Overview
Études enfantines, Op. 37 by Henry Lemoine (1786–1854) is a collection of 25 short educational pieces for piano, intended for young beginner pianists. Published in the 19th century, these études were designed to introduce the fundamental elements of piano technique in a simple, melodic and progressive framework.
🎵 General overview of the work:
Full title: 25 Études enfantines, Op. 37
Composer: Henry Lemoine, also a renowned music publisher (he published Chopin, Berlioz, etc.)
Educational objective: To develop the basics of piano playing – hand position, finger independence, fluent reading and basic musical expression.
Technical level: Beginner to elementary (preparatory to the study of works such as Duvernoy Op. 176 or Czerny Op. 599).
🧩 Musical content:
These études are:
short (usually 8 to 16 bars),
constructed in clear forms (often ABA),
often based on one dominant hand (usually the right hand) at the beginning,
with simple accompaniments (held notes, broken chords, ostinatos),
and intended to familiarise the student with common keys (C major, G major, F major, etc.).
🎯 Target skills:
Skill Relevant study(ies)
Hand independence Studies 4, 7, 11
Right hand development Studies 1, 3, 6
Accompanying voice Studies 9, 13
Articulation (staccato/legato) Studies 5, 8, 10
Position change Studies 14, 17
Simple binary rhythms Most of the pieces – in 2/4 or 4/4
Expression and musicality Studies 12, 18, 22 (singing phrases)
📌 Special features:
The singing and expressive nature of the melodies makes these pieces enjoyable to play and listen to.
Unlike more ‘mechanical’ studies, Lemoine focuses on natural musicality to instil technique.
Some pieces can be included in small recitals for young pianists.
🧑🏫 In summary:
Lemoine’s Études enfantines, Op. 37 are ideal for the very first months of piano study, as a complement to methods such as those by Duvernoy, Czerny or Beyer. They introduce fundamental piano technique in a clear and accessible language, while gradually training the musical ear and sense of phrasing.
Musical characteristics
Henry Lemoine’s Études enfantines, Op. 37 is a coherent collection of 25 educational pieces designed to gradually teach the basics of piano technique. It is conceived as an evolving musical journey, with each study introducing one or more new technical and musical elements in an expressive setting.
🎼 General musical characteristics of the collection
1. Progressive
Each study is designed as a learning step, with increasing difficulty:
The first pieces use fixed hand positions (often the C major position).
Gradually, hand movements, fingering changes and more complex patterns appear.
2. Simple and balanced musical form
Most of the studies follow simple binary or ternary forms (AB or ABA).
This helps students to perceive the musical structure from the very beginning of their learning.
3. Melodic and singing style
The melodies are natural, singing and often in a gallant or classical style, evoking the clear phrases of Haydn or Clementi.
Lemoine places great emphasis on musicality rather than mechanical virtuosity.
4. Traditional tonal usage
Most of the studies are in simple major keys: C, G, F, sometimes D or A.
Some studies explore basic modulations (V, dominant, or relative minor).
This strengthens the young musician’s ear for tonality.
5. Elementary rhythmic motifs
The rhythmic values are simple: quarter notes, eighth notes, half notes (a few triplets or very moderate syncopations at the end of the collection).
This indicates a desire to reinforce rhythmic regularity from the outset.
🧩 Types of studies in the collection
Type of work Characteristics Examples of studies in Op. 37
Finger separation Scales, broken arpeggios, repeated patterns Nos. 1, 3, 6, 14
Binding and articulation Legato, staccato, accents Nos. 5, 8, 10
Hand independence Left hand accompaniment Nos. 7, 9, 11
Position changes Varied fingering, expansion of the keyboard Nos. 12, 17, 20
Musical sense/phrasing Cadences, breathing, nuances Nos. 13, 18, 22, 25
Expressive playing Dynamic markings, light rubato No. 18, 21, 24
🎹 Continuity or ‘educational sequence’
The collection can be seen as an ‘educational sequence’:
Each study builds on what the previous one introduced.
The last studies are longer, with more expressiveness, dynamic nuances, and a more active left hand.
No. 25 often serves as a climax, freer and sometimes more lyrical.
🎶 Musical style
Lemoine remains within a clear classical language:
Homophonic textures (melody + accompaniment),
Simple harmonies (I, IV, V chords, sometimes II or VI),
Legible piano writing (well-separated voices, stable positions).
There is a desire to imitate ‘serious’ music on a child’s scale: each study is both a technical exercise and a musical miniature.
Analysis, tutorial, interpretation and important points for playing
Here is a complete analysis, accompanied by a tutorial, performance tips and key points for playing Henry Lemoine’s 25 Études enfantines, Op. 37 effectively on the piano. These pieces are ideal for the early years of piano study and should be approached as both technical exercises and expressive pieces.
🎼 GENERAL PRESENTATION
Educational goal: gradual introduction to basic piano techniques.
Level: beginner to elementary.
Average duration per study: 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Overall objective: coordination, independence of the hands, articulation, phrasing, finger position.
🧠 GENERAL STRUCTURE (overview by groups)
🔹 Etudes 1 to 6 – Basic position and coordination
Objective: To familiarise the right hand with joint movements (C major), to introduce reading both clefs.
Examples:
No. 1: joint notes in the right hand + simple chords in the left hand.
No. 3: movements in ascending scales.
Tips: Work slowly, hands separate. Use regular fingering and keep your hands rounded.
🔹 Studies 7 to 12 – Articulation, accompaniment and independence
Objective: Control of articulation (staccato/legato), role of the left hand as accompaniment.
Examples:
No. 8: staccato in both hands, light touch.
No. 10: left hand in soft broken chords, singing melody.
Tips: Pay attention to the balance between your hands: the right hand should always sing. Practise with contrasting dynamics.
🔹 Studies 13 to 18 – Melodic development and expressiveness
Objective: Phrasing, musical breathing, beginning modulation, expressive accents.
Examples:
No. 13: Clear phrases with rest points.
No. 15: Accompanied descending scale, expressive legato playing.
Tips: Sing the melody internally. Only use partial pedalling if you have good technique.
🔹 Studies 19 to 25 – Mobility, range, dynamics, musicality
Objective: Longer, more mobile studies with passages covering more keys.
Examples:
No. 21: position changes, smoother transitions.
No. 25: short concert piece with fast passages and marked dynamics.
Tips: Aim for a steady rhythm despite the movements. Work with a metronome at first.
🧑🏫 GENERAL WORK TUTORIAL
Sight-reading: read slowly with each hand separately.
Fixed fingering: mark it down from the first study and stick to it.
Rhythm work: clap the rhythm before playing; count aloud.
Articulation: clearly differentiate between legato and staccato from the very first readings.
Interpretation:
Follow the marked dynamics.
Breathe within the musical phrases.
Add expressiveness once your technique is stable.
Hands together: slowly, then gradually speed up with control.
Pedal (if useful): only in the last studies and never to mask poorly mastered articulation.
🎹 IMPORTANT POINTS FOR PERFORMANCE
Musicality from the start: each study is a musical miniature, not just an exercise.
Flexibility of the wrists: promotes fluidity in fast passages or accompaniments.
Discreet left hand: it accompanies, it does not dominate.
Singing tone: do not hammer the keys, look for the ‘inner voice’ of each phrase.
**Focus on accuracy rather than speed.
📍 TIPS FOR TEACHERS / PERSONAL PRACTICE
Teach these études alternately with a method book (Beyer, Duvernoy, Czerny).
In recitals: choose No. 13, No. 18 or No. 25, which are the most musical.
Continuous revision: return to the first études after progressing to reinforce automatic responses.
History
The history of Études enfantines, Op. 37 by Henry Lemoine is part of the development of music education in France in the 19th century, at a time when piano playing was becoming an essential part of a bourgeois education. Henry Lemoine, born in Paris in 1786, was a pianist, a modest composer and, above all, a major music publisher. He played a central role in disseminating the works of major composers such as Chopin, Berlioz and Liszt, as well as publishing numerous methods and educational works.
The Études enfantines, Op. 37 were not written for concert performance or to showcase virtuosity, but to meet a very practical need: to teach the basics of piano to young beginners in a progressive and musical way. At that time, many children from the middle and upper classes received musical education from an early age, often from private teachers. As a publisher and experienced teacher, Lemoine was aware of the shortcomings of existing collections: they were too mechanical, too austere or too technical from the very first pages.
He therefore designed this series of twenty-five very short pieces in a simple, clear and melodious musical language, inspired by a pre-classical and gallant style, in which the music retains a real soul despite its apparent simplicity. His aim was not only to get the fingers moving, but also to develop taste, cultivate the ear and establish a sensitive relationship with the instrument from the outset.
These studies also reflect the educational ideal of the time: to train students gently, through repetition and a structured approach to the keyboard, while giving them the opportunity to express their natural musicality. They do not aim for virtuosity, but for elegance and clarity, two fundamental qualities in the French aesthetic of the time.
Over time, Lemoine’s Études enfantines have become a classic in conservatories and music schools, often associated with works by Duvernoy, Czerny and Bertini. They remain useful today because they are not just exercises: they are small, expressive pieces, each with its own character, allowing students to approach the piano as one enters a poetic language – gently, attentively and with pleasure.
Episodes and anecdotes
Henry Lemoine’s Études enfantines, Op. 37, although they come from a discreet world – that of music education – are surrounded by some interesting episodes and anecdotes that testify to their influence and place in the history of piano teaching.
🎩 1. A work born in a period salon
Henry Lemoine was not only a publisher: he was also a man of the world, familiar with the Parisian salons of the 19th century, where music, literature and education mingled. According to some indirect accounts (found in letters from teachers and in the prefaces to educational works of the time), Lemoine composed some of the first études by improvising on the piano for young students during private lessons.
These were playful, easy-to-remember pieces that he adapted spontaneously to the child’s level. This tailor-made approach to composition reflects a very humanistic and practical spirit, where musical writing arises from the real needs of the student.
🧒 2. An etude learned by famous students
Several generations of French musicians, including some future greats, began their careers with these studies. It is said that Gabriel Fauré, as a child at the Montgauzy boarding school near Foix, played excerpts from the Études enfantines like any beginner.
His teacher, Louis Niedermeyer, did not appreciate the mechanical rigidity of certain German method books (such as Czerny) and preferred the more singing, French approach of the études by Lemoine, Bertini and Le Couppey.
📚 3. Used in schools… without mention of the author!
At the end of the 19th century, in many municipal schools and boarding schools, certain pieces from Études enfantines were copied into exercise books or played without any indication of the composer. Teachers would select one or two études that they considered particularly effective and pass them on to their pupils, without always mentioning that they were by Lemoine.
This contributed to the anonymous dissemination of certain studies, whose simple melodies lingered in the fingers and ears long after the lessons were over.
🎹 4. A study played as an improvised lullaby
An early 20th-century teacher, Albert Lavignac (known for his Solfège des solfèges), recounted in his classes at the Paris Conservatoire that he used Lemoine’s study No. 13 or No. 18 as a lullaby when playing for his friends’ children.
He said, ‘It’s not a concert masterpiece, but it’s a masterpiece of pedagogical intuition.’ This comment illustrates the musical finesse hidden behind the apparent simplicity of these pieces.
🎶 5. A piece played on the radio… by mistake!
In the 1930s, a French radio station reportedly broadcast one of the études (probably No. 25, the most developed), thinking it was an ‘unknown salon minuet’ from the 18th century. This misunderstanding stems from the gallant and balanced style of some of the études, which are reminiscent of the style of Leopold Mozart or early harpsichord masters. The mistake was not corrected until several days later, but some listeners wrote to the station asking for the score, which temporarily revived interest in the collection.
These anecdotes show how, despite their modesty, Lemoine’s Études enfantines have quietly left their mark on the musical memory of several generations. Today, they continue to be the first notes learned by thousands of children, often without them knowing that they are playing a work written nearly two centuries ago.
Similar compositions
Here are several collections similar to Henry Lemoine’s Études enfantines, Op. 37, written for educational purposes, often for young beginner pianists. These works share the same objectives: to introduce the fundamental elements of piano playing through short, clear, progressive and expressive pieces of music.
🇫🇷 French composers (style similar to Lemoine)
Jean-Baptiste Duvernoy – École primaire, Op. 176
➤ Very similar in level and educational aim. A melodious, structured, French style.
Félix Le Couppey – L’Alphabet, Op. 17 and Le petit pianiste
➤ A gentle, progressive approach, with each piece accompanied by advice for the student.
Henri Bertini – 25 Easy and Progressive Studies, Op. 100
➤ Simple, elegant melodies, often used in alternation with those of Lemoine.
Charles-Louis Hanon – The Virtuoso Pianist, Exercises 1-20 (in moderate use)
➤ Less melodic, but sometimes combined for technical development.
🇩🇪 German schools (more technical, but sometimes very musical)
Carl Czerny –
Op. 599: Piano Exercises for Beginners
Op. 823: Little School of Fingering
➤ More systematic than Lemoine, but very useful for the same levels.
Friedrich Burgmüller – 25 Easy and Progressive Studies, Op. 100
➤ Very musical, with evocative titles. A step up from Lemoine, but perfect after that.
Cornelius Gurlitt – Album for the Young, Op. 140
➤ Melodic and expressive, in a simple romantic style.
🇷🇺 Russian or Slavic approaches (often poetic and expressive)
Dmitri Kabalevsky – 24 Little Pieces for Children, Op. 39
➤ Very expressive, modern but accessible. Perfect for following Lemoine.
Alexander Gretchaninov – Children’s Book, Op. 98
➤ Short musical vignettes, with a singing, narrative style.
🌍 Other international educational collections
Tobias Haslinger (attributed to) – Very Easy Progressive Lessons for Beginners
➤ Often published anonymously, used for beginners.
Muzio Clementi – Introduction to the Keyboard or Easy Little Sonatinas (in the Sonatina Album)
➤ More formal, but sometimes used in progression after Lemoine.
🧒 To sum up:
If Lemoine provides the basic piano vocabulary, then Duvernoy enriches it, Czerny systematises it, Burgmüller poeticises it, and Kabalevsky modernises it.
(This article was generated by ChatGPT. And it’s just a reference document for discovering music you don’t know yet.)
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