with the bass rocking beneath it, as a folk fiddle or a bagpipe would. Then the right hand enters with the call: G, up an octave to G, then down, F D B flat, a shape it repeats and varies. As the piece goes on, the calls leap wider and climb higher, and the harmony above the drone grows richer, with many accidentals.
The tricky parts
- Wide leaps. The call jumps an octave and more. Find the landing note before you need it.
- Very high and very low notes. The right hand climbs far above the staff; the left hand reaches deep below it. Read from landmarks: high C and low C.
- Holding the drone. The left hand's long notes must last their full length, under a busy right hand.
- Accidentals. Written in throughout; mark them in pencil.
Practice plan
- The left hand's drone alone, then the right hand alone in Wait for me.
- Both hands at 50% speed with Loop this measure on the widest leaps.
- Play along, letting the calls ring out.
Before you start: Octotune's path through Unit 10, which teaches B flat. The E flats, the accidentals and the extreme high and low notes go beyond it.
Questions
Is Grieg's Mountaineer's Song hard?
It is an early-intermediate piece, Octotune grade 5 of 8. The left hand's drone is simple; the right hand's calls leap widely and reach very high, and the piece has many accidentals.
Credits and license
- Music: Edvard Grieg (1843–1907)
- Typeset by Ted Stanion for the Mutopia Project
- License: Public Domain
- Source and printable sheet music: the Mutopia Project’s page for this piece