1/6 www.pianostreet.

com

Cornelius Gurlitt

The Rocking Horse

Opus 228, Vol. 1

About
In this piece, the composer paints a musical picture of a a rocking horse swinging back and forth. The middle section
seems to suggest some great drama going on in the mind of the child playing with the horse. What scenes do you im-
agine when listening to the piece?

Cornielius Gurlitt (1820-1901) composed music in several genres – operas, symphonies and so on - but his special talent
was undoubtedly “that of writing perfectly suitable, charming and poetic works for the young” (according to his friend Carl
Reinecke). He was born in Altona near Hamburg in Germany, studied at the Leipzig and Copenhagen conservatories and
went on to become a well respected organist, music teacher and military band master.

Preparatory Questions
1. Together, the three notes of the first bar form a triad. Which one? ................................

2. How many different notes does the third finger of the right hand play in this piece? .......... Which ones? .........................

3. In which bars should the tempo slow down? ................................ (Tip: look up all the italian markings in the score.)

4. What is the difference between bars 1-8 and 15-22? ..........................................................................................................

5. As you can see, the six eighth notes in each bar are written in two groups of three, making it easy to find the two beats
of the bar. Mark the beats in the first eight bars of the score!
Example:

Mastering the Piece Practice Plan

• Flowing rhythm (counting two beats per bar) Session 1. Bars 1-4
• Clear articulation (staccato upbeats) Session 2. Bars 5-8
• Dynamic variety Session 3. Bars 9-14
• Balance between hands Session 4. Continued practice of 4- or 6-bar sections

Copyright 2020 © Op 111 Productions

2/6 www.pianostreet.com
Preparatory Exercises

Session 1: Bars 1-4

Play legato, and let the hand move freely. Swing to the Play a little quicker and count six eighths per bar!
left on the G and to the right on the E.

œ œ œ œ
& œ ˙™ œ œ™
3 5

œ & œ œ
1 3

1 2
Swing Swing
left! right! Count: 1 2 3 4 5 6 1

Now do the same thing with the next chord.

& œ
œ ˙™ œ œ œ œ œ™
3 1 5 3

3 œ 4 & œ œ
Swing Swing
left! right! Count: 1 2 3 4 5 6 1

Keep counting six eighths. Let the hand bounce on the staccato upbeats.

j œ œ œ œ œ™ j œ œ œ œ œ™
1 3 1 3

5 & œ. œ œ 6 & œ. œ œ
Bounce! Bounce!
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 1

Left hand:

& ˙˙ ™™ ˙˙ ™™
1 2 3 4 5 6

7
Lift the hand
˙˙ ™™ ˙˙ ™™
2 on count 6. 3
4 5

{
Now play the first four bars with both hands, slowly and carefully.
Keep counting six eighths.

œ œj œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™
1 2 3 4 5 6

j œ œ œ œ œ œ œ™ œ
1 3 3

& œ. .
8 mf Lift the hand on
count 5, and

˙˙ ™™ ˙˙ ™™
bounce on G.

& ‰ ˙˙ ™™ ˙˙ ™™
2
4

Copyright 2020 © Op 111 Productions

3/6 www.pianostreet.com
Session 2: Bars 5-8
Now do the same kind of work to learn the next four bars.
This bit is slightly trickier, because of more frequent chord changes, more fingerings to memorize and more notes in
the left hand, so keep really focused!

œ
3

œ œ
3 ˙™
5

j
1
œ
3

œ œ œ
& & œ.
1
9 10

˙™
Jump!

œ. œ
& œ œ œ œ
3 5 4 3

œ œ
3

& J
1

11 12
Jump!

˙™ -œ ™
œ .
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
2 1 4 2 4 2

13 & œ œ 14 & J
Jump!

Count six eighths and play the rests as precisely as you can!

& ˙˙ ™™ ˙™ ˙˙ ™™ & œœ ™™ œœ ‰ œ™ œ ‰ œ ‰ œ ‰ œœ ™™
Left hand: 1 2 3 4 56 1 2 3 4 56 1 23 4 56 1

˙™
˙™
15 16

p 2
1
1 2
œ œ - 1
4 1 2 4 2
5

{
Now you are going to play with both hands, but let's tread carefully and begin with two simplified versions.

œ œ œ œ äŒ Œ œ œ œ œ äŒ Œ
Place the hand in the new position as quickly as possible.

œ œ œ œ Œ Œ ˙™
4 1 4
3 3

&
1 1 3 2

17 mf Count: 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3

& ˙˙ ™™ œœ Œ Œ ˙™ œ Œ Œ ˙™ œ Œ Œ ˙˙ ™™
˙™ œ

{
2 1
4 2

U
Then play all the notes as written, but stop and wait at each chord change until you are absolutely sure how to go on.
U
j œ œ œ œ œ. œ œ œ œ
 J  œ. œ œ œ œ œ œ -œ ™
1 3
1 4 4 4

& œ. J
18 mf

& ‰ œœ ™™ œœ  ‰ œ™ œ  ‰ œ œœ ™™
‰ œ ‰
œ œ 1
-
2

Copyright 2020 © Op 111 Productions

4/6 www.pianostreet.com
Session 3: Bars 9-14

{ {
In this section, the hands play in unison, exactly the same notes an octave apart, but it is still a good idea to practice
them separately. If you can play each hand fluently on its own, you will achieve the desired dramatic effect more easily.

>œ œ >œ œ ‰ Œ™
5 5

& J & J ∑ Œ
f f
‰ & ‰ j
19 20

& œ> œ œ œj œ œj œ j œ
>œ #œ

{ {
f 1 1 1

The slight diminuendo at the end is there to prepare for the crescendo in the next bar (see exercise 23).

>œ œ œ œ œ
5
j
2 1
>œ œ œ œ
5

œ œ œ #œj œ
2 1

& J J œJ œJ œ #œ œ & J J J œ
J

& ‰ œ ‰ Œ™
21 f f
22
∑ Œ & ‰ œ œj œ j œ j j
> 1
> mf œ 1
œ œ#œ œ 1

Right hand: poco ritardando (slow down slightly)

& œ œJ œ œ œ™ œ #œ œ™ œ #œ œ™
1 4 5

23 J J J
f decrescendo (gradually softer)

œ œ™ œ #œ œ ™ œ #œ œ ™
Left hand: poco ritardando
& j j j j
œ œ œ
24

{
3 3 2
3
f decrescendo
poco ritardando
œ œ œ œ™ œ #œ œ™ œ #œ œ™
1

& œ J J J J
25 f decrescendo

œ œ™ œ #œ œ ™ œ #œ œ ™
& j j j j
œ œ œ

{
3
3

Finish by playing the whole section with both hands.

poco ritardando
>œ œ œ œ
5

œ œ œ #œj œ œ œ œ œ™ œ #œ œ™ œ #œ œ™
2 1

& J J J œ
J J J J J
f decrescendo

j œj œ ™ œ #œj œ ™ œ #œj œ ™
26

& ‰ œ œj œ j œ j j
> œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ
1 1 3

Copyright 2020 © Op 111 Productions

5/6 www.pianostreet.com

Session 4: Continued practice of 4- or 6-bar sections

You will be pleased to know that you have already practiced every single note in this piece! The last 8 bars only repeat the
first 8, but louder.
Keep practicing four bars at a time (or six, as in exercise 29), until you can play fluently and in a lively tempo, counting two
beats per bar instead of six.

{
œ œj œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™
Count: (a) 1 (- and - a -) 2 (- and - a -) 1 2 (a) 1 (- and - a -) 2 (- and - a -) 1 2

j œ œ œ œ œ™ œ
1 3 3

& œ. œ œ .
27 mf

& ‰ ˙˙ ™™ ˙˙ ™™ ˙˙ ™™ ˙˙ ™™
2
4

{
œ œ œ œ œ œ™
j œ œ œ œ œ. œ œ œ. œ
4 1 3

œ -
4 4

& œ. J œ J

œœ ™™ œœ ™™
28 mf
& ‰ œœ ‰ œ™ œ ‰ œ ‰ œ ‰
2
œ œ 1
-
4 2

{
poco ritardando
>œ œ œ œ
5

œ œ œ #œj œ œ œ œ œ™ œ #œ œ™ œ #œ œ™ œ
2 1

& J J J œ
J J J J J
f
j ™ j ™ j ™
29 decrescendo

& ‰ œ j j j j j œ œ œ œ
> œ œ œ œ œ œ#œ œ œ œ œ #œ #œ œ œ
1 1 3

Copyright 2020 © Op 111 Productions

6/6 www.pianostreet.com

THE ROCKING HORSE

(Das Schaukelpferd)

{
from Technique and Melody, Opus 228
Vivace Cornelius Gurlitt

œ œj œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™
PS Practice Score
Count: (a) 1 (- and - a -) 2 (- and - a -) 1 2

6 j œ œ œ œ œ œ œ™ œ œj
1 3 3

& 8 œ. . .
Jump a Jump a Jump a
mf fourth! Upbeats to bars 1,3 and 5:
fifth! sixth!

˙˙ ™™ ˙˙ ™™
6
play with increasing energy

&8 ‰ ˙˙ ™™ ˙˙ ™™
as the intervals grow bigger.

{
2
4

œ œ œ œ œ. œ œ œ œ œ. œ œ œ œ -œ™ Œ >œ œ œ œ œ
5 3 1 3
4 4 5

& J J œ œ J J J
f

™
More frequent chord Taper off to make the contrast
changes in the left hand

& œœ ™™ ™
to forte more effective. Dramatic

-œ ™
œœ ‰ œ™ œ ‰ œ ‰ œ ‰ Œ j
here. Practice separately! accents!

œ œ> œ œ œj
œ œ

{
1 1
2

™™ #œ œ™
10 poco ritardando a tempo
j œ™ œ œ #œ œ™ œ j
& œ œJ œ #œ œ œJ œ œJ
2 1

J J œ.
Play this bar exactly in

™™ j ™
Play slightly softer as the
time. Don't slow down decrescendo f

j ™
œ #œ œ ™
melody goes down to

j
œ ‰
or get softer yet.

{
prepare for the crescendo.

& œ j j j œ œ œ #œ œ
œ œ #œ œ œ œ
1 3

œ œ œ œ™
15
œ œ œ j œ œ j
& œ œ œ™ œ
3 3

œ œ. œ œ œ.
For more dynamic
This is an exact repeat of bars 1-8, but marked f instead of mf. To variation,start softly
make the difference more interesting and noticable, try to find a here and make a

& ˙˙ ™™ ˙˙ ™™ ˙˙ ™™ ˙˙ ™™
word that you think expresses the feeling of these final bars. crescendo to the end.

{
œ œ œ œ œ. œ œ œ œ œ.
19
3 4 3 4

œ œ œ œ œ œ
2
-œ™ Œ
& J J

& œœ ™™ œœ
‰ œ™ œ ‰ œ ‰ œ ‰
œœ ™™
Œ
œ œ -
Copyright 2020 © Op 111 Productions