The Swan by Saint-Saëns for kids: what to hear

“The Swan” is a short piece for cello and two pianos by the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. It lasts about three minutes. A cello plays one long, smooth tune while the pianos ripple like water. It is one of the calmest pieces a child can hear, and one of the easiest to picture.

Quick facts

• Composer: Camille Saint-Saëns, who lived from 1835 to 1921
• Written: 1886
• Length: about 3 minutes
• Played by: one cello and two pianos. Many versions use a harp or one piano.
• Part of: The Carnival of the Animals, where it is number 13 of 14

The picture

A swan glides across a lake. Above the water, nothing seems to move. Below, the feet paddle.

• The cello is the swan. It plays a slow tune with almost no stops for breath.
• The pianos are the water. One plays quick, rolling notes. The other adds soft chords, like light on the ripples.

The one piece he let out

Saint-Saëns wrote The Carnival of the Animals as a joke for a private party. It makes fun of other composers and of pianists who practice scales. He worried that it would hurt his name as a serious composer. So he did not allow it to be played in public or printed while he was alive.

He made one exception. “The Swan” was printed the next year. The rest of the Carnival had to wait until after his death in 1921. Read the Carnival of the Animals guide.

What to listen for

1. The first second. The pianos start alone and set the water moving.
2. The first cello note. It is long, and it starts soft.
3. The climb. The tune rises step by step to a high point, then floats down.
4. The return. The opening tune comes back, softer.
5. The end. The cello climbs to one last high note and holds it while the pianos ripple upward and stop.

Why a cello?

A cello’s range is close to the human voice, and it can hold a note for a long time on one bow. A good cellist changes the direction of the bow with such control that a listener cannot tell where one stroke ends. That gives the swan its glide. Read the cello for kids.

The ballet

In 1905, a choreographer in Russia made a short solo dance to this music for the ballerina Anna Pavlova. It is called The Dying Swan. The dancer moves on the tips of her toes in tiny steps, and her arms ripple like wings. Pavlova danced it thousands of times, all over the world, and it became her signature.

Saint-Saëns did not write a sad story for his swan. The ballet added that. Read ballet for kids.

Things to do together

• Glide. Move around the room in slow motion. No sudden moves.
• Draw one line. Put a crayon on paper when the cello starts. Do not lift it until the cello stops. Let the line rise and fall with the tune.
• Be the water. One person sways as the swan, and another wiggles fingers as the ripples.
• Breathe with it. Breathe in for one phrase and out for the next. This is a good piece for calming down.
• Watch the bow. Find a video and watch the cellist’s right arm.

Questions to ask

• Is this swan happy, sad, or just calm?
• What would change if a trumpet played the tune?
• Where is the highest note?

When to play it

“The Swan” suits bedtime, rest time, and the last three minutes before a child has to sit still. Read calm classical music for kids at bedtime.

For young players

“The Swan” is a goal piece for cello students. It looks simple on the page, and it is hard to play well, since every bow change shows. Cello students meet it after several years of lessons.

Words to know

• Legato: smooth and connected, with no gaps between notes
• Phrase: a musical sentence
• Accompaniment: the music that supports the main tune

Print and play

Draw the lake on a listening journal page. To learn about the composer, read Saint-Saëns for kids. For more pieces of this kind, read classical music about animals. More guides are listed in classical music listening guides for kids.