Funeral March
About this arrangement
The march is the third movement of Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 35. Most scholars date the march to 1837; Chopin finished the full sonata in the summer of 1839 at Nohant, and it was published in 1840. An orchestral version of the march was played at his own burial in Paris on October 30, 1849.
Keep the left-hand chords heavy and perfectly even, like slow footsteps. Practice the quiet middle section separately; its singing melody needs a lighter touch.
Start with short loops.
Use the section list as a practice map. Start at 50% tempo, loop one section, then return to the full piece once the hand shape feels stable.
Choose Right or Left to focus on one hand. Wait for note checks the highlighted notes as you play them on the screen or a connected MIDI keyboard.
Before you practice.
01 Is this version of the Funeral March hard?
It is intermediate. The tempo is slow, but the left hand plays full chords throughout and the piece is long.
02 How long is it?
This simplified version is 92 bars in 4/4 time.
03 What should I practice first?
The opening left-hand chords. They set the march pulse that the rest of the piece rests on.
04 What key is the original in?
B-flat minor. This version is transposed to A minor and simplified.
