Interactive piano piece
Learn La Chasse, Op. 100 No. 9
A vivid Allegro vivace in C major with a 6/8 gallop that evokes the energy and fanfare of a hunting party. The interactive desk shows both staves in the 6/8 gallop rhythm — slow the tempo to 50% to feel each pair of three-eighth beats before you try to ride them at the Allegro vivace pace.
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Press Play for the full piece, or choose Opening and switch to Wait for note for guided right-hand practice.
About the piece
The galloping 6/8 étude — horns, hooves, and compound meter.
Burgmüller's 25 Études faciles Op. 100, published in Paris around 1838, are the world's most-taught beginner piano collection. Each of the 25 pieces teaches a distinct technique through a vivid character piece. By No. 9, Burgmüller reaches for one of the great dramatic scenes of 19th-century France: the hunt.
La Chasse — 'The Hunt' — draws on the French chasse tradition: the fanfare of hunting horns, the gallop of horses, the energy of the chase across open countryside. Burgmüller captures all of this in C major 6/8 time with a relentless Allegro vivace tempo and chordal staccato figures in the right hand that demand crisp articulation and steady rhythm. After the lyrical and gentle études that precede it, La Chasse arrives as a shock of energy — and the lesson is rhythm: specifically, how to feel a 6/8 gallop as two broad beats, not six separate eighth notes.
Practice path
Gallop first, then read the notes.
Sit away from the piano and pat your thighs in a galloping rhythm: left-right-right, left-right-right, at a brisk tempo. That is the 6/8 compound feel. When you sit down, match that physical feel to the score rather than counting six. Then learn the right-hand chord figures with crisp staccato — each chord should pop and release cleanly. Add the left-hand bass and let it anchor the two strong beats per measure while the right hand gallops above it.
Score basis: Generated MusicXML from Mutopia MIDI. Public domain composition; Public Domain (CC0) — Mutopia; MusicXML generated for Pianodemy. Attribution: Mutopia Project (https://www.mutopiaproject.org/cgibin/piece-info.cgi?id=220).
MIDI source: Mutopia Project (https://www.mutopiaproject.org/cgibin/piece-info.cgi?id=220). Public Domain (CC0) — Mutopia.
Questions
Before you practice.
Short answers for learners and for searchers deciding whether this is the right version to start with.
01How difficult is Burgmüller La Chasse Op. 100 No. 9?
It is rated beginner but leans toward the upper end of that range — the 6/8 rhythmic feel and chordal right hand require more coordination than earlier études in the set. Most students tackle it after a few months of Op. 100 work.
02What rhythm does La Chasse teach?
It introduces compound 6/8 metre and the concept of subdividing into two broad beats, while also developing crisp staccato touch and the coordination needed to play chordal passages evenly.
How to use this V1
Staccato chords need a relaxed arm drop, not a grip.
Set the tempo slider to 55% and focus on releasing the right-hand chords immediately after each attack — the staccato comes from a quick wrist rebound, not from tight fingers. At full tempo, tension in the forearm will kill the galloping effect. The piece is 24 measures; the second half repeats the main material a step higher, so once the first section feels secure the rest follows quickly. Raise tempo in 5% increments only when the staccato feels loose and natural.