Waltz No. 1 (Les Étoiles d'or)
Waltz No. 1 from Les Étoiles d'or (The Golden Stars), by L. Streabbog (Jean-Louis Gobbaerts), is a bright waltz in C major and 3/4, Octotune grade 5 of 8: a singing tune over the left hand's oom-pah-pah, with a middle section in G major.
At a glance
| Composer | L. Streabbog (J. L. Gobbaerts) |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | Intermediate: grade 5 of 8 |
| Key | Key signature: no sharps or flats |
| Time | 3/4 |
| Tempo | 150 quarter-note beats a minute, as the app starts it (it can go slower) |
| Length | 81 measures, about 1:35 |
| Hands | both hands |
| Right hand | E4 to E6 |
| Left hand | G2 to D4 |
It reaches past the staff: see ledger lines explained.
Levels in the app
| Version | Grade | Levels |
|---|---|---|
| Waltz No. 1 (Les Étoiles d'or) | 5 of 8 | Melody, Melody and bass, Full |
Practice notes
L. Streabbog was the pen name of the Belgian composer Jean-Louis Gobbaerts: his surname spelled backward. He wrote many short pieces for piano students, and this waltz, the first of a set called Les Étoiles d'or ("The Golden Stars"), is a typical one: tuneful and bright, in C major and 3/4.
How it is built. The left hand plays the waltz pattern throughout: a bass note on beat 1, then a two-note chord on beats 2 and 3, oom-pah-pah. Above it the right hand plays the tune, high on the staff, in quarter notes and long dotted halves. In the middle the key signature changes to one sharp, for a section in G major, before the opening returns in C.
The tricky parts
- The waltz pattern. The bass note on beat 1 is a leap below the chords. Keep beats 2 and 3 light.
- Feeling one in a measure. At a waltz's speed, think of each measure as one swing.
- Grace notes. Quick notes before the tune's notes. Octotune plays them but doesn't wait for them; add them last.
- F sharp in the G major section, and a few other accidentals.
Practice plan
- Left hand alone in Play along, until the oom-pah-pah is automatic.
- The tune alone with the Melody level.
- Both hands at 50% speed, then raise the speed until it waltzes.
Before you start: Octotune's path through Unit 11, which teaches F sharp and chords. The highest notes and a few accidentals go beyond it.
Questions
Who was Streabbog?
Streabbog is Gobbaerts spelled backward: the pen name of Jean-Louis Gobbaerts, a Belgian composer of the 1800s who wrote many easy pieces for piano students.
Is this Streabbog waltz hard?
It is an early-intermediate piece, Octotune grade 5 of 8, mostly for its speed. The left hand's waltz pattern is simple; the right hand's tune has leaps and grace notes.
Credits and license
- Music: L. Streabbog (J. L. Gobbaerts)
- Typeset by Masamichi Hosoda for the Mutopia Project
- License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0
- Source and printable sheet music: the Mutopia Project’s page for this piece