Gnossienne No. 1 is Satie’s strange, floating miniature, and this easy version plays his real melody in D minor. Run the interactive player below at half speed first and watch the notes and keys light up; you can drag the score wherever you like. The sheet music, fingering, and a free printable PDF are just after.
Learn it with the interactive player
- Slow it down: x0.5 or x0.75 while you learn the notes, back to x1 once they flow.
- Pause anywhere: the current keys stay lit so you can find them on your own piano.
- Drag the score left or right, or use the 15s buttons, to replay a phrase.
The sheet music, section by section
Set the player to x0.5 for Section A, Satie's opening phrase: after a quarter rest the melody rises A4-C5, turns B4-A4 and sinks to G sharp 4, which sounds twice. The next phrase ends on D5 instead; the third slips G sharp 4, F4, E4, a wide step between F and G sharp that gives the piece its strange colour, and settles forte on a long D4. Underneath, the left hand plays a low D3 on beat one and A3 on beats two and four.
Section B is Satie's second idea, marked Très luisant (very shining): a long G4 answered by a long E4, each touched by a grace F4, twice, then E4 falling to D4. Satie writes it twice, forte both times, and so do we. The thumb stays on D4, and the left hand drops to G2-D3 under the long Gs.
The full score
Satie wrote this piece with no bar lines. Our 4/4 bars follow his four-beat groups, so count a slow 1-2-3-4 at Lent, 63 BPM, and let the long notes hang in the air. Across the 17 measures the right hand shifts only once, at measure 6. Add the grace notes when the melody flows.
Note by note: keys and fingering
- Right hand: Two positions. In measures 1-5 the thumb (1) sits on G sharp 4: A4 index (2), B4 middle (3), C5 and C sharp 5 ring (4), D5 pinky (5). At measure 6 the hand moves down so the thumb (1) is on D4: E4 index (2), F4 middle (3), G4 and G sharp 4 ring (4), A4 pinky (5), and it stays there to the end. The small slashed notes are Satie's grace notes: flick them in just before the beat. The finger table lists the first position, then the new notes of the second.
- Left hand: Satie's oom-pah with single notes, no chords: pinky (5) on the bass on beat one, thumb (1) on one upper note on beats two and four. The shape is D3-A3 almost everywhere, A2-E3 in measure 7 and G2-D3 in measures 10-11 and 14-15 (there D3 is the thumb), and the piece ends on a held D3.
| Note | On the Staff | On the Keyboard | Finger |
|---|---|---|---|
| G#4 | Second line of treble staff, with a sharp sign | Middle black key of the three | RH Thumb (1) |
| A4 | Second space of treble staff | White key between the last two of three black keys | RH Index (2) |
| B4 | Third line of treble staff | White key right of the three black keys | RH Middle (3) |
| C5 | Third space of treble staff | White key left of the two black keys above middle C | RH Ring (4) |
| C#5 | Third space of treble staff, with a sharp sign | Black key just right of C5 | RH Ring (4) |
| D5 | Fourth line of treble staff | White key between the two black keys above C5 | RH Pinky (5) |
| D4 | Space just below the treble staff | White key between the two black keys above middle C | RH Thumb (1) |
| E4 | First line of treble staff | White key right of the two black keys above middle C | RH Index (2) |
| F4 | First space of treble staff | White key left of the three black keys | RH Middle (3) |
| G4 | Second line of treble staff | White key between the first two of three black keys | RH Ring (4) |
| D3 | Third line of bass staff | White key between the two black keys below middle C | LH Pinky (5) |
| A3 | Fifth line of bass staff | White key between the last two of three black keys, just below middle C | LH Thumb (1) |
| A2 | First space of bass staff | White key between the last two of three black keys, two octaves down | LH Pinky (5) |
| E3 | Third space of bass staff | White key right of the two black keys below middle C | LH Thumb (1) |
| G2 | First line of bass staff | White key between the first two of three black keys, two octaves down | LH Pinky (5) |
Prefer a video? Watch the keys light up
Same color code as the player: green marks the right hand, blue the left hand, with the score and keyboard in one vertical video.
The story behind Gnossienne No. 1
Erik Satie wrote his first Gnossienne in 1890, and it was first printed in Le Figaro musical in 1893. In 1913 Rouart, Lerolle & Cie in Paris published it as the first of his Trois Gnossiennes, dedicated to Roland-Manuel, and that is the edition we read note by note. Satie printed it in F minor with no bar lines, and he wrote odd French remarks over the notes, such as Très luisant, very shining. This simplified version keeps his melody and every grace note, moves them down to D minor, and sets them in 4/4 bars over a single-note bass.
Get the printable PDF
The printable PDF of this simplified Gnossienne No. 1 - full score, hand positions, and a step-by-step practice guide - ships inside our free Halloween pack together with fourteen other spooky pieces.
Trance-like repetition is easier when nothing about your seat distracts you, and an Adjustable Piano Bench with Back Support dials in the height once so you can disappear into Satie's slow, rocking pulse.
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FAQ
How hard is Gnossienne No. 1 on piano?
The original is an intermediate piece, mostly for its rubato, grace notes and wide left-hand chords. This simplified version sits in Level 2 of our Halloween collection: Satie's real melody with two right-hand positions and single notes instead of chords. It runs in 4/4 at a slow Lent, 63 BPM.
How long does it take to learn Gnossienne No. 1?
One to two weeks for most learners at this stage. The left hand repeats one pattern, so it settles within days. Most practice time goes to the hand shift at measure 6 and to adding the grace notes.
What level is Gnossienne No. 1?
We place this arrangement at Level 2 of our Halloween collection, where both hands play throughout. It has two accidentals, G sharp and C sharp, one right-hand position change and optional grace notes, and the slow rhythm uses only eighths, quarters, halves, dotted halves and whole notes.
What are the notes for Gnossienne No. 1?
In this D minor version the melody opens A4, C5, B4, A4, then G sharp 4 twice; again A4, C5, B4, A4, then D5 twice; then A4, C5, B4, A4, G sharp 4, E4, three more E4s and a long D4. The second idea is G4, E4, G4, E4, E4, D4, played twice. The small grace notes add quick A4, C sharp 5, F4, D4 and E4 touches. In Satie's original F minor it starts C, E flat, D, C, B natural. The left hand plays D3, then A3 on beats two and four. Full table above.