From Zero to Mozart
Stage 3Score symbolsLesson 45 of 46 · Repertoire

Minuet in G (Petzold)

Bach's Menuet in G — actually by Christian Petzold, and long mis-attributed to Bach because it sits in the little notebook he kept for his wife Anna Magdalena. This is the easy first-position version, moved to D major so it stays on the friendly strings.

A minuet is a dance in three, and its strain is written once with a repeat: play it, go back, play it again with a different last bar. That structure — ‖: … :‖ with a first and second ending — is the whole point of this tune for Stage 3.

Phrase 1 — bars 1–2

126 bpm

How to play it

Marked f — full, clear, a dance. Bar 1: the open A on beat 1, then a quick run up the D string, 0–1–high 2–3, in the middle of the bow. Bar 2: open A, then two open D's, one per beat. Feel the three: strong–weak–weak.

Phrase 2 — bars 3–4

126 bpm

How to play it

Bar 3: 1st finger B, then the little climb G–A–B–C♯ crossing from the D string back to the A string. Bar 4: reach up to the 3rd-finger D, then two open A's. Keep the crossings smooth — the whole arm tips.

Phrase 3 — bars 5–6

126 bpm

How to play it

A descent home. Bar 5: the high D, then step down A–G–F♯–E. Bar 6: F♯, then a little turn G–F♯–E–D, landing on the open D. Ease the bow into the last note.

The two endings — bars 7–8, then 9

126 bpm

How to play it

Bar 7 leads in either way: C♯ (a stretch back on the G string), then D–E–F♯–D. First time, take the '1.' ending — open A held — then the repeat sign sends you back to bar 1 (play it p this time, a quiet echo). Second time, skip to the '2.' ending, a step down A–G–F♯–E onto the open D, home.

The whole strain, to play through

130 bpm
The complete strain — every note is named in the phrases above. f the first time, then repeat it p as a terraced echo (Movement B), and take the second ending to close on D. In a full minuet movement you'd then play a Trio and come back 'Menuetto da capo' — once through, no repeats (the lesson 'the repeat you don't take').

The one thing this tune is for

The repeat structure. ‖: … :‖ with a first and second ending, traced correctly: play through, take the 1. ending, obey the repeat, play again, skip to the 2. ending. And the terraced dynamic — f, then a quiet p echo on the repeat, the Baroque way.

The usual mistake

Playing both endings in a row the first time, or forgetting the repeat. And playing the echo at the same volume as the first time — the whole character of a Baroque repeat is that it answers itself, quieter.