Learn to Play Recorder

Lesson 23: 3/4 Time and Waltzes

  • Distinguish the feel of three different 3/4 styles: waltz, minuet, sarabande.
  • Play one piece in each.

Three beats per bar is the time signature. The dance is everything else.

Triple meter is not a single feel. A waltz sweeps; a minuet steps gracefully; a sarabande leans heavily on the second beat. This lesson teaches you to hear which is which and to play accordingly.

Waltz — ONE-two-three

Strong first beat, light second and third. The melody sweeps forward through the bar.

Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 2 4 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 2 4 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 3 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 3 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 3 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 4 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 5 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 5 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439

Minuet — one, TWO, three

Slight lift on the second beat — the courtly bow. Used in Baroque dance suites.

Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 2 4 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 2 4 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 3 5 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 3 5 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 3 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 4 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 4 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 5 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439

Sarabande — one, TWO-three

Strong second beat with a long held value. The slow, weighty Spanish dance the Baroque suite borrowed.

Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 2 4 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 3 5 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 3 5 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 3 5 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 4 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 4 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 5 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 5 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439 Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439

Now play these

Amazing Grace · hymn waltz
Lean on beat one but do not pound.
Bach: Minuet in G
The second-beat lift is the whole character.
Minuet in G (Petzold)
Same key, same dance, a different composer's hand.

When a listener can tell which of the three pieces is a waltz, which a minuet, which a sarabande, by your playing alone, move on to Lesson 24.