Album for the Young by Schumann: a guide for piano families

Album for the Young is a book of 43 short piano pieces by Robert Schumann. He wrote it in 1848 for his own children. The pieces start easy and get harder, and each one has a title that tells a small story. Piano students still play them. A child who takes lessons is likely to meet one in the first few years.

Quick facts

• Composer: Robert Schumann, who lived from 1810 to 1856
• Written: 1848
• How many pieces: 43
• Played by: one piano
• German title: Album für die Jugend
• Two parts: Nos. 1 to 18 for younger players, and Nos. 19 to 43 for older ones

A birthday present

Robert and Clara Schumann had eight children. Clara was a famous pianist, and music filled the house.

In 1848, their oldest daughter, Marie, turned seven. Robert wrote a few piano pieces for her birthday. He kept going, and within a few weeks he had a whole book.

Schumann had written about childhood before, in Scenes from Childhood. Those pieces were for grown-ups to play. These were for children’s hands. Read the guide to Scenes from Childhood.

Ten pieces to hear first

No.	Title	What it sounds like
1	Melody	A singing tune in the right hand over a soft left hand
2	Soldiers’ March	Crisp chords in a marching rhythm
6	The Poor Orphan	A sad tune in a minor key
7	Hunting Song	Horn calls and a bouncing beat
8	The Wild Horseman	A gallop of short, quick notes
10	The Happy Farmer	A cheerful tune in the left hand, with chords bouncing above it
11	Sicilienne	A swaying dance with a faster middle part
12	Knight Rupert	Stomping low notes, and a softer middle part
14	Little Study	Broken chords that flow from one hand to the other
16	First Loss	A slow tune that falls, and a sudden loud moment near the end

Each one lasts two minutes or less.

A few titles explained

• The Happy Farmer. The full title says that the farmer is on his way home from work.
• Knight Rupert. In German tradition, he is the gruff helper who travels with Saint Nicholas in December.
• First Loss. Schumann did not say what was lost. Ask your child to guess.
• Three pieces have no title. Schumann marked each of them with three stars.
• Remembrance. This piece in part two carries a date: November 4, 1847. That is the day Schumann’s friend Felix Mendelssohn died.

What the pieces teach

Schumann did not write finger drills. Each piece sets one small task inside a tune.

Piece	The task
Melody	Make the right hand sing while the left hand stays soft
Soldiers’ March	Keep a steady beat with short, crisp notes
The Wild Horseman	Play fast, light notes, and then pass the tune to the left hand
The Happy Farmer	Bring out a tune in the left hand
First Loss	Shape a phrase so that it rises and falls

Schumann’s rules for young musicians

A later edition of the book added a list of rules for young players, written by Schumann. A few of them, in plain words:

1. Train your ear first. Try to name the notes you hear, from a bell to a cuckoo.
2. Play in time.
3. Play easy pieces well. That is better than stumbling through hard ones.
4. Sing in a choir, and take a middle part.
5. Listen to folk songs.
6. There is no end to learning.

For piano families

• Hear it first. Play a recording of a piece before your child starts to learn it.
• Do not go in order. The book is not a course. A teacher will pick pieces that fit your child.
• Part two is harder. Some of its pieces suit a player with several years of lessons.
• Ask about the edition. The music is old enough to be free of copyright, so many editions exist. They differ in their fingering. Your child’s teacher will have one in mind.

Read easy classical piano pieces for beginners and composers in piano lesson books.

Things to do together

Name the piece. Play three pieces with no titles. Ask your child to name each one. Then read Schumann’s titles.

Gallop and freeze. Play “The Wild Horseman” and gallop around the room. Freeze on the last note.

March. Play “Soldiers’ March.” March in step, with stiff knees.

Whistle home. Play “The Happy Farmer.” Walk around the room as if the day’s work were done.

Draw the cover. Draw a cover for the book with a small picture for each piece you have heard.

Write a rule. Ask your child to write one rule for young musicians. Add it to Schumann’s list.

Questions to ask

• Which piece would you like to learn?
• What do you think was lost in “First Loss”?
• Which of Schumann’s rules is the hardest to keep?
• What title would you give to one of the pieces with no name?

Words to know

• Album: a book of short pieces
• Character piece: a short piano piece with a mood or a title
• Sicilienne: a slow, swaying dance
• Chorale: a hymn tune

Print and play

Keep track of pieces learned on a lesson notes page. Read Robert Schumann for kids and Clara Schumann for kids.