Etudes - Free Piano Sheet Music

The melody consists of a rapid chromatic scale played by the outer right-hand fingers, accompanied by chord attacks. Like most of his other études, Chopin divided this work into three sections: the first subject, second subject, and the recapitulation in the simple ternary form A-B-A. The music starts with the melody in A minor, and a motif played by the left hand. As the chordal harmony develops, the key changes into C major, and progresses into a climax with an A harmonic minor scale. The first theme is then restated in the Coda, which finishes the piece with a rising and falling scale into a Picardy ending.

Chopin demanded that the chromatic scale be played sempre legato (always legato), a direction mentioned seven times throughout the score. This contrasts with the staccato chords played as accompaniment.

The original manuscripts for Opus 10 have an alla breve for No.2, but Chopin seems to have changed this when they were first published. The first French, German, and English editions have common time.

This étude has been argued as being the most challenging in the Opus 10 set.

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