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Clair De Lune Sheet Music
Hello from Kent!
Today, Im very pleased to announce the Complete Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy: Exclusive, professionally compiled and engraved sheet music for piano, with letter note-names provided for each note.
The product link above has all the important details about this sheet music, available now for PDF download.
In a nutshell, this is the completeClair de Lune by Claude Debussy .
Each note is labelled with its musically accurate letter name, such as G, F#, Bb.
More About Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy
What is the official, original name of Clair de Lune?
Debussys original name for Clair de Lune was Promenade Sentimentale .
Clair de Lune is the third movement of a four-movement piece for solo piano, called Suite Bergamasque.
Who wrote Clair De Lune?
Claude Debussy, a leader of what came to be known as the FrenchImpressionist school of music composition , is the composer of this world-renowned and timelessly gorgeous work for solo piano.
When was Clair de Lune written?
Clair de Lune was first published in 1905, as the third movement of a four-part work called Suite Bergamasque. Debussys daughter Claude-Emma, known as Chouxchoux, was born in this same year.
Why is it called Clair de Lune? What does Clair de Lune mean?
Clair de Lune, in French, means moonlight. Debussys Clair de Lune takes its title from a poem of the same name, which Debussy greatly admired.
Bonus fact: About the given name Clair
Understanding Where The Song Comes From
One of the best ways to learn how to play Clair De Lune is to understand the authors intent and to understand what the music is trying to communicate through story. This can help you get a good feel for how you should be playing and what type of tune you should be producing. When you have a grasp on these aspects, you can have a better understanding of where your hands should be moving when you are working with the sheet music.
Clair De Lune is a part of a poetry collection that has been turned into a musical piece. Many people believe that one can even hear the poem through the delicate piano tune of the song. This, in addition to the fact that this is one of the simpler songs from Debussy, means that you will have a better chance of understanding what the author wanted you to get from the song. For example, the beginning of the song can be compared to only glimpsing at the wavering moon through trees. Through the use of the piano pedal, Debussy creates a sense of space and distance, as if the moon is something unattainable. When you understand the intent to create a situation where someone is merely glimpsing at the moon rather than during other parts of the song, you will have a much better idea of how to space everything out, including the use of the pedal. Even if you have trouble with sheet music, understanding the intent will give you a boost in the right direction during your learning process.
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Clair De Lune Piano Notes: Tutorial & Sheet Music
You want to learn Clair de lune on the piano? Youve come to the right place!
Clair de lune is the 3rd movement of the piano composition Suite bergamesque composed by Claude Debussy between 1890 and 1905. It is one of the most famous piano pieces of all time.
It is very likely that its title was inspired by the eponymous poem by Paul Verlaine.
Most of the composition is played pianissimo and with great emotional intensity. Mostly played in D-flat major, the work is nowadays appreciated by many amateur musicians of the Romantic movement, especially pianists and harpists.
In this article, the objective is to help you learn Clair de lune on the piano. We specify that this is the easy version .
We will start by teaching you the notes of the right hand, then those of the left hand. Each part will be illustrated by a tutorial video showing the notes to play in an interactive way. These videos will give you extra visual support and make you learn the song even faster.
At the end of the article, you can also download the free piano score of Clair de lune in PDF format .
Lets get started!
Bonus: you can also learn to play this song at your own pace on our interactive piano learning application La Touche Musicale.
Bonus : you can also learn to play this song at your own pace on our interactive piano learning app La Touche Musicale.
Listening To What Debussy Wanted
Another way to help you understand how to read the sheet music for Clair de Lune is to understand what the composer of the song, Debussy, wanted from his own song. He actually gives a little bit of his own advice about the song during an interview with a pianist who he coached. He mentions that there should be a general flexibility, and that when playing, you should remember to depress the two pedals before starting so that the overtones of the piano would already begin vibrating the moment that they are touched. He gives some other information on how the song should be played. To make the most out of sheet music, it is also important to understand how you should be feeling so that you can more fluidly move to the keys that the composer wants you to press. Keeping these things in mind will help you read the sheet music for the song even better. Get your copy of Clair de Lune sheet music here.
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Take A Sneak Peek Of Our Lesson
Claude Debussy was a French composer who developed a unique harmonic style, pushing music into the contemporary 20th century style in much the same way that Beethoven pushed classical music into the romantic era.
He wrote for orchestra perhaps his best known orchestral piece is La Mer, but it is his piano music that is most popular today. Clair de Lune is perhaps his most famous piece of piano music and it is the 3rd movement of a suite of 4 pieces under the title Suite Bergamasque. He began composing the work around 1890 but fine-tuned it until it was published in 1905.
Tips For Playing Level 2 Clair De Lune By Debussy
This particular arrangement on this page is at Level 2 . And it’s arranged in the key of C major to accommodate Level 2 players. “Clair de lune” was originally written in the key of D flat major. However, the key of C major is only a half-step lower key. There are only 2 hand positions. Please take a look at the hand-position tutorial page after you download it. The piece starts with the 1st position, then to the next position, and then come back to the 1st position. When you start practicing, please notice that both clefs are written in the treble clef throughout except the last left-hand note which is in the bass clef. The specific damper pedal signs are provided for Level 2 players to be able to understand how to handle the pedal. Practice first without the pedal though. And when you get comfortable with the hand positions, notes, and fingerings, we suggest you add the pedaling at that time. You’ll be surprised that even though this is Level 2 “Clair de lune,“ it sounds quite beautiful. You can listen to the free complete audio sample on this page.
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The Notes Of The Left Hand
Did you manage to find the note E? Great!
Now we can move on to the next part. Play the following notes one after the other with your left hand:
E G# E D C B A G#+B G+C F+A E+A D+F G C C+E F+C F+A+C E+C C+E G+C F+C F+A+C G A#+C+E A#+C+E A E+A+D C.
When you play all these notes one after the other, you have the accompaniment of Clair de lune on the piano, performed with the left hand.
Practice playing this sequence several times in a row so that you can get comfortable with it.
Clair de lune on piano: the notes of the left hand.
The Notes Of The Right Hand
Did you find the note G? Great!
Now we can play the suite in the right hand. Press successively on each of the notes below:
G E D E D C D C E C D B B A B A D A G A G F G F E E F E A E D E D C D C B E G E D C D G E F+A+D E D C G+A#+C D A G E D E D C A.
When you play this sequence of notes one after the other, you will get the whole Clair de lune song on the piano, i.e. the melody.
Clair de lune on piano: the notes of the right hand.
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About Clair De Lune By Debussy
“Clair de lune” is one of the most popular compositions by French composer, Claude Debussy from the impressionism era. It is the 3rd movement of Suite bergamasque. And all 4 movements were written for piano solo. “Clair de lune” is a beautiful gentle sounding movement throughout. “Clair de lune” means blue light in English. And it is the most well-known movement from Suite bergamasque, and one of the most popular works composed by him. To learn more about “Clair de lune” from Suite bergamasque, please visit our page, “About Suite bergamasque.”
The Piano Chords Of Debussys Clair De Lune
Clair de Lune was written by the brilliant pianist Claude Debussy and features commonly in many contemporary films, advertisements, plays, and is often even sampled by electronic musicians. The Clair de Lune piano chords are supremely beautiful, and quite difficult to play.
Skoove has created a way to play the Clair de Lune piano chords in such a way that even a beginning pianist can learn to play this incredible song. The complicated time signature changes and triplets have been removed in favor of simpler, easy to read sheet music so anyone now can play the chords of Clair de Lune.
Tips for playing the song
- The time signature of the song is 6/8, which means there are six eighth notes in each measure, be sure to count them all carefully
- Notice the melody in the right hand is played two notes at a time, these notes are an interval of a third. Be extra careful about the fingerings for thirds!
- The key is Db Major, which has 5 flat keys
- When notes are tied over the barline, make sure to let the notes hold until theyre all the way finished
- Pay attention to how the left and right hand trade, with the left hand often playing before the right hand.
Master the Clair de Lune piano chords with Skoove!
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Transpose / Free Music Notes
Michael Buble ‘It’s a Wonderful Day’freethe viewertranspositionscoresprior to making your online purchaseOriginal, 1 Semitione, 2 Semitnoes, 3 Semitones, -1 Semitone, -2 Semitones, -3 Semitonesprintsave as PDF.Quick Fact About Us
We provide most popular sheets at affordable prices. You will also find various tutorials and covers of the songs for faster and easier learning.VAT Free zone & No Shipping Costs!
Tip #: Dynamics And Expression
Pieces like Clair de Lune are allllll about emotional expression!
So dont be afraid to let your dramatic side fly! There are dynamic markings to help you along, and if youre new to musical terms, heres what they mean:
Piano
- Moonlight Sonata and Other Easy Classical Songs That Sound Impressive sheet music and tutorials for Moonlight Sonata , Canon in D , and Prelude in C Major
Happy practicing!
Lisa Witthas been teaching piano for 19 years and in that time has helped hundreds of students learn to play the songs they love. Lisa received classical piano training through the Royal Conservatory of Music, but she has since embraced popular music and playing by ear in order to accompany herself and others.
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Clair De Lune On Piano: Finding Your Way Around The Keyboard
Before playing Clair de lune, we will first review the basics of piano by finding our way around a keyboard. If you already know the notes on the piano keyboard, you can skip to the next part.
Start by observing this diagram:
The name of the notes on a piano keyboard.
The picture above shows you on each key of a piano the note that is associated with it.
You can use the black keys to find your way around the keyboard. Indeed, unlike the white keys, the black keys do not follow each other in an identical way. There are two types of black key groups: groups of 2 and groups of 3.
These keys allow you to locate yourself on the piano. For example, if you are looking for the note G, you must first look at the groups of black keys and try to identify a group of 3. Once you have found it, press the white key located between the first and second black key of the group of 3: it is your G.
Practice recognizing the notes on the keyboard quickly and easily. This will help you learn to play the notes of Clair de lune on the piano more quickly during this tutorial.
Where To Start
You have learned to play the notes with your right hand. Now its time to learn how to play the left hand.
To do this, we will proceed in exactly the same way as for the right hand, i.e. start by identifying the first note to play with your left hand.
The first note is an E:
E is the first note of the left hand in Clair de lune.
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