Free easy piano · Classical
Minuet in G, easy piano
Christian Petzold's Minuet in G (BWV Anh. 114), free in three versions. Play each one here, slow it down or loop a bar, then print the PDF or get the MIDI.
- Christian Petzold
- Late beginner, plus the original
- 32 bars · 3/4
- Free: play, print, MIDI
Versions of Minuet in G. Each version is a request typed into PlayableNotes. Pick one to hear and print it.
Typed into PlayableNotes“Make the left hand easier for my student. Keep the whole right hand and both repeats exactly as written. No eighth notes in the left hand, fewer notes to play, nothing wider than a fifth, and keep the harmony.”
What changed
Petzold's melody note for note, over a left hand of held two-note chords and steady quarter notes.
- Right hand: unchanged, with the ornaments, the grace note in bar 8, the closing two-note chord and both repeats.
- Left hand: no eighth notes. The running bass in bars 8 and 12 becomes one held chord per bar.
- Bars 10, 14 and 19: the walking quarter notes become one held chord (G–B, G–B, E–G).
- Bars 25, 26 and 29: the two overlapping bass voices become a single part.
- Bars 16, 20, 31 and 32: no drops to the low octave, so the left hand stays in one place.
- In all, 49 left-hand attacks across the 32 written bars instead of 73, and no stretch wider than a fourth.
For teachers: For a student who reads the melody and its eighth notes but loses the phrase when the bass starts moving. Learn the right hand first (it is the original), then add the left-hand chords one phrase at a time.
Then typed, on “Make the left hand easier”“Now put this easier version in C major, so there are no sharps in the key signature. Change nothing else.”
What changed
The easier version a fifth lower, in C major: no key signature, the same rhythms and hand shapes.
- Every note moved down a perfect fifth, from G major to C major: no F-sharps to remember in the first half.
- Rhythms, ornaments, repeats and both hands are otherwise the same as the easier version in G.
- Bars 20 to 23 still have F-sharps, where the original has C-sharps.
- Bars 29 and 32 take the right hand below middle C, on ledger lines.
For teachers: Choose it when reading is the hurdle rather than the hands. It is not easier to play than the G version, since the rhythms are identical, so look at the ledger lines in bars 29 and 32 together before the first run-through.
The piece as published: Mutopia Project no. 75, engraved by Allen Garvin from the Bach-Gesellschaft edition.
Original
What changed
What changed
The minuet as published in the Mutopia edition, with its walking bass and ornaments.
- Nothing: this is the source edition, checked bar by bar.
For teachers: When the easier version is secure, the original asks for one new skill: a left hand that moves in quarter and eighth notes against the melody, as in bars 8 and 12. Loop those bars first.
Want it different? Just ask.
Open this version in PlayableNotes and ask for a change in words: simpler, another key, shorter, bigger notes. The result is a new version you can play, print and share with your student.
Free account. Changes, playback and printing are free; 50 free credits to read your own sheet music.
Watch how to ask for your own version · 1 min video
Make your own version
A real request in PlayableNotes, on Für Elise from the free library: say who it’s for and what to keep, and the AI writes a new version beside the original. It shows how to ask for a version of your own; its result is not one of the versions on this page.
About Minuet in G
Minuet in G is a 32-bar dance in three beats. The first half is two eight-bar phrases on a simple, rocking melody; the second half starts high above the staff, passes through D major and comes home to G. Both halves repeat. It was copied into the 1725 notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach, which is why it was credited to Bach for so long.
For most students the hard part is not the tune. It is the left hand: a bass line that walks in quarter notes and runs in eighths in bars 8 and 12, with its own rhythm under the melody. The easier version keeps every note of the right hand and gives the left hand held two-note chords and steady quarter notes, so the piece still sounds complete while the hands learn to play together.
The C major version is that same easier arrangement a fifth lower, for a student who reads more comfortably without a key signature. The original is here too, so you can hear exactly what each version changed.
Practice tips
- Count three steady beats before you start, and keep counting through the long notes: bars 8 and 16 hold for a whole bar.
- Leave the ornaments out at first (the small signs over bars 3, 5, 11, 13 and 30). Add them once the bar is easy at full speed.
- Loop bars 7 and 8 (click bar 7, then bar 8) and play the right hand alone until the turn through F-sharp and the grace note feel relaxed.
- The second half starts high: find the B above the staff before bar 17, and let the hand follow the line down step by step.
- Practice each hand with the Right and Left buttons at about 70 bpm, then play hands together and raise the tempo a few beats at a time.
Questions about Minuet in G
Who wrote Minuet in G?
Christian Petzold, an organist at the Dresden court. The minuet was copied into the 1725 notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach, so it was long credited to J. S. Bach; scholars identified Petzold as the composer in the 1970s. It still carries its Bach catalogue number, BWV Anh. 114.
Is Minuet in G good for beginners?
It is one of the first real pieces many students learn, but the original's moving left hand is a step up from a method book. The easier version on this page keeps the melody and gives the left hand held chords, so a late beginner can play the whole piece.
How fast should Minuet in G be played?
The source has no tempo marking. Around 96 quarter notes per minute sounds like a dance without rushing. Learn it nearer 70, and use the tempo slider on this page to step up as it settles.
Is the C major version easier?
Easier to read, not to play. It has no key signature, so there are no F-sharps to remember in the first half, but the rhythms are the same as the easier version in G, and two bars take the right hand onto ledger lines below middle C.
Can I download Minuet in G as a PDF or MIDI file?
Yes, free and without an account. Every version has a Letter-size PDF to print and a MIDI file with the right and left hands on separate tracks.
Is this the tune from A Lover's Concerto?
Yes. The 1965 pop song by The Toys borrowed the minuet's melody and set it in four beats to a bar. The music on this page is Petzold's original dance in three.
Source and credits
- Composer
- Christian Petzold
- License
- Public domain
- Arranger
- PlayableNotes
All 32 bars were compared with the Mutopia PDF, including the ornaments, the grace note, both repeats and the overlapping voices in bars 25 and 26; no notes needed correcting. The edition credits J. S. Bach, as the Bach-Gesellschaft did; we credit Christian Petzold.
The full edition is also in the library: Minuet in G, ready to play and edit.
Arrangements and facts checked