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Home > Music > Musicology > Tutorials > Gymnopedie

Gymnopédie No 1 by Erik Satie

1. Listening

Listen to a recording of Gymnopédie No 1. You will find many versions of this work in record shops and on the Internet.

Describe the musical features you have observed. Include reference to features such as:

• tempo
• time signature
• use of dynamics
• melodic contour
• phrase structure
• articulation
• overall structure.

If you need assistance with this activity, refer to the article Mental prompts for aural questions in the Aural section of the HSC Online site where you will find helpful information on the above musical features.

2. Editing and printing the score

You can obtain a copy of the score of Gymnopédie No 1 by downloading it as a MIDI file and editing it in music publishing software. This will enable you to observe the musical features more closely.
Download the free MIDI file from: http://pmclassical.iicinternet.com/midi.shtml and save it to your desktop.

(You may download these MIDI files free of charge for your own personal use. To distribute copies or use them for any other purpose, written permission must be obtained from A-M Classical. See the web site for further details on copyright.)

Open your music sequencing/notation program (for example: Music Master, Cubase, Finale, Sibelius).
Go to open or import midi in the file menu and select the MIDI file you saved to your desktop. Once the MIDI file of Gymnopédie No 1 is open, go to the score editing window in your software program to view the unedited score.
Edit the score by adding the title, tempo markings, expressive techniques, phrase marks and articulation that you observed while listening to the music.
Print the final version of your edited score.
Compare your completed score with a published version or the one found at: http://www.music-scores.com/satie/composer.php

3. Analysing the harmony

Now that you have a score of Gymnopédie No 1, you will be able to analyse the chord progression. Study the score carefully and label the chords underneath each chord change.

The conventions for writing chord symbols vary according to style. It would be difficult to do using roman numerals such as I, IV, V and will be clearer if you use letter names to indicate the chords. You will find an explanation of jazz chord notation which includes details of added note chords at: http://www.jazclass.aust.com/scales/scastc.htm
Compare your chord analysis with the analysis by Michael Furstner at: http://esvc001419.wic024u.server-web.com/profiles/satiean1.gif

4. Introducing Erik Satie

Refer to reference books or the following web sites to find out more about Erik Satie and his music.

Le Gymnopédiste by Olof Höjer
http://www.af.lu.se/~fogwall/article2.html

The Erik Satie Homepage
http://www.af.lu.se/~fogwall/satie.html

Art and Culture Network: Erik Satie
http://www.artandculture.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/ACLive.woa/wa/artist?id=721

Jazclass: Erik Satie
http://www.jazclass.aust.com/satie.htm

Write an introduction to Satie and his music. Write briefly about his life and the era in which he lived but focus mainly on his musical style, influences on his music, and, on ways in which he influenced contemporaries such as Debussy, Ravel and Milhaud.