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Gnossienne No. 1 — melody and hypnotic bass

Pair Satie’s shadowy Gnossienne melody with its steady, meditative left-hand accompaniment.

DevelopingErik Satie · Opening eight bars in A minor · piano both handsPiano · Both hands · A minor · 4/4

64 beats per minute. Changing speed stops playback; press Play to start again.

Try it at the keyboard

  1. The left hand stays anchored on A2 and E3 — let it rock gently like a slow clock.
  2. Bring out the right-hand melody slightly louder than the left hand.
  3. Listen to the tension on D♯ in bars 2 and 6 before it resolves to E.

About this score

Transposed from F minor to A minor in 4/4 bars with an alternating A/E bass accompaniment.

Composed by Erik Satie (1890); source edition by Mutopia Project. Public domain composition and source edition. Teaching arrangement by NotePlayMusic.

Source notation · Source score & rights notice