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Minute Waltz - Piano Sheet Music (First Section, Op. 64 No. 1)

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) 1847 D-flat major 3/4 Advanced 1:11 Both hands

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Chopin's Minute Waltz starts with the right hand alone, spinning on four notes - A flat, G, A flat, C, B flat - like a little dog chasing its tail, which is exactly what the piece is said to describe. After four bars the left hand joins with a light waltz bass, and the spinning figure runs up a scale to a high B flat. A second phrase follows, with a quick turn on F and a scale falling two octaves; it comes back with chords under it, and the whole passage is repeated. This page has the whole first section, bars 1 to 36, both hands as printed in the Peters edition without the mordents; it stops on the D flat where the slower middle section begins. The marking is Molto vivace: start at half speed with the tempo control.

How to play it

How to play Minute Waltz on the piano

Right hand

Bars 1 to 8: a four-note circle, G A flat C B flat, repeated without stopping in groups of quavers, then a scale up to the high B flat in bar 9, which comes down A flat G flat F. Up to bar 20 this descent alternates with the circle. From bar 21, a new phrase: a triplet turn F G flat F, then E natural, F, A flat, rising to the high D flat, and a scale falling from the high C to middle C before it climbs again. When the phrase repeats, from bar 29, the right hand adds two- and three-note chords under the melody.

Left hand

Silent for four bars. From bar 5 it is a waltz bass: a low note on the first beat (D flat, F, then A flat and E flat) and a chord on beats two and three. In bars 21 to 24 the bass rises step by step, A natural, B flat, C, D flat. When the phrase repeats, the left hand holds those bass notes for a whole bar each, then closes on D flat.

Tricky passages

The G natural and the E natural. The circle turns around G natural, not G flat, and the second phrase leans on E natural and G natural: the black keys around them make it easy to slip. Play each figure very slowly until it is automatic, and keep the waltz bass light.

Fingering

The circle G A flat C B flat: 1-2-4-3, the thumb always on G. Keep the hand still and let the fingers do the turning. Scale in bar 8, B flat C D flat E flat F G flat: 4-1-2-3-1-2, the thumb on C and F. Triplet turn F G flat F: 2-3-2.

Notes

Minute Waltz piano notes

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: Ab G Ab C Bb G Ab Bb Ab C Bb G Ab C Bb G Ab C Bb G Ab C Bb G …

BarNotesDo Ré Mi
1 Ab G Ab C Bb Lab Sol Lab Do Sib
2 G Ab Bb Ab C Bb Sol Lab Sib Lab Do Sib
3 G Ab C Bb G Ab Sol Lab Do Sib Sol Lab
4 C Bb G Ab C Bb Do Sib Sol Lab Do Sib
5 G Ab C Bb G Ab Sol Lab Do Sib Sol Lab
6 C Bb G Ab C Bb Do Sib Sol Lab Do Sib
7 G Ab C Bb G Ab Sol Lab Do Sib Sol Lab
8 Bb C Db Eb F Gb Sib Do Réb Mib Fa Solb
9 Bb Ab Gb F Sib Lab Solb Fa
10 F Eb Eb D Eb Fa Mib Mib Ré Mib
11 Bb Ab Gb F Sib Lab Solb Fa
12 F Eb D Eb F Bb Fa Mib Ré Mib Fa Sib
13 G Ab C Bb G Ab Sol Lab Do Sib Sol Lab
14 C Bb G Ab C Bb Do Sib Sol Lab Do Sib
15 G Ab C Bb G Ab Sol Lab Do Sib Sol Lab
16 Bb C Db Eb F Gb Sib Do Réb Mib Fa Solb
17 Bb Ab Gb F Sib Lab Solb Fa
18 F Eb Eb D Eb Fa Mib Mib Ré Mib
19 Bb Ab Gb F Sib Lab Solb Fa
20 Eb F Eb D Eb E Mib Fa Mib Ré Mib Mi
21 F Gb F E F Ab Gb Fa Solb Fa Mi Fa Lab Solb
22 F Gb F E F Bb Fa Solb Fa Mi Fa Sib
23 Ab Bb Ab G Ab C Bb Lab Sib Lab Sol Lab Do Sib
24 Ab Bb Ab G Ab Db Lab Sib Lab Sol Lab Réb
25 C Bb Ab Gb F Eb Do Sib Lab Solb Fa Mib
26 Db C Bb Ab Gb F Réb Do Sib Lab Solb Fa
27 Eb Db C Eb Bb Ab Mib Réb Do Mib Sib Lab
28 G Ab Bb C Db Eb Sol Lab Sib Do Réb Mib
29 F Gb F E F Ab Gb Fa Solb Fa Mi Fa Lab Solb
30 F Gb F E F Bb Fa Solb Fa Mi Fa Sib
31 Ab Bb Ab G Ab C Bb Lab Sib Lab Sol Lab Do Sib
32 Ab Bb Ab G Ab F Lab Sib Lab Sol Lab Fa
33 Eb Db C Bb Ab Gb Mib Réb Do Sib Lab Solb
34 F Eb Db C Bb Ab Fa Mib Réb Do Sib Lab
35 A C Bb F Gb C La Do Sib Fa Solb Do
36 (1st ending) Db F Réb Fa
37 (2nd ending) Db Réb
Chords

Chords in Minute Waltz

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.

About the piece

About Minute Waltz

The Waltz in D-flat major, Op. 64 No. 1, was published in 1847 and dedicated to Countess Delfina Potocka. In French it is called the Valse du petit chien, the little dog's waltz: George Sand's dog is said to have chased its own tail and given Chopin the idea.

"Minute" means small, not sixty seconds. Played complete with its repeat, the waltz usually takes between a minute and a half and two minutes, although pianists have long liked to race it.

This transcription: Chopin, Valse in D flat major, Op. 64, No. 1 (1847), Edition Peters: Mutopia Project no. 483, placed in the public domain; bars 1-36 as printed, with the repeat of bars 21-36, mordents left out. Transcribed by GOONS Studio from the original work, which is in the public domain.

A grand piano in a candlelit salon circled by whirling trails of golden light, a dog cushion and red ball
Minute Waltz, as imagined by GOONS Studio (AI illustration)
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Questions

Minute Waltz on piano: frequently asked

How much of the Minute Waltz is on this page?

The whole first section, bars 1 to 36, with the repeat of bars 21 to 36 as printed. The waltz goes on with a slower middle section marked sostenuto, then the opening returns; those parts are not on this page.

Can you play the Minute Waltz in a minute?

Only very fast, and usually by skipping the repeat. "Minute" means small in French and English, not sixty seconds; most recordings last between a minute and a half and two minutes.

How hard is the Minute Waltz?

Level 4 of 5. The notes repeat a lot, but they must be fast, light and even, and in the second phrase the right hand adds chords under the melody. Learn it slowly with the tempo control and Practice mode, then speed up in small steps.

Why is it called the little dog waltz?

In French it is the Valse du petit chien. The story goes that Chopin wrote it watching George Sand's little dog chase its tail - the spinning four-note figure at the start.