Friedrich Burgmüller (1806-1874) 1851 C major 4/4 Easy 0:20 Both hands
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La Candeur - "Frankness" - opens Burgmüller's 25 Easy and Progressive Studies, and generations of piano students have played it in their first or second year. This page gives you the first section, bars 1 to 8, both hands exactly as printed in the Litolff edition. The right hand runs in smooth quavers down little four-note patterns, G E D C, while the left hand simply holds one chord per bar. It is the perfect piece to learn an even, singing legato: no jumps, no black keys apart from one F sharp, and a shape that repeats from bar to bar. Listen first, then play it in Practice mode, one hand at a time.
Eight quavers per bar, always moving. Bars 1 and 2 repeat a four-note pattern twice: G E D C, then the high C A G F. Bars 3 and 4 add B and C under it, and bars 5 to 7 come down the same patterns one step at a time, to the final G in bar 8.
One chord held for the whole bar: C major (C E G) for most of the piece, F major over C in bar 2, G7 in bar 5 and D7 with the F sharp in bar 7. Put it down on the first beat and keep it while the right hand moves.
Keeping the quavers even. The right hand tends to rush the downward patterns: count four beats aloud, and let the left hand chord tell you where each bar starts.
Bar 1: G E D C with 5-3-2-1, twice. Bar 2: the high C A G F with 5-3-2-1 too, the whole hand moved up a fourth. In bar 3, after G E D C, the hand shifts down: B with 1, C with 2, E with 3 and F with 4.
The right-hand melody of this version, bar by bar, in letter names and in Do Ré Mi. Sharps are written #, flats b; a note held across a bar line is written once.
Melody: G E D C G E D C C A G F C A G F G E D C B C E F …
| Bar | Notes | Do Ré Mi |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | G E D C G E D C | Sol Mi Ré Do Sol Mi Ré Do |
| 2 | C A G F C A G F | Do La Sol Fa Do La Sol Fa |
| 3 | G E D C B C E F | Sol Mi Ré Do Si Do Mi Fa |
| 4 | G E D C B C D E | Sol Mi Ré Do Si Do Ré Mi |
| 5 | G F E D G F E D | Sol Fa Mi Ré Sol Fa Mi Ré |
| 6 | F E D C F E D C | Fa Mi Ré Do Fa Mi Ré Do |
| 7 | B A C B D C B A | Si La Do Si Ré Do Si La |
| 8 | G B C D G | Sol Si Do Ré Sol |
The chords this arrangement holds for at least two bars, read from the score with the root in the bass. Each one opens its page: the notes, every inversion and the fingering, playable on a piano.
The piece is in C major: all the chords of the key
Friedrich Burgmüller was a German pianist who settled in Paris around 1832 and earned his living teaching the piano to the children of wealthy families. His 25 Études faciles et progressives, Op. 100, published in 1851, were written for those pupils, and they have never left the teaching repertoire since.
Each study has a French title that sets a mood rather than a technical goal: Candour, Arabesque, Pastorale, Innocence, Tarantella. La Candeur is the first and the simplest, a study in legato playing for the right hand over sustained chords.
This transcription: Burgmüller, 25 Études faciles et progressives, Op. 100, No. 1 (1851), Litolff edition: Mutopia Project no. 202, typeset by Bas Wassink, placed in the public domain; bars 1-8 as printed. Transcribed by GOONS Studio from the original work, which is in the public domain.
Complete, Burgmüller Op. 100 No. 2 · A minor
First Section, Burgmüller Op. 100 No. 5 · F major
Easy Version · G major
Easy Version · C majorThe full piano studio opens this score with your MIDI keyboard and sustain pedal, records what you play and exports it as a MIDI file. It comes with the GOONS Studio subscription - start with the 7-day free trial, no card required.
No. It is the first of Burgmüller's 25 easy studies and level 2 of 5 here: the right hand plays steady quavers and the left hand holds one chord per bar. Most pupils learn it after a year of piano.
Candour, frankness or innocence in French. Burgmüller gave every study of his Op. 100 a French title describing a character, because he wrote them in Paris for his pupils there.
The next studies of the same book: Arabesque (No. 2), which adds speed, and Innocence (No. 5), which adds a waltz rhythm. Both are on this site with the same piano.