Nocturne (Chopin) – Frédéric Chopin

About this piece

Frédéric Chopin's Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9 No. 2 is the best known of his nocturnes, and it was published as part of a set of three early in his career. The nocturne as a genre was pioneered by the Irish composer John Field, and Chopin took the idea further, writing a long, ornamented right-hand melody that seems to imitate an opera singer over a gently rocking accompaniment.

This arrangement lasts about 4 minutes 26 seconds and covers a wide range, from G♯1 to D♯7, with the hands on separate parts. It is in 12/8, felt as four slow pulses of three, and the tempo is very flexible throughout, with plenty of rubato. The left hand makes wide leaps between deep bass notes and chords in the middle of the keyboard, while the right hand handles the trills and quick runs of ornamental notes.

Take the left hand alone first in Wait mode, since the leaps are easiest to learn when the song stops for each note. Then learn the right-hand melody at 50 % speed and set an A–B loop around any flourish that feels crowded. Because the timing breathes so freely, switch to Listen mode to hear the shape of a phrase before you play it, and use the sheet music below the player to see how the ornaments line up with the bass.